Silence… Pause… Predictability… While these three things may sound like the character traits of your 90-year-old Grandfather, they can prove to be very powerful when used in the classroom.

The three episodes below are from Fortress Learning’s series on teaching micro-skills called The Small Stuff.

#1. The Power of Silence

Silence… It can be uncomfortable, but it can also be commanding.

“Quiet and silence is a form of power. Thoughtful and wise people are not talkative people.”  – Dr T.P. Chia.

In the below episode of The Small Stuff, our founder Bryan West discusses how you can use silence to gain control of the classroom.

#2. The Power of Pause

In our stimulus-laden society, often we view pausing or stopping as a waste of time.  In discussions, we often want to fill the space with words to avoid that ‘awkward pause’ at any cost.  But, by not pausing, you can actually get in the way of your student’s learning.

Pausing after speaking can greatly affect how your message is absorbed by your learners.  Pausing provides a moment in time for your learners to process new information.

In the below episode of The Small Stuff, our founder Bryan discusses the direct relationship between pausing and learning.

#3. The Power of Predictable

One of the most valuable things you can do for your learner is to be predictable. In this week’s episode of The Small Stuff, Bryan delves into the inner workings of the “Reptile Brain”.

“I first learnt about the Reptile Brain, the whole concept of the Lizard Brain, as an extension of learning about Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.

I started thinking that if people are experiencing stress then they’re less likely to learn, and then I was thinking… well what happens if everything in someone’s life is just fine and dandy, what could then be impediments to learning?

I realised that quite often it’s actually the nature of the environment, including the way in which information is being presented, or a classroom is being facilitated or a lesson conducted that can influence whether or not the brain itself is seeing all of that stimulus as stress or not.

That took me on a little bit of a journey into neuropsychology and from there I started discovering that the role of the amygdala, or the lizard brain, in basically filtering information based on the perception of threat at one end or the level of familiarity and comfort on the other.”

Learn more about the Reptile Brain in the episode below:

Silence, pause and predictability… Three seemingly simple, yet powerful techniques can make a big difference to your training.

Have you tried implementing The Small Stuff in your own classroom? How did it go?

If you would like to know more about what it means to be a student with us, how about you read Dear Future Student, check out Our Courses, or give us a call on 1300 141 994 and we can explore what that would look like.

‍