There are times when the entire learning process often
needs to be reshaped, so students can assimilate and retain the information or
learning materials effectively. Instructional designers play a key role in
reshaping this learning process. These individuals are tasked with planning,
designing, and developing educational experiences that will maximize students'
success in the classroom. However, before an instructional designer can plan
any intervention or create learning content they must understand what brain-based
education is and the role that the brain plays within learning. Jensen (2008)
defines brain-based education as "engagement of strategies based on
principles derived from an understanding of the brain." He states that
the brain plays a role in everything that is done at school. This includes
policies on school lunches, the grouping of students, variety in assessments,
and mandating certain types of curriculum for all students. Bearing this in
mind we must now understand both as students and instructional designers how
the brain processes information and solve problems. I found the following two
great resources that add valuable incite to the process:
1. Understanding Your Brain to Help You Learn Better
According to Ormrod et. al. (2009), a suggested
strategy to help students retain information by focusing and maintaining
attention is the use of a variety of teaching materials or aids when presenting
information and to gain interest by using materials that appeal and stimulate
the student interest. In assessing the Understanding Your Brain to Help You
Learn Better article which is written by Sarrasin et. al. (2020) the authors
outlined brain-based learning in two main sections. First, they focus on the
core principles of the learning brain by explaining what are neurons, the
connection between neurons, and the role it plays within the learning process
whilst also showing images for learners to be able to conceptualize by forming
relatable connections to what is written. Jensen (2008) mentions that brain-based
learning involves practical learning strategies that are taken from brain-related
science. The second section of the article gives information on two learning strategies
that students can practice that are inspired by neuroscience and outlines to
the learner how it assists them in becoming better learners.
The information processing theory describes how
learners record, store, and retrieve information in their brains. Thus as
instructional designers understanding how students process information to
define and solve problems within the learning process is crucial. Dr. Ormrod
(Walden University LLC, n.d.) mentions that how students interpret problems will
outline how they will attempt to solve them. Students who are good problem
solvers will metacognitively supervise the whole problem-solving process by
asking self questions to retrieve information from their memories to break
problems down. She further added that students' metacognitive abilities evolve
slowly and are observable from childhood to adulthood. Therefore instructional designers must use
problem-solving strategies in the classroom to teach students to become
independent problem-solvers and be aware of how these strategies assist the
students to learn how to think about solving problems from a general
perspective. To support this assertion I reviewed the Sutarto et al. (2022) journal
article that researched the effects of problem-based learning on students' metacognitive
ability in the classroom. They measured the metacognitive abilities of
students’ conjecturing process by comparing the problem-based learning model
and the conventional learning model using a pattern generalization
problem-solving test. The results showed that when teachers used student center
learning activities such as problem-solving using relatable real-life problems
it had a positive effect on increasing the metacognitive awareness of students.
The authors also looked at the learning strategies that the teacher used to
increase students' metacognition such as working worksheets within small groups.
According to Sutarto et. al. (2022), “Learning
that involves metacognitive activities can motivate students to think with
logical reasons. Through metacognitive scaffolding, students build meaningful
new insights, knowledge, and skills. Students in small groups can be motivated
to overcome conflicts and contradictions that arise when discussions occur, and
they build new, more appropriate knowledge.” This supports Ormrod et. al. (2009)
who states that It is important that new
information be presented to students in a relatable way to link existing information
so they can understand it and use it for knowledge.
References
Eric P.
Jensen: A Fresh Look at Brain-Based Education - Teachers.Net Gazette. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://www.teachers.net/gazette/OCT08/jensen/
Ormrod, J.,
Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction
(Laureate custom edition). New York, NY: Pearson.
Sarrasin, J.
B., Foisy, L. M. B., Allaire-Duquette, G., & Masson, S. (2020, May
8). Understanding your brain to help you learn better. Frontiers for
Young Minds. Retrieved from https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2020.00054
Sutarto, Dwi Hastuti, I., Fuster-Guillén, D., Palacios
Garay, J. P., Hernández, R. M., & Namaziandost, E. (2022). The effect of
problem-based learning on metacognitive ability in the conjecturing process of
Junior High School students. Education Research International, 2022,
1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/2313448
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (n.d.). Information processing and problem solving [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
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