Creating Brain Compatible Learning Environments Presented by Garfield Gini-Newman The Critical Thinking Consortium

Some recommended reading

Does a child's belief about intelligence have anything to do with academic success? 100 seventh graders, all doing poorly in math, randomly assigned to workshops One workshop gave lessons on how to study well. The other taught about the nature of intelligence and the brain.

Students in the latter group "learned that the brain actually forms new connections every time you learn something new, and that over time, this makes you smarter.” By the end of the semester, the group who had been taught that the brain can grow smarter, had significantly better math grades than the other group.

5 Nurturing a Growth Mindset Fixed Mindset See intelligence as fixed - something you are born with Success/failure is what is expected School is about demonstrating your worth Avoid challenges which may not immediately yield success Growth Mindset see setbacks as a challenge that motivate success is about stretching oneself intelligence comes from hard work School is an opportunity to expand intelligence

What is meant by a Brain- Compatible Learning Environment? Brain Compatible versus Brain Antagonistic

Increasingly Complex World Children who can problem- solve and make connections How should we define intelligence? Intelligence for the 21 st Century

Howard Gardner’s Definition of Intelligence An intelligence entails the ability to solve problems or fashion products that are of consequence in a particular cultural setting or community. Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice

Essential Brain Research Findings 1. Emotion is the gatekeeper to learning 2. Intelligence is a function of experience 3. The Brain stores most effectively what is meaningful from the learner ’ s perspective

The environment must be physically and psychologically safe for optimal learning to occur! Anything you do which engages students ’ emotional/motivational interest will naturally engage the adrenaline system and result in stronger memories.

Attention: Approximately 99% of all information entering through the sense is immediately dropped. When it comes to paying attention the brain is more like a sieve than a sponge! Every encounter with something new requires the brain to fit the new information into an existing memory category, or network of neurons. If it can’t, the information will have no meaning.

Creating the conditions that nurture frontal lobe development: Remember: Evocative experiences increase the likelihood that learning will be transferred to long term memory Evocative experiences increase the likelihood that learning will be transferred to long term memory Learning is likely to occur if we move from the concrete to the abstract Learning is likely to occur if we move from the concrete to the abstract Inquiry-based classrooms to help students take ownership over their learning Inquiry-based classrooms to help students take ownership over their learning Genuine collaboration to respects the brain’s need for social interaction Genuine collaboration to respects the brain’s need for social interaction Open ended assessments to provide students choice and allow them to draw on their interests and talents Open ended assessments to provide students choice and allow them to draw on their interests and talents

Consider the following: Two-thirds of high school students are disengaged in academic classes (Sedlak, Wheeler, Pullin, and Cusick, 1986) Learning is more likely to occur if the student perceives a task as relevant, meaningful, and appropriate to his or her abilities (Caulfield and Jennings, 2002) The human brain is built for survival. Storing meaningless information has never been a priority for the brain. Sustained attention on something that you cannot figure out or that makes no sense is not only boring, it’s almost impossible. (Pat Wolfe, 2002)

“Emotion drives attention and attention drives learning” In her book Brain Matters, Pat Wolfe noted: “The brain is biologically programmed to attend first to information that has a strong emotional content. It is also programmed to remember this information longer.”

Which questions are your students more likely to ask? Were the Britsh just in expelling the Acadians? Is the use of biofuels a good solution to rising oil prices? Does the newspaper story present a biased or balanced account? Is this on the test? Do we need to include a title page? Is this for marks? or

16 How should we respond? Remember... No matter how well planned, how interesting, stimulating, colourful or relevant the lesson, if the teacher does all the interacting with the material the teacher ’ s - not the student ’ s - brain will grow new connections. will grow new connections.

17 The foundation of a thoughtful classroom is the quality of questions asked by both teachers and students do the questions posed invite inquiry? do the questions require reasoned judgment? are the questions engaging to the learner? are the questions focused so as not to overwhelm the learner?

“Although thinking is innate, skillful thinking must be cultivated” Art Costa, 2008

“It is desirable to expel...the notion that some subjects are inherently ‘intellectual’, and hence possessed of an almost magical power to train the faculty of thought... any subject...is intellectual in its power to start and direct significant inquiry and reflection.” John Dewey, 1933

The goal of education in the 21st century is not simply the mastery of knowledge. It is the mastery of learning. Education should help turn novice learners into expert learners— individuals who know how to learn, who want to learn, and who, in their own highly individual ways, are well prepared for a lifetime of learning. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Three Types of Questions Type 1 Type 2Type 3 What are the ingredients in Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans? What is your favourite flavour of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans? Should Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans be sold in school cafeterias? What are three activities in Sutton? Would you like to move to Sutton? Would your family’s needs be better met in Markham or Sutton? Identify several natural disasters that impact on the environment? Which natural disaster creates the most fear for you? Which natural disaster poses the great threat to the Ontario economy? List three types of exercise. What is your favourite type of exercise? Which sport would best meet the needs of someone with asthma – diving, soccer or tennis? What did the Inuit use to make tools? What geographic feature of Nunavut do you like the most? Which natural resource – diamonds or fish – are most important to northern society?

Do you see the difference in the Types? Type 1 Type 2Type 3 Describe Type 1 questions:Describe Type 2 questions:Describe Type 3 questions: List 4 methods you could use to determine the point of intersection of two lines. Select the method you prefer and describe how to use it. Should students learn all 4 methods? What are the advantages and disadvantages of learning all 4 methods? What is a permutation? What is a combination? Which type of counting problem do you find easier to solve? Make up an example. How do you decide which formula to use and whether you need to consider cases?

So…What is Critical Thinking? A complex activity, not a set of generic skills, Concerned with judging or assessing what is reasonable or sensible in a situation, Focuses on quality of reasoning, not on performing a specific set of mental operations Depends on the possession of relevant knowledge Can be done in endless contexts and is required whenever the situation is problematic Is effortful but not necessarily negative

When is someone thinking critically? A person is thinking critically only if she is attempting to assess or judge the merits of possible options in light of relevant factors or criteria. Critical thinking is criterial thinking— thinking in the face of criteria. A person is thinking critically only if she is attempting to assess or judge the merits of possible options in light of relevant factors or criteria. Critical thinking is criterial thinking— thinking in the face of criteria.

TC 2 Model of Critical Thinking Community of Thinkers Critical Challenges Teach and Assess the Intellectual Tools Background KnowledgeCriteria for Judgment Critical Thinking Vocabulary Thinking Strategies Habits of Mind

Differentiation in a Critically Thoughtful Classroom Process Product Content/Groupings Clear Learning Targets Critical Challenges Community of Thinkers Background Knowledge Teach and Assess the Intellectual Tools Background Knowledge Criteria for Judgment Critical Thinking Vocabulary Thinking Strategies Habits of Mind