We learn from stories and experience
March 14, 2010
People remember when emotions are triggered
Stories get your attention and make it real
The sign on the left features actual newspaper clippings in the design which underscores the dangers by making it more emotional, real, and memorable.
Teaching and presenting with emotion and enthusiasm
"Research and education has shown that field trips are remembered long into adulthood. Why? Because you’re experiencing something rather than simply reading it in a book…. To experience something has a far more profound effect on your ability to remember and influence you than if you simply read it in a book. So why not figure out a way to turn a lesson plan into a living expression of that content. A living expression, so that sparks can be ignited and flames can be fanned within the students. And at that point, it doesn’t matter what grade they get on the exam because they are stimulated to want to learn more. If they didn’t learn all the “A” stuff for that exam, they’re inspired enough to go out and buy a book or spend more time on the documentary that they saw on the Discovery Channel or on PBS. And there it is. You’ve cast a learner into the world. And that’s the most powerful thing you can do as a teacher. The enthusiastic teacher is fundamental to igniting flames of interest in any student in any subject. So that’s not a special need within the call for science literacy. That’s a need for all teachers in all subjects."
— Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson
Listen to the entire interview here.
NOTE: Moving forward presentationzen.com will be updated about twice a week. But if you are interested, I update my more personal blog — ichi-go-ichi-e— a couple of times a day, usually with iPhone photos of life in Japan.
Right on.
In my opinion, there are extremely few teachers who actually adopt to this mindset. During my 5 years at the University, I've came across maybe 3 who actually inspired me. Since I've probably had at least 100 different teachers during this period, this isn't such a good ratio.
Anyway, keep the posts comming. I promise I'll never succumb to lethargy when acting as a techer (and hopefully not in other situations either).
Posted by: Martin | March 15, 2010 at 02:32 AM
Love the name: "Presentation Zen"
Says it all. Loved the note in this post about field trips. I can probably remember every such trip I have taken, going back to grade school, but cannot remember what I had for lunch today!
Thanks for sharing.
-ski
P.S. Also made me think of the book, "Made to Stick."
Posted by: Jeff Kinsey | March 15, 2010 at 09:37 AM
There is a lot of research that shows our brains are unable to tell the difference between an event imagined with rich sensory and emotional detail and a real event.
Just as athletes and entertainers can use visualization exercises as a practice or rehearsal technique, a well told story can trigger all the same emotional reactions that actually experiencing the event would have, and evoke the depth of engagement, and consequent memory formation, that the signs in Hawaii did in you.
Posted by: R. L. Howser | March 16, 2010 at 12:08 AM
"stay back" "steep cliff" nice caution
Posted by: MaximTr | March 16, 2010 at 07:51 AM
I like your first sentence "When it comes to learning and genuinely retaining something, nothing beats experiences." There is a movement in education towards STEM learning (Sicence, Technology, Engineering, Math), which I think is really amazing. It's not so much a lesson, but a new way of teaching. One non-profit I've done some pro-bono work for is http://www.pastfoundation.org It's all about experience learning. They are now funded by Gates, which is great, but I still wish programs like these got more visibility. I know people would take advantage of these opportunities if the message was conveyed properly.
Posted by: Tessa | March 18, 2010 at 03:19 AM
Thanks for reminding me on this topic. I try to use Stroytelling as part of my teaching and consulting all the time. Recently I was told by my coach that you can "play" the story while you are "on stage".
That means you can bring more emphasis, more enthusiasm to your talk and presentation when you play with your body what you are talking about.
Posted by: Boris Gloger | March 18, 2010 at 09:01 PM