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Seven Critical Factors that Strongly Affect Learning

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Seven Critical Factors that Strongly Affect Learning

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School: Escuela Primaria Bicentenario de la Independencia

Adress: Av. Antonio Pliego V 105a, Bosques ICA Residencial, 51355 San Luis Mextepec, Méx.

Name: Cristina Guadalupe Trujillo Martínez

During my observation week in a sixth grade classroom, I had the opportunity to connect real teaching practices with what I have studied about the brain and learning. In particular, the seven critical factors described by Jensen (2005) in Teaching with the Brain in Mind became very evident. These factors reminded me that learning is not just about methods and content, but also about how the brain is naturally designed to acquire knowledge.

1. Engagement
I noticed that when the teacher began the class with a clear explanation or a video, students paid more attention. However, when distractions appeared, such as side conversations or lack of materials, engagement dropped quickly. The moments when students were asked to participate actively like solving exercises on the board or discussing answers were the ones where their brains seemed truly focused. I could see that safety and motivation were essential, some students who felt insecure or excluded from the group struggled to engage.

2. Timing
I also observed how the time of the day influenced participation. Early in the morning, students were more alert, but as the hours passed, they became restless and tired. In one class, students who had just returned from recess showed more energy and were able to concentrate better for a while. This confirmed that ultradian rhythms and natural cycles affect classroom learning, and that alternating activities could help.

3. Repetition
The teacher often reinforced ideas by asking students to repeat answers, write notes, or return to a topic in another subject. For example, when learning about microorganisms, the content was revisited in different ways: through a video, writing in notebooks, and class discussion.

This variety of repetition seemed to strengthen their understanding and prevent forgetting.

4. Error Correction
Mistakes were frequent, especially in mathematics. I noticed that when the teacher corrected errors immediately, students adjusted quickly and learned better.

On the other hand, when errors were ignored or not discussed, confusion persisted. The brain clearly needs that feedback to reorganize and improve connections.

5. Input Quantity
Sometimes the teacher provided too much information at once, and I could see students losing focus. On other occasions, when the explanation was shorter and clearer, students were able to process and respond. It became evident that the brain cannot absorb endless information, less is truly more, especially when time is given to consolidate knowledge.

6. Emotional States
Emotions shaped the atmosphere of learning. When students felt encouraged, celebrated, or included, they were happier and learned more.

However, I also witnessed moments of exclusion and even bullying, which immediately reduced the willingness of those children to participate. Positive emotions built a bridge to learning, while negative ones became barriers.

7. Coherence
Finally, coherence made a difference. When new content was connected with what students already knew, learning was smoother. For instance, linking science topics with daily life examples helped them understand. On the contrary, abstract explanations without context left many confused.

This week helped me understand that the seven critical factors are not just theory; they are alive in the classroom every day. As a future teacher, I must learn to respect the brain’s natural design: to create engaging, emotionally safe, well-timed, and coherent learning experiences where errors are opportunities, repetition is meaningful, and input is manageable. Observing this in practice strengthened my conviction that effective teaching is about aligning pedagogy with how the brain truly learns.

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Teaching Practice Journal – 1st Week (2nd Teaching Practice)

Cristina Guadalupe Trujillo Martínez

School: Escuela Primaria “Bicentenario de la Independencia”

Group: 6°B

Period: October 20th - October 31st

During the first week of my second teaching practice, I implemented the first five sessions of the project “Conociéndonos” with group 6°B. The main goal of this stage was to introduce students to autobiographical texts and guide them to describe their own life events using the simple past. Each class was planned to integrate playful and visual strategies, following the ABP methodology and considering the seven critical factors of learning from Jensen’s Teaching with the Brain in Mind.

One of the first aspects I focused on was engagement. I began the project by showing my own pictures from childhood and writing short examples on the board such as “I was born in Toluca” and “I played with dolls.” This immediately caught students’ attention and encouraged them to share personal memories, visual aids like timelines, color-coded sentences, and laminated cards helped keep students interested and emotionally connected to the lesson.

Repetition was essential during these sessions, especially because one class had to be canceled and another had low attendance. I decided to reinforce past tense verbs through extra activities like a word search and sentence-building games. Students practiced affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms repeatedly: “I played soccer,” “I didn’t play soccer,” “Did you play with your friends?” This continuous practice improved both recognition and pronunciation.

The input quantity was enriched by exposing students to short, adapted autobiographies such as “My name is Ana.” They read, listened, and worked collaboratively to identify verbs and connectors. In one activity, students highlighted regular and irregular verbs with different colors, which made grammar learning more dynamic and memorable.

