Thanks to Presentation Zen's blog for highlighting Tom Wujec's short 6.5 minute video about the 3 ways that the brain creates meaning. In other words, how does your brain retain information? Tom Wujec is a known innovator in the business world, specifically on visualization and creative thinking.
You can apply this knowledge towards improving your teaching skills in both the classroom setting and clinical work environment. In the above slide, borrowed from Presentation Zen's blog, making your message or teaching point "stick" should involve:
- Use images to clarify ideas.
- Interact with these images to create engagement.
- Augment memory with persistent and evolving views.
Interestingly in parallel with adult learning theories, this talk addresses 2 of 3 types of learning styles:
- Visual learner (learn best by seeing)
- Auditory learner (learn best by hearing)
- Kinesthetic learner (learn best by doing)
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteGreat post (as usual) and video-link (aren't TED talks incredible?). I love the ideas of starting with a visual (most of our cognition is spent there anyway) within which the student interact and build upon what they already know.
This reminds me of Edward Tufte. His motto is "Power Corrupts, PowerPoint corrupts absolutely" namely because of those limitations of the medium. It doesn't promote teaching - no visual, no interaction, and no journey of discovery.
Instead he urges the creation of a "supergraphic" which is analogous to Mr. Wujec's drawings. The trick is converting "sepsis management" into a engaging picture without having to become like this guy:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_rifkin_on_the_empathic_civilization.html
(another cool video - reminds me of your sketchcasting post from a while back). I've been experimenting with this idea but am far from figuring it out.
Anyone else doing something like this?
Thanks for your blog. I love it!
- Rahul
Hey Rahul: I know, I totally want to learn how to sketchcast. I wish I could draw though. The TED video link you gave me just makes me want to learn more... although I would probably slow down the drawing pace. I think he had too much caffeine. I haven't seen anyone in EM doing sketchcasts. Hey, maybe you can be the first!
ReplyDeleteFunny quote by Edward Tufte. I've also heard multiple references to "Death by powerpoint".
Thanks for your insightful comments. Hope you are well and keeping busy at Rush.
There's got to be a way to make this accessible to the artistically challenged. We have a lot to communicate in a short span of time and the knowledge is growing as the time-resources shrink. We can be more efficient in our teaching.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm looking at Inkscape (open source vector graphics software) and Wikimedia Commons drawings (you can find lots of good pictures of bones, hearts, thyroids, etc that others have created). Then I try to make the connections and add the commentary. My first attempts have been fairly craptacular, but it's a learning process.
Presentation Zen is a great site, too. I see it in your fave blog list.
Would love to see your "craptacular" attempts. I'm sure it's better than anything I could come up with. Hmm, I wonder if you can do something in Flash, since Inkscape looks quite complicated.
ReplyDelete