Page 53 - Microsoft Word - The Future of Learning April 2017.docx

Brainwaves travel at the speed of light (300,000 km/second). Because of this fact, our knowledge, ideas, concepts and concept frameworks can be connected to each other in unique combinations in a fraction of a second. Our brain’s efficiency is due to our brainwaves being able to connect our knowledge, ideas, concepts and concept frameworks and experiment with different combinations of these, with extreme speed and efficiency.77
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Resource 18: The Brain Structures Involved in Creativity and our Imagination
Oral Language
The hippocampus and the amygdala in the brain appear to be the conductors of this rampant musical symphony that we collectively refer to as our ability to apply our imagination, to be creative. Our imagination is limited only by our worldview of what can be imagined, and much of this only exists in our mind. Creativity, on the other hand, takes the power of our imagination and creates possibilities that can exist and be brought to life through innovation and ingenuity. The scope of our creativity is almost limitless. Everyone can be creative with the only limiting factor being our belief that we can be creative.
The interplay between our ‘inner voice’ and our ‘outer voice’ is critical to our thinking processes. We do not think in a written format but rather we use ‘voice’. Hence the connection between our ability to think, the vocabulary that requires, and our ability to speak fluently with confidence, is critical to being successful in both thinking and the outcome of that thinking; learning.
Explicitly developing oral capacity is marginalised in most schools with reading and writing being the primary methodology for building vocabulary, but it is our oral capacity that initially leads to building our foundational vocabulary. When we read, we are speaking to self and we do not want that ‘capacity building tool’ marginalised. Building vocabulary is also influenced via listening to others, watching video and listening to music but this capacity becomes more tangible and observable in the oral, as well as written format. It is important therefore, that when a learner, reads, watches a video or listens to music that we get them to talk about the language they have just experienced.
Without thinking consciously about it, we initially judge a person’s intelligence via how they speak, not how well they read. Translating what we read, listen to, watch and ‘see’ into an oral format is critical to building our thinking vocabulary. The more powerful our oral capacity, the greater our thinking potential becomes. To ensure that this ‘translation experience’ via all types of media and our senses into oral language, is a critical missing link in a learner’s learning experience in schools. Historically, it is more likely students will be told to be quiet and listen rather than to be articulate and inform their audience orally.
77 Kitajo, K., Nozaki, D., Ward, L.M. & Yamamoto, Y. (2003). Neural Synchrony in Stochastic Resonance, Attention, and Consciousness. Physical Review Letters. Retrieved from http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v90/i21/e218103