Our Brains and Podcasts

Each week, I enjoy listening to a podcast from the Freakonomics.com website.  Freakonomics had a podcast from October about the neuroscience behind your brain when you listen to podcasts.  I went back and re-listened to this podcast for the November/December challenge our tech team at school is doing.

I'll throw out the gist of the podcast, we should be listening to more podcasts!  This is also an area of improvement that I would like to focus on this year, find more educational podcasts to listen to on a weekly basis to expand my knowledge as an educator and continue my own education.  Podcasts are a great way to get a lot of information in a relatively short period of time, and do it in a way in which our brains think we are listening to a story being told. Now, the story teller (podcaster) needs to be good at what they do, a monotone, uninspired podcaster will not do much to stimulate my senses, while a charismatic, interesting and involved podcaster will get me to buy into the story, both emotionally and mentally.

Our brains enjoy stories!  Imagine that, we like listening to stories, and podcasts put information into a very narrative form and thus, makes the information enjoyable to listen to and stimulates our brains. Neuroscientists are always studying what is going on in the brain, and new fMRI technology gives us a small insight into what is going on when we are responding to stimuli.  Our brain is both fixed, and yet impressively flexible system, that is always making new neuroconnections. 

After listening to this podcast (story) about why we should be listening to more podcasts, it made me want to listen to more podcasts, lol!  Podcasts make our brain hum mysterious and delightful, so let's start humming!

Reflections on Reaching All Students

As my students work on their projects, I have the good fortune of being able to reflect a little bit on where they started and where they are now.  I am constantly amazed at how creative, insightful, and hard working my students are, and this comes through in how far they have come with their projects this semester. 

We have all heard about the student or two in each class who are the 'hard to reach' students. Whether it is math, science, or English, sometimes these core classes are not where every student shines, even though they are smart! As teachers we struggle to reach those students who we know have greatness in them, but it has not yet manifested itself in their grades. How do we reach these students? How do we give them opportunities to excel in the classroom?

It may be that the Makerspace or Maker class is where these students can shine brighter than you ever thought. As I see my students working on their projects, I see the intensity, the dedication, the ingenuity, and the intelligence that they may not be able to demonstrate in the typical classroom, but in my classroom, the Makerspace, they excel!  I am very humbled that I have been able to reach theses students, to see them use math, science, and other core subjects in making their projects.  Is it traditional pen on paper writing of algebra or geometry problems? No, it is not. It is making. It is doing. It is hands on using geometry to figure what angles their materials need to be cut at. It is using algebra and calculus to figure out dimensions and angular rotations of pieces they need to assemble. It is using design thinking to determine whether or not their prototype is what they intended it to be, testing it, and then making a new iteration better than the last.

I humbly take some pride in knowing that I have reached some of the students who may otherwise not 'shine' in the typical classroom, are excelling in mine. It is a great feeling!