Most of us have probably heard the idea that TV is bad for our brains, but have any of us actually learned what is happening on the neurological level to our brains when we turn on the tube? I had been in the dark until I came upon the segment 7 minutes and 27 seconds into this YouTube video in which the esteemed Dr. Mazur discusses how science can be used to validate classroom teaching methods. Dr. Mazur reveals the surprising research that our brains are just as asleep watching a lecture as it is watching tv when our brain goes into an alpha wave state after being bombarded with constant stimuli.
Now take a moment and ask yourself: Why might this information might be important in education?
Please keep thinking.
Dr. Mazur claims that if we were to stop and daydream about what he was saying in the middle of his lecture, we would miss a large portion of the lecture. Therefore, we tend not to engage higher order thinking (presumably displaying brain waves other than alpha waves) while taking in information.
In education, we can see how breaking up information into easily digestible snippets would be preferred to long lectures that put students to sleep. Students who are given time to pause and reflect on information presented to them become more engaged in learning. They assimilate information and make it their own rather than being prone to regurgitate facts and data thrown to them.
How can we encourage this reflection to take place during our presentation of information during teaching?
We can ask questions of course and elicit a participatory response to our questions. Feel free to respond to this blog in the comments section.
Are you amused that I am attempting to model what I am trying to teach?
I hope you are not amused too much, because as teachers we should always strive in my opinion to model learning objectives. The key is not to model too long. We want back and forth interaction with our students as well as seeing them collaborate with each other in the same way.
How does information apply to the new model of education where the teacher leverages technology to become the facilitator of learning experiences for students?
The technology that we create must be validated by science as well. We should measure the brain waves of technology users just as Dr. Mazur did with sleeping students. Technological tools must engage learners with the same degree of interaction that occurs between people who are working up masterpieces of creativity while brainstorming collaboratively.
Now you might be wondering if I simply transcribed what was in the video to write this. I did not. In fact I only watched one minute and thirty seconds or so after the 7:27 mark. I paused the video, reflected, and wrote this blog.
Happy pausing!
Now take a moment and ask yourself: Why might this information might be important in education?
Please keep thinking.
Dr. Mazur claims that if we were to stop and daydream about what he was saying in the middle of his lecture, we would miss a large portion of the lecture. Therefore, we tend not to engage higher order thinking (presumably displaying brain waves other than alpha waves) while taking in information.
In education, we can see how breaking up information into easily digestible snippets would be preferred to long lectures that put students to sleep. Students who are given time to pause and reflect on information presented to them become more engaged in learning. They assimilate information and make it their own rather than being prone to regurgitate facts and data thrown to them.
How can we encourage this reflection to take place during our presentation of information during teaching?
We can ask questions of course and elicit a participatory response to our questions. Feel free to respond to this blog in the comments section.
Are you amused that I am attempting to model what I am trying to teach?
I hope you are not amused too much, because as teachers we should always strive in my opinion to model learning objectives. The key is not to model too long. We want back and forth interaction with our students as well as seeing them collaborate with each other in the same way.
How does information apply to the new model of education where the teacher leverages technology to become the facilitator of learning experiences for students?
The technology that we create must be validated by science as well. We should measure the brain waves of technology users just as Dr. Mazur did with sleeping students. Technological tools must engage learners with the same degree of interaction that occurs between people who are working up masterpieces of creativity while brainstorming collaboratively.
Now you might be wondering if I simply transcribed what was in the video to write this. I did not. In fact I only watched one minute and thirty seconds or so after the 7:27 mark. I paused the video, reflected, and wrote this blog.
Happy pausing!