Neurologist turned teacher keynote speaker at African EduWeek

She will explain how best to stimulate young people's brains to process information into knowledge and wisdom during the upcoming SABC Education African EduWeek in Johannesburg from 10-11 July at the Sandton Convention Centre. The conference and expo will aim to provide practical and relevant support to teachers and empower them through technology, skills and interaction with their peers.

At the time she left her practice she says there was a marked increase of children being referred to her with suspected neurological conditions, and she discovered that this was due to the vast amount of material that students had to learn at school.

Stresses of frustration, boredom

Dr Willis explains: "I realised that these stresses of frustration and boredom had wiped out the joy of learning and kids were unable to be engaged in learning through curiosity, but instead by drill and forced memorisation. I felt that this was something I could make a difference in and influence a better way of teaching.

"I believed that because as a neurologist I had a strong background in things like memory and how the brain processes information, I felt that if I had the opportunity to become a classroom teacher and receive the training, I could take what I know in neuroscience and see if it worked with students in the classroom and that's what I did."

Having ideas coming together in 'aha moment'

She taught for ten years to 2nd grade, 5th grade and 7th grade mathematics. "During this time I was delighted by the power of neuroscience to shine a light and suggest strategies from education that would be most correlated with the neuroscience research that was increasing in quantity and with more specificity, thanks to neuro-imaging. So as I found correlations between strategies and neuroscience research that guided me to apply certain strategies at different intervals depending on what the brain responded to best."

She eventually gave up teaching children, reluctantly, but today enjoys sharing her insights with fellow educators. "I have always loved watching learners experience the thrill of developing their own knowledge, of discovering, of capturing the meaning of something, of having ideas come together in an 'aha moment'.

"That same joy is my greatest pleasure in teaching other educators now. It's seeing the 'aha moment' when they realise that their best strategies, things that have been most successful, are indeed highly supported by the neuroscience research. It is not that neuroscience is suggesting a whole new way of teaching, but the excitement to me is when educators recognise the 'why'."

More African EduWeek opening session highlights

Chairman: Graeme Bloch, Independent Education Specialist

• African Education Update: Is Africa's education potential beyond the Millennium Development Goals being met?
  Panel of experts includes:

  • Edem Adubra, Chief of Section, International Taskforce on Teachers, UNESCO, France
    
  • Prof. Rehabeam Auala, Professor of Educational Management and Leadership, University of Namibia, Namibia
    
  • Marius Ehrenreich, President, South Africa Principles Association, South Africa

• Breaking boundaries and reaching your full potential
  Sheri Brynard, Teacher, South Africa - first person with Downs syndrome to qualify as a teacher

For more, go to www.educationweek.co.za and follow @education_week on Twitter.