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Brain Based Research and Its Impact on the Classroom Learning Brain Based Research and Its Impact on the Classroom Learning Keith D. Schroeder Library Media Specialist Howard-Suamico School District

Education needs to facilitate optimal brain functioning in order to meet the needs of every child “NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND” Education needs to facilitate optimal brain functioning in order to meet the needs of every child “NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND”

 Recent developments in brain research have led to many implications for strengthening teaching and learning.  The “No Child Left Behind” laws are a further imperative for us to be mindful of current research in this area.  Purpose of this session 1.Introduction to brain research 2.Concentrate on how we can translate this knowledge into how we assist teachers in their classrooms.

The Brain Is A Parallel Processor Performs many functions simultaneously Thoughts, emotions, imagination and predispositions operate concurrently and interactively as the entire system interacts and exchanges information in the environment

The Brain Is A Parallel Processor - Implications Enrich learning environments –Learning is enhanced with a variety of stimuli –Change décor every 2-4 weeks Teachers need to use a variety of teaching strategies and techniques Appropriate challenge Engage entire brain Timely feedback

Jensen, Eric. Teaching With the Brain In Mind. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development,

Learning Engages The Entire Physiology Learning is as natural as breathing, but it can be either inhibited or facilitated. Physical development, personal comfort, and emotional state effect the ability to learn Balance of stress & comfort, High Challenge and low threat

Learning Engages The Entire Physiology - Implications Expecting equal achievement on the basis of chronological age is inappropriate Children mature at different rates; chronological age may not reflect the student’s readiness to learn. Healthy children may differ by as many as five years in their natural acquisition of basic skills. Incorporate facets of health – stress management, nutrition & exercise – into the learning process

Jensen, Eric. Teaching With the Brain In Mind. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development,

The Search For Meaning Is Innate The search for meaning (making sense of our experiences) and the need to act on our environment is automatic. The search for meaning is survival oriented and basic to the human brain. The mind’s natural curiosity can be engaged by complex and meaningful challenges.

The Search For Meaning Is Innate - Implications Strive to present lessons and activities that arouse the mind’s search for meaning. The learning environment needs to provide stability and familiarity, but at the same time, provision must be made for students to satisfy their curiosity and hunger for novelty, discovery, and challenge – a rich balance of novelty and ritual. Lessons need to be generally exciting and meaningful and offer students an abundance of choices. The more positively lifelike such learning, the better. Most of the creative methods used for teaching gifted students should be applied to all students.

The Search For Meaning Occurs Through "Patterning" Patterning refers to the meaningful organization and categorization of information. The brain is designed to perceive and generate patterns, and it resists having meaningless patterns imposed on it. "Meaningless" patterns are isolated pieces of information unrelated to what makes sense to a student.

The Search For Meaning Occurs Through "Patterning“ - Implications Link new learning to “old mental hooks” through the use of examples, stories, etc. Use cooperative/collaborative learning strategies Use hands-on, experiential, and relevant activities Ask “how” questions because they draw out the patterns as the students relates the steps in the process Ask questions that compare and contrast

Jensen, Eric. Teaching With the Brain In Mind. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development,

Emotions Are Critical To Patterning Emotions and cognition cannot be separated. Emotions can be crucial to the storage and recall of information We do not simply learn things. What we learn is influenced and organized by emotions and mind sets based on expectancy, personal biases and prejudices, degree of self-esteem, and the need for social interaction. Emotions and thoughts literally shape each other and cannot be separated.

Emotions Are Critical To Patterning - Implications Create a safe environment to express emotions Promote positive attitudes among students and teachers about their work. Encourage students to be aware of their feelings and how the emotional climate affects their learning Help create positive emotional states through classroom success, friendships, celebrations, parties, music, fun, acknowledgements, etc. Use debates or dialogs to address controversies Engage students in a personal way through journals, discussion, sharing personal stories, etc. Include stress management techniques in your classroom

Jensen, Eric. Teaching With the Brain In Mind. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development,

The Brain Processes Parts And Wholes Simultaneously Every brain simultaneously perceives and creates parts and wholes. There are significant differences between left and right hemispheres of the brain. In a healthy person, both brain hemispheres interact in each and every daily experience.

The Brain Processes Parts And Wholes Simultaneously - Implications Chunk/group ideas verses covering material in a “piecemeal” way Conduct oral/written reviews often Intersperse coverage of material with intervals for reflection Arrange the information in a structured and meaningful way Cover the whole, then the parts - avoid isolating information from its context. Isolation makes learning more difficult Design activities that require full brain interaction and communication Place materials (posters, art, music) outside the learner’s immediate focus to influence learning

Learning Involves Both Focused Attention And Peripheral Perception The brain absorbs information with which it is directly involved, but also pays attention to information outside of the direct involvement field. The brain responds to the entire sensory context in which teaching or Communication occurs.

