Brain-based Research Presentation to Improve Student Learning

Take your teaching, school and career to the next level with this brain-based research presentation for your next Professional Development day.

This Google slide deck explains the latest brain-based learning and multimedia design theory, to help educators design and develop lessons that will better facilitate learning. Each slide has presenter notes associated with slide visuals, because talking over visuals triggers both auditory and visual learning pathways, thus improving learnability.

I have been a science teacher for 17+ years. But I've only been a really good one, for 10. And, like all teachers, we're given more information than we have time to deliver. Therefore, I have sought the best techniques to help my students learn more deeply, effectively, and quickly, since we all have a lot to teach in a short period of time.

A few years ago I took a summer to do a deep dive into the latest brain research and what studies show were the limitations to working memory, what to avoid and what were the best delivery techniques. I read article after article and a multitude of research papers about Cognitive Load Theory, what it is and how to address it in my delivery of information to learners.

In addition, I include in the presentation the outcomes of multiple studies which focused on the practice of highly effective teachers. It turns out, not surprisingly, they were implementing many of the known brain-based techniques as well as the latest Multimedia Design Theory principles.

What did all this research tell me? Well, it showed me I was doing many things well, probably due to my 16+ years of assimilating what I've learned by my own classroom.

Unfortunately, I also became aware I was hampering my students ability to learn as well. I was unknowingly increasing my student's cognitive load in my delivery of material, by overwhelming their working memories, whether due to slide design, information overload, or not properly tapping into their preexisting "schemas".

This Google slide deck is "in a nutshell" of all of my research and how to apply it in the classroom.

Whether you would like insight into your own practice or want to deliver the latest brain-based learning research to your department, school or district. This is a great place to start.

I hope if helps inform your practice as much as it has helped inform my own:)

Happy Learning!