1. What you need to know to learn.
The brain and learning.
What you need to know to learn.

2. Do you know that you determine how smart you are?

3. Expert learners ask… What is my goal here? What do I already know?
How much time will it take me to learn this?
What strategies help me learn best?

4. Novice learners… Do not evaluate their understanding.
Do not revise their work.
Do not dive deeper into the subject by asking questions.

5. You need to be an active learner.

6. Learning physically changes your brain!

7. Your neural network
You have billions of neurons in your brain which are responsible for storing, producing and sharing all your knowledge!

8. These neurons have five fundamental parts.
Cell body (the switch board)
Dendrite (receives in-coming chemical messages)
Axon (receives electrical message from dendrite)
Myelin sheath (fatty insulation for axon)
Axon terminal (the end of the axon that transmits to other axon terminals)

9. Dendrite
Cell body
Axon

11. Axon terminal A
Neurotransmitters
(your knowledge)
Axon terminal B

12. How do these pieces help you learn?
It is not the number of neurons you have that makes you smart.
It is how they are connected.
Learning creates a physical change in the brain.
New knowledge strengthens old connections and creates new ones.

13. Your brain is malleable, you can change it.
When your brain is challenged, you create new neural connections. (Your intelligence expands.)
When your brain is not challenged, your neural network and your brain shrink!

14. The brain

15. Research to support plasticity.
Group one:
12 rats lived in a cage with play structures that were changed two or three time a week for newness.
Group two:
3 rats in a smaller cage with no play structures.
Group three:
One rat in a small cage with no toys.
Which one do you think had brain growth?

16. After 30 days…. Group one: Group two: Group three:
These rats had more dendrites & brain growth than the other rats and had a greater ability to maneuver mazes.
Group two:
These rats had not brain growth and did not show an improved ability with the mazes.
Group three:
This rat lost brain matter (his brain shrunk) and he struggled to maneuver the mazes.

17. In a later study…
One rat was put in a big cage with play structures, but he didn’t experience brain growth.
A group of twelve rats was put into a cage with no play structures and they too did not experience brain growth.

18. What does this tell us?
The brain needs a combination of socialization (friends) and challenges to grow.
This is why we are going to work in cooperative groups.
This is why I give you toy day.

19. What am I going to do to help you become an expert learner?

20. I am going to teach you what type of learner you are.
We will take a left brain, right brain survey.
We will do a learning preference evaluation.
We will learn how to work in cooperative groups.
We will evaluate our performances on assignments.
You will have choice on assignments.

21. Conclusion
Now that you know how the brain learns and that you control how smart you are, I want you to think of that as we learn together this year.
Challenge yourself and those around you.
Take yourself seriously as a learner. You can do this.
Now, let’s get started.