Brain compatible teaching & learning How can we encourage Japanese students to speak in English language class? Kaori Nonoguchi

Japanese students tend to Not speak in class Have a lower listening skill (Shimizu) “Be better writers than fluent speakers because they trust the eyes more than the mouth or ears” (Shimizu) Like group works (Leestma & Walberg) Control their emotions very well (Nonoguchi) Like humor (Nonoguchi) Display a lack of creativity (Leestma & Walberg)

Contents Characteristics of “brain-compatible” teaching and learning. General guidelines for my own teaching How to stimulate brain-compatible learning  through questioning and graphic aids  emphasizing essential questions and inquiry process  incorporating Web Quests and the Internet

Characteristics of “brain compatible” teaching and learning

Facilitate pleasure Facilitate learning Facilitate improved health Facilitate learning Facilitate improved health Facilitate pleasure Characteristics

PLEASURE Emotions are the gate keeper to learning  Memory Emotional intelligence by Daniel Goleman Self awareness, managing emotions, motivation, empathy, and social art Enriched environment Safe and secure environment  challenging experiences Lighting and temperature “Creating a respectful, caring and intentionally inviting learning environment is the surest way to encourage student achievement.” (Puckey & Aspy)

Multiple Intelligences Learning styles Whole brain teaching Knowledge about how we learn Thinking curriculum LEARNING

Multiple Intelligence by Howard Gardner In everyday life, people can display intelligent originality in any of eight intelligences Communication intelligences 1. Verbal/Linguistic 2. Musical/rhythmic Intelligences relate to objects in our world 3. Visual/spatial 4. Bodily/kinesthetic 5. Logical/mathematical 6. Naturalist Intelligences relate to the self 7. Interpersonal 8. Intrapersonal

Learning styles Visual learners Auditory learners Kinesthetic learners

Whole brain teaching Each person has a thinking preference Ways of thinking often change as a result of significant emotional experiences, life transitions and other important insights.

Knowledge about how we learn 1 In the world of the future, the new illiterate will be the person who has not learned how to learn - Alvin Toffler

Knowledge about how we learn 2 Information processing

Thinking curriculum In-depth Learning Learning tasks stimulate complex thinking Students are engaged in whole tasks Connects content and process to learners ’ background Successful intelligence Habits of Mind

Successful intelligence by Robert Sternberg

Habits of Mind by Costa & Kallick

Traditional Vs. Thinking curriculum Students acquire content as they plan, evaluate, solve problems, make decisions, critique arguments and compose essays Student masters knowledge Students use knowledge after graduation

IMPROVED HEALTH Movement (physical activities)- Oxygenate the brain function Water – maximized brain Music – Inspiring, motivating, or calming Challenge Choice Humor Feedback Novelty Color

General guidelines for my own teaching

Get along with students Sensitivity to students’ emotional intelligence Use music Use many visual aids Develop and nurture the intelligence of every learner Every brain is unique “When music is playing, students may be more apt to speak in their small groups” (Allen,2002) “Students trust their eyes more than the mouth or ears” (Shimizu) Develop students’ thinking skills

How to stimulate brain-compatible learning through questioning and graphic aids

Why questioning? Diagnose students’ level of understanding Involve students Test students’ knowledge Review key points Stimulate creativity Modify students’ perception of the subject Develop higher order thinking skills

Questioning Technique Scaffolding Graphic organizers Wait time – “The brain can access information stored in the unconscious long-term memory.” (Gregory, 2005)  Quality thinking Next

Scaffolding for Japanese students Provide visual aids Write key words on the white board Provide a hint or a cue for answering Body language Back

Graphic organizers Graphic organizer (included in nonlinguistic representations) increase students achievement with the possibility of 37 percentile gains. (Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock, 2001) Help students thinking visible (support or develop visual learners). Integrating visual and verbal activities enhances understanding of concepts. (Sousa, 2006)

Why do we use graphic organizers? Back

How to stimulate brain-compatible learning emphasizing essential questions & inquiry process

Essential questions Heart of the curriculum  Essence of what students should examine and know Help students structure a unit or lesson Provocative and arguable May not have a right answer Initiators of creative and critical thinking  Bloom’s Taxonomy Encourage a good doubt Curiosity, Wonder and Wander Spark meaningful connection with prior knowledge Allow transferring to other subjects

Essential questions Students’ centered classroom Students must TALK Empower students

How to stimulate brain-compatible learning incorporating Web Quests and the Internet

Web quests Short term  designed to be completed in one to three class periods  knowledge acquisition and integration  deal with a great amount of new information and make sense of it Longer term  designed to take between one week and one month extending and refining knowledge  analyze a body of knowledge, transform it, and demonstrate understanding

Web Quests & Internet Motivate students Require authentic materials Develop thinking skills Broaden students’ imagination Scaffolding Cooperative learning Use time well Use information rather than looking for

Web quest & internet meet Japanese students’ needs Web quest & Internet VisualHumor Creative thinking Cooperative Learning

References c4think.htm c4think.htm Gregory, G. (2005) Differentiating instruction with style. Leestma, R. & Walberg, H. (1992) Japanese educational productivity. Nonoguchi, K. (2008). “A survey of Japanese students who study English language at Kumamoto University.” Shimizu, J. (n.d) Why are Japanese students reluctant to express their opinions in the classroom? Sousa, D. (2006) How the brain learns. Sprenger, M. (2008) Differentiation through learning styles and memory.