Brain Rules - Dr. John Medina (Category K)

Posted by Ravikiran K.S. on January 1, 2006

“There is no great anti-brain environment than the classroom and cubicle” - Dr. John Medina

“If you want to get particulars correct, don’t start with details. Start with key ideas and in hierarchical fashion, form the details around these notions.” - Dr. John Medina

“Do something emotionally relevant at each 10-minute mark to regain attention. Tell a story, show a relevant video, do a relevant activity, etc.” - Dr. John Medina

“The brain pays attention to patterns. Remembering something we’ve seen before (like quicksand) is a useful evolutionary trait.” - Dr. John Medina. So, Tell what you want to tell, tell it, Reiterate what you just told - Successful presentation.

Biggest problem with presentations:

“Relating _too much information_, with not enough time devoted to connecting the dots. Lots of force feeding, very little digestion” - Dr. John Medina

“Pictures beat text .. because reading is so inefficient for us. We have to identify certain features in the letters to be able to read them. That takes time” - Dr. John Medina

Rule 1: Excercise boosts brain power.

  1. Our brains were built for walking/moving.

  2. To improve your thinking skills, move!

  3. Exercise gets blood to brain, bringing it glucose and oxygen.

  4. Aerobic exercise 2x/week halves the risk of general dementia, reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s by 60%.

  5. Exercise is just about the best thing you can do for yourself says Dr. Medina.

Rule 4: We don’t pay attention to boring things.

  1. No mutitasking. When it comes to attention, its only one thing at a time.

  2. We are better at seeing patterns, abstracting meaning than recording details.

  3. Tapping people’s emotions helps them learn.

  4. People start to fade after 10 minutes. Get them back by telling stories, examples and targeting their emotions.

Rule 10: Vision trumps all other senses.

  1. Vision is our dominant sense, using half of the brain’s resources.

  2. We learn/remember best through pictures compared to text or spoken words.

  3. Try to communicate more with pictures.

  4. Toss your current powerpoint slides.

John Medina’s 12 brain rules __summary__

Rule 1: Exercise - Exercise boosts brain power.

Rule 2: Survival - The human brain evolved too.

Rule 3: Wiring - Every brain is wired differently.

Rule 4: Attention - We don’t pay attention to boring things.

Rule 5: Short term memory - Repeat to remember.

Rule 6: Long term memory - Remember to repeat.

Rule 7: Sleep - Sleep well, think well.

Rule 8: Stress - Stressed brains don’t learn the same way.

Rule 9: Sensory integration - Stimulate more of the senses.

Rule 10: Vision - Vision trumps all other senses.

Rule 11: Gender - Male and Female brains are different.

Rule 12: Exploration - We are powerful and natural explorers.