brain basics for educators 10

7/30/2019 Brain Basics for Educators 10

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Compiled by: Donna Anderson, Tammy ReynoldsSchool District 68 Nanaimo Ladysmith

Educators are in the only profession whose job is to change the human brain every day. As we continudevelop a more scientifically based understanding about todays novel brain, we must decide hothis new knowledge should change what we do in schools and classrooms.

(David Sousa How the Brain Learns; 2006)

Neuroscience So What is Really New?Plasticity of the Brain

Learning Grows Brain Cells!!

Research about the brain is exploding thanks to newtechnologies that are able to look inside the brain!!Never before have neuroscience and classroominstruction been so closely linked. Because advancesin technology enable us to view the working brain as itlearns, educators can now find evidence-basedneuroimaging and brain-mapping studies todeterminethe most effective ways to teach. (Judy Willis,Ignite; 2006)

Even though we are born with a 100 billion neuneuroscientists now know the brain continues to grow. Tcan be a lifelong growth of dendrites and some neurNeuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change with dlearning through dendrite growth and pruning. This allowsbrain to reshape and reorganize neural connections. Mbrains CAN learn forever healthy brains retain plasticity.

The New Brain

Environmentofthe

Past

School was an interesting place because it had television, films, field trips,

guest speakers. Because there were few other distractions, school wasimportant influence in a childs life and the primary source of information.

Neighbourhoods were an important part of growing up. Children played toge

developing their motor skills as well as learning the social skills needed to intesuccessfully with other children in the neighbourhood.

If homes had a TV, it was in a common area and controlled by parents. W

children watched could be carefully monitored.

David Sousa, author ofHow the Brain Learns,suggests schools andteaching are not changingfast enough. Studentsrequire an engagingenvironment that maintains

the interest of their newbrain, one that is requiredto respond to very differentenvironments than even 15years ago. We must usenew, scientifically basedknowledge about the brain(neuroscience) to educatetodays learners, instead ofremarking on their shortattention spans and howeasily they are bored. The

brain is a novelty seekerthat is constantly searchingits environment for stimuli.Today, children aregrowing up inenvironments that are verydifferent from severaldecades ago, hence theirnew brain.

EnvironmentofToday

Todays young brains have responded to the technology by changing functioning and organization to accommodate the large amount of stimulaoccurring in the environment. By acclimating itself to these changes, brespond more than ever to the unique and differentwhat is called novelty.

The multimedia environment divides a childs attention. Even newscasts

different. In the past, only the reporters face was on the screen. Now, thescreen is loaded with information. Three people are reporting in from diffecorners of the world. Additional non-related news is scrolling across the bottoWe might find these tidbits distracting, but children have become accustomethese information-rich and rapidly changing messages. They can pay attentioseveral things at once, but they do not go into any one thing in depth.

Children are surrounded by media: cell phones, multiple televisions, mocomputers, video games, e-mail, and the Internet. Teens spend nearly 17 houweek on the Internet and nearly 14 hours a week watching TV.

Children spend more time indoors with their technology, thereby missing outopportunities to develop gross motor and socialization skills necessarcommunicate and act personally with others.

These are excerpts taken from: How the Brain Learns: David Sousa (20The full text can be found on pages 29-30.


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Think About this. The brain is composed of a trillion cells; 100 billion are neurons (equal to 16 ti

the number of neurons to people on the planet or the number of stars in the MWay). You can have up to one quadrillion synaptic connections (1 000 000 00000 000) in one brain!

An impulse can travel along the length of an adult in 2/10th of a second.

One cell may connect with as many as 50 000 other cells.

Neurons can transmit between 250 and 2500 impulses per second.

Explosions of dendrite growth take place between the ages of (0-3) and (13-1

but dendrite growth can happen throughout life.

As little as 1% of the information our senses capture will be processed by the

brain and converted into long term memory.

Hooks of the brain: curiosity, challenge and anticipation.

A rule of thumb about teacher talk and a students ability to focus: talk no

longer than the age of your students plus 2 minutes.

Even though the brain is only 2% of our body weight, it consumes 20% of our

calories. The more we think, the more calories we burn! The consistency and texture of a ripe avocado is similar to the texture of the

brain.

