Teaching with the Brain in Mind:Strategies for Making Your Content Stick
Professor Rodrigo López
Roadmap
What We’ll Do Today
• How the brain learns• Why students forget • Strategies that make learning stick • Apply ideas to your teaching
Opening Reflection
Three Things the Brain Needs to Learn
Think Back… What is one lesson your students still remember months later?
AttentionMeaning Retrieval
If students aren’t paying attention, learning doesn’t happen. • Attention fades quickly • Multitasking reduces learning
Principle 1: AttentionAttention Is Limited
Teaching takeaway:Short explanations. One clear goal at a time.
+ info
Principle 1: Attention Is Limited:Instead of a 20-minute grammar lecture, I teach in short attention cycles.
Principle 2: Meaning Memory Needs Meaning
The brain remembers information that is:• Connected to prior knowledge • Relevant or emotional • Part of a bigger picture
Information without meaning is forgotten quickly.
Students remember Spanish betterwhen new language is connected to meaning, context, and experience.
Instead of teaching vocabulary in isolation,I embed it in a real-life scenario: “Last weekend, you attended a birthday party.” Vocabulary appears inside a story, not a list.
Before introducing new vocabulary, I ask: “What do you already know about celebrations?” Students brainstorm in English and Spanish: • cumpleaños • música • familia • regalos New words attach to existing knowledge.
Personal Connection
Students complete this prompt: “En mi cumpleaños, siempre ______.” The brain remembers information that relates to the self.
Cultural Framing
We compare:• Markets in the U.S. and • (open-air) markets in Spanish-speaking countries
Culture gives language a reason to exist.
Why This Works
01
Emotional and cultural relevance improve retention
Meaning strengthens memory encoding
03
04
02
Knowledge learned in context is remembered longer.
Prior knowledge creates neural connections
Step by step
Principle 3: Retrieval
Low-Stakes Questions
Brain Dump (Start of Class)
Exit Ticket
Retrieval During the Lesson
Why This Works
Errors help the brain adjust and learn
Retrieval strengthens neural connections
Remembering is not the result of learning —it is learning. Spacing = long-term learning
Frequent recall beats cramming (short-term performance)
Conclusion
What Makes Learning Stick:Capture attention Create meaning Use retrieval
'Teach the way the brain learns.'
Questions?
¡gracias!-Thank you!
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At the end of class, students answer:
“Write one sentence in the preterite and explain why you chose that tense.”
Retrieval + reflection = stronger learning.
20XX
Plan
The window allows you to add broader content. You can enrich your genially by incorporating PDFs, videos, text… The content of the window will appear when clicking on the interactive element.When we are told a story, it moves us. It can even touch us, making us remember stories up to 20 times more than any other content we might consume.
'animate your content and take it to the next level'
Present your genially with calmness and conciseness. Synthesize the content.
20XX
structure:Surprise your class with interactive images
Surprise your class with additional information.
Include additional information and show it with a click.
20XX
design
Insert a great video for your presentation and use this space to describe it. Multimedia content is essential in a presentation to leave everyone speechless.Additionally, this way you will synthesize the content and entertain the whole class.
After a short explanation, I pause and ask:
“Without looking your notes or classmate, how do we form the preterite of tener?”
Students retrieve immediately, strengthening memory pathways.
At the beginning of class, I ask:
“Write everything you remember about the preterite tense.”
No notes. No pressure.This activates prior knowledge and prepares the brain to learn.
I ask quick questions like:
“Which tense would you use here?”“Is this action completed or ongoing?”
20XX
Evaluate
The window allows you to add broader content. You can enrich your genially by incorporating PDFs, videos, text…The content of the window will appear when clicking on the interactive element. When we are told a story, it moves us. It can even touch us, making us remember stories up to 20 times more than any other content we might consume.
Present your genially with calmness and conciseness.Synthesize the content.
