engaging the brain….without going insane using the strategy ring to engage students’ brains
TRANSCRIPT
Engaging the Brain….Without
Going Insane
Using the Strategy Ring to engage students’ brains.
GAME Plan
Goal - Participants will learn about the importance of engaging students’ brains and will participate in strategies designed to encourage active engagement.
Activities –10+2, ABA, Numbered Heads Together
Measure – Participation, Notes Evaluation – Compass points
•14 years sp ed resource room teacher•3 years intervention specialist, inclusion•12 years teacher trainer for co-teaching, inclusion strategies•21 years high school math teacher•23 years district administrator•5 years as educational consultant
Over 75 years!
Bonny Buffington
Note to Self:
Get a timekeeper!
The Brain Stem
The Brain Stem
Involuntary actions – blinking, breathing, heartbeat
Also called “reptilian brain” Collects and delivers
sensory information
to higher brain
The Limbic System
Cerrebellum
Hippocampus
Amygdala
Amygdala
Gatekeeper Three levels of attention The need to BELONG The need to be SAFE
The Hippocampus
Transferring memories Making new memories Inhibition Smell Location
The Cerebellum
Movement Balance
“It's like a math co-processor. It's not essential for any activity ... but it makes any activity better. Anything we can think of as higher thought, mathematics, music, philosophy, decision-making, social skill, draws upon the cerebellum....” Dr. Jay Giedd, National Institute of Mental Health
The Cerebellum
STOP! 10 + 2 Activity
On a piece of paper, write down as much as you remember about the 2 parts of the brain that we have discussed. Try not to peek!
Share what you remembered with a partner
Look at your notes and add whatever you forgot to include
Frontallobe
Temporallobe
Parietal lobe
Occipitallobe
Cerebellum
The Cerebrum
The Frontal Lobe
• How we interact with our surroundings. • Our judgments on daily routines. • Our expressive language. • Assigns meaning to words we choose. • Involves word association. • Memory for habits and motor activities
The Parietal Lobe
• Location for visual attention. • Location for touch perception. • Goal directed voluntary movements. • Manipulation of objects. • Integration of different senses that allows for
understanding a single concept.
The Occipital Lobe
Vision
The Temporal Lobe
• Hearing • Memory • Visual perceptions. • Categorizing of objects. T
Higher Level Thinking
Can actually generate NEW neurons (neurogenesis)
Adds dendrites Increases the thickness of the myelin
sheath
Using the Gray Matter!
Stimulating Environment Affects Learning
A child's ability to learn can increase or decrease by 25 percent or more, depending on whether he or she grows up in a stimulating environment.
www.brainconnection.com
Two times of ENORMOUS brain growth and pruning:
During the first month of life, the number of connections or synapses increases from 50 trillion to 1 quadrillion.
If an infant's body grew at a comparable rate, his weight would increase from 8.5 pounds at birth to 170 pounds at one month old.
Overproduction ends, pruning begins until about age 3
Second cycle of growth and pruning Dendritic growth spurt at age 11 in girls,
12 in boys Pruning phase during adolescence Age 13 – 18 lose 1% of gray matter per
year If you don’t use it, you lose it!
The Teacher Effect Quality of classroom instruction is most
significant factor in students’ brain development.
Didactic instruction – teacher directed Interactive instruction – student actively
engaged
Which type do you think grows dendrites?
Sad Fact:
Failing to engage students actively can actually make students dumber.
Use it or lose it: If dendrites are not being used, they will be pruned.
Stop! ABA activity
Stand up for REVIEW! Grab a partner Decide who will be A and who will be B A speaks for 60 seconds, nonstop B speaks for 90 seconds, nonstop A speaks for 30 seconds, nonstop
Implications for the classroom…
Students interacting to increase emotional level Students talking, explaining to increase meaning Students using various modalities
Question: (Traditional)
Do not use your notes. Do not discuss your response with anyone else.
What is the chemical symbol for Lead?
Stop! Numbered Heads Together
In groups of 4, number each person 1, 2, 3, and 4
Come to consensus on a response for the question. I will draw a number and call on the person with that number to give the group’s response.
Question: (Strategic)
Who is the current secretary of Homeland Security?
E - what Excites me about today’s learning? Things I will use?
N – what else do I Need to know to be able to continue the learning? What other information should I seek?
W – what Worries me about this process? Obstacles I may encounter? Concerns?
S – what are the next Steps we should take as an organization? What do I need to do next to be able to continue the learning?
Strategies of the Day
Game Plan 10+2 Teach ABA Numbered Heads Together Compass Points
Using the Strategy Ring:
