1	Brain Research, Schooling & Wellness Karen List – West Hartford Public Schools West Hartford, CT
2	Overview Brain Basics Learning and Development Stress/Environment Emotions & Learning Memory & Recall
3	The Enhancement of Student Understanding - Howard Gardner An intelligence is the biological potential to process information in certain ways, in order to solve problems or fashion products that are valued in a community. Education for understanding is the application of knowledge, concepts, etc. in new situations for which that knowledge is appropriate.
4	The Enhancement of Student Understanding - Howard Gardner We can increase intelligence in any area if we make it important and put resources toward it.
5	Intelligence Kurt Fischer Genetics - at most half of the picture Environment - adoption of disadvantaged children to advantaged families produces large increase in intelligence IQ increase of 15 points per generation across nations Temperament traits - (intraversion, anxiety) show a strong genetic component New Research - the relationship between styles and skills show strong environmental effects.
6	5 Principles for Learning & Development Kurt Fischer Knowledge and skills are built through actions, not merely transmitted. Level of knowledge varies with contextual support. Optimal level occurs with high support, functional level in ordinary contexts. Education aims at both. Development occurs in a web, not a ladder. Optimal knowledge & action grow in levels, with clusters of spurts marking each level. Optimal levels develop in recurring cycles related to brain growth, producing remarkable plasticity in human learning and development.
7	Teaching with the Brain in Mind Eric Jensen Brain compatible learning is a multi-disciplinary approach it is grounded in neuroscience it is a way of thinking about our job it is not a recipe or panacea it may help us reach more learners with less hit or miss frustration it embraces principles about the brain which can boost learning and achievement.
8	Teaching with the Brain in Mind Eric Jensen For best recall think - about how it applies to you write - down key ideas with color discuss - ideas with colleagues ASAP make - a plan to use it and get feedback
9	Teaching with the Brain in Mind Eric Jensen Common sources of threats to learning
10	Teaching with the Brain in Mind Eric Jensen Impact of Threat on behavior extremes of aggression/withdrawal/diminished problem solving/highly selective memory/increased rote behavior/impaired creativity
11	Teaching with the Brain in Mind Eric Jensen Impact of Threat on behavior extremes of aggression/withdrawal/diminished problem solving/highly selective memory/increased rote behavior/impaired creativity on brain/body greater likelihood of learning disorders/chemical residues up to 48 hours/weaker immune system/changes in blood flow/over expressed genes
12	Teaching with the Brain in Mind Eric Jensen Helping kids recover from threats (assume kids come with exposure to threats) learner safety - absence of threat connection - connect with others/build trust expression - provide opportunities for them to express themselves (emotional) activation - activate prior, relevant learning
13	Teaching with the Brain in Mind Eric Jensen Primary Retrieval Principles match states - test taking is high stress - rehearsal for testing mnemonic systems nutrition & exercise (walk prior to testing) use multiple pathways - movement/then debrief (as in practice & test preparation)
14	Teaching with the Brain in Mind Eric Jensen Primary Retrieval Principles match learning context engage dependent modality re-sort, re-connect - more associations pair/share peer teaching KWL
15	Teaching with the Brain in Mind Eric Jensen Learning occurs when Connections are made Connections are accurate - elaborate/reinforce Connections are strengthened - memory tools/neuromodulators - adrenaline - field trips, plays, performances, engaging emotions, storytelling, competition
16	Teaching with the Brain in Mind Eric Jensen Learning occurs when Feedback is essential for the formation of neural networks Neural fixing - need to do nothing (down time/relaxation - walks, drawing, routine tasks, recess, breaks, sleep, stretching, listening to music)
17	The Brain as a Meaning-Maker - based on the work of Eric Jensen and Marilee Sprenger Practical suggestions Reveal your own mental models - think aloud Ask students how they know what they know Patiently answer the endless stream of why questions without sarcasm or being too brief or too wordy
18	The Brain as a Meaning-Maker - continued Practical suggestions Point out patterns in nature Introduce skills of grouping objects, ideas, names, facts, and other key ideas
19	The Brain as a Meaning-Maker - continued Practical suggestions Read to kids and ask for patterns of organization - cause & effect, problem and solution, intense drama and down time Ask questions that compare and contrast elements in nature
20	The Brain as a Meaning-Maker - continued Practical suggestions - continued Help children learn to use jigsaw puzzles, blocks and dominoes Use stitchery to learn patterns, sort buttons. Use tool boxes to sort screws, nuts, bolts and tools. Teach and learn sound patterns - listen to patterns in wildlife, such as bird calls.