Coherence was fostered through sequencing tasks. Using MDF boards with Velcro, students organized events from model texts and then wrote three-part mini autobiographies: beginning, middle, and end. On the board, I modeled a visual timeline where events like “I started to run when I was 2 years old” and “I played soccer in 2009” were connected in chronological order. This helped students understand how to narrate their stories logically.

Regarding timing, I noticed that maintaining a fast rhythm with short transitions kept students focused. When activities were too long, attention decreased, so I incorporated movement breaks and games such as “Guess the Verb” to reactivate their energy.

Error correction was handled positively to preserve motivation. When a student said “I don’t play soccer,” I reformulated kindly: “You mean ‘I didn’t play soccer,’ right? Good job!” This type of feedback allowed them to self-correct without fear or frustration.

Finally, emotional states were a key factor. The group has a lively personality, but some students showed signs of insecurity or exclusion. I applied inclusive strategies such as cooperative games and the participation chart to ensure everyone’s involvement. Celebrating small achievements with phrases like “Excellent!” or giving stickers created a positive learning climate where students felt confident to express themselves in English.

In summary, during this first week I learned that teaching grammar and writing through personal experiences makes language learning more meaningful. The adjustments I made due to schedule changes did not affect the main objectives; instead, they strengthened students’ understanding of verbs and sentence structure. By combining emotional engagement, repetition, and visual scaffolding, the learners built a stronger foundation to later write their own autobiographies with confidence and joy.

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2nd Teaching Practice 2nd week, Teaching Practice Journal entry

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2nd Teaching Practice 2nd week, Teaching Practice Journal entry

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Observation Entry – Second Week of Practice (October 27–31, 2025)
Grade: 6° “B”
Project: Conociéndonos
Trainee Teacher: Cristina Guadalupe Trujillo Martínez
School: Escuela Primaria Bicentenario de la Independencia

During the second week of practice, the English sessions continued to develop the project Conociéndonos, which aimed to guide students in constructing their own autobiographies through meaningful, sequenced writing. The focus of the week was on organizing events chronologically and integrating adverbs of time and frequency as linguistic tools to express personal experiences coherently. Although some days were affected by institutional events and cultural activities, the learning objectives were maintained through constant adaptation and reinforcement of language skills.

On Monday, October 27, the lesson corresponded to session six of the teaching sequence. The main objective was for students to identify and use adverbs of time within simple sentences. Due to time adjustments made by the titular teacher, the class duration was shortened by approximately twenty minutes. Therefore, the session focused mainly on oral and written practice of short sentences using adverbs of frequency such as always, usually, sometimes, and never. Students worked in pairs, creating short statements about their daily routines and reading them aloud. Despite the limited time, students demonstrated understanding of how adverbs modify the verb to show habitual actions. The activity reinforced the importance of repetition, engagement, and coherence, three of Jensen’s critical factors that strongly affect learning.

On Tuesday, October 28, only eight students attended because the rest of the group left early for a teacher workshop. This class was essential for consolidating the timeline draft of the autobiography project. Students used their notes from previous lessons to write short past-tense sentences describing their most significant life events, such as “I was born in Toluca” or “I played football with my friends.” Grammar difficulties were evident, particularly with verb conjugation and the placement of adverbs. Some students mixed tenses (I am born), while others omitted subjects. To address these issues, I provided guided correction and visual examples on the board, emphasizing form and meaning simultaneously. Although the low attendance limited collaboration, the students who were present managed to complete their first drafts. The class reflected the importance of error correction, input quantity, and emotional state, as students needed constant feedback and motivation to maintain focus despite distractions.

On Wednesday, October 29, the lesson plan was modified because the titular teacher requested the class to dedicate the entire day to preparing the Day of the Dead altar. As a result, there was no formal English instruction. However, students were asked to continue working independently on their timelines. Those who had not attended Tuesday’s class completed their first version, while others improved their drafts. Even though the environment was busy with movement and decoration, students managed to review their work with my assistance. This informal reinforcement helped maintain progress in the writing stage of the project.

On Thursday, October 30, no English class was held because of the school-wide altar exhibition. I supported my titular teacher throughout the day, monitoring students and helping organize the event. This experience, although non-academic, contributed to my understanding of classroom management, safety, and collaboration. The incident in 6° “C”, where part of the papel picado caught fire, required immediate action. I informed my teacher via message and call, and together with the group teacher, we controlled the situation successfully. Later, I supervised 6° “B” again, distributed the altar items, and handled a behavioral issue responsibly by reporting it promptly.

