Cognitive Theories of Learning (Reflection Journal #3)

Knowing how the brain works is essential to teaching and learning. One of the things I do with my class each year is discuss with them how their brain works and processes emotions. My students are 7-8 years old, so this consists of them learning what the "upstairs" and "downstairs" of their brains do, and how to know if their brains are in the green "ready to learn" zone, the yellow "caution, I need to calm down" zone, or the red "I'm flipping my lid" zone. I'm also currently part of a two different science of reading trainings with my school district. The state required us to complete a ten session video training last year. One of the main components of these trainings is learning how the brain learns to read: what parts of the brain are engaged in reading and learning to read, how the brain processes language, the brain's predispositions and wirings in communication, etc. 

When I was reading this chapter, these are the two things I was thinking about. I have seen how teaching students how their brain works in terms of their emotions makes them more aware of how they are feeling and how they can handle their emotions, especially for students who have more difficulty managing their emotions. I've also seen how the knowledge of how our brains learn to read affects the way my fellow teachers and I teach reading. We must use the knowledge of how brains learn, process, and remember events and information when we are teaching. 

One of the most important things in this chapter for me is giving students time to process information. The authors of the text also state that "teaching too much information too rapidly is likely to be ineffective" (p. 130). They discuss how working memory can only hold 5-9 pieces of information at a time, and some research puts it even lower at four pieces. These facts mean a few things for me as a teacher. First, I need to make sure that I'm not rushing through information, trying to fit too much into one sitting. It is very easy to feel like we don't have time to wait and we must push through all the information and content so that we are able to fit everything in because our time is extremely limited. If I want my students to actually learn and remember what I'm teaching, I need to slow down. I must make sure I'm not overloading or overwhelming their brains with too much information at one time. Second, I need to include time for them to "mentally rehearse" information. Processing time has to be included in lessons and discussions, or the students will likely have a difficult time remembering anything, and then I have wasted the little time I have doing something that is not effective. 

An interesting part of this chapter to me was the discussion on metacognitive strategies, and the ways this helps students improve. Students need to "think about their own thinking processes and apply specific learning strategies to think themselves through difficult tasks" (p. 152). I know it isn't quite the same thing, but this reminded me of how my students will frequently read aloud to themselves when they are supposed to be reading independently, or talk to themselves when they are doing math. It helps them figure out the words and solve the problems. Often in schools we ask students to work or read silently (which does have value and is necessary at certain times), but I wonder how many students we are keeping from doing their best thinking when we demand they work silently because in doing so we have kept them from being able to think or read well. This may be more of an issue at the primary level, when students are still learning how to think about their thinking and still learning to read and be in school. This is something I want to observe in my class and do more to teach my students metacognitive strategies and incorporate them in class more frequently.