Bite-Sized Pieces
Bite-Sized Pieces
Curriculum designer Caroline Slee-Poulos joins us for this week’s instalment on Lifelong Learning: Bite-Sized Pieces.
I don’t know about all of you, but I do know that when I was growing up my mom always made sure to correct me when I tried to eat extra-large bites of food. I was often guilty of this when it came to twirling my pasta. Anyone else?
It isn’t just food that matters when it comes to bite-sized pieces: it’s learning, too. While there is some data on the human attention span to indicate that we can maintain focus, or concentration, is around 45 minutes. In fact, prevailing practices in education suggest that all students should take a “brain break” at that point in a lesson. Yes, this even applies to adult students. You can read about this here.
This is the “why” behind our class structures. Rather than a long learning segment, we stick with the shorter, bite-sized pieces. Our students spend approximately 15 to 20 minutes of learning before each quick check for understanding. This built-in brain break means each individual has a clear moment in the class to pause and do something else.
For the students who look back at their time in classrooms as an unpleasant memory, this offers a chance to reset what learning means.
Isn’t it time for you to invest in yourself with Learning?