BRAIN-BASED LEARNINGLearning is innately linked to the biological and chemical forces that control the human brain. The connection has received increased attention in recent years because scientists are now better equipped to study the brain. Research on brain-based learning is offering practical ideas for enhancing learning even more.The roots of brain-based learning principles are in neurological research particularly during the 1990s. In fact, the 1990s was themed the decade of the brain. The publicity for brain research in the 1990s promoted increased emphasis on questions about how the brain learns.INTRODUCTIONSome people imagine that they investigate learning itself by studying brain functioning. The required techniques are highly specialized and technical, enjoying dramatically rapid development with the advent of approaches such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans. Moreover, it has become fashionable to talk of brain-based learning and to attempt to add weight to educational recommendations by appealing to supposedly relevant discoveries about brain functioning. PET Scan of the Human Brain Brain-PET fusion ImageIn the light of this, it is important to ask how far brain science can contribute to our understanding of learning. Neuroscience can help us to maximize the efficiency with which the brain learns. Cognitive neuroscience focuses on an effort to understand the interrelationship between mind and brain.1. WHAT IS BRAIN-BASED LEARNING?Since all learning is connected to the brain in some way, what is meant by a brain-based approach? It is learning in accordance with the way the brain is naturally designed to learn. It is a multi-disciplinary approach that is based on the fundamental question, What is good for the brain? It draws from multiple disciplines, such as chemistry, neurology, psychology, sociology, genetics, biology, and computational neurobiology. It is a way of thinking about learning. It is a way of thinking about your job. It is not a discipline on its own nor is it a prescribed format or dogma. In fact, a formula for it would be in direct opposition to the principles of brain-based learning. The brain-based learning encourages you to the nature of the brain in your decision-making. By using what we know about the brain, we can make better decisions, and we can reach more learners, more often, with less misses. Quite simply, it is learning with the brain in mind.2. HOW THE BRAIN LEARNSWhile the process of learning involves the whole body, the brain acts as a way station for incoming stimuli. (See Figure 2.1) All sensory input gets sorted, prioritized, processed, stored, or dumped on a subconscious level as it is processed by the brain. Every second a neuron can register and transmit between 250 and 2,500 impulses. When you multiply this transmission ability by the number of neurons were estimated to have (approximately one hundred billion), one can begin to fathom just how unfathomable our human learning potential is.A. BASIC BRAIN ANATOMYThe largest, most highly-developed portion of the brain (80 percent) is called the cerebrum. The cerebrum is made up of billions of nerve cells and is divided into two hemispheres. The right side of the cerebrum controls the left side of the body and vice versa. It is the cerebrum that is responsible for higher-order thinking and decision-making functions. (See Figure 2.2)Distinguishing the outer surface of our brain, the cerebral cortex (Latin for bark or rind), appears as folds or wrinkles about the thickness of an orange peel. Rich in brain cells, this tissue covering would be about the size of an unfolded sheet of newspaper if stretched out flat. Its importance is highlighted by the fact that the cortex constitutes about seventy percent of the nervous system. Its nerve cells of neurons are connected by nearly one million miles of nerve fibers. The human brain has the largest area of uncommitted cortex (no particular required function) of any species on earth. This gives humans extraordinary flexibility and capacity for learning.i. The Brains Four LobesThe cerebrum is made up of four primary areas called lobes. They are the occipital, frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes (See Figure 2.3). The occipital lobe is located in the middle back of the brain and is primarily responsible for vision. The frontal lobe is located in the area around the forehead and is involved with purposeful acts like judgment, creativity, problem-solving, and planning. The parietal lobe is located at the top back portion of the brain. Its duties include processing higher sensory and language functions. The temporal lobes (left and right side) are above and around the ears. These areas are primarily responsible for hearing, memory, meaning, and language, although there is some overlap in functions between lobes.ii. The Mid-Brain AreaThe territory in the middle of the brain or core (sometimes referred to as the mid-brain or limbic system) includes the hippocampus, thalamus, and amygdale (See Figure 2.4). This area, which constitutes about 20 percent of the brain by volume, is responsible for sleep, emotions, attention, body regulation, hormones, sexuality, smell, and the production of most of the brains chemicals.The part of the brain that we know as our inner self or the conscious thinker, is not totally clear. It is possible that our consciousness is dispersed throughout the cortex, or