Caffeinated Learning
  • Home
  • Anne Beninghof
  • Consulting
  • Tips Blog
  • The Books
    • Sample Chapter
  • Contact

5 Surprising Fidgets that Lead to Learning

6/15/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
 Do you tap your pencil? Click your pen? Bounce your feet? All of these fidgety behaviors can be construed as annoying to a presenter. However, neuroscientists and attention experts tell us that these behaviors are unconscious attempts to keep the brain from going into a rest state. So when you see participants fidgeting, take it as a sign that they need movement or some active form of engagement now! 

One way to proactively address the need of some adults to fiddle in order to pay attention is to place small, unobtrusive fidget items on the tables. The key word here is unobtrusive. My husband recently attended a session that had metal slinkies on every table. A few of the participants took full advantage of the slinkies, distracting everyone around them! It is essential that the fidget items are unobtrusive. 

My favorite fidget items are Wikki Stix. Wikki Stix are pieces of string that are covered in colored wax. They are similar to pipe cleaners, but without the metal wire down the center. They are bendable and shapeable, but do not make any noise at all. Learners can fidget with one or two, receiving fairly intensive tactile input, without distracting colleagues

I also try to build tactile interaction into the learning in more purposeful ways. For example, I often ask learners to use Wikki Stix to show their understanding of a concept by building a symbolic representation. Here are 5 items that I like to have on tables for on-the-spot tactile engagement.
  1. Wikki Stix - Build symbolic representations of key concepts..
  2. Colored Sticky Dots - Ask participants place them in handout materials next to an important item.
  3. Colored Sticky Notes - Ask participants to build a bar graph on the wall showing their opinion about an issue in your content.
  4. Poker Chips - Use chips for voting on issues or for taking a turn talking in the small group.
  5. KleenSlates - The best individual whiteboards on the market! Great for drawing responses and holding up for all to see. 

0 Comments

Can Puzzle Obsession Increase Your Learning?

6/3/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​I have just finished playing another hand of Solitaire, my fifth in a row. Before that it was several games of Red Herring and Cut the Rope. While I enjoy the win, it is more about the process for me - the puzzling, persevering, trying to figure it out. So, rather than quitting while I'm ahead, I continue on for another round.
 
Neuroscientists (Panksepp, et. al)  explain this experience as the SEEKING System. As our brains engage in productive struggle, dopamine is released. Dopamine is one of the neurotransmitters that make us feel pleasure and a desire to persevere. Scientists used to believe that the largest release of dopamine occurred upon successful task completion. They now know that opioids are released upon completion instead. Opioids differ from dopamine in that they result in a boost, or high, that drops off quickly. Dopamine, a more long-lasting high, is released during the SEEKING, or puzzling, process. 
 
How can we enhance this process during professional learning classes?  How can we engage participants in puzzling? Of course, well designed problem solving activities will be highly effective at this, as long as the outcome feels achievable. But puzzling can be introduced throughout instruction in simple, quick ways, too. I have tried three different ways to add some puzzling to the learning process. Each of these ideas could be developed for any content or audience, with very little prep. Each time, participants were attentive and highly motivated  to complete the puzzles. 
 
1. Crossword Puzzles – I used  a free online puzzle maker to create a simple crossword puzzle with the key vocabulary words.

2. Fill in the Blank – I turned the learning target into a fill in the blank puzzle.
​

3. Wheel of Fortune – A variation on the t.v. show Wheel of Fortune -  I provided some of the letters and then had teams compete to fill in the rest.

Picture
Answer: Novelty causes increased alertness.
0 Comments
    For even more ideas...

    Subscribe to our mailing list

    * indicates required

    Author

    Anne Beninghof is passionate about teaching and learning.

    Archives

    February 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

    RSS Feed

    var switchTo5x=true; >
Privacy Policy, 2018
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Anne Beninghof
  • Consulting
  • Tips Blog
  • The Books
    • Sample Chapter
  • Contact