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Syllabus

Page history last edited by Nina Lyulkun 11 years, 3 months ago

Neuroscience in Education: Braining-Up Your English Lessons

Session Outline

Abstract

Learning happens in our brains. It's a physical and biological process. Brain-based teaching and learning focus on how the brain learns best and how language teachers can learn to understand and use this knowledge to help students learn English effectively. Much is already known about brain functioning during learning processes to orient the practice of teaching. The brain and learning are the bridge that teachers can and must cross with knowledge that effectively connects them to learners.

In this five-week online workshop offered through the Electronic Village Online, participants will explore how the brain works during the learning process and they will be introduced to helpful tips to enhance their teaching practice. By the end of the workshop, participants will have had an overview of how neuroscientific research findings can positively impact educators' pedagogical approach to spice up their lesson plans to promote students' creativity, engagement and learning. We promise it will be madly fun and informative!

Target Audience

Any educator willing to step up to understanding how neuroscience in education can enrich and enliven their classrooms with sound pedagogical approaches based on the knowledge on how our brain works. Participants are assumed to have skills necessary for basic communication via a discussion group and Internet browsing skills (tutorials will be made available for those with difficulties in areas that may prevent participation).

Interest Section Sponsors

TESOL CALL IS, BrazTESOL, EFL IS and NNEST IS

Syllabus

Weekly Outline

By the end of this workshop, participants will have

learned important principles about how the brain works
explored various pieces of information about how the brain learns best, enhancing their teaching practice
understood the potential of brain-based lessons to enhance language learning
practiced preparing brain-based activities
suggested activities based on the brain concepts they explored
networked with other participants interested in improving their practice based on credible brain research
had the chance to curate resources related to brain and education for further explorations
explored the different brain-based pedagogical approaches as a sandbox for future classroom use

Week 1 (Jan 14 - 20, 2013) - INTRODUCTION & BRAIN BASICS

During the first week of the course, participants will

Join the group online meeting place
exchange introductions and become familiar with the group environments
create and/or share their digital portfolios
explore and understand some basic principles of brain functioning
have some initial discussions on how brain research affects our teaching
start digitally curating brain-related resources

Week 2 (Jan 21 - 27, 2013) - THE EMOTIONAL BRAIN & MOTIVATION

During this week, participants will

understand how the emotional brain can trigger or hinder learning
come up with activities that promote the effective use of emotion to enhance learning
explore if different types of reward (intrinsic X extrinsic) can trigger motivation equally
share their findings and ideas with the group
continue digitally curating brain-related resources
share ideas on how educators can enhance learning taking into account what they've learned about the emotional brain & motivation

Week 3 (Jan 28 - Feb 3, 2013) - ATTENTION & MEMORY

During this week, participants will

learn about attention & memory in the brain
explore brain-based strategies that may trigger attention and memory
share ideas on how educators can enhance learning taking into account what they've learned about attention and memory
analyze a case study and propose ways to help students focus based on the understanding of the emotional brain and attention issues
continue digitally curating brain-related resources
share their findings and ideas with the group

Week 4 (Feb 4 - Feb 10, 2013) - WE ARE ALL WIRED DIFFERENTLY

During this week, participants will

learn that all brains are wired differently and explore the implications of this concept to learning
watch and discuss about a movie segment that exemplifies the concept that brains are wired differently
experience themselves how schemas can shape how we learn
learn about the importance of triggering existing neuronal networks in the EFL classroom
share their findings with their peers

Week 5 (Feb 11 -17, 2013) - WRAPPING UP - TEACHING THAT CHANGES THE BRAIN

During this week participants will

explore how effective teaching causes changes in the brain
watch a video of a classroom activity, decide if it is compatible with the principles of how the brain learns best and share their opinions with other participants
discuss what they have acquired for their teaching toolkit and assess their own learning during the session
evaluate the workshop

Join this session

Also, request access to our session WIKI at

The action starts on Jan 14, 2013.

To join this group:

From January 7 to 13:

Go to:
Click on "Sign up"
Request to join the Group (left side of your screen once you've signed up)

Group Code:

Follow the instructions.

Note:

When you register for the group, you will have to be approved by the moderator in order to reduce the possibility of "unwanted" members (such as spammers).

