bruce wilkinson, 7 laws of the learner: law 4 retention_b maximisers

Law 4: The Law of Retention

Method & Maximisers

Sunday 7 November 2010

The essence of the Law of Retention is in these three

words:“master the minimum.”The teacher should enable all students to enjoy maximum mastery of the irreducible

minimum


Wilkinson introduces the Walk Thru the Bible approach to speed teaching - which as been used successfully all over the world. It has 5 stages and will be followed here by 7 universal ways to make all material “mind easy” so students can memorise the irreducible minimum easily and enjoyably.

Retention Method


Material

Research

Survey

Prepare

Minimum

Reduce

Select

Prioritise

Mindeasy

Rearrange

Simplify

Package


Master

Retain

Skillful

Proficiency

Memorise

Review

Solidify

Practice

Mindeasy

Rearrange

Simplify

Package


Teacher does research and gathers material - they survey the entire subject.The more painstaking the preparation the better the results

Stage 1: Material


Get a birds eye view of the subject.No in depth study here - glance at things and get an idea of them.Expose your mind to the major sections of material

1. Overview the subject


Categorise the subject into major units of thought. Look at the best sources and see how they divide the material, make a list of possible categories. Then evaluate what you have done, giving a code to each subject area.

2. Organise the subject


A = must be requiredB = very helpful but not requiredC = might be of help but somewhat optionalD = minimal help to studentsF = not helpful, maybe even confusingList your categories in order of priority - you now should feel comfortable with the broader concepts


Review categories and construct a logical order of presentation for them.You might review your A, B and C categories at this stage.After doing this for major categories construct minor ones.

3. Outline the subject


Now boil down your content to a minimum - reduce it by selecting the appropriate material - prioritise what you want.Be careful: we wrongly believe that a greater quantity of content covered is better than a greater quantity of content learned - what do you want the student to have learned?

Stage 2: Minimum


You will discard some material you had prepared - not all content is equally important. Great teachers know what to exclude and include. Eliminate average material!How do you choose?1. Audience2. Time3. Purpose


You will discard some material you had prepared - not all content is equally important. Great teachers know what to exclude and include. Eliminate average material!How do you choose?1. Audience2. Time3. Purpose

When a student asks, “Do I really need to know this” they are really asking, “How

important is this material?” - is it

important enough to memorise?


There are levels of awareness:Surface - I have heard of it and know a littleAverage - I learned that and generally know how it worksThorough - I know all about it, here are the key pointsEach level is taught, and assessed differently.


In the law of retention the teacher is responsible for:1. Selection of information to be taught2. Determining which level the material should be learned.3. Communicating material to the student at the right level.4. Presenting selected information in a way that it is learned at the right level.5. Examination of material at the level of understanding announced.


Identify the facts and concepts required for an acceptable level of comprehension - the irreducible minimum. Review this repeatedly.By the end of the minimum stage the content has been reevaluated and reprioritised - large areas of fat have been ruthlessly trimmed off.More space is now given to the important and have been very careful about secondary material.


Now you have to go from the material to the minds of your students!“Too many teachers believe that teaching is the presentation of facts by the teacher rather than memorisation by the students.”We have to be student orientated in our approach.

Stage 3: Mind-Easy


If the teacher is responsible for causing the student to learn they have to identify and use the most efficient methods so the students learn in the class.You rearrange and simplify your material - moulding the package so it slips effortlessly into students mindsWilkinson likens this to cramming for an exam - except the teacher does it, taking the randomness out of the process.


He suggests 2 steps in moulding content in this mind-easy stage:1. Easy to understand2. Easy to memorise

Consider first the degree of understandability requiredDifferent Bibles require different levels of English reading abilityNIV - 7th grade, KJV 12th grade.Simplify material without harming its nature - a great teacher makes the complex appear simple.


Secondly look at the degree of memorability - having made it easy to understand make it easy to memorise.Don’t expect students minds to memorise if there is no logical connection or relationship - prepare the facts for quick permanent entry into their mind - you will see this more in the maximisers section


Stages 1-3 take place outside of the classroom.Now you come to transferring the truth - which is the goal of this law - enable your students to memorise by reviewing it where it is solidified into their minds as you practice it over and over again.

Stage 4: Memorise

Memorise

Review

Solidify

PracticeSunday 7 November 2010

Good teaching is not about lots of new concepts.Christ in the Gospels is seen to review his main content repeatedly simply in different ways - e.g. a conversation then a parable followed by a miracle, all making the same point.The key to memorisation is review.Review is either, “The mother of all learning” or “the father of all boredom”


1. Review is the primary method by which people memorise2. ...is effective only if the students understand the material3. ...should be practiced in the same order and with the same words until the IR is fully memorised4. ...should be most intense and frequent when the facts are first taught

Principles for effective review


5. ...should be regularly practiced but spaced less frequently over time6. ...should continue until all students demonstrate a mastery of the IR7. ...should be done using a variety of methods


This stage leads us from memorisation to application of material - now they have to develop independent proficiency, to have mastered the material.As masters they will retain the material and be skillful and proficient in their use of it.There are 4 parts to this:

Stage 5: Master

Master

Retain

Skillful

Proficiency


Students know the content so well it is stuck in their memory forever.This happens through regular review; resulting in recall not being a chore, it is always there.

