PowerPoint Presentation

Brain based EducationAve Maria College

2013

Brain based education frameworkBy Psych. Faye Evans College Counsellor

Brain based educationNeural researchEducational techniquesSocial brainEmotional regulation

Neuro-education

neurons

synapses

6

The Emotional Brain

Areas Educational neuroscience

What areas does educational neuroscienceinclude?Learning processesUse meta-cognition in learningLink the emotional experience in learningThe role of affect regulationexperiential learninglearning stylesmultiple intelligencesBrain integrationcooperative learningproblem-based learningmovement education, also known as embodied learning.Meaning making instruction

MetacognitionTHINKING ABOUT THINKINGDeclarative knowledge:Self knowledgeWorld knowledgeTask knowledgeStrategy knowledgeProcedural knowledge:Planning monitoringProblem solvingevaluating

How do we process the information?

Human Memory

working memory

Learning activities thatinvigoratememory

Learning styles

Dunn & Dunnsmodel

Learning styles

Kolbs model

Right-left hemisphere

Brain gym

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUESRelaxed alertnessCreate open and accepting learning spacesMaintain a balance between challenging environments and learning.Set a classroom that is a welcoming, relaxed, comfortable space where students can feel safe and have a down-time if necessary.Identify students needs, focus in their areas of strength and work with their various learning styles, capabilities, or disabilities. A relaxed and accepting environment is essential to maximize students cognitive potentials. Teaching environments that are supportive, comfortable, and non-threatening, create the BEST outcomesOrchestrated immersionCreate learning environments that fully immerse the student in an educational experienceCreate meaning through a shared experienceEnrich learning by having interactive, flexible learning spaces.Through diverse learning opportunities create wholeness in students using embodied teaching

Active processingThe learner processes information actively by reflecting.Information needs to be build and connected intentionally , linking knowledge is pivotal in learning.Learning needs to be conceptually coherent and resonate with the students life so it can be purposeful.Learning needs to be understood not memorised.Learning needs to engage emotions, concepts and values.

CORE PRINCIPALS BRAIN BASED EDUCATION

Core principalsThe brain is a parallel processor. It can perform several activities at once

The brain perceives and retrieves multiple information through memory and neural pathways

Effective learning engages the mind-body through: movement, food, attention cycles, and chemicals that flow in the brain.

Humans search for meaning is innate

Emotions are critical in learning and drive our attention, meaning and memory

Learning involves focused attention and peripheral perception

CoreprincipalsWorking memory plays a key role in learning

We understand best when facts are embedded in natural spatial memory

The brain is social

Complex learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by stress

Every brain in uniquely organized

Learning is developmental and its constructed sequentially

Keys to a successful learning journey

Engage studentsImmerse learners in complex, interactive experiences that are both rich and real. Take advantage of the brains ability to parallel process. Offer students meaningful challenges that resonate with their daily lives.Learning challenges should be sensorial to stimulate a students mind to the desired state of alertness and engagement.Offer opportunities of intensive analysis of problems, creating open-mindness, flexibility and perspective.Make learning experiential, interactive and social.Offer space for reflection, spark their interest with humour,, activate their metacognitionHighlight students strengths and offer positive feedback to keep them motivated.Keep students motivatedKey factors in Motivation

EmotionsFeedbackPast experiencesMeaning

Reflections and applicationsBy Debra Coyne Learning leader

Sleep or study?Towards the end of a typical six- to eight-hour night of sleep, the brain gets its chance at rejuvenation, during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. This is the stage thats crucial for learners because the brain solidifies all that was taken in the day before and clears out old, unnecessary memories to make room for new information.If you didnt get a good nights sleep its really hard to learn new things because you didnt clear out all the synaptic connections, said Carter. The brain-rejuvenating functions happen in REM sleep, a later sleep stage, so if a student doesnt sleep enough he wont spend much time in REM.As primates, we are mostly visual creatures. A good amount of cortex in primates (upwards of 30%) is dedicated to visual processing in one way or another. Put differently, things that look interesting or appealing are bound to attract curiosity. Better to associate words with images.

Research tells us that the majority of students in a regular classroom need to see information in order to learn it. Some common visual learning strategies include creating graphic organizers ,learning logs, brainstorming, mind mapping, using Wordle etc

Left hand brainersPrefer to study in a quiet environment, on their own and get annoyed with students who clown around.

Choose non fiction reading

Prefer factual questions and assignments, as opposed to open-ended questions

Take more risks. Dont be afraid to be creative.

In English class, have a good understanding of grammar and sentence structure.Right hand brainersGood with people

You make notes but may lose them

Sometimes difficult making up your mind

Like to write fiction, draw, or play music Try to avoid teachers who lecture a lot; prefer teachers who use activities

Put information into categories for better understanding

Use images and charts when you study

What does this look like in the classroom?

What can you try in the classroom to help them achieve this relaxed alertness?MusicRelaxing study musicMozart for the classroom

Begin a lesson with some of the illusions/images

Get up and stretch every twenty minutes

(Deep) breathing exercises for two minutesShallowed, short breathing can allow less oxygen to reach your lungs, and in doing so can increase feelings of anxiety. One way to relax when you feel anxious is to breathe more deeply. So, when you notice yourself taking shallow breaths, you can relax by changing your breathing style.

Ink blots

Some activities to try with your students to get them thinking and talking

Rubin vase illusion.

What did you see first?

Did you see the rabbit or the duck first?

Did you see the old lady or the young lady first?

The dancer

Which direction is she moving?Some class room activities

So while were talking about music, what about those iPods in the classroom?

IPods can have a long-term affect on learning as it is no longer just a sound machine for listening to music.Information delivery device - podcasts; storing and viewing photos, notes, and electronic books.

Try this: Show a few Ppoint slides and allow students to listen to music or play music in back ground. Allow students 5-6 secs to look at slide while music is playing. Use images and as few words as possible.

Music should be instrumental only. It can be slow and reflective or a moderate tempo.

So what about those iPods in the classroom?

Relaxing study music

So if you are going to allow iPods for listening to music then there are a few guidelines that come from research:Listening to certain types of music can trigger the release of endorphins, producing a tranquil state that leads to faster learning. No lyrics and definitely not too loud.

Music inspires emotion so art students may feel more creative when listening to music, however some research tells us students who think they can multitask, are deluded. This means performing two complex tasks at the same time such as practising completing the square and listening to their favourite song.

Sound and scent can be powerful memory triggers

Multitasking.Is it a myth?Texts, emails, Twitter, Facebook are all chiming, ringing, beeping, and chirping for our students attention.

Its not going away. It exists, it permeated every other aspect of their life. Multitasking is one of the things that needs to be tackled about technology.But evidence from psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience suggests that when students multitask while doing schoolwork, their learning is far spottier and shallower than if the work had their full attention. Teach the tools that will teach kids to focus, avoid distraction, and judge what to pay attention to. Its a matter of training the brain.

Multitasking:Heres what I have read.Its multitasking while learning that has the biggest potential downside.Why? Here are some possible reasons.

Homework takes longer because of distractions

Mental fatigue caused by task switching

Some research has suggested that when were distracted, our brains actually process and store information in different, less useful ways

Dozens of laboratory studies have demonstrated that when our attention is divided during saving the memory, we remember that piece of information less well.

Web links/reading listWeblinks/Reading list

Mindshift: How we learnLeft brain vs right brainWhy sleeping may be more important than studying