Attention

As learners, at times it can be challenging to learn new things. I think that this comes in part because learners want to be entertained. I believe that students constantly look to the teacher to provide us to meaningful, interesting facts and details. And, while this can be challenging for a teacher, I think that students are right to feel this way. In fact, I would argue that students’ brains almost demand this. If is as if brains are shouting, “Give me a reason to pay attention, or I am not paying attention at all!"

When information is given, brains quickly take in all of the information given. Here, there is absolutely no limit as to what the brain can take in! However, here is the kicker: if one does not pay special attention to it, after just a split second all of that information suddenly vanishes. At this point, although your brain has seen or heard the information, it is simply unable to retrieve it. This is known as the sensory memory.

While this may sound a little discouraging, there is an important fact to note here: attention can change everything! If brains are able to pay attention to something, information will not suddenly vanish. This attention enables information to be moved from the sensory memory to the short-term memory. Once here, after a process known as encoding, information can be passed on to long-term memory.

With all of this in mind, it is no wonder why students’ brains are begging for some sort of reason to pay attention. If there is there is no reason to pay attention, nothing will be processed into short-term memory, let alone long-term memory. And, if that is the case, nothing will be learned. However, if brains’ find that reason to pay attention, it will make all the world of difference. In this case, students are able to truly learn new things.

This knowledge has undoubtedly impacted me as a student. At time point, I understand that I need to honestly pay attention in order to learn anything. However, with this in mind, I know that I cannot leave my learning responsibility on the shoulders of my teachers. I know that I must do what I can in order to want to pay attention in class.

With that, I have had to learn various strategies to focus my attention during my studies. One way that I have done this is by allowing my brain to take breaks when it needs it. There are periods of times when I feel that I have given my brain a sort of overload. In these instances, it seems that my brain cannot possibly take any information; I have been studying for too long. When this happens, I take a little break and then I go back to work. As I have done this, I have noticed that I am better able to process new information. Here, I feel as if I am more capable of learning new things.

With this information, I know that I can better myself as a future teacher. The following are three ways in which I plan to go about doing that:

1. When I begin a new lesson, I know that I am going to have to work to gain the students’ attention. In order to do this, I will strive to have good anticipatory sets.
2. During a lesson, as the students’ are starting to loose attention, I will do things that enable the students to hold that attention that is needed. I could begin talking softer, change the light, show a picture, etc. At this point, I would just need to do something that makes the brain want to pay attention.
3. I understand that the students learn most at the beginning of a lesson, as well as at the end. Obviously, this means that the middle of a lesson gets pretty foggy for students. Knowing that, I know that I can take the time to have mini “brain breaks”. With these, I hope that more learning can take place.

Intelligence

Intelligence is a hard thing to measure; it is not something that can be easily gauged. While there are various IQ and aptitude test that make vain attempts, it appears that something is missing. It appears as if the scores from these tests are not revealing much. Part of this difficulty may stem from the uncertainty and confusion that intelligence brings. After all, what is intelligence?

           

Many would argue that intelligence is very clear-cut. Here, it is believed that intelligence is one thing. Furthermore, it is believed that there should be a test of analytical knowledge to measure intelligence. These people may believe that intelligence stemås from making sense of things; intelligence is being “book smart”. From this, IQ scores are given and people are shoved into categories: average, above average, moderately, etc. Those who rank exceptional are predicted to be successful beyond measure. As for the others, the same cannot be said.

There are others that believe contrary to this notion. Among these are people who believe in multiple intelligences. Here, there are many intelligences that are taken into consideration. With this, it is understood that intelligence is not something that can be easily defined, nor is it something that can be measured. This idea argues that people learn and grow in different ways; not everyone has the same strengths.

Interestingly enough, this is a hard concept for many to accept. It would be easier to think that all persons learned the same way. It was be easier to think that intelligence was a simple thing. 

In understanding that there are multiple intelligences, I have changed as a student. To begin, I have had to work to accept the fact that there were multiple intelligences. I feel that all my life I have been taught that intelligence is directly correlated to book smarts. With this, to prove intelligence, I have felt the need to study out of books and take part in conversation. However, I have come to understand that intelligence is more than this.

Throughout these past couple of weeks, I have strived to find my own intelligence. By doing this, I have come to realize how I learn best. I have found that I favor interpersonal learning. I have tried to take this knowledge and use it to my advantage. This means that, after learning something, I take the time to truly discuss it with someone. Most times, I have caught myself talking to my husband about all aspects of my classes. This has led me to gain a deeper level of understanding. 

I understand that it is important to take the things that I have learned and apply them to my future. That being said, the following are three ways that I will change what I do as a teacher:

11. Within my classroom, I want to be able to teach my students about the multiple intelligences. By doing this, I hope that my students will understand that everyone can be intelligent in their own way.

2. Having the knowledge of the multiple intelligences, I want to help students explore their own intelligences. By this, I mean to say that I will give my students the opportunity to learn and grow in various ways. I will strive to teach lessons accommodating all intelligences.
3. When assigning work, I want to be conscious of all of the students within my classroom. I want to be able to give students various options on how to complete work. I hope that this will enable all students to understand the material in different ways.