Training-Games.com Issue 5 |
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| Learning CAN be fun. Training SHOULD be fun. Training Games ARE fun! | |
In this Newsletter... |
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Well I'm No Einstein but... |
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| Are you a right brain or left brain thinker? Let me ask you a couple of questions. When speaking, do you use many hand gestures? Or when reading a magazine do you simply jump into whatever article grabs your fancy rather than starting from the beginning and reading to the end? Are you typically running late for your appointments? At work do you juggle ten tasks at once, rather than taking them one at a time? Well, you might be a right brain thinker (Jeff Foxworthy pun). The reality is of course, we use both the right and left hemisphere functionality of our brain. However it is true that all of us do process information differently from one another. Some of us lean left, using more verbal processing methods. The brain's left hemisphere takes on tasks in sequence or processes linearly. It prefers a more formal study design, responds well to logic and likes to plan ahead. Others are more visual, enjoy conceptualizing, respond to emotion, and have a tendency to be impulsive. These folks would definitely fit into the right brain camp. Most of us use a combination of what I am referencing as right brain and left brain functions. It should then make good sense to both trainers and teachers that learning can be enhanced for everyone, if we use both right brain and left brain teaching techniques. I recommend a book by Linda Verlee Williams entitled Teaching for the Two – Sided Mind. Williams informs us that a right brain/left brain combination punch is really a win/win for us all. Right brain learners will finally experience teaching techniques that better fit the way they process information. Left brain learners can explore new methods of learning and expand how they learn. For several reasons however, right brain teaching techniques which include a vast array of interesting approaches (visuals, demonstrations, metaphor and analogy, multi-sensory learning, field trips, problem solving, role-play, music and many more) are not frequently used in the classroom. They are typically more learner-centered, and initially require more work and creativity on the part of the teacher or trainer to deliver. However, the improvement in learner retention would certainly be well worth the effort... I offer this one outstanding example. It is well known that Albert Einstein, the man who literally rewrote the laws of physics and gave to us his Special Theory of Relativity, was verbally challenged in his childhood. Being deficient in his ability to process verbally, Einstein adapted, developing a more visual and right brain approach. In 1905, Einstein, as a young man, wrestles with the incompatibility of two universally accepted theories (Newton Theory of Light Waves and Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism). Riding in a streetcar in Bern, Switzerland (He was employed in the Patent Office) he gazes back at the famous clock tower that dominated this city. He imagined what would happen if his streetcar raced away from the clock tower at the speed of light. He realized that the clock would appear stopped, since light could not catch up to the streetcar but his own clock in the streetcar would continue to tick off seconds. Weeks later he develops his famous equation Energy equals Mass times the Speed of Light Squared... He visualized a solution to the problem and effectively rewrote our understanding of the Universe. Einstein later writes to describe his thought process. Paraphrased "The words or the language as they are written or spoken, do not seem to play any role in my mechanism of thought. The physical entities which seem to serve as elements in thought are certain signs or more or less clear images which can be voluntarily reproduced and combined. These elements are of the visual type. Conventional words have to be sought for laboriously, when the above mentioned (images) are sufficiently established and can be reproduced at will."Einstein's amazing ability alone seems to suggest good reason to explore right brain teaching techniques. I've listed and explained a few of these techniques below for your consideration. |
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Right Brain Teaching Technique |
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| Left-brain dominant people have the advantage in today's classroom. Over the years we have adapted very left-brain teaching techniques. There are several reasons why this has occurred. In New England the Puritans were first to establish a standardized educational approach in the United States. Their "spare the rod, and spoil the child" ethic demanded strict adherence to learning protocols of the day, which emphasized logic, lecture and rote memorization. Additionally for many years, males have dominated our educational institutions. As a function, learning in this system has become more hierarchical and competitive rather than collaborative and social. We can't forget an even earlier influencer (1450), when Gutenberg invented the printing press. Books would now become our primary learning source. It is not that books are not wonderful, but they do dispense learning in a very linear, verbal and left brain style. Right-brain learners crave teaching methods that play to their creative thinking patterns. Visualization, lab experimentation, hands-on workshops, role-playing, and demonstrations work best for them. Here are some suggested right brain techniques for trainers and teachers who might want to mix it up a bit: Visualization: Beef up your learning materials by adding visuals; pictures, graphs, charts, diagrams, flow charts, mind maps. Have you heard of a technique called guided imagery? Put on some soft music and take your students on an imaginary journey into your subject matter. For example, the biology teacher that has his class becoming images of light which transform and travel through the receptors in the back of our retina, through the optical nerve and into our brain. Perhaps, the history teacher, who takes us on an imaginary journey through a field hospital during the civil war. Incorporate and challenge participants to develop metaphors and analogies. Metaphors forge connections between two seemingly unrelated things. A car's fuel pump and the human heart, the kaleidoscopic nature of the right brain and the digital computer that is representative of the left brain. This is exactly how our brains process. We take what we already know and hook together, or assimilate it with the newly introduced knowledge. What results is a growth in our overall knowledge base. We rearrange our neural