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Mingh Whitfield's picture

neurons and more

I thought Paul did a great job of making the complex neurological system understandable to those of us who have not dedicated our lives to studying it. The technique used exemplifies the qualities of a great teacher that really cares about distributing knowledge. He really knows his material, and then uses a variety of methods and common examples to illustrate points. This shows an awareness about our learning in different ways, and a willingness to take that into account during instruction. From what I've learned about the brain today, his teaching style must be related to what he knows about brain functioning. I'm excited at the prospect of learning more about the brain. I think it will help give me a deeper understanding about my students, which will only enhance my ability to teach them.

I like how Peter was unwilling to elaborate on specifics that he did not feel he was an expert on.  It somehow coaborated Paul's idea about getting our stories "less wrong".  It also caused me to reflect about assumptions I make while teaching.  When I think a child is "shutting down", is that something he or she is purposfully doing?  Is it a case of leaky neurons or the processing speed of the central nervous system?  Can I alter my way of transmitting information to help?  Does part of my job involve helping children with metacognition-to give them more control over these things?  This discussion about the brain is helping me find my way to those answers, and allowing me to create my own teaching story.     

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