Brain/Mind Principles of Learning: Caine and Caine

ORCHESTRATED IMMERSION

Authentic, complex learning experiences in which:

• Essential content is embedded in a meaningful and interesting context
• Students work cooperatively with one another
• Students experience a sense of discovery when learning

Relaxed Alertness

References

Caine, R. N., & Caine, G. (1990). Understanding a brain-based

approach to learning and teaching. Educational Leadership, 48(2), 66-70.

Caine, R. N., & Caine, G. (1994). Making connections: Teaching and the

human brain. Virginia: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

Caine, R. N., & Caine, G. (2014). A home for natural learning and deep

listening. Caine Learning.

Hart, L. A. (1983). Human brain and human learning. Oak Creek, AZ:

Longman Publishing Group.

The optimal state of mind for meaningful learning characterized by low threat, high challenge

• Educators must manage the emotional climate that accompanies learning so that the learner feels competent and confident and has a sense of meaning or purpose

Easy Tips for Implementing Brain-Based Teaching

• Make learning activities more physically active
• Encourage social interaction and collaborative learning
• Organize learning into meaningful chunks (ie: thematic units)

ACTIVE PROCESSING

Allowing the learner to consolidate and internalize information by providing students with opportunities to:

• Find information for themselves
• Use trial and error to arrive at the 'right' conclusion
• Use patterns to make sense of knowledge

Impact on Education

Curriculum: Teachers must design learning around student interests and make learning contextual

Instructional Techniques for Brain-Based Learning

Three interactive and mutually supportive teaching elements have emerged from the principles that should be present for complex learning to occur: relaxed alertness, orchestrated immersion and active processing

Practical Use of Brain/Mind Principles

The following video demonstrates effective implementation of the brain/mind learning principles in classroom instruction to optimize learning.

Practical Use of Brain/Mind Principles

Active Processing

This video demonstrates how educators can integrate brain/mind learning principles into their teaching practice to optimize learning.

12 Brain/Mind Principles of Learning

Allowing the learner to consolidate and internalize information by providing students with opportunities to:

• Find information for themselves
• Use trial and error to arrive at the 'right' conclusion
• Using patterns to make sense of knowledge

• Each principle reveals a natural capacity for learning that all students have
• When considered together, the principles represent a fundamentally new, integrated view of the learning process and the learner
• This theoretical perspective demonstrates how the brain, body and mind act as a dynamic unit in the overall learning process

Orchestrated Immersion

Renate N. Caine and Geoffrey Caine

"Educators who become aware of recent research on how the brain learns will gain exciting ideas about conditions and environments that optimize learning."

- Caine and Caine, 1990

Educators must create authentic, complex learning experiences in which essential content is embedded

• Students work cooperatively with one another
• Students experience a sense of discovery when learning, as they're encouraged to make connections and experience learning in a variety of forms

Caine and Caine (1990) were intent on integrating research to maximize learning and make teaching more effective. Their learning theory synthesizes cross-disciplinary research related to the brain and learning into a set of principles that educators can use to inform their teaching practice.

Brain/Mind Principles of Learning by jessica cola