Created by: Brooke Adams, Beth Collins, Alan McAdams, and James

Meadows

Chapter 1 – Meet Your Amazing Brain

Key Concepts

Basic Brain AnatomyHow the Brain Changes over TimeCooperation and Competition in the

BrainHow the Brain Learns

Basic Brain Anatomy The Raw Material – the brain mostly

consists of: Water 78% Fat 10% Protein 8%

Main areas of the brain: Frontal Lobe, Parietal Lobe,

Temporal Lobe, and Occipital Lobe

Brains have both neurons and glial cells. Neurons receive stimulation from

their branches, known as dendrites, and communicate with other neurons creating a network by firing nerve impulses.

Glia carry nutrients, speed repair, provide myelin for axons, support the blood-brain barrier, and may form a communication network of their own.

How the Brain Changes over Time

The most amazing new discovery of the brain might be that human beings have the capacity and choice to be able to change our own brains.

Factors that encourage growth in the brain. Experiences, actions, &

exercise Excess stress inhibits

growth in the brain. Cells are being born at the

same time old cells are being eliminated.

Cooperation and Competition in the Brain

Information is communicated via: Axons, glial cells, the bloodstream, the immune system,

and peptides (messenger molecules) Each side of the brain processes things differently.

Left side processes information in sequence, and by using language and text representations.

Right side process information random, focused on a whole, and has a spatial context.

How the Brain Learns

The brain learns when:

1. Input from senses or activated by memory/thinking

2. Information sent to thalamus3. Information routed to appropriate

cortical structure for processing4. Immediately routed to subcortical5. If emergency stimulus, amygdala

will respond ASAP.6. Information sent to hippocampus

for more evaluation7. Hippocampus organizes,

distributes, and connects memories with other areas for long-term storage.

Chapter 2 – Preparing the Brain for School

Key Concepts

What to do to get a Child’s Brain ready for School

Sensitive Periods in Brain Development

Developing Social and Emotional Skills

The Importance of NutritionThe Dynamic Teenage Brain

What to do to get a Child’s Brain ready for School

First opportunity to get a child’s brain ready is in the womb.

To get the child ready in academics begin the following at ages 2 - 5. Read to them. Give them time to discover and learn

independently. Teach rhyming games and alphabet. Provide simple toys that require

imagination. Talk to them and ask questions.

Sensitive Periods in Brain Development

Birth to Age 2 is critical in the brain development for two main reasons. The Scaffold Effect says although a child

could learn motor skills later in life, she needs them earlier because they are foundational for other important early skills.

The Manana Effect says that anything we can put off until tomorrow will be put off until tomorrow.

Developing Social and Emotional Skills

Provide opportunities for social games and activities.

Role-model emotional stability. Teach how to behave with peers. Help children learn to be

comfortable with peers.

The Importance of Nutrition

To work fast and function, the brain needs:

Nutritional foods ▪ Proteins▪ Unsaturated Fats▪ Complex Carbohydrates▪ Sugars▪ Elements, such as boron, iron, selenium,

vanadium, and potassium Proper hydration

The Dynamic Teenage Brain Hormones are only partly to

blame for teenagers’ bizarre behavior. Teens need time to catch up with the rapid and massive structural change going on in their brain. This takes place during sleeping hours.

The teen brain is also influenced by increased chemical levels in the brain.

Suggestions for working with teens: be concise, use modeling, be a coach, be understanding rather than judgmental, be tactful, cut them some slack, just let them sleep, and be clear about dangers of substance abuse.

Chapter 3 – Rules We Learn By

Key Concepts

How to Increase Student Engagement Variations on Repetition The Importance of Prior Knowledge

and Mental Models Ways to take Advantage of the Body’s

Natural Rhythms The Role of Hormones Trial-and-Error Learning How Positive and Negative Emotions

affect the Brain

How to Increase Student Engagement

Engagement is NOT a requirement for all learning.

However, more focused engagement is better than less of it.

“Pay attention” is a payment of the brain’s resources when teachers orient, engage, and maintain the student’s attention.

Areas involved in attention: Prefrontal cortex, Cingulate

gyrus, Posterior parietal lobe, Thalamus, Pulvinar nucleus, Superior colliculus, Reticular activating system, Right parietal lobe area, and Right frontal lobe area

Variations on Repetition

Repetition strengthens connections in the brain.

