EXPERIENTIAL TEACHING BOOSTS BRAIN POWER
Getting involved is fun and beneficial. Experiential learning is participative and includes “doing,” not just listening. In this capacity, our TBH Toolkits facilitators act more like coaches than traditional instructors. And, the research shows that participants who physically experience learning concepts score better on follow-up tests than those who sit in lectures or read self-help books.
ADDITIONAL SCHOLARLY ARTICLES and SUPPORTING CITATIONS
Training versus Engagement as Paths to Cognitive Enrichment with Aging
Psychol Aging 2014
CONCLUSION:
“We tested the engagement hypothesis that a complex and stimulating environment can broadly enhance cognition…The operational model we selected for engagement, team-based collaborative problem solving, engendered gains in ideational fluency…”
The Impact of Sustained Engagement on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: The Synapse Project
Psychol Sci 2014
CONCLUSION:
“… the research provides clear evidence that memory function is improved by engagement …this research is particularly important because, unlike computer training, productive engagement has the potential to be self-reinforcing and propagate continued learning and intellectual stimulation.”
Active Learning Increases Student Performance In Science, Engineering, And Mathematics
PNAS 2015
CONCLUSION:
“…The results raise questions about the continued use of traditional lecturing as a control in research studies, and support active learning as the preferred, empirically validated teaching practice in regular classrooms.”
Physical Experience Enhances Science Learning
Psychol Science 2015
CONCLUSION:
“…The physical experience… significantly improved quiz scores. ”