The Brain Research Behind
the Importance of Teaching with Interactive Multimedia

an article by Neil MacQueen, Sunday Software
based on the book "Brain Rules" ...summary of the latest brain research
by Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist

It's more than "just hype."
There is now an extensive body of peer-reviewed brain science supporting the reasons why interactive multimedia should be part of our teaching and learning. Interactive computer software attracts the learner's attention and promotes better retention of content because it delivers content the way the brain is WIRED to learn and love it. And as new research continues to unlock the secrets of how the brain learns and remembers, the case for multimedia-based learning only gets stronger. Thus for teachers, the only question is this: how can we take advantage of this tremendous opportunity?  This is the question I encountered when I first began teaching with software in 1990. I could see that the kids (and adults) were fascinated. In each version of my book, Teaching with Computers in Christian Education and numerous articles and teaching guides at this website -I have continued to refine my insights based on classroom experience and the research. This article is about some of the latest research.

Some of the latest Brain research is summarized in an easy-to-read entertaining book by Dr. John Medina titled:

"Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School."

It could have been titled "12 things you need to know about how the Brain really works."

Dr. Medina, is a developmental molecular biologist, University of Washington professor, and award winning brain researcher, with a special interest in explaining and applying the brain research to benefit teachers, students, and parents. His website, www.brainrules.net, is also very informative.

Outline of this Article

1. First, I want to tell a little bit about how, as a minister, I got interested in Brain research, and how it has affected my ministry.

2. Second, I will summarize what the research says, and offer some of my comments.

1.  How a minister got interested in Brain Research

I first got interested in how brain science informs and enhances our teaching and preaching while serving as a pastor for Christian education at a Chicago area church in the early 90's. The Chicago Tribune ran a series of articles on the early brain research coming out of the the University of Chicago, ...much of it being funded by Alzheimer's research. Like many teachers, I intuitively knew that creative teaching wasn't just "entertainment," it was essential, and the research was beginning to put good science behind it. I was particularly interested in how our memories work --mostly because I was tired of my students forgetting half of what I taught them!  But also because I was interested in how we remember things like sermons and Bible passages.

While at that Chicago church, I designed a new model for Sunday School called The Workshop Rotation Model.  The Rotation Model is a multimedia informed re-design of the traditional program, which also addresses how teachers can get better at their teaching. At about the same time I read about Harvard University professor Howard Gardner's groundbreaking work in the theory of "multiple intelligences."  Gardner's insights and research into how we learn provided the scientific basis for our leap into the Rotation Model. In that model, one story is taught through a series of different media over several lessons in several different rooms with several different teachers. The Model has now spread to thousands of churches. (to learn more go to www.sundaysoftware.com/rotation.htm or www.rotation.org)

Then in 1996 I started a company to help churches learn how to teach with computers and software. Some churches DIDN'T CARE "why" or "how" --they just wanted to see the kids "happy." But "happy" wasn't good enough for me. I wanted to know "why" they couldn't leave the computer alone, and how we could better harness the computer's attention grabbing power to improve our  teaching. So I continued to read the research, and I began to examine more closely my own software teaching experiences. 

In 2000, I began designing our on a whole new kind of Christian education software --applying what I knew through experience and from the research.

2.  So what DOES the research say?

Brain Rules summarizes what research is telling us about how the brain learns. Much of the research is very recent due to the advent of new scanning techniques and funding sources. But there is a lot of it. Brain Rules are not the conclusions of one study, but of many. Some of the conclusions are surprising, but others only confirm what creative teachers have known for years!  But rather than say "duh" ...I think it's important to inform our creativity with the research, and use that research to address those who think criticize such creative methods as mere  "entertainment." 

Here is a short summary of the 12 "Brain Rules". You can see them creatively presented at www.brainrules.net. The following are excerpts, and I have modified some of the wording in order to condense them here. My own comments are in RED.

The 12 "Brain Rules"  ...what the body of research says -so far...

Brain Rule #1:  To improve your thinking you must move. Our brain organ evolved for a walking animal not a sedentary one. Exercise is required to bring your brain the large amounts of glucose it needs, and the oxygen it requires to soak up toxic electrons. Exercise also stimulates the proteins that keep neurons connecting to one another. Aerobic exercise twice a week cuts the risk of Alzheimers by 60 percent.  Getting the kids moving in the morning is a good thing. The case for active learning and for recreational breaks continues to grow.

