How do you know if you are doing the right thing in the classroom? Are your students really learning language at a deep level? Or are they just mimicking and retaining bits and pieces that won’t last past the test? Study with us and be sure you are doing the right thing.
“Language” and “learning” - two functions of the brain at the core of our profession. For centuries all we knew about how the brain does either was based on speculation. But not anymore. Now we can look inside a brain and actually see how it operates. What we are finding can reshape the way we think about language learning: the brain does sensory simulations to make meaning from language; it is a prediction machine and has developed grammar as a tool for facilitating predictions about language and to reduce cognitive load; it is designed to work best in concert with other brains; and it operates in such a way that it is physiologically impossible to learn something that has no emotional valence. Some of these discoveries are surprising and new, some just reinforce our intuitions, but all have the potential to make you a better teacher. Join us in our easy-to-understand, engaging course and find out how understanding the brain can improve your teaching.
This is a hybrid course. You will watch recorded course content and discuss what you learn with your instructors and fellow participants in a private forum. You won't have to worry about time zones because you can work at a time that is convenient for you.
You will also have four live online sessions with your instructors to answer questions and follow up with additional discussion.
Content for the course will be available starting on September 1st. Four live will be held in the iTDi virtual classroom on September 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th. Live sessions will happen at times that will allow participants in different time zones to participate. (Specific times will depend on who is in the course.)
Don't worry if the time doesn't work out for you to join the live sessions. They are not required, and we will send all registered participants a recording after the session ends.
The first week of content is available starting September 1st.
Live session dates: September 8, 15, 22, 29.
Time: TBD
Dr. Curtis Kelly (EdD.) founder of the JALT Mind, Brain, and Education SIG, and producer of the MindBrainEd Think Tanks, has written over 30 books and given over 500 presentations. He was also a Teaching Fellow in Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa’s (Harvard) Neuroscience of Learning Course. His life mission is “to relieve the suffering of the classroom.”
Stephen M. Ryan is busy learning about his students so he can teach them better, at Sanyo Gakuen University. He has worked on the Mind, Brain, and Education Think Tank team for the last six years and is eager to make use of what he has learnt when working with his students; and to spread the word through his writing and presentations.