it may be located near the reticular formation atop the brain stem. Some scientists, however, believe that the seat of consciousness is in the front-left hemisphere or the orbitofrontal cortex (See Figure 2.5).The sensory cortex (monitoring the skin receptors) and the motor cortex (needed for movement) are narrow bands located across the top middle of the brain in the parietal lobe. In the back lower area of the brain is the cerebellum (Latin for little brain), which is primarily responsible for some aspects of balance, posture, motor movement, music, and cognition.Learning begins on a microscopic cellular level. The basic functional unit of the nervous system, the neuron (Greek for bowstring), is responsible for information processing, which it accomplishes through the conversion of chemical signals to electrical signals and back again. For the sake of comparison, a fruit fly has one hundred thousand neurons, a mouse has five million, and a monkey has ten billion. Each of us has about one hundred billion neurons. Adults have about half the number of neurons found in the brain of a two-year-old. A single cubic millimeter (1/16,000th of an inch) of brain tissue has over one million neurons, each about fifty microns in diameter.iii. Brain CellsWe possess two types of brain cells glial cells (See Figure 2.6) and neurons (See Figure 2.7).a. The basic functional unit of the nervous system, the neuron (Greek for bowstring), is responsible for information processing, which it accomplishes through the conversion of chemical signals to electrical signals and back again. For the sake of comparison, a fruit fly has one hundred thousand neurons, a mouse has five million, and a monkey has ten billion. Each of us has about one hundred billion neurons. Adults have about half the number of neurons found in the brain of a two-year-old. A single cubic millimeter (1/16,000th of an inch) of brain tissue has over one million neurons, each about fifty microns in diameter.b. Glial cells (Greek for glue), also known as interneurons, have no cell body and are about ten times more concentrated in our brain than their neuronal counterparts. A number this large is difficult to conceive, but it means that at birth we have as many as one thousand billion glial cells that is, one hundred times the number of stars known in the Milky Way. The roles assigned glial cells seem to be multi-faceted and likely include the production of myelin for the axons, structural support for the blood-brain barrier, the transportation of nutrients, and regulation of the immune system.c. Dendrites and AxonsDendrites are the branched projections of a neuron that act to propagate the electrochemical stimulation received from other neural cells to the cell body of the neuron from which the dendrites project.Dendrites do not process electrical signals. They are one of two types of protoplasmic protrusions that extrude from the cell body of a neuron, the other type being an axon. An axon (from Greek axis), also known as a nerve fibre, is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that typically conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's cell body. The function of the axon is to transmit information to different neurons, muscles and glands. Axons can be distinguished from dendrites by several features including shape, length, and function.A normal functioning neuron continually fires, integrates, and generates information across microscopic gaps called synapses, thereby linking one cell to another. No neuron is an end point in itself. Rather, they act as conduits for information. A single neuron may connect with one thousand to ten thousand other cells. The more connections the cells make, the better. The total of all the synaptic reactions arriving from all the dendrites (See Figure 2.8) to the cell body at any given moment determines whether that cell will, in fact, fire. In other words, learning involves groups or networks of neurons.Although the cell body has the capacity to move, most adult neurons stay put and simply extend their single axon outward. Although each neuron has only one axon, it has numerous fibers called dendrites, that also extend from the cell. Axons normally only talk to dendrites, and dendrites normally only talk to axons. When an axon (which is thinner, leg-like extension) meets up with a dendrite from a neighboring cell, LEARNING happens.3. WHEN LEARNING ACTUALLY TAKES PLACEA. Learning InsightsLearning physically changes the brain. Every new experience encountered actually alters the electrochemical wiring. When the brain receives a stimulus of any kind, the process of cell-to-cell communication is activated. The more novel and challenging the stimuli (up to a point), the more likely it will activate a new pathway. If the stimuli is not considered meaningful to the brain, however, the information will be given less priority and will leave only a weak trace. If the brain deems something important enough to commit it to long-term memory, a memory potential occurs.The consensus today is that our cognitive maps arent purely a result of nature or nurture, but a dynamic interplay of both a theory called emergentism At each stage of development, particular genes are affected by particular environmental factors. Recent research has focused on what has been called windows of opportunity, referring to a period of heightened readiness for learning. It is thought