flynn078

The importance of playing in the classroom The reason why incorporating games in our daily lessons is so important is because during games the control of learning is transfered from the teacher to the students. The protagonist is the student as his or her unique way of learning is the one that is developed. Another reason is that playing and exploration trigger the secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a substance that is essential for the growth of cells. What's more, imagination and social play support the development of attention, self control and cooperative learning skills. In a previous post I mention some of the games I use in my classroom.  Today, I'd like to share with you more games that can be beneficial to your students' learning and at the same time you can have a lot of fun!  1. Line up according to... . The game involves groups of students lining up in order, depending on the criteria you choose, whether it's their birthday, height or any number...

Why is repetition so important in the classroom? Just because by repeating information we are strengthening neuron connections. If this new information is not used for a certian period of time this connection deteriorates with time. Most memories disappear within minutes but those that survive this short period strengthen with time and form part of the long term memory. Long term memories take place between the hypocampus and the cortex until the hypocampus breaks the connection and the memory is fixed in the cortex. Our brains give us only an approximate view of reality because they mix knowledge with past memories and store them together as one. The way to make long term memory more reliable is to incorporate it gradually and repeat it in timed intervals. Include variety; When repeating, it is important to change the pitch of your voice, speed, the use of gestures, etc so as to avoid being monotonous. Repetition is a must when it comes to learning and it is essential for teachers to ...

http://vimeo.com/16335377

Recalling information is an essential aspect of the learning process. For teachers, it is a real challenge to help students remember information. Luckily, there have been a lot of discoveries about the brain that put some light on how to boost memory. Human beings are very good at these types of memories: Location: we remember where to find essential things. Proceedures: we remember how to do things. Emotional experiences: we remember these events that caused an emotional impact on us. Conditioned responses: we respond to a certain pattern of behaviour in response to a specific stimuli. Unfortunately, we are not good at recalling facts, figures, words and equations. This type of memory is called Semantic Memory and it is the one we most use to recall information taught at school. The question is...why is it so difficult to recall this type of memory? The answer is just because our survival does not depend on remebering this type of information.  Semantic memory has also limitations...

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-dyslexia-kelli-sandman-hurley

The use of games is not merely a way of passing the time. Gaming in the classroom can be really useful if we know how to use it and when to use it. As an EFL teacher I consider playing an essential part of my class. I generally use games in the beginning as a warm up or revision of previous lessons and at the end so as to round up what we worked that day in class. Why games can be so beneficial?  Motivation:   learners love playing games, and that is because  they resonate with them on an emotional level . When students are playing they link that feeling of excitment and joy to the piece of language they are learning or revising. As a result, they remember content more easily and quickly. As gaming is an activity that ususally involves interacting with others  we can also say that playing can enhance team bonding and connecting with peers. Games provide one way of helping the learners to experience language rather than studying it.They have to make use of the ...