Neuroimaging reveals that music activates many different parts of the brain.

If your brain was not wrinkled or convoluted, it would be approximately the sa

size as a pillowcase.

The three things the brain needs most are oxygen, water and brain nutrition.

Our best learning takes place when there is low stress and there are relevant

learning experiences.

The neurons in a childs brain make more connections than those in an adults

newborns brain makes connections at an incredible pace as the child absorbsenvironment.

Synthesizing, which encourages longer and more complex connections in moareas of the brain, is dendrite food

The frontal lobe deals with planning and thinking, monitor higher-order thinki

and contain our self-will; as well as regulating excesses of our emotional systeThe frontal lobe matures slowly and is not fully functioning during adolescence

DENDRITE GROWTH DENDRITE PRUNING

Our job is to grow dendrites. They are neural roadwaysthat connect various parts of the brain. Growingdendrites (size and numbers) physically increases theweight of our brain. New growth of dendrites form onneurons that are frequently used. Introducing andreviewing information to the brain in several wayscreates more dendrite pathways and synapticconnections. The more they are used the stronger theybecome. For example: offering visual information willset up connections to the occipital lobe. Having studentshear the information will make connections with thetemporal lobes. The more alternative roadways thereare to connect with a memory, the more rapidly thememory will be retrieved when needed. Recent studiesof neurons in people of different occupations show thatthe more complex the skills required to do the job, the

more dendrites found on neurons.

The pace of dendrite growth slackens as a child reacpuberty and two processes begin: connections neurons the brain finds useful become permanent; thnot useful are pruned. The brain bases its selection

experience. Therefore, by adolescence our brains hchosen most of the neurons they will keep. The mways something is learned, the more memory pathware built. This brain research discovery is part of reason for the current notion that stimulating the groof more dendrites and synaptic connections is one ofbest things teachers can learn to do for their studen(Judy Willis, 2006) When our brains gray matter thick(dendrite growth) so does the white matter. White mais the myelin sheaths that insulate the axons and mnerve signals faster and more efficient (myelinizatiLess used pathways are pruned while the m

frequently used connections become thicker and mefficient.


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Its all about storing information in your memory so it can be retrieved when you need it.

AttentionBefore students can learn, something or someone,

must capture their attention.

Repetition and Processing of Information

A system in the lower part of the brain filters allincoming stimuli and makes the decision about whatpeople attend to or ignore. Because there is somuch newness in our students environment fromvisual, auditory, kinaesthetic input all around them(and plugged into their ears from iPods hidden intheir backpacks), teachers have the challenge ofguiding students to select and focus on the intendedinformation and ignore the rest of the inputbombarding their RAS (reticular activating system)and competing for their attention.(Judy Willis, M.D.; Research-Based Strategies To Ignite

Student Learning; 2006)

Application of sense and meaning to new learning can only hapif the learner has time to process and reprocess new informatBefore repetition begins, information must be remembcorrectly. The Gradual Release of Responsibility providemodel that encourages success: Teacher Modeling (explamodels, think alouds) followed by Guided Practice (teacher student practice together), Independent Practice (practice on owin groups with regular feedback from teacher) and finishing wApplication of the new learning. After this, the information musreviewed regularly, which stimulates neural connections dendrite growth to strengthen the connections between neurons

Accessing Prior Knowledge

By accessing the previous experiences andknowledge a student already has about a topic, newinformation is recognized by the brain as relevant andit increases the chance that the information will travelbeyond temporary working memory and into long-term storage areas. If prior knowledge is not evidentteachers must provide it.


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Long Term Storage

Because working memory is temporary, our brains needto decide if new information should be sent to long termstorage for future recall or dropped, in a relatively shortperiod of time (varies depending on a number of factors).Survival and emotion (including motivation) significantlyimpact memory storage and the length of time a personcan stay focused. Connecting with past experiences anddetermining if the new information makes sense or hasmeaning will determine whether it is saved or dropped.Solidifying information in long term memory requirestime and repetition.

Makes Sense Meaning/Relevance

When students lookconfused or comment theydont understand, newinformation does not makesense to them. Inclassrooms students oftenunderstand what is beingtaught and completeassignments, but if theinformation is not relevantand does not connect to

their past experiences it isunlikely it will be sent tolong term storage for recall.