Learning Involves Both Focused Attention And Peripheral Perception - Implications Be aware that your enthusiasm, modeling and coaching present important signals about the value of what is being learned Use “hooks” or other motivational techniques to encourage personal connection.

Learning Always Involves Conscious And Unconscious Processes Much of our learning is unconscious and below the level of awareness. We learn much more than we ever consciously understand. Our experiences become part of our prior knowledge in both conscious and unconscious ways.

Learning Always Involves Conscious And Unconscious Processes - Implications Switch gears with a strong contrast from what you were just doing Provide students time to process and reflect on the material you just covered –Encourage “active processing” through reflection and metacognition to help students consciously review their learning. –Much understanding may not take place immediately and may occur later, some understanding coming much later. Processing time, reflection, and metacognition are vital to the learning environment.

We Have At Least Two Ways Of Organizing Memory: Spatial Memory And Rote Learning Spatial registers our daily experience Rote learning deals with facts and skills in isolation. We have a spatial/autobiographical memory that does not need rehearsal and allows for "instant" recall. It is always engaged, inexhaustible, and motivated by novelty. The two ways of organizing memory are stored differently.

We Have At Least Two Ways Of Organizing Memory: Spatial Memory And Rote Learning - Implications Try to avoid an emphasis on rote learning. By ignoring the personal world of the learner, and the preferred learning style of the learner, educators actually inhibit the effective functioning of the brain.

We Understand And Remember Best When Facts And Skills Are Embedded In Natural, Spatial Memory Our native language is learned through multiple interactive experiences with vocabulary and grammar. It is shaped both by internal processes and by social interaction. That is an example of how specific items are given meaning when embedded in ordinary experiences. All education can be enhanced when this type of embedding is adopted.

We Understand And Remember Best When Facts And Skills Are Embedded In Natural, Spatial Memory - Implications Teachers need to use a great deal of real-life activity, including classroom demonstrations; projects; field trips; visual imagery of certain experiences; stories; metaphors; drama; and interaction of different subjects. Grammar can be learned in process, through stories or writing. Success depends on using all of the senses and immersing the learner in a multitude of complex and interactive experiences. Lectures are not excluded, but they should be part of a larger experience.

Complex Learning Is Enhanced By Challenge And Inhibited By Threat The brain makes maximum connections when risk taking is encouraged and supported; however, it "downshifts" (helplessness) when under perceived threat.

Complex Learning Is Enhanced By Challenge And Inhibited By Threat - Implications Creating a safe place to think and risk, or relaxed alertness, is essential for optimum learning –Eliminate threat by establishing ground rules, describe expectations, etc. Promote positive self-images and self- confidence in students Develop an atmosphere low in threat and high in challenge The threat of failure and/or low grades may inhibit rather than encourage learning Provide feedback

Every Brain Is Uniquely Organized All humans have the same set of systems, yet we are all different based on genetic endowments, differing prior knowledge, and differing environments. The more we learn, the more unique we become.

Every Brain Is Uniquely Organized - Implications Use multifaceted teaching strategies to attract individual interests Let students express their auditory, visual, tactile or emotional preferences Learners are all different and need to be empowered to make choices and allowed to understand the world from their own unique intelligences. Providing choices that are variable enough to attract individual interests may require reshaping of schools so that they exhibit the complexity found in life.

12 Principles Summary 1.Uniqueness – every single brain is totally unique 2.Impact of threat or high stress can alter and impair learning and even kill brain cells 3.Emotions are critical to learning – they drive our attention, health, learning, meaning and memory 4.Information is stored and retrieved through multiple memory and nerual pathways 5.All learning is mind-body – movement, foods, attentional cycles, drugs and chemicals all have powerful modulating effects on learning 6.The brain is a complex and adaptive system – effective change involves the entire complex system

12 Principles (continued) 7.Patterns and programs drive our understanding – intelligence is the ability to elicit and to construct useful patterns 8.The brain is meaning-driven – meaning is more important to the brain than information 9.Learning is often rich and non-conscious – we process both parts and wholes simultaneously and are effected a great deal by peripheral influences 10.The brain develops better in concert with other brains – intelligence is valued in the context of the society in which we live 11.The brain develops with various stages of readiness 12.Enrichment – the brain can grow new connections at any age. Complex, challenging experiences with feedback are best. Cognitive skills develop better with music and motor skills.

Jensen, Eric. Teaching With the Brain In Mind. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development,

Web Resources Intelligences.htmlhttp:// Intelligences.html pd/apl/krd/tpc/2/info.htmlhttp://cid.unomaha.edu/~wwwsped/s pd/apl/krd/tpc/2/info.html o/bibs/multiple.htmlhttp:// o/bibs/multiple.html

Resources Caine, Geoffrey, and Renate N. Caine. Unleashing the Power of Perceptual Change: The Potential of Brain-Based Teaching. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Jensen, Eric. Teaching With the Brain In Mind. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1998.