In the wake of more than six years spent in the classroom learning about teaching and the field of education, I know many strategies that have a positive impact on student learning. One such strategy is to provide opportunities for students to construct and make personal their knowledge.  New information makes sense when it is understood in relation to an individual’s existing knowledge, and this existing knowledge is different for every person. Medina (2008) described this process as one of building roads. Neuroscientists understand very generally which processes occur in which parts of the brain; these are the brain highways or interstates. Medina contended that the highways are generally the same for all people; however, each person’s neural city and country roads are vastly different. On one person’s map a piece of new information might move-in to an urban area of Chicago, or someplace where there is a lot of existing knowledge and schemas. That same piece of information might situate itself in the rural Wyoming of my brain, or a place where I have no prior knowledge to shape and make sense of this new information. Bain (2004) asserted that because the best teachers “believe that students must use their existing mental models to interpret what they encounter, they think about what they do as stimulating construction, not transmitting knowledge” (p. 27). In action, this means asking students to spend time determining how new information does or does not fit with what they think they know already.
Furthermore, this concept calls for teacher to deliberately endeavor to make information relevant to student’s lives. McKeachie explained, “To link what is in your head with what is in the students’ heads, you need to use examples that relate the students’ experience and knowledge” (p. 62). Not only does this influence one’s ability to store and recall the information, but it also has a substantial impact on motivation (Mendler, 2000, Medina, 2008).  According to Frank Smith (1990), students “cannot think critically about trivial or purposeless matters” (p. 127).

I expect that teaching will always be a part of my professional practice. But this knowledge about the way that students learn and make sense of new information is relevant in many places outside of the classroom. I anticipate using it to shape residence hall programming efforts, academic success solutions, and professional development and training opportunities for staff. I am thrilled when I find a new resource that helps me to think differently about teaching, learning, and the brain. And, the more I know, the more I realize I do not know. If I ever decide to pursue a doctorate, I suspect that it will be in the area of educational neuroscience or include an educational neuroscience cognate.



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