21	The Brain as a Meaning-Maker - continued Practical suggestions - continued Help students use motor skills to walk them through a learning process in advance of needing to know it. Days or weeks before starting a topic, prepare learners with oral previews, applicable games in texts or handouts, metaphorical descriptions and mind-maps of the topic When finished with a topic - allow for evaluation, relevance, demonstrate patterning with plays, models and teachings
22	The Brain as a Meaning-Maker continued Emotions drive the threesome of attention, meaning and memory. Purposely engaging emotions -
23	The Brain as a Meaning-Maker continued Purposely engaging emotions - Expression - positive, safe Movement - role play, theater, drama, mime, art and simulations Stakes - goal setting Novelty - relevant, social and fun Sharing - peer collaboration, cooperative learning Apprenticeships - relationship driven learning Think big - do fewer, but more complex projects
24	If our teaching is to be an art, we must draw from all we know, feel, and believe in order to create something beautiful. To teach well, we do not need more strategies as much as we need a vision of what is essential. It is not the number of good ideas that turns our work into art but the selection, balance, and design of those ideas. Lucy Calkins (from the Art of Teaching Reading)
25	Memory and Recall based on the work of Eric Jensen and Marilee Sprenger Memory is a process, not a fixed thing or singular skill. Our brain does not store memories, it recreates them, very approximately, every time we recall. We don’t have memory banks.
26	Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory. Albert Schweitzer
27	Memory and Recall based on the work of Eric Jensen and Marilee Sprenger We have pathways for specific types of learning - some are more easily retrieved than others - Textbook and other forms of rote learning create significant difficulties for students Retrieval is better in contextual, episodic, event-oriented situations; or by using motor learning, location changes, music and rhythm.
28	Memory and Recall - continued Maximizing multiple memory pathways Never assume that because your students don’t recall information easily that they don’t know it. It may be stored in a different pathway. For maximum recall, store learning in multiple pathways and follow up with review 10 minutes, 2 days, and 1 week later.
29	Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again. Willa Cather
30	Memory and Recall - continued Memory pathways - Explicit - semantic & episodic Implicit - procedural & automatic - conditioned responses & emotional
31	Memory and Recall - continued Semantic memory strategies - words Graphic organizers - mind mapping w/pictures Peer teaching Questioning strategies Summarizing Role-Playing Debates Outlining Time Lines Practice Tests Paraphrasing Mnemonic Devices
32	Memory and Recall - continued Instructional Strategies for Episodic Memory Episodic Memory Strategies - location driven Bulletin boards Changing the arrangement of desks Accessorize - wear hats, scarves, belts, shoes, masks, or full costumes to enhance the learning experience Field studies Use one color of paper for all the handouts related to a unit Teach from a specific area of the room
33	Memory and Recall - continued Instructional Strategies for Procedural and Automatic Memory Procedural Memory Strategies Setting and repeating procedures Have students invent procedures to support instructional materials Anything that involves movement will enhance procedural memory (role-playing, debates, dances, marches, monologues and games) Automatic Memory Strategies Music Flash cards, repetition through daily oral work, and oral conditioning
34	Memory and Recall - continued Instructional Strategies for Emotional Memory - Emotional Memory Strategies The most powerful - use both positive and negative emotions Music - dramatic background music Celebrations - sharing work through role-playing or dramatic performances Make your room the scene of a crime Show your enthusiasm for your subject, model your love of the content
35	Memory and Recall - continued Accessing Multiple Memory Pathways Storytelling Look at the semantic information in the curriculum and try to find ways to present it through the episodic, automatic, procedural, and emotional memory pathways Begin with the episodic pathway and continue with the procedural pathway
36	Memory and Recall - continued Accessing Multiple Memory Pathways Celebrate both the beginning and the end of a unit to add to the emotional memory Ask students how they feel about the topic studied Have students decorate the classroom to add to their procedural and episodic memories Offer students choices in their learning
37	Memory and Recall - continued Accessing Multiple Memory Pathways - continued Research procedures may access multiple memory pathways Daily repetition of important information is a key to building long-term memory Creating songs with unit content accesses both automatic and emotional pathways Use student volunteers to reenact or reteach the information Debates may cement semantic information through the emotional and procedural pathways You may find that your work becomes more interesting as you make the effort to access and create more memories for your students.
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