Brain Based Learning and Teaching

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Brain Based Learning and Teaching :Brain Based Learning and Teaching Laura A. Riffel, Ph.D.

Brain Based Learning :Brain Based Learning This learning hypothesis is established on the structure and function of the brain. As long as the brain is not barred from satisfying its normal processes, learning will occur.

Everyone does learn….. :Everyone does learn….. Many school mission statements tout that everyone can learn. Yet the reality is that everyone does learn. Every person comes equipped with a brain that functions as an incalculably powerful processor. Conventional schooling, however, often restrains learning by discouraging, ignoring, or punishing the brain's natural learning progression.

The core principles of brain-based learning state that: :The core principles of brain-based learning state that: The brain is a dual processor, meaning it can execute more than one activity at once, like tasting and smelling. Learning engages bodily processes entirely. The search for significance is instinctive. The search for meaning comes through blueprinting. Emotions are vital to blueprinting. The brain processes wholes and parts simultaneously. Learning engages both focused attention and peripheral perception. Learning involves both conscious and unconscious processes. We have two types of memory: spatial and rote. We understand best when facts are embedded in natural, spatial memory. Learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat. Each brain is one of a kind.

The three instructional techniques associated with brain-based learning are: :The three instructional techniques associated with brain-based learning are: Orchestrated immersion—Generate a learning environment that fully immerses students in an educational experience Relaxed alertness--Eliminate trepidation in learners, while sustaining a highly demanding environment Active processing--Allowing the learner to merge and internalize information by dynamically processing it

How Brain-Based Learning Impacts Education :How Brain-Based Learning Impacts Education Curriculum--Teachers must plan learning around student interests and make learning related. Instruction--Educators let students learn in groups and use peripheral learning. Teachers organize learning around real problems, encouraging students to also learn in other environments besides the classroom and the school building. Assessment--Since all students are learning, their assessment should permit them to comprehend their own learning styles and preferences. This way, students scrutinize and improve their own learning process.

Teaching :Teaching Teachers must immerse learners in complex, interactive experiences that are both rich and real. An excellent example is immersing students in a foreign culture to teach them a second language. Educators must take advantage of the brain's ability to parallel process. What do you remember most about your own education?

Expect More :Expect More Students need a personally meaningful challenge. Such challenges stimulate a student's mind to the desired state of alertness. So often children in special education are asked to do tasks far below their capability Red, Yellow and Blue Bear Examples

Active Processing of Experience :Active Processing of Experience In order for a student to have increased insight about problems, there must be intensive analysis of the different ways to approach the problems, and about learning in general. This is what's known as the "active processing of experience."

Learning Happens Best…. :Learning Happens Best…. Feedback is best when it comes from reality, rather than from an authority figure. That’s why natural consequences are best when dealing with behavior. People learn best when solving realistic problems. Satisfaction lies in the effort, not the attainment Mahatma Gandhi The big picture can't be separated from the details. Because every brain is different, educators should allow learners to customize their own environments. I am always willing to learn, however I do not always like to be taught. Winston Churchill The best problem solvers are those that laugh! The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.EE Cummings

The real master teacher :The real master teacher Designers of educational tools must be creative in their design of brain-friendly environments. Instructors need to realize that the best way to learn is not through lecture, but by participation in realistic environments that let learners try new things safely.

Ways to Change the Environment :Ways to Change the Environment Music: Music can lower stress, boost learning when used 3 different ways: as a carrier - using melody or beat to encode content,   as arousal - to calm down or energize,  as a primer - to prepare specific pathways for learning content) impacts the immune system, and is an energy source for the brain. Sixty Beats Per Minute

Ways to Change the Environment :Ways to Change the Environment Art: Art is an integral part of brain-based education in that it offers many learners with vehicles of expression and emotional connections for learning and remembering information. Art is important in technology to aesthetically create pleasing power point presentations and multi-media displays to showcase work. Owing to the varied power of art, some educators think the “arts” should be named as the fourth “R.”

Ways to Change the Environment :Ways to Change the Environment Sundry forms of assessment: Maintaining portfolios is important for reflective improvement and self-assessment. Portfolios assist teachers, parents and students in observing demonstrated growth over time. Teachers also need to maintain appropriate content mastery through regular testing programs. Demonstrations of writing and art are ways of assessing students’ progress, as are pre and post surveys and tests useful in assessing students’ progress. Both verbal and written self-assessments are important parts of proving academic growth, and interdisciplinary and cross-curricular projects provide realistic assessment tools.

Mirror Neurons :Mirror Neurons Since their discovery was revealed in the early 1990's, mirror neurons have taken the neurology and psychology world by storm! These neurons are apparently responsible for our human ability to imitate and empathize. With their discovery we now can begin to understand how watching a football game excites us almost as much as playing the game. Or how watching your child sled gives us similar emotions to sledding ourselves. The research, of course, has great implications for educators.

Wellness Model Should be Taught :Wellness Model Should be Taught Social Helping children learn to be comfortable with and liking themselves as a person Using classroom skills to teach children to interact easily with people of different ages, backgrounds, races, lifestyles Using classroom time to teach children the importance of contributing time and energy to the community Teaching children how to communicate their feelings Helping foster friendships between all children Teaching children how to enjoy down time Teaching children how to budget and balance their time to include both responsibilities and relaxation (Southern New Hampshire University 2007)

Wellness Model :Wellness Model Occupational Giving children the impetus to understand the relationship between what they are learning today and how they will use it to find satisfaction with their work in the future. Teaching children specific resources that help them develop personal job seeking skills Building confidence in the child’s ability to find and obtain a job Teaching children how to recognize opportunities that will lead them to new skills so they can access future opportunities. Teaching children what it means to pursue a career that complements their personal goals and values

Wellness Model :Wellness Model Spiritual Teach tolerance now by teaching children to be open to different cultures and religions Teach children early how to give time to volunteer or participate in community service activities Teach children how to have a life plan that complements their personal values, ethics and decision making skills. Teaching children how to be quiet for personal reflection. Ensure that children have some way to grow spiritually in a way that matches their own values. Teach and model activities that protect the environment Teach, Model, Practice and Praise when children show they care about the welfare of others

Wellness Model :Wellness Model Physical Exercising regularly –ensure that all children go to recess and engage in recreational sports. Provide guides so that children know the proper healthy eating habits Ensure that all children are getting regular physical check-ups Teach, Model, Practice abstinence of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs Teach Yoga techniques in school to ensure that children know how to alleviate stress

Wellness Model :Wellness Model Intellectual Move children to self-actualized learning so they are learning because they want to - not because they are told to. Doing the work assigned. Ensure that learning occurs through varied experiences - reading, writing, sharing and exploration Teach children how to observe what is around them Teach children what it really means to listen Link learning to real world experiences Help children stay current with world news Teach children that there is no such thing as a stupid question Expose children to new things such as art, theater, classical music

Wellness Model :Wellness Model Emotional Teach children the art of thinking positively Teach children to be sensitive to their feelings and the feelings of others Teach children coping mechanisms for dealing with stress Teach children how to have realistic expectations Teach children by modeling and practicing how to take responsibility for our own behaviors. Teach financial planning at an early age Teach children how to view challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles Teach children how to function independently but also to know when to ask for help and how to ask for that help.

Slide 22:Corporate productivity enhancement consulting 2007

“Tis education that forms the mind, just as the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined….Alexander Pope :“Tis education that forms the mind, just as the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined….Alexander Pope