1. Welcome to Brain Awareness Month 2018
Middle College High School
AM Seminar
Friday, March 23, 2018

2. Learning How to Learn More Effectively
Our Topics:
How does the brain form habits?
The Impact on Learning
The habit of procrastination
Experimenting with the Pomodoro Technique

3. 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
Video #1 (approximately 2 minutes) – Brain Plasticity – how the brain can modify connections

4. The Impact on Learning
Repetition over time is required to become an expert
Repetition over time creates pathways
Repetition over time makes retrieval of information easier
Repetition over time helps with brain organization (we can “find things” better for tests, etc.)

5. Think About How You Study?
How many students are “cramming” at the last minute?
“Cramming” may work to store things in our Short-Term memory, (e.g. for a test) but if you try and retrieve the information a few days later it will be difficult.
“Cramming” especially does not work for material or subjects where concepts build on one another.
Can you think of some examples of this?

6. Marathon Training
What if you heard that someone was going to run in a marathon and they told you that they would begin their training the day before the race?
This sounds pretty ridiculous, right?
How many times have we heard (or said), “I stayed up all night studying for this test.”
Long-term learning is like preparing for a marathon, not a sprint.

7. How Does Procrastination Play into Our Studying?
Most people avoid doing things because they might be unpleasant or anxiety provoking.
Maybe you have a project to accomplish and you put it off because it isn’t due for a while, but as the due date approaches you start to feel anxiety.
Maybe you need to prepare/study for a subject that does not come easy to you?
These activities can be said to trigger “pain sensors” in our brain.
What do we do when we feel pain? We try to avoid it. This can be seen as procrastination.
It is a human condition and we all struggle with it.
Think About this: Is there something you are avoiding right now? (You don’t have to share out loud.)

8. The Pomodoro Technique How to “get over” the Initial “Dread” of a Task
Francesco Cirillo - developed technique in the early 90’s. "Pomodoro" after the tomato-shaped timer used to time his work as a university student.
A Simple Method: 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.

9. Turn and Share
With a person sitting next to you, share 1-2 things you can “take away” from today’s Seminar lesson.
As a group share out some things that are “take aways.”

10. Review… Retrain your brain to create better habits
Get over initial “dread” of a task by
breaking work into manageable chunks, not so overwhelming
Most learning (e.g. math, science, music, language) require building on concepts, repetition over time, NOT cramming!
Work to be your best self!