1. Indelible memorisation


Beyond surface meaning and understanding - understanding meaning and significance of facts.

2. In-depth comprehension


When a class senses how the facts can be used beyond the immediate context.One person said, “Now we read books for answers, but we just don’t think”This is a move from knowledge to wisdom - you know the facts and can apply them in a real and useful way.

3. Intuitive integration


When the teacher is not there and there is no external pressure - did the students use the content you taught them?Not did the student know it for a test but did it shape or change their lives?Did they change their behaviour as a result of the content?

4. Independent utilisation


Wilkinson suggests you use class and homework to compliment each other, “as memorisation and comprehension of the facts should be a class function, integration and utilisation should be the primary focus of homework”




minimum


Retention Maximizers


Speed teaching enables speed learning.No matter how much the student desires to learn quickly and thoroughly in class the teacher holds the key to the process.How quickly does the teacher cause students to learn, How skillfully has the teacher prepared?Now we shall see the 7 methods Wilkinson says will double, treble or quadruple your speed.


These methods are the primary means a teacher uses to make material memorable and easy for a student to memorise.They are God given ways that men of all cultures and times learn - because God has created man with universal patterns of thought and universal receptors of stimuli.Music is a common form of communicating content - built into us by God


Music has been used in speed teaching across every age - the ABC song - nothing else compares with it because God put it in each of us.In fact God has put a number of universal patterns in each of us - 7 of which we shall learn.Additionally God has implanted in us universal receptors - our senses, physical ports through which we receive new information.Teachers have to interface through these, sight, smell, hearing etc.


Most experiences blend different senses.We don’t describe the experience using our senses - but as a result of using those senses - “a terrible din” “a foul smell” “a beautiful person”Select sensory inputs wisely with students and learning can be memorable and accelerated learning takes place.


Why do you take pictures and put them in an album or on facebook? Because they are an incredibly effective sensory lever into the memory. One picture can bring many vivid memories back into your mind.

Maximiser 1: Represent the facts in a picture


To be really effective develop one picture which links all of your content.Many different things are remembered by using pictures - Bible verses, speeches, shopping lists, cartoons...


For many years stories were the paper upon which facts were written for the next generation - extended families gathered and listened to stories which would teach values, principles etc. for the future.Much of the Bible is written as a story - God chooses to reveal himself that way.

Maximiser 2: Express the facts with a story


Stories are very effective for passing on information in preaching, teaching and normal conversation. Often you might remember a story rather than the 3 points of a sermon!God created an inbuilt mechanism in man to tell and hear stories.Jesus used stories more than any other form of teaching - prodigal son, sower, good Samaritan...


Easiest and most used of the 7.

Maximiser 3: Transfer the facts by alphabet


Popular uses of this method include:1. Using all the same letter:Romans outlined using the letter S1. Salutation 1:1-172. Sin 1:18 — 3:203. Salvation 3:21 — 5:114. Sanctification 5:12 — 6:235. Struggle 76. Spirit-filled living 8:1-277. Security 8:28-398. Segregation 9 — 119. Sacrifice & service 12, 1310. Separation 14, 1511. Salutation 16


2. All the same last letters which rhyme:The doctrine of scripture;InspirationRevelationIlluminationPreservationThis is called an acrostic

Deuteronomy 25:11-12If men get into a fight with

one another, and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, you shall cut off her hand; show

no pity. (NRSV)


3. All the first letters form a word.The 7 Laws of the LearnerLearnerExpectationApplicationRetentionNeedEquippingRevival


God used memory objects such as; the tabernacle, the ark, tablets of stone, a pile of stonesand, memory actions like; the Lord’s Supper, OT feasts.We use flags, rings, memorials, statues

Maximiser 4: Associate the facts with objects and actions


Real life dramatic moments are very powerful - violence, passion, loss etc. - they can be ones we try to remember or forget.Biblically - the handwriting on the wall, the sheet from heaven, feeding 5000, cock crowing...

Maximiser 5: Impress facts with drama


This is useful for some information - it is limited and best for just one point - a person bringing a lamb and laying their hands on its head as it was slaughtered for their sin...


People listen to music all the time - we pick up many songs, adverts, jingles through music.The book of PsalmsEph 5:18-19Can you put a message to music for your students.

Maximiser 6: Note the facts through music


Very good for relationships, flow, direction etc.

Maximiser 7: Summarise the facts with graphs and charts




minimum


1. Why do so few teachers boil down their content to the minimum?2. How do you make cramming for exams most effective? Can you teach these techniques?3. If retention is obtained through repetition - what can you do to help a students retention? List 20 ways you could use to review a subject.

Questions


bruce wilkinson, 7 laws of the learner: law 4 retention_b maximisers

Education

enjoy maximum

inspiration

acrostic opponent

greater quantity

preservation

great teachers

make

god