Brain Rules by John Medina – This book was recommended to me by a professor of music education as a good book for learning about teaching methodology. Even as simplified as the science is, it’s pretty heady stuff (pun intended). However, if you do any sort of presentations or teaching, there are some good insights on how to improve the way you present. Here were my 4 key takeaways:
- Review a project before starting on it, go to sleep, then start the next day. Your brain will review the patterns all night while you sleep and help you better tackle the challenge the next day.
- When presenting, you’ve got seconds to grab someone’s attention and only 10 minutes to keep it. At 9 minutes 59 seconds you must do something to restart the clock – something emotional and relevant.
- Stories and examples reinforce memory.
- Our brains pay special attention to objects in motion, so include video and animation in presentations.