Whole Brain Learning Twelve Principles

1. Brain is a parallel processor Imagination, thoughts emotions operate and interact simultaneously teachers need to use variety of approaches to reinforce brain’s holistic approach

2. Learning engages entire physiology Stress, threat and boredom limit the brain’s ability to learn teachers should invoke sense of excitement and contextualisation

3. Innate search for meaning Can only be channelled and focused lessons need to be meaningful and contextualised

4. Search for meaning through patterning Brain resists meaningless patterns students should be allowed to create meaningful and personalised patterns

5. Emotions are critical to patterning Emotions and cognition cannot be separated - essential for storage and recall of information caring emotional climate needed students need time to engage in reflection and metacognition

6. Brain process wholes and parts simultaneously Neither should be overlooked vocabulary and grammar best in genuine holistic experiences equations and science/math principles in living context social studies in community context

7. Learning involves focused attention, peripheral perception Class environment, enthusiasm, community, family and technology all affect learning

8. Learning involves conscious and unconscious processes We learn more than we understand, remember what we experience, not just what we are told teaching should emphasise active processes of all acquired information

9. We have different learning systems Spatial - instant memory of experiences Rote - deals with facts and skills in isolation - requires more practice for recollection memorisation is sometimes useful too much interferes with understanding

10. Understanding and Memory Best when facts and skills embedded in natural, spatial memory. Experiential learning sets spatial memory in motion teachers need to use real life activities with complex interactive experiences

11. Enhanced by challenge - inhibited by threat teachers should create state of relaxed alertness and anticipation provide students with life-relating intellectually challenging problems

12. Each brain is unique Each set of systems (stem, emotional and rational) integrates differently teaching should be multi-faceted to allow all students to express their visual, tactile, emotional and auditory preferences