Brain in Business

In our next BFLG meeting Stella will be considering how we educate ourselves/clients and colleagues on the benefits of Brain Friendly Learning. She will cover questions like "What is BFL?" "Why use it?" "How does it improve results?""How do we use with limited resources?"

Can you help by letting us know your experiences. Do you want answers to these questions? How do you sell it to your clients?

I am really looking forward to this topic as I have a block with selling in BFL techniques. I'd be interested in any research stats that support the enhanced impact and ROI that come from a BFL approach.

Hi Gavin
I read some interesting statistics in an ITOL mag the other day that said there's nothing that Accelerated Learning has that goood teaching hasn't always had - with some research to back it up conducted by US military apparently - Bush 1986, Wagner and Tilney 1983 (is the Bush one a bit of a worry?). They found no particular advantage in using AL as opposed to 'good teaching'. However, AL/ BFL is one way of doing 'good teaching' and clearly much training is done without following any methodology at all.
This is usually often training is given by people who are experts in their field but not experts in understanding the psychology of learning (or people at a broader level).

So AL/ BFL gives you the tools and techniques to be a more effective trainer and still be an expert in your field. It doesn't really matter what you call it but it does matter what you do.

We've found that when we use techniques we call BFL we get motivated learners, 50-100% retention of info, ROI for organisations and motivated trainers.

Thanks for posing a good question and I shall go and see if I can look up those statistics.

Stella

Hi Gavin
I've just realised that I've not given you the stats that you actually need.
On Maximising Impact we measure retention of 52 facts, 24 hours after they are learnt and always get over 50% and up to 100%.

The Dave Meiers book also has a number of statistics to support accelerated learning.

I'll bring some stats to the BFLG meeting. I'm always a little sceptical of stats because you can usually make them say what you want but I do appreciate they sometimes work as convincers with 'purse holders'.

Stella

Hi Gavin
There are all sort of spurious stats out there that support whatever people want to talk about, but this is one I've come across a few times now and as it's university based is, hopefully, more rigorous than some others.

I haven't checked it out in huge detail but do go and have a look. It's from the National Training Laboratories in Maine and they have a pyramid of most and least effective training methods lowery.tamu.edu/Teaming/Morgan1/sld023.htm
(sorry haven't worked out how to insert a link yet)

Also I found a couple of interesting academic sites that may be worth investigating further.
www.education.auckland.ac.nz/staff/j.hattie/
www.geoffpetty.com/

This is a really useful question to ask for all of us and will encourage me to keep a list of useful links from now on. THanks.

me again!

I picked up some details recently about researchers who demonstrate that active learning has more impact than passive learning (and do have a look at what our very own Tracey said about the last BFL meeting).

Daniel S. Janik ;Unlock the Genius Within: Neurobiological Trauma, Teaching, and Transformative Learning;ScarecrowEducation;2005
Wolfe, P. Brain Matters: Translating Research into Classroom Practice. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; 2001.
Jensen, E. Brain-based learning: a reality check. Educ Leadership. 2000;57:76–79
Jensen, E. Teaching with the Brain in Mind. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; 1998
Wolfe, P; Brandt, R. What do we know from brain research? Educ Leadership. 1998;56:8–13

and there's a book I like called The Learning Brain by Erik Jensen which brings together all sorts of interesting research.

Happy Learning.
Stella