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The Switch On Your Brain 5-Step Learning Process comprises of five extremely important steps. In fact, the system will not work properly unless all five steps are used correctly because each is designed to take advantage of a particular brain process as all collectively moving toward the goal of learning.

Each of the five steps plays a vital role in the building of memory, which is all the learning process ultimately is. Research shows that true mastery of new information and skills is based on strengthening the connections between the nerve cells in the brain, as well as ensuring that the branches (or dendrites) that actually store the information, are firmly attached.

The "easy-come, easy-go" neuronal connections that come from rote learning and cramming for exams are quickly reversed which, put simply, means they are forgotten. Maintaining improvement and creating memory banks of knowledge that can be used wisely require the slow steady work that forms new strong connections.

The Switch On Your Brain 5-Step Learning Process does exactly that. Each step is meticulously designed to stimulate the correct chemical and electrical flow through the brain in the most efficient way possible to guarantee great memories and, therefore, great learning.

As knowledge is developing and skills are building in the non conscious networks of the mind (the Metacognitive arena of the mind), it is not uncommon for the learner to feel that they are not making progress, but one simply has to continue to "plug away" until the breakthrough comes. Shortcut methods don't allow lasting memory and understanding to develop; it is the persistence of sustained thinking practice that solidifies the learning. This is because our thoughts can actually change the structure of the brain! Research has shown that the mental practice that comes from thinking deeply until an understanding is reached leads to actual physical changes in the brain. In fact, the mental practice of thinking is so powerful that researchers have taught people to play the piano through their imagination as effectively as someone learning the traditional way with an actual piano!

Captured within the Switch On Your Brain 5-step system is the same "thinking-to-understanding" mental process which will forever change the way you learn and will stretch your potential to untold horizons. This approach is solidly based on the latest scientific research on the neurological and neurophysiological functioning of the brain. It draws on the neuroplastic (ability to change) character of the brain and is designed to take best advantage of the symphony of electrochemical reactions and actions occurring in the brain at a rate of 400 billion per second. One of the most exciting facts about the "plastic" brain is that the brain is never quite the same with every new piece of information we learn. This means that the brain can keep getting better and better with the mental practice provided by the Switch On Your Brain 5-Step Learning Process.


The Metacognitive-Map® - the tool of the Switch On Your Brain 5-Step Learning Process

The Metacognitive-Map is a "brain-friendly" way of writing that looks like the branching of a tree and its leaves. Its pattern and shape are dictated by the pattern and shape of the actual neural network of the memory you are building as you analyze and understand information. It is very important to write because writing reinforces the changes of the brain synapses at a microscopic level: as you think (step 2) you create changes in your brain; as you write down in the Metacognitive-Map brain friendly format, you reinforce and strengthen those connections. You literally grow your brain at will! It is interesting to note that just by looking at a Metacognitive-Map you stimulate your brain to process information from detail to big picture and from big picture to detail, which is vital to building strong memory. This only happens when both sides of the brain work together at the same time.There is so much happening in your brain as you create a Metacognitive-Map that even reading about it can seem overwhelming, but it is truly fascinating!

As you use the tool of Metacognitive-Mapping, the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and occipital lobe all work together to integrate and apply the information. More neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, nor epinephrine and acetylcholine, glutamate) are released from the brainstem traveling up through the limbic system (in the middle of the brain) into the cortex where the memory trees (or neurons) are found. The outer front part of the frontal lobe (otherwise known as the prefrontal lobe or PFC) becomes very active keeping the information active in the neurons or "in mind" as it monitors and manipulates the contents of your short-term memory. The PFC works with other areas in the frontal lobe as well as the other lobes of the brain to make decisions, shift between the different bits of information, analyze and so on. And, of course, a positive attitude ensures that genes are switched on for protein synthesis and that good memories can be formed.