Variations and When to do it Pre-exposure days,

weeks, months, years ahead Previewing minutes,

hours ahead Priming seconds, minutes

ahead Reviewing minutes after

learning Revision hours, days,

weeks later

The Importance of Prior Knowledge and Mental Models Prior knowledge influences all

learning. The best way to teach is to

understand, respect, and build on the student’s prior knowledge.

Mental models are coherent structures for understanding things.

When you require students to make their own mental models, you’re helping them reach a deep understanding rarely achievable by more traditional lecture.

Ways to take Advantage of the Body’s Natural Rhythms The brain and body have many different

rhythms, lasting about 90 to 110 minutes = 12 to 16 cycles over a 24-hour period.

The brain’s rhythms play a key role in understanding and influencing cognitive performance, memory processes, visual perception, levels of arousal, performance, mood, and behavior.

By shifting a little to align with the rhythmic patterns, teacher’s can increase student comprehension and retention.

The Role of Hormones

Hormones can and do alter how we learn.

Left-hemisphere performance increases as testosterone levels decline.

Right-hemisphere performance increases as estrogen levels decline.

These level shifts affect the performance in each hemisphere.

Differences vary greatly in males and females.

Trial-and-Error Learning

Based on two simple truths: The brain rarely gets is right the first time. Making mistakes is key to developing intelligence.

Trial-and-Error learning is needed to sort out mistakes. Value of Trial-and-Error Learning

Entry-level neurons receive input. Middle-level neurons repeatedly process input through trial-

and-error. Output-level neurons speak, write, and demonstrate the output.

How Positive and Negative Emotions affect the Brain Emotions are one of the most important regulators of

learning and memory. The more intense the emotional state, the more likely

we are to remember it. Negative emotions are well known for influencing

brain functions. Cortisol secretions and neuromodulator activities at the

synapses influence brain functions related to negative emotions.

Positive emotions affect memory. Dopamine release and the activation of the amygdala are

directly related to the affect on memory by positive emotions.

Mind-Body LinkHow Exercise affects CognitionImportance of Play, Recess, and

Physical Education

Most neuroscientists agree that movement and cognition are powerfully connected.

Evidence from anatomical studies, imaging sources, and clinical data shows that moderate exercise enhances cognitive processing.

Exercise also increases the number of brain cells and can reduce childhood obesity.

68% of high school students in the U.S. do not participate in a daily physical educational program

Schools that do not implement a solid physical activity program are shortchanging students brains and their potential for academic success.

Research found that exercise improves classroom behavior and academic performance.

“Loss” in studying time does not translate into lower academic scores.

It can enhance social skills, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution ability.

Why Emotions are now “Mainstream”

How Emotions are Processed in the Brain

The Power of Emotional StatesHow to Influence Emotional

States

Neuroscientists have emerged with important research that has changed the way we think about emotions—they are related to learning!

Emotions drive attention, create meaning, and have their own memory pathways.

Emotions regulate behaviors, and they help us organize the world around us.

Emotions are not located in a single emotion center but are distributed throughout the brain.

Brain chemicals are transmitted from the synapse but are dispersed to wide areas of the brain.

Chemicals of emotion influence our behavior.

Emotions give us a more activated and stimulated brain. They help us recall things better and form more explicit memories.

Good learning embraces emotions, recognizing emotional states as fast changing, specific neural networks that incorporate multiple areas of the brain.

Emotions affect student behavior because they create distinct mind-body states.

The most important things every educator should know about emotional states:*They are ubiquitous.*They are connected.*They are who we are.*They are transient.*Stable emotional states can be a problem.

Strategies that can change a student’s emotional state:

*Compelling questions*Role-modeling*Celebrations*Physical activity*Engineered

controversy*Purposeful physical

rituals*Getting personal

Neuroscience’s New Interest in Physical Environments

How Seating, Temperature, Lighting, Noise, and Building Design affect Learning

Factors to consider when designing Smarter Schools

Physical environments influence how we feel, hear, and see. Those factors influence cognitive performance.

5 variables in the physical environment that have the greatest effect on academic success: seating, temperature, lighting, noise, and building design.

