Module 4: A Positive Learning Environment
Take a moment to reflect on yourself as a test taker. How do you feel when you are faced with an approaching exam? Are you usually confident and ready for the challenge, or do you tend to get nervous and experience feelings of angst? Now think about your students. Have you observed students that are affected before or during an exam? Finally, try to put yourself in the shoes of a child that has not yet mastered the language that he or she is going to be tested in. With the level of importance associated with testing and the stakes getting higher and higher, many students are reporting increasing levels of anxiety related to assessments. It is important that we know what happens physiologically to many students at the onset of a test.
Research shows that when the brain perceives threat or distress, its neural capacity to reason rationally is minimized. The brain is, as researcher and cognitive psychologist Dr. Daniel Goleman describes, “emotionally hijacked” (Goleman, p. 28) and operates at a survival level. “The availability of neural connections and activity actually decreases or becomes minimized in this situation, and the brain cannot access Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)” (DePorter et. al. pg. 22). The region of the brain known as the limbic system is responsible for emotion. The amygdala, which is located in the limbic system registers and generates fear. When a person experiences anxiety (often referred to as fight or flight), the amygdala secretes various toxins through the synapses that impede synaptic firing (neural connections) or learning. Therefore, creating positive learning environments in the classroom, particularly during an assessment, is not merely a nicety. It is a cognitive necessity. When teachers engage students’ limbic systems during learning in a manner that is positive, retention and recall of learning is more likely. “Increasingly, brain research shows connections between emotional engagement, long-term memory, and learning” (DePorter et. al., p. 22). Furthermore, encouraging students to perform in a state of FLOW or eustress, described by rigor and challenge that is positive and supportive, is ideal for engagement and retention. “With positive stress, or supportive pressure, known as ‘eustress,’ the brain can emotionally engage, and allow for the maximizing of neural activity.” (DePorter et. al., p.23).
One way to assess what students know, maintain a state of FLOW, and engage the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning channels simultaneously is through a technique called Teach-Okay that was developed by college professor, Chris Biffle. Click on the projector to learn more about this strategy.
Short demonstrations of the Teach-Okay strategy can be viewed at the Whole Brain Teaching (formerly known as Power Teaching) web site. Access the site to find out more about this and other great strategies that engage the whole child.
Another way to assess students, maintain a state of FLOW, and engage the visual and kinesthetic learning channel, is through the use of electronic voting devices that allow teachers to assess students in a way that decreases the level of anxiety. With these devices, teachers are able to receive immediate feedback and re-teach on the spot when necessary. These interactive digital devices are becoming more available within our schools, but please note that there are ways to assess students in a similar fashion (including interactive response cards and anonymous voting) when this technology is not available to you. Click on the projector to view an assessment incorporating electronic voting devices.
By creating opportunities for students to learn and demonstrate what they know through their individual learning styles, we set them up for success during class activities and on tests. These successes, we find, transfer to their lives outside of school as well.
When we think about our instruction, one way to ensure that we are considering the VAK styles of our students and providing the contextual support that our ELLS need to access the information is by asking ourselves, “How am I making the learning come to life?” There are many simple ways to incorporate VAK strategies into learning and assessment. When we do, we find our students are better able to access the content of our lesson and more likely to transfer new information to other academic areas and real life situations.