In summary, the second week demonstrated the need for flexibility and awareness of context in teaching. Despite interruptions, students advanced in organizing and expressing life events using the past tense. The lessons also reaffirmed the importance of Jensen’s seven factors particularly engagement, repetition, feedback, and emotional stability as foundations for effective language learning. Each adaptation made during the week ensured continuity of the project, promoted responsibility, and strengthened both my pedagogical and emotional competence as a trainee teacher.

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3rd Teaching Practice 1st week, Teaching Practice Journal entry

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3rd Teaching Practice 1st week, Teaching Practice Journal entry

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School: Escuela Primaria “Bicentenario de la Independencia”
Group: 6°B

During the first week of my teaching practice in this new stage, I observed and implemented the first five lessons of the project Healthy Planet Project with group 6°B. The main purpose of this phase was to introduce students to healthy habits, colors, elements of nature, hygiene routines, and community helpers through playful, movement-based, and highly visual activities. Each class was designed following the ABP methodology and carefully aligned with the seven critical learning factors described in Jensen’s Teaching with the Brain in Mind: engagement, repetition, input quantity, coherence, timing, error correction, and emotional states.

From the very first session, engagement was strongly present. In Class 1, the teacher used corner games and big visual posters to help students classify actions as healthy or unhealthy. The students responded enthusiastically, running to corners and repeating vocabulary with energy. This active participation was not only engaging but also emotionally positive; students felt confident and excited, which directly supported their learning. The teacher consistently maintained a warm, encouraging tone that contributed to favorable emotional states, reducing anxiety and increasing willingness to participate.

Another factor I noticed throughout the five sessions was repetition, which was always meaningful rather than mechanical. For example, in Class 2, during the Color Wheel Spinner activity, students repeated “It is green,” “It is red,” multiple times, supported by real objects around the classroom. In Class 3, nature vocabulary was reinforced through a Human Nature Domino game, nature corners, and drawing tasks. The frequency of exposure allowed students to internalize new words naturally.

Input quantity was also intentionally provided. The teacher offered constant comprehensible input through gestures, visuals, modeling, and short, clear sentences. Whether it was “I drink water,” “It is yellow,” or “He is a doctor,” students were exposed to structures repeatedly across varied contexts, supporting both comprehension and early production.

Coherence across lessons was evident in how topics progressively connected. Class 1 introduced healthy habits; Class 2 moved to school-related vocabulary; Class 3 expanded into nature; Class 4 added hygiene routines; and Class 5 introduced community helpers. Although each class had its own focus, all sessions contributed to the overarching project, maintaining conceptual unity. The teacher also reused materials—dice, cards, posters—which strengthened continuity and connections between lessons.

I also observed effective use of timing. Activities were short, dynamic, and transitioned smoothly. The teacher never allowed long pauses or unclear instructions that might cause disengagement. Games had a clear beginning and end, ensuring that students stayed alert and responsive. This intentional pacing prevented cognitive overload and kept students in a state of active attention.

Error correction was consistently supportive and non-threatening. Instead of pointing out mistakes directly, the teacher repeated the correct form with emphasis. For example, if a student said “She is doctor,” the teacher simply replied with a smile: “Yes, she is a doctor.” This preserved students’ confidence and encouraged further participation.

Overall, the first five lessons demonstrated how the seven critical factors can be applied harmoniously in real classroom practice. The teacher successfully created an environment where students felt safe, motivated, and eager to use English. Through movement, visuals, repetition, and clear routines, learners were able to participate actively and process new vocabulary meaningfully. This week reinforced my understanding that effective learning depends not only on activities themselves but on the conditions that surround them, and I will continue applying these insights in the following stages of my practice.

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3rd Teaching Practice 2nd week, Teaching Practice Journal entry

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3rd Teaching Practice 2nd week, Teaching Practice Journal entry

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This week of practice allowed me to observe the teaching–learning process through a broader and more reflective lens, especially regarding the seven critical factors that strongly affect learning: engagement, repetition, input quantity, coherence, timing, error correction, and emotional states. Rather than focusing on isolated activities, I reflected on how these factors shaped the overall functioning of the classroom in Classes 5, 6, and 7 of the Healthy Planet Project.

Throughout the week, engagement remained one of the strongest and most visible elements. The students in 6th grade respond positively to movement, visual input, and playful dynamics, so the teacher continually incorporated strategies that kept them physically and mentally active. Whether through guessing games, brief demonstrations, or classification tasks, the lessons maintained a steady level of interest. I noticed that engagement increased when students were invited to participate directly rather than passively observe.

