Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

If you were to walk into a setting where the greatest learning adventure of a lifetime took place … what would you expect to see in that space? People ask frequently…”How does Brain Based Learning differ from traditional learning … or training trends…?” The simple answer is … that the former is active learning … with the brain in mind. There is evidence that content learned is transformed in solutions to a complex problem … with evidence of improvement….

But what does the space look like … and what do you find people doing there … in learning settings where wonder and curiosity steer interested people to investigate new ideas? Good friend and collaborator, Ram Shrivastava, CEO at Larsen Engineers … said it all recently ... on a project team together… “It does little good to build a Taj Mahal ... to the guy who falls asleep in it … because of boredom!”

You could say that five distinctives … would be immediately evident to any person … who entered a brain based learning space … where learners are inspired to:

1. Question and investigate alternative possibilities … through roundtables … under natural lighting … in colloquium centers with experts … near state of the art research materials.

2. Target improvements … through natural settings… technology centers… interactive gathering places for the wider community … spaces for fun … laughter ... and relaxed application of ideas….

3. Expect quality … through motivational symbols that inspire excellence and innovation … show evidence that excellence and high performance is maintained and measured…  with white boards to list rubric measurement criteria… and glass cases to display trophies for awards won….

4. Move mental resources … such as multiple intelligences into action … through individual and team projects … with backgrounds for music … reading … writing … and building … in natural setting areas for movement … and with spaces to illustrate and test ideas.

5. Reflect on growth possibilities  … through A MITA Celebration of Knowledge in lounges created to include a wider community… theaters to teach … entertain …  and express new ideas … spaces to debate and challenge status quo concepts … photography and art spaces … foyers to celebrate knowledge across disciplines. 

In any brain based learning setting … A MITA Celebration of Knowledge becomes a final exam of sorts. Instead of term papers that later get tossed … learners represent their entire core work, in eight ways of knowing, solving problems, and expressing innovative ideas related to course content.

The celebration event is guided by a carefully constructed rubric, which quantifies students outcomes, by showing evidence of each of the criteria expected. Learners invite guests to this celebration event … and they engage each guest to actively participate in their content-related topics….

They interact with the wider community and with experts …  through: questions, targets, expectations, multiple intelligence resources, and, reflections that ask: "Where to from here…?"  mentors … knowledge brokers … or faculty assign grades to each student and group …  through use of a common rubric.

The same rubric that guided learners’ course related creations, and that listed expectations for their work, doubles as a guide to assessors or leaders who evaluate their work in a consistent and intelligence-fair manner.

If you see no passive learners … in bored positions ... listening to one person talking … chances are you have entered a brain based learning setting ….  Imagine a brain based prototype ... that could bring back high performance results for American learners .... Rather than lose ground globally for outmoded and shallow learning approaches... we could inspire change and growth ... simply by creating new settings that reboot learning ... with the brain in mind. What do you think?