Better awareness, smarter planning, and simple changes can be made in every environment to improve learning.

Student seating can affect student success in several ways.*Influences stress levels.*Influences access to resources.

Design of students’ desks and chairs can play a role in cognition.

How students’ seating is arranged matters.*Match the seating arrangement to the activity.

The human brain is temperature sensitive and temperature is a factor in cognition.

The cooler the brain is, the more relaxed, receptive, and cognitively sharp.

Classrooms kept 68-72 degrees are most comfortable for the majority of students.

Students in brightly lit classrooms perform better in school compared with students in dimly lit classrooms.

Natural sunlight is the best for learning.

Practical suggestions:*Maintain constant, adequate level of bright lighting.*Maximize student exposure to daylight.*Hold class outside on occasion.

In classrooms that fail to address noise, student attention decreases and off-task behaviors and discipline problems increase.

Children for whom English is a second language and children with hearing or learning deficits have difficulty attending to the teacher in noisy classrooms.

Room décor needs to be rich and full but not distractingly cluttered

Opportunities for mobility need to be offered with flexibility in seating.

Aromas ought to be kept to a minimum.

Accommodating special needs makes a world of difference to the student.

Research indicates that well-planned learning environments stimulate learning and reduce discipline problems.

Brain-friendly learning environments strengthen neural connections and support long-term memory, planning, and motivation.

Quality facilities with strong academic programs are conditions essential to optimum student learning.

Top design firms are incorporating into school designs:*Acoustics*Daytime lighting*Ecology*Temperature, Humidity, and Ventilation*Learning spaces*Optimal views*School size*Staff areas

▪ How Social Interaction affects the Brain and Cognition▪ The effect of Stress, Bonding, Bias, and Peer Pressure▪ How to make School a more Positive Social Experience

Social contact influence:Stress levelsHeart rateChemical levelsBlood pressure

These in turn can influence:HormonesImmune systemBehaviorsGene expression

An important characteristic of healthy, social humans is their capacity and desire to detect the features of mental lives, both their own and others’.

A closer look at what effects the social brain: Cognition Social Stress Social Bonding Social Bias Peer Pressure

Cognition The extent to which

social conditions can influence cognition cannot be overestimated.

Key factors to consider within the learning environment: Peer Pressure Acceptance Disapproval Reinforcement

Social Stress Stress plays a role in

many social interactions. Females are more likely to

mobilize social support under stress than males.

Males are more likely to affiliate with groups of people with similar status or power.

Females are more likely to affiliate by friendships or task needs.

Social BondingPreening is a

common manifestation of the social brain.

The increased risk of depression and suicide among teens makes obvious their need for more guidance, camaraderie, and support.

Social BiasRacism is learned.Our brain does

respond in a negative way to those different from ourselves if we have not been desensitized to those differences.

How you treat another after the initial wariness is the learned behavior.

Peer Pressure Adolescent and

teen students are more interested in peer approval, autonomy, and discovery.

These tendencies can be either a nightmare for a school or a delight, depending on how well they are managed.

Social Difficulties Research suggest that

more than 10 % of students may suffer some social impairment.

Social difficulty can be a result of:▪ Emotionally poor

upbringing▪ Genetics▪ Biological dysfunctions

When specific areas of the brain are damaged, social skills fail.

Social contact has significant and broad-based effects. Teachers influence students a great deal. We must believe that school is about the “whole person”. Practical ways to apply research findings related to the

social brain: Information gatheringQuick social groupingA balance of social and individual eventsCooperative learningSocial skills instruction

Key Concepts: Common Causes of

De-motivation The Brain’s

Reaction to Rewards

The Nature of Intrinsic Motivation

Tools for Motivation

Lack of positive relationshipsLearned helplessnessAwareness of disrespect toward

one’s culture or ethnicityPerception of threatsBrain anomaliesDrug usePerception that class assignments or

tasks are irrelevant.

• Biologically, human brains are designed to predict, process, enjoy, and remember rewards.

• The brain may have different types of reward signal systems:• One system includes codes for reward prediction,

and the other for error correction.• The first system creates attentiveness, and the second

creates better learning.• Although learners improve when they’ve received an

initial reward, over time, the performance of many will actually drop as their actions are being rewarded.