Brain Rule #2:   We have three brains in our head, not one, and each has a distinct structure, with rather distinct functions. And each competes to a certain extent with the other. The "lizard brain" handles automatic functions, such as breathing. The "mammalian brain" handles the four  "human needs" ::: feeding, fighting, fleeing, and reproduction. This second brain includes the amygdala and hippocampus which are critical processing centers, especially for memories and emotions. The Cortex is the third brain --where logical, creative and symbolic thinking happens. All three parts of the brain have evolved to help us survive in a complex world.

Smart teaching recognizes the total needs of the student. When we lead a class, each student is processing the experience at many different levels, -with different parts of their brain. Traditional approaches have over-emphasized cognitive-cortex learning, and underestimated the degree to which other parts of our students' brains were ALSO forming opinions. As a child, my mammalian brain wanted to flee Sunday School. As a youth minister, I saw the tug-o-war between between my students' brains cortex and their reproductive hormones. It made me a much more sympathetic teacher.

Brain Rule #3:   Every brain is wired differently. Even twin's brains. What we do and experience and learn constantly changes how are brains are wired. The various regions within the brain develop at different rates in different people. No two people's brains store the same information in the same way or in the same place in the brain. We have a great number of ways of being intelligent (more than even Gardner's 7 intelligences), many of which don't show up on IQ tests.

The current system is founded on a series of expectations that certain learning goals should be achieved by a certain age. Yet there is no reason to suspect that the brain pays attention to those expectations. Students of the same age show a great deal of intellectual variability. pg 67

These 'variations' are why I'm a proponent of the Rotation Model...where we teach the same story several weeks in a row but through different media each week, and with a different teacher. This provides our students with multiple ways to connect over an extended period of time, rather than shoving one lesson into one time period with one teacher with a limited number of activities.

It's also why I like smaller class sizes, and as many teachers and helpers as we can put in a computer lab --to work with "individuals" and not just groups. 

Brain Rule #4:  We don't pay attention to boring things. Emotional arousal helps the brain learn. Audiences check-out after about 10 minutes, and you must grab them back by telling stories and creating events rich in emotion. Emotional content gets our attention very quickly. The brain is better at seeing patterns, changes, and abstracting the meaning of an event -than it is at recording details. The  brain is built to grasp the meaning of story more quickly and memorably than the details of the story. And with regard to multi-tasking and distractions... the brain can only pay attention to one thing at a time. Studies continue to show that the brain cannot multi-task and is easily distracted from content -if the content isn't engrossing.

What we pay attention to is profoundly influenced by memory. We use previous experience to predict where we should pay attention. Different environments create different expectations. pg 75

A person who is interrupted takes 50% longer to accomplish a task. pg 87

The brain needs a break. (We have a) need for timed interruptions. pg. 88

It's key that the instructor explains the lecture plan at the beginning of the class, with liberal repetitions of "where we are" sprinkled throughout the hour. pg 90

Every ten minutes in my lecture I give my audience breaks from the firehose of information and sent them a "hook" (a story or joke)  pg 91

Software is certainly "fun" ...but it's more than just that. Sometimes people ask us why we make some of our software using 3D game engines, or drop mini-games into the middle of content (like Bongo slinging bananas at "surf mummies" in Bongo Loves the Bible, or Super Kenz flinging donuts in Attack of the Sunday School Zombies). These playful game elements break up content and give the brain a mini-break, -which rather than interrupting learning, refreshes the mind.

You'll notice that most of our software programs are broken into smaller lesson pieces, rather than one long presentation. And the pieces are varied in terms of how they look and how the students interact with them,  After seeing a story presentation, they may find a quiz or a set of pop-up study questions, or a game about content.

Brain Rule #5:  Short-term Memory: Repeat to Remember Our brain has many types of memory systems. Your ability to remember something grows the more often you retrieve the memory. A memory is stronger if the event was meaningful, elaborate (rich in detail) and the context of learning was rich. Memories are more easily retrieved if the context of the original memory is recreated.

