The most important concepts I learned from this class are the six brain teaching targets. Although the human brain is complex, we have only begun to understand its relationship to learning. The Brain Targeted Teaching Model incorporates brain based learning and teaching simply. Brain targets one and two are the foundation for learning and positive development for students. Brain target three clarifies the big picture for everyone involved in the learning process. Brain targets four and five are the areas of learning where creativity can run wild. I particularly enjoyed developing brain target activities for my unit that were engaging and required extension of understanding.
My goal is to become stronger at implementing brain target six. As a teacher I find that I feel pressure to cover material and do not spend enough time providing immediate feedback to my students or afford them opportunities for self-reflection. I knew that it was important to review your work and tests, but I had no idea that it was essential to committing the information learned to long-term memory. This information has made me rethink what testing preparation and review look like in my classroom.
I hope to be able to master and apply the brain anatomy terminology from this course in my conversations with peer teachers and in my writing. I find myself relying on texts when I need to reference brain terms and hope that soon I can commit this information to my long-term memory and use these vocabulary words with confidence.