• Biologically speaking, the brain quickly habituates to rewards.

• What one student finds rewarding may not be rewarding to another.

Practical ways to use rewards in the classroom in order to increase motivation:Use rewards

judiciouslyUse low-cost, concrete

rewardsUse abstract rewardsAvoid going “cold

turkey”Begin to develop

intrinsic motivationStep up the abstract

rewards

Activating intrinsic motivation depends on the student as well as your own skill.

The students’ feelings matter a great deal!

Skills in orchestrating a good environment, one with low stress and high challenge, are critical.

Ways to build students’ intrinsic motivation:Make sure students have either a process model

to follow or a strong end goal.Ensure they have the working tools they need.Provide plenty of encouragement but not a direct

reward.Allow students to exercise choice.Role-model the joy of learning.Provide a variety of relevant experiences.Ensure that the content has high relevance. Allow students to be part of a successful team.Increase feedback to the learners.

In the ideal states, motivation and engagement are far easier to achieve than you could ever imagine. States are the body’s environment for

making decisions. If you think you’re going to get a negative

response to the next activity you want your students to do, change the state first.

You will be more successful when you ask them to do the activity while they’re in a good state to say yes!

Some practical ways to change student states: Eliminate threat. Set daily goals that incorporate some student

choice. Work to have a positive influence. Manage student emotions and teach them to

do it too. Provide relevant curriculum and coherent

activities. Give feedback.

The Unique Brain The Problem-

Solving Brain The Maturing Brain The Adaptive Brain The Emotional

Brain

Both prenatal differences and postnatal experiences causes the differences that show up in the unique brain.

Differences are attributed to many factors. Gender Exposure to abuse or neglect Specific disorders Culture Exposure to drugs, trauma, or toxins

Teachers should consider approaches to teaching thinking that includes a significant amount of variety and choice.

The human brain was designed to solve problems. General problem solving requires many skills. Problem solving skills must be taught and require the

following:▪ Motivation to use the skill▪ Role modeling▪ Opportunity to acquire the skills▪ Time for trail and error, practice, and debriefing▪ Time to use and strengthen the skill in multiple

contexts Critical Thinking skills can take weeks, even years to

realize. It is usually easier to get younger children to comply than

older children.

Environmental factors can influence brain maturation.

Specific life experiences during the early years influence patterns of interactivity between brain areas.

The brain changes so much that the same behaviors in infants and adults may be mediated by completely different brain structures.

This suggests educators can expect a wide range of student performance, and some inabilities may be a result of maturation.

There is no need for the brain to adapt to change if what it must deal with is the same.

Novelty creates a stronger opportunity for new learning and pathways in the brain.

Educators should provide something unusual and the support to go with it. Learning will follow.

Students emotions are constantly fluctuating.

Emotional states are always in the process of: Strengthening Diminishing Changing to another state

The longer a student is in a particular state the more likely it is for that student to re-enter that same state.

Students must be able manage their emotional states in order to be able to think well.

The best learners “shift states” on their own; other students need to learn how.

Chapter 10 – Memory and Recall

Key Concepts

Links between Memory and SurvivalWays the Brain encodes and

maintains MemoryDifferent Kinds of MemoryWays to Enhance Memory Retrieval

Survival-Based Memory

Memory tied to survival is the simple things of every day life: The location of your

house Your parents’ names Favorite foods

Four main ideas of memory are organized around survival.

Survival-Based Memory

Locations—How to Find Food, Housing, Social Contact Also called Episodic memory

Procedures—How to do Walking, driving, putting on clothes

Emotional Experiences—How to feel Car accidents, natural disasters Rarely need review

Conditional Responses—How to react Smells, tastes, reactions to the tone of

someone’s voice Response to stimuli

Making Memory

Scientifically speaking—it is the particular firing of neurons.

The pattern of the firings determines memory. Researchers are unsure how

the brain creates these patterns.

Current understanding is the process between two neurons: Electrical impulse triggers

neurotransmitter release. Within the neurotransmitter is the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA).

The mRNA dock into receptors. Electrochemical threshold is

reached and long-term potentiation (LTP) is formed.

LTP reaction stimulates new electrical activity in the neuron.