The majority of forgetting happens within the first few hours after class. pg 100

The more elaborate we encode information at the moment of learning, the stronger the memory. ...especially if we personalize it. pg 110

Making something more elaborate or complicated should be more taxing to the memory system, ...but in fact, complexity means greater learning." pg 111

Recreating original context is helpful. Learn something when you are sad, and you will better be able to remember it at retrieval if you are sad.   pg 113

Information is best remembered when it is elaborate, meaningful, and contextual (learned in a rich environment). pg 114

The more a learner focuses on the meaning of the presented information, the more elaborately the encoding (into memory) is processed. pg 114

Introductions are everything. pg 116

Yes, we're trying to grab their attention...because that's what the brain needs. Many of our programs have eye-catching introductions, elaborate openings, music, key animations at the beginning. You'll also see us "salting in" extra content at key points in a story. The pop-up study notes in Jonah or in the Creation Story (Awesome Bible Stories CD) ADD/elaborate on content.

The complexity of some of the software environments...the navigation and hunting for things on the screen... these help create that emotional connection (I wanna do this, I wanna win this!)

Brain Rule #6:  Remember to Repeat:   Most memories disappear within minutes unless they are complex or have emotional content. Memories which survive this fragile early period of time strengthen over time if they are recalled. Long term memories are formed by the conversation between the hippocampus and cortex as the memories are periodically recalled, and can take years to become "fixed." This periodic recollection at regular intervals is essential to long term memory development. Memory is dynamic: our brains reinvent/rewire past memories each time they are recalled or mixed with new knowledge. Memorization for the long-term requires recall  spaced at periodic intervals, rather than 'studied' in one short period. 

A great deal of research shows that thinking or talking about an event immediately after it has occurred enhances memory for that event.  pg 131

The probability of confusion is increased when content is delivered in unstoppable waves poured into students as if they were wooden forms. pg 132

You must deliberately expose yourself to the information (again) in fixed, spaced intervals, if you want to retrieve it later. pg 133

Now you know why many of our programs have quizzes, and why we often recommend "going back" to your previously taught-with software... because the kids will gladly "do it again" on the computer, and it's VERY important to their long-term memories. If you're only teaching things ONCE, then it's not important enough to teach at all because the odds a very much against your students remembering such.

When I first started teaching with computers, we did a lot of quizzing, and I still promote the use of quiz programs to reinforce previously taught content. Computer labs are great at getting that accomplished!

Brain Rule #7:  Sleep well, think well.  Numerous and extensive sleep studies show that sleep loss negatively affects: attention, executive functions, working memory, moods, quantitative skills, logical reasoning, and motor dexterity. Sleep appears to be the brain clearing and organizing itself. People vary in how much sleep they need, but there is a universal biological drive for taking an afternoon nap. 20 to 30 minute naps (and no more) significantly improve post-nap higher brain functions. It's not just a matter of "getting rest" ...it's about giving your brain a chance to rest and clear itself. This process does not happen if you are awake and just resting.

Brain Rule #8:  Stressed brains don't learn the same way as non-stressed brains. Chronic stress, such as hostility at home, deregulates the brain's system which has evolved only to deal with short-term stress through the release of adrenaline and cortisol.  Chronic stress scars blood vessels which can lead to plaque build-up. The regular release of cortisol (a stress chemical) damages cells in the hippocampus which can cripple learning and memory. This is why the testimony of witnesses to a stressful event is often considered unreliable. This is why children having trouble at home most often have trouble in school.

A student coming into your classroom who is under pressure, unhappy, experiencing (or expecting) peer problems, has separation anxiety, and other such stressful problems, will not be able to participate, learn and remember lessons nearly as well as those who are happy to be there.

These are some of the reasons why computers are such great teaching tools:
The kids want to be there and use them. The computer gets them looking at a screen, rather than feeling like others are looking at them. The intense focus on the computer helps them to forget some of their problems for a while. i.e. it removes distractions.

Brain Rule #9:  Stimulate more of the senses. Our senses are not separate, but rather, they have evolved to work together. Vision for example is influenced by hearing. Smells have an unusual power to bring back memories because they bypass the thalmus and tie into the supervisor of emotions called the amygdala. Past experiences affect how we perceive current sensory information so that two people can perceive the same event quite differently.

Groups in multisensory environments always do better than groups in a unisensory environments. pg 208.

When touch is combined with visual information, recognition learning leaps forward by almost 30 percent. Simply put, multisensory presentations are the way to go. pg 208

Cognitive psychologist Richard Mayer's rules for multimedia presentations: pg. 210

1. Students learn better when words and pictures are combined, rather than just words alone.

2. Students learn better when words and pictures are presented at the same time (like a movie with subtitles), rather than successively (like in an old silent movie).

