Meet the neurologist who was inspired to retrain as an educator and apply what she knew about the brain and take that to the classroom. Dr Judy Willis on the Science of Learning.
If you don’t have 11 minutes to spare, here are my takeaways.
- The Science of Boredom (1 min 30 sec) – alleviate stress/boredom to deactivate hyperactivity in the amygdala.
- Arouse curiosity (3 min 10 sec)
- Focusing Students’ Attention in the Classroom (4 min 10 sec) – use colour, & props to get engagement and focus.
- The Importance of Creating a Safe Environment (5 min 32 sec) – only the person who thinks, learns. Students must participate, answer questions. Judy uses personal whiteboards for private participation without risk of mistakes.
- Preparing Students for the 21st Century (7 min) – most of what we are teaching now is obsolete by the time they enter workforce! Teach kids executive function – judgment, critical analysis, evaluation, problem solving, risk assessment – not just facts.
- Lessons Learned from Video Games (8 min 52 sec) – very interesting analysis of the progression of learning involved in playing video games and the applications to classroom learning…hmmmm!