Archive copy.
Featured Session - International Conference 2015
Adopting Inquiry-Based Learning Pedagogies into ELT
Inquiry-based learning is similar to task-based learning, possibly even a subset of it. In an inquiry-based approach, learners are given a task, but also expected to seek information on how to solve it. It is the inquiry part, figuring out what questions to ask and then looking at information sources to answer them, that makes this methodology so effective. Traditional methods rely on simple information transmission and memorization, and so the learning of it tends to be shallow. Facts might be retained, but little understanding. Inquiry-based learning, however, is based on a “need to know” premise, and so gives the learners a deeper understanding of the entire area they are working in and better habits of mind. Processes of discovery and application are learned in addition to the subject matter. The presenter will show how inquiry-based learning is used in innovative medical schools and then suggest ways it might be incorporated in language classes, even lower level ones.
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Invited Second Session
Why Our Brains Like Stories
Stories, the original Wikipedia, are the oldest tool of teaching, and still the most potent. For most of human existence, we have used stories to share information and educate our offspring about the wiles of the world. It is no wonder our brains have evolved to process stories so much more effectively (or did stories evolve to fit our brains?) than other formats of information delivery. In fact, stories do more than allow information transfer. They cause parallel activation of the insula in both speaker and listener that enable a kind of brain linking.
Likewise, no other format of verbal transfer results in as high a retention rate. A study in London found that the use of statistics in a presentation led to a retention rate of 5-10% at best, but by adding a story, retention more than tripled. With the use of stories alone, the retention rate soars to more than tenfold. This is no surprise if you consider the neurotransmitters stories release: serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. These chemicals control mood, deeper learning, and interpersonal bonding. In fact, psychologists believe that stories are so deeply integrated into our memory system that they form the basis for concept of self.
What a wonderful tool for language teaching stories can be. The presenter will provide theory and evidence as to why they are so effective, delve into the neuroscience that explains their power, and discuss techniques for using stories in the classroom, including Rex Tanimoto’s Digi-Tales. He will also shower the audience with powerful stories from his vast collection.
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Speaker’s Bio-Sketch
Curtis Kelly has spent most of his life developing learner-centered materials for “3L” students, those with Low ability, Low confidence, and Low motivation. His experience with such students has led him to a life mission of “relieving the suffering of the classroom.” To him, learner experience always takes priority over the lesson objectives or content. To achieve his mission, he has become fascinated with the psychology and neuroscience of learning. Dr. Kelly is a professor at Kansai University in Japan and the coordinator of the JALT Brain SIG. He has written over 30 books, including Significant Scribbles (Longman), Active Skills for Communication (Cengage), and Writing from Within (Cambridge) and has made over 400 presentations on neuroscience, adult education, motivation, and teaching writing.
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Introductory Video by Curtis Kelly
http://youtu.be/2N7WpEtlEEs
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Online Materials
Videos
Dr. Curtis Kelly - "I Deal in Drugs!" - Pecha Kucha at KOTESOL IC 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCBR89vZa64
How Preschool Changes Executive Function and Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JCBucRdSEk
“Writing from Within” – Introduced by Curtis Kelly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJqy2JYlmco
The Plastic Brain: How Emotion, Cognition and Movement Shape Learning (Cambridge Day, Seoul)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo5s7sQeYLU
A Conversation with Curtis Kelly at KOTESOL 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4VIPhxKgqc
Online Articles
TESOL: Integrating Mind, Brain, and Education into ELT Materials Development
http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolmwis/issues/2015-02-06/3.html
Various Articles on Academia
https://kansai-u.academia.edu/CurtisKelly/Papers
Training Japanese Elementary School Teachers to Teach English
http://jalt-publications.org/old_tlt/articles/2002/07/kelly
Using Neuroscience to Understand 3Ls (Scroll down to middle)
http://koreatesol.org/sites/default/files/TEC-Special-Conf-Section.pdf
David Kolb: The Theory of Experiential Learning and ESL
http://iteslj.org/Articles/Kelly-Experiential/
ELT News Think Tank – Ways to Start a Class Right
(about 20 other pieces in “Recent Columns”)
http://www.eltnews.com/columns/thinktank/2009/04/what_are_some_ways_to_s...
Acting Adult in the English Classroom
http://jalt-publications.org/tlt/articles/691-acting-adult-english-class...
News Bit: How Do We Learn? Brain Based Learning: A New Approach
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers-advice/managing-your-career/1372/how-do-we...
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See the full list of Major Speakers at the KOTESOL International Conference and English Expo at http://koreatesol.org/ic2015/MajorSpeakers