3. Students learn better when words and pictures are presented near to each other rather than apart from each other on the page or screen.

4. Students learn better when extraneous/unnecessary visual and auditory material is excluded rather than included.

5. Students learn better from animation and narration, rather than just animation with text.

The brain connects associates smell with emotional memories. This is known as the Proust Effect. pg 211

Brain Rule #9  is a commercial for why interactive multimedia software WORKS better than sitting around a table listening to the teacher talk. It also stresses the important of the learning environment. How well do we learn in a MUSTY BEIGE Sunday School room?

Brain Rule #10:  Vision trumps all other senses.  Vision takes up over half the brain's resources. Study after study shows that we learn and remember best through pictures and not written or spoken words.

If information is presented orally, people remember about 10 percent when tested 72 hours after exposure. That figure goes up to 65 percent if you add a picture. pg 234

Reading creates a bottleneck of pictures,....choking our cortex. This happens not because text is not enough like pictures, but because text is too much like pictures! To our cortex, there is no such thing as "words," or "text" versus pictures. (Text is just another form set visuals which the brain must interpret).  pg 234

This is why especially to some young learners, reading is NOT as helpful to their understanding of a Bible story as "seeing" it. When we ask them to struggle with Bible text, especially text not written at their reading level, their cortex is focused on trying to read, rather than trying to comprehend what they are reading. And to those who are stressed by having to read in front of others, we know from Brain Rule #8 that the stress of reading in front of others releases brain hormones that can dampen learning and memory. What they will remember will be the stress.

Simple two-dimensional pictures are quite adequate; studies show that if the drawings are too complex or lifelike, they can distract from the transfer of information. pg 238

Pictures are a more efficient way to glue information to a neuron. pg 239

And now you know why we like to create rich visual environments in our software.

#10 also explains the attraction of cartoon characters. Animated Bible characters get "glued" in our memories because they are not "just like" every other person we see throughout the day.

Brain Rule #11:  Male and Female Brains are different structurally and biochemically, but the jury is still out on the significance of these differences. Men, for example, process serotonin faster. Men and women process acute stress differently. Under stress women activate the left hemisphere's amygdala (the seat of emotions) and remember the emotional content of events more vividly. The research suggests that both nature and nurture are at work in the differences.

There is on-going research into the need and results of same-sex learning environments. Girls appear to perform better in math, for example, when taught in an all-girl setting. Is there an application of some of these preliminary findings for Sunday School? Perhaps. What Sunday School teacher hasn't noticed the difference between how boys and girls interact in the classroom. Some of it is nature, some nurture, but regardless, the differences need to be addressed by our teaching methods and environments.

Brain Rule #12:  The Human Brain has evolved to make us powerful and natural explorers -from birth. Babies are the model for how we learn throughout our lives:  actively testing our environment and relationships by observation, hypothesis, experimentation and conclusion. Some parts of our adult brains stay as malleable as a baby's brain, so we can create neurons and learn new things throughout our lives.

Many of our software programs function like explorations...or what I have called scavenger hunts. Clicking on an object to make something happen satisfies our need to explore. Flying over the Galilee terrain in Galilee Flyer or Exodus Adventures... trying to figure out how to make things happen, how to open up things... these things can frustrate a teacher who has limited prep time, but they EXCITE the EXPLORER's mind.

Rule #12 also points out the importance of having high quality infant and toddler care at the church. The children ARE learning whether the church is good place to be, -or not.

Conclusion:

Atmosphere
Multimedia
Creative variety
Mini-breaks
More individualized instruction
Repetition

Addendum:
Implications for Preachers

Create compelling introductions. That's what bring the listener's brain on-board.

Stories! ...because they speak with images.

Be visually interesting as a speaker. MOVE.

Emphasize meaning over details.

Create emotional memories to help interconnect the hearer's memory of your content more rich in their brain. (humor, passion, poignancy, etc)

Break up your sermon into more digestible parts for the brain. After ten minutes, the brain will wander. Remember to bring it back on track with a fresh compelling "restart."

Craft sermons that reinforce the main point, rather than meander through a shopping list of un-reinforced, unrepeated points.

Refer to important points in previously preached sermons in order to force the brain's memory functions to recall and recement the memory of your content more deeply.

Get plenty of sleep before preaching.

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