networks and establish new synaptic connections. Hey, a metaphor is a metaphor for how we learn! Introduce learning through auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic learning. Sometimes we just need to do a thing to understand it. Imagine twelve sticks all of equal size. Arrange them to form three squares. Do you see them? Now, can you use the sides of the squares (the sticks) to create eight squares? It is difficult to do in your mind, but given the sticks, the task becomes much easier. I recently did this in a classroom setting. I posed the problem, and then tried to hand out sets of twelve sticks (a helpful prop). The first three people refused them. Why? Kids need help to learn with sticks and colorful learning aids. We're adults, and we are suppose to use logic, our minds or so says our left-brain educational system. One final idea from the right! Collaborate, be social, and learn in groups. H. M Levine of Stanford University experimented with computer learning. He found that when peers worked together, to mentor and support one another as they learned, this technique was (4) times more effective than individual computer-based instruction. It was also more effective than reducing class size or lengthening the time dedicated to instruction. |
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You Might be a right brain thinker if you… |
You might be a left brain thinker if you… |
1. When speaking, you use many gestures. 2. In the past you've wonder if you just might be psychic. 3. When you're shopping and see something you want to buy, you BUY IT. 4. You and clutter appear to be close friends. 5. You find yourself often juggling many projects at once. 6. Words at times exit your mouth before reaching your mind. 7. Liars don't like you because you usually know they're lying |
1. Come hell or high water, you stick to the schedule. 2. You measure twice, and then cut once. 3. Neither math nor science is a match for you. 4. Are never late, NO NEVER! 5. You have a place for everything and put everything in its place. 6. …and those who move things from their proper place are taking their lives into their own hands. 7. Sit up when you read, doesn't everyone? |
| Products From TGI Contact [email protected] or call 602-750-7223 |
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Amazing Facts and Famous Quotes |
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| "The mind is like a TV set — when it goes blank, it's a good idea to turn off the sound." – Author Unknown "A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence university education." – George Bernard Shaw Fun Facts: Your brain weighs about 3 pounds and is the size of your two fists put together. You have approximately 100 billion neurons in your brain with a potential of 10,000 synapses per neuron. |
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TGI News and FREE Product offers |
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| Gary Trotta, CEO of Training Games Inc. attended and spoke at The Learning Consortium's conference on April 30th, 2007 in Ontario, California. Gary presented a workshop which discussed how games can be utilized to enhance the overall learning experience. Attendees were introduced to four TGI games which featured the ability to deliver training program materials (within PowerPoint, AVI format, Streaming Video, MS Word etc.) while playing the game. The Keynote Speaker, Valerie Rowe of Vision Spot Consulting (http://developing-u.com/home.html) used the TGI Presentation Game to present her keynote speech at the conference. TGI now uses "GoToMeeting" software to review games and game features on-line for their customers. Contact [email protected] for an on-line game demonstration! FREE OFFER - Review the Baseball Game DELUXE at www.training-games.com/baseball.html and the Race Car Game DELUXE at www.training-games.com/racecar.html on our website we will send you the TGI Quote Maker Program for FREE. This application has over 1000 great quotes, that can be printed out in your choice of 20 frame designs (8.5 X 11.0). In addition you can paste the framed quote into other applications like PowerPoint and MS Word. A $19.99 value. |
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TGI Quiz Show Ultima |
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 This version has it all. Quiz Show ULTIMA not only has ALL of the features of our best selling Quiz Show DELUXE Game; but it also contains:- The ability to interface with USB buzzer systems or work stand-alone buzzers - A database to track individual player games and monitor their learning progress - Contains four great quiz show games including our latest single player game we call "All The Way?" - a millionaire type game - Four Game Show Emcees to choose from - Awesome program graphics - A bigger Question/Answer screen, for easy viewing in large meeting rooms Choose from Annual or Lifetime, Single or 10-user licenses Priced from $99.99 See the features and purchase at www.training-games.com/quizshowultima.html Note: This product has now been replaced by Quiz Show XF |
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TGI DEAL Game |
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 A
great new game based on the popular television show "Deal or No Deal"
except that participants must answer your training questions to keep
the values they choose. Add this great game to your training
program! All the excitement, sounds and tough decisions of the real
game!CHOOSE THE OFFER OR THE DEAL!!!!! Full game features description go to: www.training-games.com/deal_game.html (Single User License $ 99.99) Downloadfree game NOW! |
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| Visit our Website at www.training-games.com Download the TGI Catalog |
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Demos and Inputting Questions |
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| With software, sometimes it is hard to be sure of what you're getting. We wanted to take some of the guesswork out of the process. That's why we have downloadable demo games at: http://www.training-games.com/trial/ In addition, we will demonstrate any of our games for you using GoToMeeting® software. This way we can show off some of our unique game features. Finally, if you're in a crunch, and need some help inputting your initial game questions, just write them in an MS Excel Spreadsheet and send them to me ([email protected]). I'll have them placed into one of our game question sheets and return them to you. You just click a button to import them into the game. It is that EASY! | |
| Training Games Inc. Gary Trotta, CEO 4545 E Hedgehog Pl Cave Creek, AZ 85331 602-750-7223 [email protected] www.Training-Games.com |
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| © Copyright 2007. Training Games Inc. | |