1. FACTS AND IMPLICATIONS
BRAIN RESEARCH
FACTS AND IMPLICATIONS
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2. TOPICS NUTRITION LEARNING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE SLEEP PATTERNS
EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENT
APPLICATIONS
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3. NUTRITION Leafy, green vegetables Salmon, lean meat Fresh fruit, nuts
Yogurt, low fat milk
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4. NUTRITION
Vitamins and minerals can boost learning, memory and intelligence.
Spinach enhances learning
Children should be taught the purpose of eating is nutrition, not to get rid of hunger.
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5. NUTRITION Water reduces stress
The brain has a higher percentage of water than any other organ
Dehydration rapidly deteriorates brain function
Soft drinks, juice, coffee and tea provide little relief
Dehydration leads to lethargic behavior and impaired learning.
The brain needs eight to twelve glasses of water daily for optimal functioning.
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6. NUTRITION The brain uses 20% of the body’s oxygen.
Oxygen rich blood is important for learning therefore P.E. classes are important
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7. Learning A stimulus starts the process
The stimulus is sorted and processed
A memory potential is formulated
Repeating earlier learning is not as beneficial as doing a new activity
New activities produce beneficial chemical activities.
We use less than 1% of the brains processing capacity.
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8. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence develops early
Early school years may be the time of last resort
Stress/violence cause the brain to develop sites which react quickly to chemical change
Reactivity increases and a child may become aggressive and impulsive
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9. Emotional Intelligence
Children need a flood of information
Television is not good because no time for reflection, interaction or 3 dimensional development is allowed
The vocabulary of television is very fast and children are not ready for it. Television should not be viewed extensively by children until at least age eight
Television may cause stigmas because of flat viewing surface, lack of dimensionality and near focusing
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10. SLEEP
Middle level and high school students have an internal sleep clock which usually doesn’t allow for optimal functioning until 9:00 or 9:30.
Primary school students may be ready by 7:30.
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11. ENVIRONMENT Positive environments positively influence the brain
Negative environments do the opposite
Avoid finger – pointing, unrealistic assignments or deadlines, humiliation and sarcasm
Music and art lead to improved learning across the curriculum (rate and pattern of brain cell firing)
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12. ENVIRONMENT
Change walls every two to four weeks (have students do the work)
Use computers, group assignments, guest speakers, etc
A genuine high external attention span may last ten minutes
Processing time is then necessary
We continue to process hours after the fact and this is why we sometimes think some of our best ideas come out of the blue
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13. ENVIRONMENT
Discussion time is needed after new learning in order to assist in sorting information
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14. APPLICATIONS
Change locations – part of the brain is specialized to respond to a change in locations (have movement within the classroom for both teacher and student)
Use novelty and ritual in balance
Ritual keeps stress low
Novelty can stimulate
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15. APPLICATIONS Snacks – small carrots, nuts, and fruit can boost memory
Access to water is crucial
Milk and dairy products produce positive chemical responses
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16. APPLICATIONS Discipline Threats, intimidation lead to stress
Watching television, videos, etc. causes stress (eyeballs of the young are soft and can become distorted by continual near focusing)
Unpredictable events cause stress if not meshed with some ritual (remember, some stress is okay, but do not go overboard)
Students from violent backgrounds scan the room looking for “prey”. They are territorial and are some of the kids that fight you for looking at them wrong.
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17. APPLICATIONS Discipline
Threats come from bullies, parents, boyfriends, girlfriends, humiliating situations, etc.
Teach stress management
Breathing, relationship skills, exercise (walk it off), journaling and creative writing
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18. APPLICATIONS Discipline Set clear expectations for behavior
Encourage partnerships that change every three to six weeks so students get to know each other
Do not give threats you will not carry out
Help students set their own behavior goals and life goals
Show connections between actions and outcomes
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19. MEMORY/RECALL APPLICATIONS
Stop every quarter to half page of notes to discuss and reflect
Conduct oral or written review daily and weekly
Repeat key ideas within ten minutes of learning and again within 48 hours
Tie learning together every seven days
Change circumstances, location, etc.
Create theme days to create relevance and form associations
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20. TESTING/ASSESSMENT APPLICATIONS
Learning states and testing states are related so teach or review multiple times in order that the test time matches the learning state (happy, sad, mad, etc.)
Test in same room that the learning took place.
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21. RESOURCES TEACHING WITH THE BRAIN IN MIND - Eric Jensen
THE LEARNING BRAIN – Jensen
BRAIN BASED LEARNING – Jensen
DIFFERENT BRAINS, DIFFERENT LEARNERS, How to Reach the Hard to Reach – Jensen
LEARNING SMARTER – Michael Dabney and Eric Jensen
10 BEST TEACHING STRATEGIES – Donna Tileston
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