Repetition was another key factor that became evident as the week progressed. Since students are working with basic A1 vocabulary and simple structures, repetition was embedded naturally in every session. Vocabulary from previous lessons—such as habits, water actions, nature elements, community helpers, and environmental actions—reappeared frequently. This not only reinforced retention but also gave students more confidence when producing language orally. I observed that students who rarely participated earlier in the project were now volunteering more often because repeated exposure lowered their anxiety.

On Tuesday, an unexpected situation occurred: due to school-related reasons, only six students attended class. Because of this, I postponed the scheduled lesson and used the session for a general review and for practicing ordinal numbers. This moment highlighted several factors. First, input quantity increased significantly because each child received more individual attention, more speaking turns, and more direct feedback. Second, the reduced class size created a more relaxed environment, which improved emotional states; students were calm, participative, and less self-conscious. Third, the need to rearrange the plan demonstrated the importance of timing as a flexible element in teaching. Instead of forcing the original lesson, adapting it ensured that the learning sequence remained meaningful.

The week also revealed how coherence plays an essential role in reinforcing learning. All the sessions were related to the central project theme, which helped students connect health, environment, routines, water use, and responsibilities. Even when content shifted, the teacher constantly linked new ideas to previous knowledge. This sustained coherence prevented students from feeling lost and made the learning process feel like a continuous storyline.

Error correction remained gentle and supportive throughout the week. The teacher mostly corrected through modeling rather than through interruption. For example, when a student mispronounced or misused a structure, the teacher simply repeated it correctly, offering a natural, non-threatening form of feedback. Students responded well to this approach and seemed increasingly comfortable taking risks in English.

Finally, emotional states had a strong impact on learning. The group is energetic and expressive, and their emotional climate fluctuates depending on clarity, pace, and the degree of movement in class. When activities were dynamic and well-paced, students showed enthusiasm, collaboration, and positive attitudes. Even during moments of noise or distraction, the teacher redirected the group with routines that restored balance.

In conclusion, this week demonstrated how the seven critical factors constantly interact in the classroom. The sudden low attendance on Tuesday, the dynamic participation in the other sessions, and the teacher’s reflective adjustments all contributed to a learning environment where students were active, supported, and emotionally engaged. This experience reinforced the importance of understanding these factors not as isolated components but as interconnected elements that together shape meaningful learning.

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During this observation week, several classroom activities allowed me to analyze how learning is influenced by factors related to the brain’s design rather than only by the environment. Throughout the week, students participated in reading, writing, environmental education activities, and a school fair, which provided valuable opportunities to identify the seven critical factors that strongly affect learning: engagement, repetition, input quantity, coherence, timing, error correction, and emotional states.

One of the most evident factors was engagement. Students showed higher levels of attention and participation when activities were meaningful and interactive. For example, during the environmental degradation lesson, the use of a video followed by a drawing activity and later an essay helped students stay actively involved. Similarly, during the school fair, students were highly motivated as they could present their work and interact with others. Engagement increased when students felt that their work had a purpose and an audience.

Repetition was also present throughout the week, especially in reading and writing tasks. Students worked with multiple texts, practiced similar skills repeatedly, and revisited environmental topics through different activities such as drawings, essays, recycling projects, and the fair. This repetition helped reinforce key concepts and supported better understanding over time.

Regarding input quantity, students were exposed to a considerable amount of language and content through readings, teacher explanations, videos, peer interactions, and hands-on activities. The input was varied and rich, which supported comprehension. However, it was also carefully managed so students were not overwhelmed, especially during structured classroom activities.

Coherence was evident in how lessons were connected. The environmental topic was consistently developed throughout the week, linking reading, writing, audiovisual resources, recycling projects, and the fair. Students also worked on making recycling bins, which connected theory with real-life application. This coherence helped students understand the relevance of what they were learning and how different activities were related.

Timing played an important role in the learning process. Activities were organized in a logical sequence, allowing students enough time to complete tasks, reflect, and transition between activities. The balance between individual work, group activities, and practical tasks helped maintain students’ focus and energy.

In terms of error correction, the teacher provided feedback mainly through verbal guidance and individual support. Errors were addressed respectfully and constructively, creating a safe learning environment where students felt comfortable asking questions and making mistakes as part of the learning process.

Finally, emotional states strongly influenced learning. The teacher maintained a supportive and respectful relationship with students, which helped create a positive classroom atmosphere. Situations such as attending to a student who felt unwell demonstrated care and empathy, reinforcing emotional security. During collaborative activities, students showed enthusiasm, confidence, and enjoyment, which positively impacted their learning.

Overall, this week demonstrated that learning is deeply influenced by cognitive and emotional factors. By considering these seven critical factors, the teacher created meaningful learning experiences that supported students’ academic and personal development.