Emotion, Movement, Modeling, and Memory: A Framework for Effective

Instruction

Willy Wood

EMOTIONS(Implicit Memory) Associated With:

(Explicit Memory) Associated With:

The Learning Environment (Classroom Climate) The Learning of Content

Positive climate leads to: Endorphins in blood, which –Give feelings of euphoria

--Stimulate frontal lobes

Negative climate leads to: Cortisol in blood, which --Raises anxiety level --Refocuses frontal lobes

to fight or flight

What instructional activities will get

students emotionally connected to the content

of the learning?

Ways to Positively Impact the General Learning Environment

• Acknowledgements• Affirmations• Celebrations• Music • Movement• Choices

1. Movement

Use regular movement to increase blood flow to the brain and to reset the attentional clock

EMOTIONS(Implicit Memory) Associated With:

(Explicit Memory) Associated With:

The Learning Environment (Classroom Climate) The Learning of Content

Positive climate leads to: Endorphins in blood, which –Give feelings of euphoria

--Stimulate frontal lobes

Negative climate leads to: Cortisol in blood, which --Raises anxiety level --Refocuses frontal lobes

to fight or flight

What instructional activities will get

students emotionally connected to the content

of the learning?

“Emotions drive attention, create

meaning, and have their own memory pathways. They

regulate behaviors, and they help us

organize the world around us. You can’t get more related to learning than that!

-Eric Jensen

“An emotionally

charged event…is the

best-processed

kind of external

stimulus ever measured.”

-John Medina

Emotionally charged events persist much longer in memory and are recalled later with greater accuracy

In some emotional states, the body releases extra amounts of adrenaline, which helps the hippocampus to form long-term memories

2. Emotion

Use emotional “hooks” to frame relevance and provide context for the content

“The more attention the brain pays to a given stimulus, the more elaborately the information will be encoded—and retained….Better attention always equals better learning. It improves retention of reading material, accuracy, and clarity in writing, math, science—every academic category that has ever been tested.”

-John Medina

PPPP

• Prime• Present• Pause• Process

Whole-Group Discussion is Deadly Because…

Some Ways for Students to Process

Information Include…

Benefits of Pausing to Process-Raises Energy Levels

Benefits of Pausing to Process-Raises Energy Levels-Clarifies and Refines Thinking

Benefits of Pausing to Process-Raises Energy Levels-Clarifies and Refines Thinking-Stores Information in Long-term Memory

Benefits of Pausing to Process-Raises Energy Levels-Clarifies and Refines Thinking-Stores Information in Long-term Memory-Clears Working Memory

Long-term Memory Begins with Long-term Memory

We Use Prior Knowledge to Tell Us Where We Should Focus Our Attention

We Scan the Environment for Similarities, and We Tend to Remember Things Better If We Have Seen Them Before

The Brain also Gives Special Attention to Items that are Deemed Interesting or Important

On the Negative Side, if Previous Experience with the New Subject Matter Produced Failure, the Student Will Shift Attention to Other Stimuli

3. Memory

Use a Focus-Diffusion that Matches the Way the Brain Learns Best

Limit Input to One Main Idea and Its Details

Engage All Students Immediately After Input

Allow Students Time to Process the Information

Regularly Review and Consolidate Over Time

4. Modeling:

Whenever Explaining How to Do Something, Show, Don’t Tell!

Putting It All Together:

Context-Content-Context