Brain Building Blocks

Brain Building Blocks

This week we discussed the brain and how we as humans learn. We learned that beginning at the age of 18 months, we learn up to 10 new words per day! At the end of high school, most students have learned at least 5,000 new words in a year! How does our brain pick up on words? We discovered that the key to knowing and remembering a word and its meaning is DOING. Herbert Spencer said that, "The great aim of education is not knowledge but action." 

We discussed how every school system runs differently and values different parts of education. In Singapore schools, the students are taught at a young age to memorize everything, whether it is the format of a question or the answer itself. Therefore, these students rank very high academically. However, there is little to no creativity found in their education. At ICS, we emphasize the ESO's because they help the students know what is truly important in education. We discussed how AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE is vital, especially in the early grades because it triggers students' memories.

We discussed how each child is different and ready to grasp concepts at different times. For example, one student may take longer than another to learn to read and recognize basic sight words. However, if we push students when they are not ready, there are major setbacks that can be caused. This can also frustrate the child and take his or her joy out of learning. Also, there is often a difference between what a child knows and can express.

This week, we challenged each other to try and learn new words in context. We also agreed that we should design more of our lessons around student interests, when possible.