- The brain is a parallel processor.
- Learning engages the entire physiology.
- The search for meaning it innate.
- The search for meaning occurs through patterning.
- Emotions are critical to patterning.
- The brain processes parts and wholes simultaneously.
- Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception.
- Learning always involves conscious and unconscious processes.
- We have at least two different types of memory: a spatial memory system and a set of systems for rote learning.
- We understand and remember best when facts and skills are embedded in natural, spatial memory.
- Learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat.
- Each brain is unique.
This part of the book closes with a thought from longtime educational guru, Madeline Hunter:
There are no teacher or student behaviors that have to be in every lesson... We are...becoming sensitized to the appropriateness, artistry, and outcomes of what is occurring in the classroom... This necessitates skill in selecting from a pharmacy of educational alternatives, not being committed to one "best way"
Follow doctor's instructions completely.
But I'm the teacher. I'm the professional. It's part of why this job appeals to me. I get to make the decisions that will best serve my students. I get to play to my strengths. I get to take the best of what's offered and leave the stuff that won't fill my classroom needs. I am willing to keep an open mind and make concerted efforts to improve. In short, I get to take scientific information like the list above and apply my artistic methodologies.