Lecture week1 2022
- 1. Introduction to Curriculum, Pedagogy & Assessment Bringing it all together
- 3. 3 The focus for this semester Pedagogy The art and science of teaching. Curriculum The components of learning and instruction Relationships The art of making it all work. Connections.
- 4. Do you think about the brain? Why not? Aren’t you engaging with learning as the main aspect of your intended career?
- 5. 5 DR. JOHN J. MEDINA is a developmental molecular biologist focused on the genes involved in human brain development and the genetics of psychiatric disorders. He has spent most of his professional life as a private research consultant, working primarily in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries on research related to mental health. Brain Rules – John Medina This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
- 6. 6 The brain appears to be designed to: (1) solve problems (2) related to surviving (3) in an unstable outdoor environment, and (4) to do so in nearly constant motion. I call this the brain’s performance envelope. Brain Rules – John Medina This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
- 7. In a harsh environment, become stronger or become smarter. We evolved to become smarter. The brain evolved too 7
- 8. 8 We can make things up – Symbolic Representation Capacity for • Language • Writing • Mathematical reasoning • Art Dual representational Theory “Our ability to attribute characteristics and meanings to things that don’t actually possess them.” Capacity to not just survive, but thrive!
- 9. 9 We adapted to variation itself Toolmaking gives us clues. Dual- representation… and the weather helped us along We gave up on stability and consistency. (Potts) Those unable to rapidly solve new problems or learn from mistakes didn’t survive long enough to pass on their genes.
- 10. 10 We adapted to variation itself Potts’s theory predicts some fairly simple things about human learning. It predicts interactions between two powerful features of the brain: a database in which to store a fund of knowledge, and the ability to improvise off that database. One allows us to know when we’ve made mistakes. The other allows us to learn from them. Paleoanthropologist Rick Potts heads the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program
- 11. 11 Bigger and bigger brains 1. Lizard brain Autonomous functions Breathing, heartrate, sleeping walking, etc. Three brains in one 2. Mammilian brain Amygdala Hippocampus Thalamus Survival function. • Fighting Feeding Fleeing Reproduction Rage Fear Pleasure Emotions Memories
- 12. 12 Bigger and bigger brains 3. Human brain Cortex Deep electrical communication with the interior Highly specialised areas Three brains in one
- 13. 13 Bigger and bigger brains Big brain = bigger head, but the pelvis didn’t change. The solution? Give birth while the baby’s head is small enough to fit through the birth canal. The problem? You create childhood (and a long one!) Children very capable of learning. Created the concept of learner and teacher. Three brains in one
- 14. 14 We cooperated: you scratch my back… Coordinated behaviour – teamwork Shared interest Understanding of the way of thinking of the other Theory of the Mind “Our intellectual prowess, from language to mathematics to art, may have come from the powerful need to predict our neighbor’s psychological interiors..”
- 15. 15 Why… spend time walking… through the brain’s survival strategies? Because they aren’t just part of our species’ ancient history. They give us real insight into how humans acquire knowledge. We improvise off a database, thinking symbolically about our world. We are predisposed to social cooperation, which requires constantly reading other people. Along with the performance envelope, these concepts determine at the most fundamental level how our brains work. Brain Rules – John Medina This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
- 18. References Medina, J. (2014). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. Pear Press. Website Medina, J. (2018). About Brain Rules. http://www.brainrules.net/about-brain- rules.
Editor's Notes
- #17: http://www.brainrules.net/pdf/brainrules_summaries.pdf This revisits rule #10 https://learnit.nd.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_15983549_1&content_id=_799783_1