I just received the most recent issue of "The Massage Educator", ABMP's newsletter for massage schools. In this issue there is an interesting article on mirror neurons and their role in learning.
Mirror Neurons
Mirror neurons are a relatively new discovery - only found and researched since 1996. They are specialized neurons and connections in your brain that are associated with learning by observation. The key to this is that when you watch somebody do something, it activates the same parts of your brain as if you were the one doing it. In essence, observing someone perform a task is akin to practicing it yourself (If only I could watch Santana and play the guitar so well).
These connections also help us to associate the observed behavior with existing concepts, which increases retention and understanding of the subject.
Familiarity of the Teacher
What's more is that the effect is increased through familiarity with the demonstrator. So a child would learn better through observing his parent than a total stranger. Perhaps this is because we already have stronger associations with that teacher and are less focused on learning their mannerisms.
So What Does This Mean?
First off, it validates the old screenwriting adage "Show it, don't tell it". Standing in front of a class lecturing is a poor way to deliver information. In fact studies show that people only retain about 5% of the information they hear that way. It means that it is important to bring demonstration and experiential learning to your classroom in as many different ways as possible. Don't just limit it to showing the bodywork - demonstrate the subject.
Be the part. When teaching a subject like say professionalism, it is vital that you demonstrate it to your students. With clients, it is important that you demonstrate the qualities that you are trying to promote to them.
Effectiveness of Learning from DVDs and Books
This goes to show that learning from a DVD can be an effective method, particularly with a clear and concise framework for the demonstrated techniques and with a respect to prior knowledge of the observer. The demonstrator on video must be sure to relate the new material back to knowledge the observer already possesses to reinforce the learning.
In my opinion, books can be a highly effective method for delivery a ton of material, but can also be quite weak at providing a learning experience for practical technique. Books excel at delivering lots of information, but really need to have some additional support to provide for the understanding necessary for the learner to truly own the knowledge. This is why I think the most effective books have DVDs or video to accompany them, or are used in the classroom in tandem with live demonstration.
The challenge is to strike the proper balance. I have found that as an instructor I am often faced with the difficult task of having too little time to pack in too much information. It is a choice many times between the increased amount of content covered or increased student understanding. There is a certain level of knowledge that must be achieved, but there appears to be increasing pressure to pack more into the same program time-frame.
Personally, I am never satisfied with what I'm already doing and constantly search for better methods for better student outcomes. Mirror neurons are another piece. Happy teaching!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment