Principle 11
Brain Plasticity
Brain plasticity allows all to learn new concepts, building paths through proper practice and requires repeated practice to secure learning and make connections to prior learning.
Principle
Use the 'cornfield' analogy to help teachers and pupils understand the concept of making paths in a meaningful way.
Key language and behaviours
- Pupils understanding the basic biology of the brain realise why it's important to build from existing knowledge.
- Making new connections can be hard.
- Connections are made secure through effort.
Questions
- What tasks generate learning / are critical to making secure pathways?
- How is deliberate, purposeful practice used to revisit and hardwire pathways?
- How are pupils encouraged to connect the network of pathways, e.g. new learning to previous learning?
Embedding the Principles
- Use the 'cornfield' analogy to help teachers and pupils understand the concept of making paths.
- Use deliberate, purposeful practice to revisit and hardwire pathways.
Prompts
- Make the Path.
- Cornfield analogy.
- Secure pathways.
Beliefs, values and behaviours
- One walk through may be hard and will flatten some growth, but it will quickly disappear if effort is not put into revisiting the path.
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