Before I started homeschooling, I was teaching in multi-age classrooms. I had extremely intelligent students who had some unusual quirks to their learning. Some of my kids had been diagnosed with dyslexia or other learning disabilities.
The very first homeschooler I knew was a creative mom whose daughter was in my 3rd grade class. This little girl was on the academically gifted end of the unique learners’ spectrum. She was reading War and Peace, along with many other unabridged classics. She designed a solar cooker for our science fair. She really struggled in math. Her mom was determined to use her daughter’s strengths to build on the weaker areas. She set up unit studies and lots of hands-on, exploratory activities.
A few years later, I had a boy in our school with bipolar disorder and learning disabilities. He was 11 or 12 years old and really did not fit the box of any school. Puberty threw his meds off, so he had frequent visits to a neurologist. She pulled her son to start homeschooling him.
I was going to work with her son on reading and history, and Mom was going to teach the other subjects. She created learning centers for math and our guy started thriving in understanding math concepts.
At that time I had been studying Brain-Based Learning strategies in graduate classes. The mom took me to my first homeschool convention. I went with skepticism to “see what they were telling these people.” To my surprise, the homeschoolers leading the workshops were talking about activities that fit the principles of Brain-Based Learning! I knew that implementing Brain-Based Learning was difficult in a classroom setting. So about five years before we even had children, my husband and I planned to homeschool.
What is Brain-Based Learning?
Brain-Based Learning is an approach to education that takes into account the structure and function of the brain when designing and delivering instructional strategies. Brain-Based Learning takes into account both the input of information, the practice of skills, and the output to reveal what has been retained. Brain-Based Teaching is as individual as our unique learners and is important for helping students who struggle in any academic area to learn more effectively.
The principles are easiest to use in a homeschool environment.
Here are some key principles of brain-based learning:
Brain Compatible Environment: The physical environment can affect learning. The environment becomes part of the learning experience. Temperature, a variety of seating, lighting, and adequate supplies are environmental components that support students to feel comfortable and ready to learn. Along that same line, the natural availability to restroom facilities, food, and water are also included in a brain-compatible environment.
Engagement: The brain is more likely to learn and retain information when it is actively engaged in the learning process. Teachers create opportunities for students to participate, collaborate, and apply their knowledge. Project-based activities help kids think and problem solve beyond workbooks.
Meaningful Connections: Learning is enhanced when new information is connected to prior knowledge and real-life experiences. Teachers of many unique learners either draw out the connections explicitly or assist students to see the relevance in content between what they already know and what they are learning.
Emotion and Learning: Emotions play a significant role in the learning process. Positive emotions, such as curiosity and interest, can enhance motivation and engagement. Negative emotions, such as stress and anxiety, can hinder learning. Teachers who create a positive and supportive learning environment also create a social and emotional relationship that allows vulnerable learners to feel safe enough to take risks and make mistakes. What better place to be emotionally safe than in a homeschool?
Multiple Sensory Modalities: The brain processes and retains information better when it is presented in multiple sensory modalities. Homeschoolers often like the idea of teaching to the learning styles of their children. What they don’t know is the brain and learning is much more complex than trying to meet the supposed learning preferences of a child, who is likely to change those preferences based on the subject. The concept of multisensory instruction is to incorporate as many senses simultaneously as possible.
The human system has 13 or more senses that bring messages into the brain. The main input modalities are: Visual, Auditory, Tactile, and Kinesthetic. Visual is any poster, video, or demonstration that a student watches. Auditory is hearing information presented verbally. Audiobooks and lectures tend to be auditory only. Tactile is typically writing with a pencil on paper, but tactile activities can involve any activity where the skin or fingers are feeling the information. Kinesthetic activities involve full body movement. Running, walking, throwing a beanbag or ball, riding a stationary bike, and hopping can all be incorporated into learning and practicing information. Other senses As homeschoolers, we can incorporate a variety of learning experiences that engage different senses, such as visual aids, hands-on activities, and auditory cues.
Active Processing: The brain learns by actively processing and manipulating information. Processing the information that has come into the brain requires reflection time, as well as using the skills. Students can interact with content through play, manipulating items, discussions, problem-solving activities, and reflection. Howard Gardner revealed that humans have about 11 different intelligences. Some student may process information into knowledge by writing and singing a song. Others may process and show their understanding best by building something from wood or playing a game.
Feedback and Reflection: Immediate and regular feedback and opportunities for reflection help the brain consolidate and deepen learning. Receiving papers back a week after completion without opportunity for correction does nothing for the learning process. Working to mastery from timely and constructive feedback helps kids to clarify misunderstandings and practice skills correctly. This is one of the reasons I have come to the opinion that grading and moving on often ingrains an inaccurate sense of self-worth and can shut down motivation and curiosity. I would much rather build habits of life-long learning.
Remember, Brain-Based Learning can be applied in any subject area. The approach draws from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and education. The principles in this article are meant to guide home educators in creating effective learning experiences in a natural, intuitive way that children’s brains work.
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