🗑 10 brain-based teaching tips for class tomorrow

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💻 TECH TIP 💻

💡 How AI can help you get creative teaching ideas

I’ve shared lots of creative teaching ideas over the years in this newsletter, on my blog, and in my presentations.

Many times, teachers will have a confused look on their faces and say …

“Yeah, but … how could you do that with a [insert what I teach] class?”

And many times, I’ll brainstorm with them. Sometimes it works (and sometimes it doesn’t!).

Now, we have AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Anthropic Claude. (And lots of teacher AI tools, too.)

You can take some creative teaching ideas — like my 8 YouTube-inspired classroom video ideas.

Then, you can ask AI for ideas to make it work. In fact, with the post above, just copy/paste the following prompt into an AI assistant like ChatGPT:

For more ways to use AI to customize to what you teach, check out our recent post below …

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

🧠 10 brain-based teaching tips for class tomorrow

At one point, cognitive science could be tough for teachers to incorporate into their classrooms.

They had to sift through academic journals. Try to make sense of academic jargon.

And in the end, it was up to them to figure out how it fit in their classroom.

Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way anymore.

Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D., is one of many scientists who translate cognitive science findings into understandable, actionable practices for teachers.

And in the new book, Smart Teaching Stronger Learning (of which she’s the editor), you can give your instruction a cognitive science makeover 10 pages at a time.

10 chapters. 10 pages at a time. Very doable — even on a busy teaching schedule.

Today, Pooja has made it even more doable! She summarized each chapter to a simple, practical tip — and shared all 10 for free with us here.

Check them out, and then check out Smart Teaching Stronger Learning!

1. Retrieval Practice: Smart Teaching Strategies for Stronger Learning by Dr. Janell R. Blunt

TIP: Make retrieval practice flexible with white boards with markers. Have students do a brain dump or create examples of a concept they’re learning using words, drawings, tables, etc. They can share their examples at their desks, hold up drawings for the class to see, or swap white boards with peers.

2. Early Childhood Education: Retrieval-Based Learning for Children by Dr. Lisa K. Fazio

TIP: Use cognitive processing language to support young children’s thinking about their own thinking. For example, “How did you figure out which pieces you needed to build a sturdy structure?” (metacognition) or “If you’re having trouble thinking of a connection, you can look at the picture” (a strategy suggestion).

3. Spaced Practice: Optimize Class Time to Boost Learning by Dr. Shana K. Carpenter

TIP: Space out student learning and break up long lessons into smaller sessions over multiple days. There is no optimal amount of spacing, and research shows that any amount of spacing is better than none, so provide spaced opportunities for learning on a schedule that works best for you.

4. Interleaving: Mix Things Up to Support Long-Term Learning by Dr. Veronica X. Yan

TIP: Shuffle up previous and current homework problems together, not just what students are learning right now. Ask students to compare and contrast, draw connections between related concepts, and practice applying different roles or sides of a debate in a mixed up order.

5. Metacognition: Monitoring, Control, and Trusting in the Self by Dr. Lisa K. Son

TIP: Give students opportunities to self-reflect on learning during the learning process, not just at the end. For example, rather than asking students, “Do you understand?,” ask them, “You might understand this now, but when might you forget it?” This encourages students to think about how learning is difficult and knowledge can decay.

6. Concept Mapping: Strengthen Learning with Linking Words by Dr. Kripa Sundar

TIP: When students are creating concept maps, be mindful of the link words they use, not just the overall structure of big ideas. Linking words between concepts (like “leads to,” “reduces,” etc.) make individual learning visible because connections are learned in different ways for different people.

7. The Effective Teaching Cycle: Motivation, Scaffolding, and Reinforcement by Dr. Cynthia L. Nebel

TIP: Motivation leads to learning, but keep in mind that learning leads to motivation, too. Increase motivation by sharing everyday examples that students can relate to and reminding them of their previous learning success.

8. Transfer of Learning: Foster Students’ Application of Knowledge by Dr. Steven C. Pan

TIP: Transferring knowledge to new situations is tough for everyone. Improve transfer by mixing question complexity (fact, concept, and application questions), giving students time to process feedback, and providing hints about how previous knowledge connects to new knowledge.

9. Bringing It Together: Bite-Sized Adjustments for Powerful Engagement by Dr. Michelle L. Rivers

TIP: Have students answer “questions du jour” before a lesson. Instead of giving them learning objectives, present learning objectives as questions to encourage retrieval practice and activate prior knowledge.

10. Neuromyths Debunked: Why They Persist and How to Think Smarter by Dr. Roberta Ekuni

TIP: Myths about how the brain works are everywhere, especially in education. Pay attention to claims that include the words “neuro” or “brain,” which take advantage of our hunger for brain-related information. If someone is trying to sell a product, lesson, or book about the brain, request more details about the science behind it before investing your classroom time or money.

👋 How we can help

There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:

1. Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.

2. Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.

3. Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!