Using unanswered questions to teach - John Gensic | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Teaching students about the brain and its ability to grow can lead to greater success and resilience in learning.

Key Insights

• 🧠 Teaching students about the brain's growth potential can enhance their academic performance and resilience.
• 🤔 Unanswered questions and problem-solving tasks promote critical thinking and deeper understanding.
• 👻 Allowing time for brainstorming and struggle helps students process information and make connections.
• 🤔 Mass text messaging can be an effective tool to re-engage students with the content and encourage further thinking and connections.
• 💁 Students should generate their own understanding and stories of the content, rather than just memorizing information.
• 🥺 Encouraging students to stay with problems longer can lead to greater success and learning.
• 💁 Teachers should foster an environment where students are encouraged and facilitated to wrestle with information and develop deeper understanding.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: What was the difference in performance between the group that took the mini-neuroscience class and the group that learned conventional study skills?

The group that took the mini-neuroscience class performed much better in their math grades compared to the group that learned conventional study skills. This may be because they were able to picture the formations and connections in their brains while learning.

Q: How does the teacher encourage students to struggle with information and come to deeper understanding?

The teacher uses unanswered questions, where students have to think and explain their answers, fostering critical thinking and analysis. The use of group work and anonymous sharing of ideas prevents reliance on other students' answers.

Q: What strategies does the teacher use to promote problem-solving and project work?

The teacher gives students time to brainstorm and struggle with the information overnight, allowing their brains to process and make connections. Projects are designed to encourage students to actively seek understanding rather than memorizing answers.

Q: How does the teacher ensure that students continue to engage with the content outside of the classroom?

The teacher uses mass text messaging to remind students of the questions or topics covered in class. This re-engages students and prompts them to think about the content even when they are not in school.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Research showed that students who took a mini-neuroscience class performed better in math than those who learned conventional study skills.

• Using unanswered questions and problem-solving tasks encourages students to wrestle with information and develop a deeper understanding.

• Mass text messaging helps students re-engage with the content and encourages further thinking and connections.