Making Memory

While the previous is complex there are three critical principles: Encoding—multiple pathways of

memory Maintenance—activating memories

keeps them strong Retrieval—the ability to access

memories

Types of Memory

Semantic This includes the factual

elements of our memories.

Facts, figures, and textbook- like information

Limitations include time and capacity. ▪ Only lasts seconds in

our memory like forgetting a name of a person you just met.

Often times to remember things we need it in chunks.▪ Lists rather than random

items

Episodic Had to have been

present to use this type Unlimited capacity Often associated with

location▪ When asked: “What did

you eat last night?” Often we ask ourselves “Where was I?” before an answer to the question is formed.

Contamination can occur when many memories are associated with one particular location.

Types of Memory

Reflexive Responds to stimuli▪ Ex: The doctor taps

your knee and it jerks.

Learning can become reflexive.

Two sub-categories:▪ Emotional▪ Non-emotional

Procedural Also known as habit

memory These are

memories of learned skills.

Very complex in formation so they are easily remembered.▪ Ex: walking or riding

a bike

Memory Retrieval

Also know as Memory Recall Host of factors go into how well a

memory is recalled: Chemical arousal Hormones Types of food

All of these can inhibit or enhance recall.

Emotions also play heavily into recall.

Chapter 11 – Brain-Based Teaching

Teaching Model and Key Concepts Adapted from Page 145 of “Teaching with the Brain in

Mind”

10%Before

80%During

10%After

PrepareCreate

EngageFrameAcquireElaborateConnect

SettleRehearse and Incorporate

Before Class

Consider the students who need extra are they behind or ahead???

Walk through the lesson. Ask: “How will I engage the student?”

Get into a good emotional state. The students notice things like this.

Prime your students’ brains with content days and weeks prior. Post key ideas so students can become familiar with them.

Or as stated earlier: Prepare and Create!

During Class—Five Steps

1. Engagement Both mind and body Make sure

environment is positive—it helps with learning.

First few minutes of class

2. Framing After engagement This is the emotional

invitation to learn. As a teacher you want

to hook the students—arouse their curiosity.

During Class—Five Steps

3. Acquisition Really goes on all the time Learning activities,

lectures, and fields trips Can be individual or social

4. Elaboration The deepening of learning Connecting the synapses

of the brain and solidifying what was just covered

5. Connect Help build recall skills. Use a variety of skills—

drama, quizzes, rhymes, mnemonics.

After Class

Settle Break times Walks, lunch, and for younger students—naps

Rehearse and Incorporate Review the material Exercise the newly formed synapses of the

brain.

Chapter 12 – Schools with the Brain in Mind

Key Concepts

Connecting Brain Research to Curriculum, Assessment, and Staff Development

Supporting Good Instruction and Good Instructors

Effecting Change with the Brain in Mind

Connections

The need for stronger connections in the brain: From kindergarten to their senior year,

students spend 13,000 hours in school. Teachers must capitalize on this time.

That means SCHOOLS CHANGE BRAINS… How is it up to the school???

“Outside The Box” Thinking

Involves the infusion of multiple things: Nutrition, violence

prevention, sports, and curriculum

Plus a myriad of others The list above has

apparent connections to brain function.

Three big areas: Curriculum Connections Assessment Connections Staff Development

Connections

Curriculum Connections

This is difficult because not all children develop at the same pace; therefore, curriculum connections may be hard to come by.

Finding these connections may lead to questions about how curriculum has been created.

We must examine content and see if it is what the children need for survival.

Also, teaching social behaviors must be emphasized.

Assessment Connections

We must value learning as much as the results.

Often times the classroom narrows thinking strategies and answer options … effectively ignoring the natural human instinct to question.

Use creative problem solving rather than the right answer approach.

Make assessment challenging.

Staff Development

Student achievement is tied to teacher effectiveness.

Teachers must work to critically think about their effectiveness.

Other teachers and the administration must help in these endeavors. This includes stress

reduction tools.

Collaboratively Created

for Foundations in P-12 Curriculum

Harding University

Created by: Brooke Adams, Beth Collins, Alan McAdams, and James Meadows

All information for this presentation was taken from Teaching with the Brain in Mind(2nd Edition) by Eric Jensen.