When students questionwhy they have to dosomething, they aresaying they do not haveany personal experiencethat tells them theinformation is importantto rememberit is notrelevant to them.Meaning is moreimportant than makingsense. A person canunderstand somethingbut if it is not relevant itis less likely they willremember it.

Information is most likely to get stored if it makes sense andhas meaning. (David Sousa, 2006)


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Emotions...Learning or Not? Provide Syn-nap Breaks

Memories are formed in an emotional context. The emotionalpart of the brain, the limbic system, is active as information isbeing converted to long term memories in the hippocampusand stored throughout the brain. Information flow is blockedby stress and enhanced by positive emotional states. Positiveclassroom environments that get students emotionally involvedwith the content improve learning and retention.

Our brains need breaks to internalize new information replenish neurotransmitters (chemicals that transmit impufrom neuron to neuron). If neurotransmitters are

replenished, the amygdala will block information and memefficiency will decrease. Neurotransmitters rebuild qu(within minutes) if syn-naps are taken before meltdo(students lose focus and attention); therefore it is betteschedule syn-naps before students show signs of distrac

Make Cross Curricular Connections Help Students Identify Patterns

An integrated curriculum helps students achieve transfer(influence of past learning on new learning) by helping themsee the connection between what they know and new learning.When students participate in learning that is related across the

curriculum connections between different areas of the brainincrease. It is much easier recalling information from long-term memory when higher levels of thinking are beingstimulated and pathways between related areas have beenincreased.

Education is about increasing the patterns students can recognize, and communicate. (Judy Willis, 2006) Patterallows us to organize and connect new learning with whatalready know. Students form new neural connections wnew material is presented in a way that shows relationsh

Graphic organizers are one of the best foods for encouradendrite growth. They encourage the brain to create meaand relevance by helping students make connections andpatterns, which are necessary for long-term memory storag

Oral Languagetalk to others about your thinking! Complexity and Difficulty

Brain scans have revealed a hierarchy of brain activity thatdemonstrates the importance of oral language and talkingabout your thinking. A whole network of neural activity isactivated.

Average Percentage of Retention After 24 Hours

Lecture..5%Demonstration30%Practice by Doing..75%Teach Others/Immediate use of Learning.90%

(David Sousa, 2006)

Complexity (thought process) and difficulty (amount of ethe learner uses within a level of complexity) are diffeconcepts! Teachers often increase difficulty rather tcomplexity (analyze, evaluate, create) to challenge studeMany believe students with minimal ability cannot cope

complexity. However, all students have the abilityundertake higher level thinking tasks (complexity); slolearners simply require more time. (David Sousa, 2006)enriched curriculum helps all students physically change tbrains by growing dendrites and making connections to mother areas of the brain.

Males/Females Assessment and Evaluation

The brains of males and females are different in bothchemical and physical ways. Brain scans indicate males andfemales use different parts of their brain to complete similartasks. Our job is to recognize that boys may have somedifferent learning preferences from girls, but that both genders

have similar capabilities to succeed. To that end, we need tocurb the cultural and social forces that feed past stereotypesabout students capabilities.

(David Sousa, 2006)

If knowledge gaps are not corrected early the brain will fblanks with misinformation. This misinformation maystored in long term memories that are difficult to change oembedded. The only way we ever know what we know i

answering a question or performing a task.

Resources:

Halstead, David. (2002) Putting The Brain Into The Classroom. Winnipeg, MB: Gallant Design Ltd. (ISBN: 0-9731650-1-4)

Plitano, Colleen and Paquin, Joy. (2000) Brain-Based Learning With Class. Winnipeg, MB: Peguis Publishers. (ISBN: 1-894110-48-X)

Sousa, David A. (2006) How The Brain Learns Third Edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publicatioins. (ISBN 1-4129-3661-6)

Willis, Judy MD. (2006) Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning. Davers, MA: Copyright Clearance Centre. (ISBN-13: 978-1-4166-0370-2)

Classroom Connections, Summer 2007,Volume 17, Issue 2

This handout has been modified and adapted from the above resources.Error: Reference source not found

brain basics for educators 10

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