Because of the science behind them, Metacognitive-Maps work for anyone and everyone because they go much further than summarizing, note taking or brainstorming. They allow you to extract, store and later recall 100% of the information you need for exams, presentations and the application of skills. When the two sides of your brain work together simultaneously, you reach an important and deep environment of learning. The hemispheres of your brain do not work together, however, when you simply read linear script. English is not the only language to embrace a linear script or straight lines in written form. Linear script can be from left to right, right to left or even up and down in some languages. However, reading from the center outwards is the big picture to detail way of reading which is your right hemisphere's way of processing. Your eyes will also reading from the outer branches inward towards the center, moving from detail to big picture which is your left hemisphere's ways of processing. So, this act of creating a Metacognitive-Map stimulates the corpus callosum to perform its natural function which is to get both sides of the brain working together to integrate information across the hemispheres of the brain. That is why the Metacog is almost literally the "tool" that switches on the brain.


The Problem

There is a pandemic problem in learning and education worldwide which can be summarized as follows: knowledge and information is increasing by the second, but the skill of how to manage this knowledge has been left behind. Consequently, there is an ever-increasing gap between the "what" (the knowledge and information) and the "how" (the management of this knowledge and information). In other words: people do not know "how to think and learn".


The Solution

Dr. Leaf’s Switch On Your Brain 5-Step Learning Process is a scientifically researched and proven program that attempts to deal with this problem by providing learners with the skills necessary to achieve the status of innovative and effective life-long learners. As such, it is at the cutting edge of brain and learning research because it teaches people how to think, learn and manage knowledge.


The Geodesic Learning® Theory

The Switch On Your Brain 5-Step Learning Process is based upon a new information processing theory of intelligence – The Geodesic Information Processing Theory® developed by Dr. Leaf (1991, 1997). This theory is in turn, based directly on brain research – the physiology of the learning process.


The Metacognitive-Map

The Metacognitive–Map is the main "tool" of the approach and is quite literally "your brain on paper" and a way of looking at your thinking and memories. To create a Metacognitive-Map requires deep and thorough understanding of a subject's content. It is flexible enough to adapt to all types of thinking. Furthermore, a Metacognitive-Map works with the concept level, which is between 15% to 35% of information in the brain. This is the exact amount of pertinent information in a sentence according to brain research. Most written summaries are key words and are about 65-80% of written information.


Reference List

Please see Reference List


Statistics

Dr. Leaf has worked with approximately 80,000 people (learners, educators, lecturers and corporate) over the past 20 years and has reached millions through television internationally. Her research has proven that learners using the Switch On Your Brain 5-Step Learning Process will increase your potential performance to between 35%-75%! (Leaf 1991,1996,1997, 2002)

This means that a learner (be they elementary to college level students, educators, or in the corporate world) introduced to this way of thinking will cope 35%–75% better with this skill of learning than without it.

In essence, the Switch On Your Brain 5-Step Learning Process is teaching people how to use their brain - a requirement of every human!

The uniqueness of this approach lies within its applicability across many different types of learners. This is because its principles are basically fundamental to how the brain works. The Switch On Your Brain 5-Step Learning Process is for everyone because we are all learning from birth to death. Therefore, if you are breathing, the process will change your life!

• as a preschooler, the 5-steps will help develop correct thinking patterns and make you a "brainy tot"!
• as a elementary to highschool learner, the 5-steps will help you think and study correctly
• as a college learner, the 5-steps will help you understand and remember all the information you need to do well on exams, as well as manage the large volumes of work
• as a teacher, the 5-steps will help you transfer the required knowledge across to your learners 100% more effectively, as well as provide a vehicle within which you can implement OBE more effectively. It will also help you teach your learners in "how to learn"
• as a trainer, the 5-steps will help you decode the material you have to train, as well as provide an effective and proven way of transferring the information across to your learners
• as a corporate professional, the 5-steps will enhance your knowledge-management ability, improve your reading as well as help you remember what you have read, help you facilitate meetings, and increase your problem-solving and conflict-management abilities

WHAT IF YOU COULD JUST TURN ON YOUR BRAIN WITH A SIMPLE SWITCH AND ACHIEVE YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL! NOW YOU CAN - WITH THE SWITCH ON YOUR BRAIN 5-STEP LEARNING PROCESS