Take control: training your brain Velina Espinosa, School Counselor Middle College High School @ Santa Ana College February 28,2018

Gestalt/Overview Brain Plasticity The Impact on Learning Training Your Dragon Procrastination The Pomodoro Technique 2 Ways of Thinking

Basic Brain Functions Neuroplasticity or brain plasticity – the ability of the brain to change (modify its connections or re-wire itself.) This allows the brain to develop from infancy to adulthood, recover from brain injury, learn new concepts, and develop new habits Dr. Lara Boyd, Ted Talk on Brain research https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g www.brainhq.com

The Impact on Learning Repetition is required to become an expert Grooves in the brain – a road map Makes retrieval easier examples: a library junk drawer vs. organized drawer messy backpack vs. organized backpack Can we think of some examples of experts? What do you consider yourself good at? How did you get to that level?

Training Your Dragon Learning is like preparing for a marathon, not a sprint! It takes preparation/repetition over time Long term memory vs. short term memory Do you really have test anxiety?

Procrastination Deferment, Postponement, Stalling, Delay, Putting Off Avoiding an unpleasant, uncomfortable task Pain sensors in the brain The “Dread” of doing something is worse than the task Turn to more pleasant activities A habit of procrastination?

The Pomodoro Technique Francesco Cirillo developed technique in the early 90’s "Pomodoro" after the tomato-shaped timer used to time his work as a university student The methodology is simple: When faced with any large task or series of tasks, break the work down into short, timed intervals (called "Pomodoros") that are spaced out by short breaks. This trains your brain to focus for short periods. With time it can even help improve your attention span and concentration You also get to take regular breaks that bolster your motivation and keep you creative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0k0TQfZGSc

2 Ways of Thinking/Networking : We Need Both to Learn Barbara Oakley, Ph.D.Engineering https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/how-pinball-helps-explain- ways-we-think-and-learn/ https://www.coursera.org/instructor/barboakley Focused Thinking - highly attentive states; essential for studying math and science. It involves a direct approach to solving problems using rational, sequential, analytical approaches. The focused mode is associated with the concentrating abilities of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, located right behind your forehead. Diffuse Thinking - more relaxed default mode states - is also essential for learning math and science. It is what allows us to suddenly gain a new insight on a problem we’ve been struggling with, and is associated with “big picture” perspectives. Diffuse-mode thinking is what happens when you relax your attention and just let your mind wander.

Recap Retrain your brain to create better habits Get over initial “dread” of a task Break work into manageable chunks, not overwhelming Most learning (especially math and science) require building on concepts, repetition over time, NOT cramming! We need to use focused and diffuse thinking to learn Tips: Recall – read page, look away, and verbalize it Testing – most powerful technique - test yourself, e.g. flash cards AVID strategies

Be Your Best Self Start new habits Be accountable with a buddy Pay attention and enjoy new actions