+ info
Teaching with the Brain in Mind Strategies for Making Your Content Sti
Rodrigo Lopez
Created on February 10, 2026
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Transcript
Teaching with the Brain in Mind:Strategies for Making Your Content Stick
Professor Rodrigo López
Roadmap
What We’ll Do Today
• How the brain learns• Why students forget • Strategies that make learning stick • Apply ideas to your teaching
Opening Reflection
Three Things the Brain Needs to Learn
Think Back… What is one lesson your students still remember months later?
AttentionMeaning Retrieval
If students aren’t paying attention, learning doesn’t happen. • Attention fades quickly • Multitasking reduces learning
Principle 1: AttentionAttention Is Limited
Teaching takeaway:Short explanations. One clear goal at a time.
+ info
Principle 1: Attention Is Limited:Instead of a 20-minute grammar lecture, I teach in short attention cycles.
Principle 2: Meaning Memory Needs Meaning
The brain remembers information that is:• Connected to prior knowledge • Relevant or emotional • Part of a bigger picture
Information without meaning is forgotten quickly.
Students remember Spanish betterwhen new language is connected to meaning, context, and experience.
Instead of teaching vocabulary in isolation,I embed it in a real-life scenario: “Last weekend, you attended a birthday party.” Vocabulary appears inside a story, not a list.
Before introducing new vocabulary, I ask: “What do you already know about celebrations?” Students brainstorm in English and Spanish: • cumpleaños • música • familia • regalos New words attach to existing knowledge.
Personal Connection
Students complete this prompt: “En mi cumpleaños, siempre ______.” The brain remembers information that relates to the self.
Cultural Framing
We compare:• Markets in the U.S. and • (open-air) markets in Spanish-speaking countries
Culture gives language a reason to exist.
Why This Works
01
Emotional and cultural relevance improve retention
Meaning strengthens memory encoding
03
04
02
Knowledge learned in context is remembered longer.
Prior knowledge creates neural connections
Step by step
Principle 3: Retrieval
Low-Stakes Questions
Brain Dump (Start of Class)
Exit Ticket
Retrieval During the Lesson
Why This Works
Errors help the brain adjust and learn
Retrieval strengthens neural connections
Remembering is not the result of learning —it is learning. Spacing = long-term learning
Frequent recall beats cramming (short-term performance)
Conclusion
What Makes Learning Stick:Capture attention Create meaning Use retrieval
'Teach the way the brain learns.'
Questions?
¡gracias!-Thank you!
+ info
+ info
+ info
+ info
+ info
+ info
At the end of class, students answer:
“Write one sentence in the preterite and explain why you chose that tense.”
Retrieval + reflection = stronger learning.
20XX
Plan
The window allows you to add broader content. You can enrich your genially by incorporating PDFs, videos, text… The content of the window will appear when clicking on the interactive element.When we are told a story, it moves us. It can even touch us, making us remember stories up to 20 times more than any other content we might consume.
'animate your content and take it to the next level'
Present your genially with calmness and conciseness. Synthesize the content.
20XX
structure:Surprise your class with interactive images
Surprise your class with additional information.
Include additional information and show it with a click.
20XX
design
Insert a great video for your presentation and use this space to describe it. Multimedia content is essential in a presentation to leave everyone speechless.Additionally, this way you will synthesize the content and entertain the whole class.
After a short explanation, I pause and ask:
“Without looking your notes or classmate, how do we form the preterite of tener?”
Students retrieve immediately, strengthening memory pathways.
At the beginning of class, I ask:
“Write everything you remember about the preterite tense.”
No notes. No pressure.This activates prior knowledge and prepares the brain to learn.
I ask quick questions like:
“Which tense would you use here?”“Is this action completed or ongoing?”
20XX
Evaluate
The window allows you to add broader content. You can enrich your genially by incorporating PDFs, videos, text…The content of the window will appear when clicking on the interactive element. When we are told a story, it moves us. It can even touch us, making us remember stories up to 20 times more than any other content we might consume.
Present your genially with calmness and conciseness.Synthesize the content.
+ info