HOW THE BRAIN LEARNS: QUICK REVIEW

THE PROCESS CREATING NEURAL NETWORKS AND NEURAL PATHWAYS TO THE OBJECTIVE: Think of it as walking through a yard of tall grass, or a forest, until the grass is worn down or the trail is clearer with less brush. REPETITION grows number and thickness Number increases surface connections Thickness decreases resistance

The Bridge Builder Video

SEVEN CORRELATES Clear and focused mission Safe and orderly environment Strong community relations Time on task Frequent monitoring and assessment Strong instructional leadership High expectations

VOCABULARY  Neuron-brain cell consisting of a body, with an axon and dendrites  Dendrites – fingerlike input extensions that branch off from the neuron (brain cell)  Axon – output extension that pairs with dendrites  Synapse - synaptic gap the juncture between two connected neurons (the axon and dendrites)  Neurotransmitters – serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine) and hormones like cortisol and adrenaline  Myelin sheath-covering of neurons that thicken with use  Neurogenesis – or regeneration is the creation or growth of new brain cells

How The Brain Learns and Remembers  Neurons are constantly firing, integrating, and generating new information  Stimulation creates new Dendrites Fibers  Axons grow to connect with other dendrites  Frequently used Axons develop a fatty sheath of myelin = REPETITION

Quick Quiz on Correlates ??????????????

Association & Grouping Associating objectives with relevancy and meaning to the student’s experiences increase interest, student buy-in Grouping objectives allows students to “Chunk” items because of the relationships that exist between the grouped items Both increase TRANSFER TO LONG TERM MEMORY

Short Term-Memory Retention The seeds may initially be an obscure notion Associate with relevance Show interest in student state Holds only 7 bits of information Chunking allows brain to grasp information and not feel overwhelmed

Long-Term Memories & Practice aka Short-Term Practiced Memories memories get stronger and become more and more fixed as the myelin sheath gets thicker CONVERT TO LONG TERM MEMORY

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WORKING IT INTO OUR LESSON Pre-exposure- covertly introduce days, weeks, months ahead-PLANTING SEED Priming- covertly teach objective for multiple purposes Previewing- aka long term priming-set up content minutes before….activate prior knowledge Reviewing- minutes after learning; going over previously exposed material, re-firing the same neural connections Revision- hours, days or weeks after; reconstructing the learning and solidifying neural connections

Grouping Correlates-Narrative A strong instructional leader who provides a clear and focused mission along with a safe and orderly environment and who has good community relationships. The leader has high expectations and students are provided ample time on task and are monitored and assessed frequently.

Quick Quiz on Correlates ??????????????

CONCLUSION  Plant seed-need beginning  Associating and Grouping….  Short to Long term Memories  Chunking, Practice, and Repetition  Repetition leads to thickening Myelin Sheath which leads to “Mastery Memory Muscles”