Moderators

Carla Arena

I'm a Brazilian EFL educator who's passionate about teaching. I'm curious and always in search of online tools that can add value to my teaching practices and hook up students to learn. I truly believe in the transformational power education holds when we find the right means to engage, enchant and motivate our learners.
I'm a teacher trainer at a Binational Center in Brasilia. I've been more and more involved in e-learning projects, devising online sessions and teaching them. I'm a a blogging fan (or addict!) and enthusiastic Webhead.
I'm really excited about this online journey. For the past four years, I've co-moderated the Blogging4Educators , Images4Education and digitalstorytelling sessions, but I'm up to this challenge of another session with wonderful souls.

More about me at BrazilBridges
I blog at http://collablogatorium.blogspot.com and am a collaborator of a wonderful multicultural blog: http://pocketcultures.com

Cheryl Oakes

Hello, I am a Special Education Teacher for our high school in our school district of 1460 students Wells Ogunquit Community School District, Maine. In 2005, I completed a course during the online Electronic Village, Becoming a Webhead. That one course opened the door to so many opportunities that I am happy to "pay it back" by being part of this collaborative course. I am also a Webcaster at EdtechTalk, blogger at TechLearning.com, member of SEEDLINGS,a presenter and lover of technology, parent, kayaker and skier! Nice to meet you!

http://cheryloakes.com

http://www.techlearning.com/blog

Denise De Felice

I am an EFL teacher, a teacher trainer and an Academic Coordinator at an EFL institution in Brasilia, Brazil. My field of study relates to bridging neuroscientific research and education because I do believe that understanding about how the brain learns can positively impact our teaching practice. I am a member of the Society for Neuroscience, whose Annual Meeting I attend regularly, and a member of the Society for the Neurobiology of Language. I am currently the EFL-IS Chair at TESOL. I am really excited about joining this amazing team of Webheads and I am sure that we will all share great experiences and learn a lot together!

Nina Liyulkun

I come from Ukraine and teach Business English for students at the Khmelnitskiy National University. Since joining the online community of webheads I’ve learned a lot from and with the dedicated educators whose major interest is IT for teaching and learning online. Annual TESOL’s EVO sessions give everyone a good chance to get knowledge and experience in integrating technology into educational process. I am happy to be part of the moderating team of EVO sessions since 2007 at Blogging for Educators, Images4Education and Digital Storytelling 2011. The sessions have given an impulse to continue improving skills in this area. More info about my activities can be found at collaborative WorldCALL 2008 wiki,

Saša Sirk

I am Saša Sirk, an English teacher from Slovenia. I teach freshmen at vocational college of Tehniški šolski center in Nova Gorica. I'm a webhead, an iEARNER, and a member of the Slovene Association of LSP Teachers and IATEFL Slovenia. I started learning to swim in the cyber ocean in TESOL's EVO 06 and I enjoy coming back year after year to continue exploring, connecting, learning, and sharing. I blog in my Cyberkitchen.

Jane Petring

I teach at Collège Édouard-Montpetit near Montreal, Québec. It seems that I have been involved with foreign language education my whole life as a student, teacher, administrator, author or online moderator and find all of those roles constantly intersecting. I have authored three ESL textbook series that are widely used in Quebec colleges and universities and have co-moderated a number of online sessions such as Collaborative Blogging, Images4Education, digitalstorytelling among others. I have also wrestled with the relative advantages of using online tools or textbooks in several articles (e.g. Textbook and Web 2.0: Collision or Collaboration?) and created a number of blogs to help my students explore online tools: Discovering, Deducting and Digging, Exploring 19^th Century Literature and English CEF Blog. I look forward to exploring more digital tools and making sure they have a purpose!

Ana Maria Menezes

I'm Ana Maria Menezes. A Brazilian EFL teacher, teacher trainer and the technology coordinator at a Language Institute. I love searching the net for new learning possibilities and publish my "discoveries" and "trials" in my blog LIFE FEAST. Since 2006 I've been trying out different webtools with my students and organising the tools according to the skills they favor. The result of this work can be found in my two books, Webtools applied to teaching and Developing the 4 Skills with Webtools. At the moment, I've started an MA in Applied Linguistics and have been writing about how technology has influenced my development as a teacher.

Mary Hillis

I am an EFL teacher at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. I'm enthusiastic about language teaching and learning and have been exploring the use of web tools for personal and professional use since participating in the 2006 EVO session Becoming a Webhead. I have been part of the moderating team for several previous EVO sessions, including Blogging4Educators and Images4Education. You can learn more about me at Education Connections.