:: The 4th Era ::

The core concept behind effective instruction is differentiation and adaptation particularly now that technology and digital media is taking over every facet of our life. Being able and ready to adapt your teaching methods to your students emerging learning needs is the key to a successful teaching career. Adaptation requires  thinking analytically about what goes on when students are engaged in learning. Some get the point so rapidly without the need for exhaustive explanations but others are slow learners and call for longer time.

Abreena Tompkins, instruction specialist at Surry Community College, has developed a brain-based online course design model based on a meta-analysis of more than 300 articles. In this study, she distilled the following elements of brain-based course design:

Low-risk, nonthreatening learning environment Challenging, real-life, authentic assessments Rhythms, patterns, and cycles Appropriate chunking or grouping Learning as orchestration rather than lecture or facilitation Appropriate level of novelty Appropriately timed breaks and learning periods Purposeful assessments Learning that addresses visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners Active processing with mental models The use of universal examples, analogies, and parallel processing