A great learning design rule for brain friendly learning is to spend 30% of the time on giving out information and 70% of the time on the learner doing something with that information.
This often goes right against the grain of what we have done in the past and what is asked of us. We usually have so much information to load into the time allocated it seems impossible to allocate time for them to “DO”. Yet it is in the doing that neuro-pathways are cemented and this is how learning happens.
Eighty percent of our brain’s Neurons are pattern finding neurons that seek to make meaning. Our Brains are constantly looking for verifications from past experiences and patterns to be willing to accept new information. It is therefore vital that we get learners to use the information we have given them so they form their own brain associations, by doing something with that information.
Thus the Human brain learns best when we:
- Move away from overly–systematic instruction or Telling
- Use immersion rather than a lecturing method
- Use immersion rather than a lecturing method
- Use quizzes, predictions, games and challenges to test existing knowledge
- Have them give feedback
- Use appropriate revision activities
- Use appropriate revision activities
- Use Treasure hunt activities to find solutions
The more deeply we process the information the first time we receive it, the more likely we are to remember it.
On a tennis court the net is placed halfway. In the “training” court the net should be placed so that 70% of the space is given to the learner, and it is the educator’s job to keep the ball in the learner’s court. This can so easily be done even when delivering the training on-line. We just need to keep thinking ‘what experience can we embed so learners are doing not just consuming?’
