09. 13. 2013

A Psychological Perspective

By

news

Mr. John,
Great speaking with you today!
I was really impressed by your ThinkFast Interactive production and its ability to motivate, engage, and provide awareness to the students of Gibbs High School in Knoxville Tennessee.
Some things I think you will be pleased to know your program is doing from a theoretical perspective:
Provide students with “memory  hooks” The  process  of  memory  retrieval:  the  number  one  way  to  elicit  or  trigger  recall  is  by  association.
Provide  a  clue  or  stimulus  that  triggers EMOTION.Visual games involve limbic functioning as well as visual memory
These types of learning activities are the mental counterpart to memory and make learning a fun, enthusiastic and challenging experience.
Howard  Gardner’s
Multiple  Intelligence  Theory
1. Verbal-Linguistic (word smart)  through retrieval of statistical information 2. Logical-Mathematical (logic smart) 3. Visual-Spatial  (picture smart) 4. Bodily-Kinesthetic (body smart) 5. Musical-Rhythmic (music smart) 6. Interpersonal (people smart) countries (self smart) 8. Naturalist (environment smart) 9. Existential (pondering the questions of existence)
I believe your program engages all of these different intelligence’s for all the many different types of learners that exist.
I saw kids being creative through talent sharing, thinking analytically while answering statistical questions individually on keypads, students were engaged through the music and visual integration of popular culture, interacting and collaborating in small groups of peers, they were able to move their bodies freely, they had to respond quickly to their environment, and question their own actions in relation to the concept risky driving habits, and drug and alcohol use/abuse.
I was most impressed with the way the slides and questions moved between a “hook” or question that related to popular culture, and then while it had the student’s interest, shifted to a slide that got them thinking about the information or objective of what they wanted them to retain through the ThinkFast Interactive program.
I believe this program creates a unique and unforgettable experience that the students will always remember! If they cannot remember all of it they may remember some “good” sensation or aspect and then relate that to the intended association recreated through the program, the desire for them to not text while driving, or use drugs or alcohol in an abusive or harmful way.

Holly Errigo
University of Tennessee