FactsGUIDELINES FOR DIRECT INSTRUCTION OF NEW CONTENT GRADE LEVEL
| APPROPRIATE AMOUNT
OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION
| K - 2
| 5 - 8 minutes
| Grades 3 - 5
| 8 - 12 minutes
| Grades 6 - 8
| 12 - 15 minutes
| Grades 9 - 12
| 12 - 15 minutes | Adult Learners
| 15 - 18 minutes |
p. 37, Teaching with the brain in mind, Eric Jensen, 2nd edition 2005
TIME AND CAPACITY LIMITATIONS OF SHORT-TERM MEMORY (aka WORKING MEMORY)
The time limitations of semantic memory suggest that students will remember very little past a few seconds of input. ,,, Explicit learning is held in the frontal lobes for 5 - 30 seconds unless processed for meaning.
Capacity limitations should also be an important consideration. ... Working memory capacity (3 - 7 items) depends on rate, meaning, strategy, novelty, primacy, recency, and age of learner. Conclusion: Chunk it down!
pgs. 132-133, Teaching with the brain in mind, Eric Jensen, 2nd edition 2005
HOW CAN I KEEP MY STUDENTS' ATTENTION? Current research suggests that constant attention is not only impossible, but also undesirable. The brain needs time for both focusing and processing. Children of different ages can focus for different amounts of time. Research indicates that most children can focus for a number of minutes equal to their age plus two. (Jensen, 1995). ... Therefore, a 6-year-old can focus for about eight minutes. After this focus time, the brain needs some time to process thei nformation in a different way. Ideally we should confine learning activities within those focus minutes and then allow for some movement to redirect the students' attention so that processing can take place. Adults are not much different from children, They cannot focus for more than 15-20 minutes. Many factors affect attention, such as diet, emotions, and hormones. Emotional stimulus and novelty are the two biggest attention-getters. ... Our biochemistry runs in 90-minute cycles that fluctuate throughout the day. More attentional neurotransmitters are available tous in the morning than in the afternoon. (Sylwester, 1995.)
pgs. 94-95, Learning and Memory: The Brain in Action. Marilee Sprenger, 1999
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