Teaching With the Brain in Mind

Teaching with the Brain in Mind
FIGURE 5.5
Factors That Influence Attention for Learning
Increase intrinsic motivation Increase apathy and resentment
Hook attention for 10–90 minutes Hook attention for 10 minutes or less
Choices vs. Required
Provide choices: content, timing, work partners,
projects, process, environment, or resources.
Relevant vs. Irrelevant
Make it personal: relate to family, neighborhood, city,
life stages, love, health, and so on
active as possible with movement, stretching, and
deep breathing.
Edison was famous for taking short, quick
naps during the day. Some sleep experts now
encourage employees to take a daily catnap. The
Nike offices in Beaverton, Oregon, have a “relaxation
room” for it. Even the FAA, which has
banned pilot “catnaps,” is considering a plan to
allow power napping. Cornell University sleep
researcher James Maas prescribes a 20-minute
afternoon nap to combat fatigue. He says power
nappers think more clearly and perform far better
than their overtired colleagues. (Wallis 1996). For
48
Directed 100%, no student input, resources
restricted—for example, working alone
Impersonal, useless, out of context, and
done only to pass a test
Engaging vs. Passive
Make it emotional, energetic; make it physical; use
learner-imposed deadlines and peer pressure
Disconnected from the real world, low
interaction, lecture, seatwork, or video
today’s K-2 teacher, it’s fairly acceptable to have
down time or nap time. For students age 8 and
older, a 15-minute quiet “choice time” might allow
for a nap, reading, reflection, writing, or drawing.
The critical ingredient to down time or personal
processing time is choice. If a teacher uses this
time to assign seatwork or deadline-centered projects,
it is not rest for the brain.
How Attention Affects Discipline
A classroom that is plagued by discipline problems
may have many overlapping causes. One of the
first places to start is with attention. Cut the length