that exposure to appropriate stimuli during these peak times can optimize a childs natural appetite for learning especially learning related to language, music, and motor development. Genes are not templates for learning; they do, however, represent enhanced risk or opportunity. Thus, if a child is born with the genes of a genius, but is raised in a non-enriched environment, the chances of him/her actually becoming a genius are low. A child with average genes, on the other hand, raised in a supportive and intellectually stimulating environment, may achieve greatness by virtue of his/her enriched environment.B. Learning FactorsA typical learner arrives not with a blank slate, but with a highly customized brain bank of experience. Even before pre-school age, a learners brain has already been shaped by a multitude of influences including home environment, siblings, extended family, playmates, genes, trauma, stress, injuries, violence, cultural rituals and expectations, enrichment opportunities, primary attachments, diet and lifestyle (See Figure 3.1). C. The Stages of LearningOptimal learning occurs in a predictable sequence. The sequence includes five stages (Figure 3.2). First, the pre-exposure or preparation stage provides a framework for the new learning and primes the learners brain with possible connections. This stage may include an overview of the subject and a visual representation of related topics. The more background a leader has in the subject, the faster they will absorb and process the new information. The second stage, acquisition, can be achieved through either direct means as in providing handouts or indirect means, as in putting up related visuals. Both approaches can work, and they actually complement each other. Elaboration, the third stage, explores the interconnectedness of topics and encourages depth of understanding. The fourth stage, memory formation, cements the learning, so that what was learned on Monday is retrievable on Tuesday. And, finally, the fifth stage, functional integration, reminds us to use the new learning so that it is further reinforced and expanded upon.Ultimately, learning is the development of goal-oriented neural networks. Single neurons arent smart but integrated groups of neurons that fire together, are very smart. This orchestrated neural symphony is what learning is all about. Elaborate neural networks are developed over time through the process of making connections, developing the right connections, and strengthening the connections. (See Figure 3.3)An enormous gap exists between what a teacher explains and what a learner understands. To reduce this gap, teachers need to engage students through deeper understanding and feedback with implicit and explicit learning strategies. (See Figure 3.4)

4. SOME FACTS ABOUT THE BRAINThe brains shape is like that of a walnut. Its color looks like that of an uncooked liver. A normal human brain is flesh-colored and soft enough that it can be cut with a butter knife. The adult human brain weighs about three pounds. By comparison, a sperm whale brain weighs about seventeen pounds. A dolphin brain weighs about four pounds; a gorilla brain weighs about one pound. A dogs brain weighs about seventy-two grams or six percent of a mans brains total weight. Comparable in size to a large grapefruit, this three-pound wonder is made up of mostly water (78 %), a little fat (10 %), and even less protein (8 %). The brain is divided into two hemispheres called the cerebral cortex (commonly known as the conscious thinking center), covered in a thin skin of deeply grayed tissue, and separated by the corpus callosum. That curve of white tissue acts as a bridge between the two halves, shuttling information back and forth at such a rate of speed that for all practical purposes the two hemispheres act as one. Every brain module is duplicated in each hemisphere another of natures creative duplicating systems.The areas lying beneath the corpus callosum make up the limbic system (described earlier in the basic anatomy of the brain), the area that relates to the unconscious and yet profoundly affects our experience. Its job is to feed information upward to the conscious cortex. Emotions are generated in the limbic system along with many urges that direct our behavior and usually help us in survival. The thalamus is alimbic systemstructure and it connects areas of the cerebral cortex that are involved in sensory perception and movement with other parts of the brain andspinal cordthat also have a role in sensation and movement. As a regulator of sensory information, the thalamus also controls sleep and awake states of consciousness.The brain might be said to be in touch more with itself than anything else.The typical brain has approximately 100 billion neurons, and each neuron has one to 10,000 synaptic connections to other neurons. Our brains are suffused with a vast number of interdependent networks. We process all incoming information through those networks, and any information already stored influences how and what we learn.The human brain is the best-organized, most functional three pounds of matter in the known universe.The brain is the most complex organ we possess. As previously mentioned, it contains about one hundred billion (100,000,000,000) cells, about ten times that of a monkey, twenty times that of a mouse and one thousand times that of a fruit fly. When linked together, the number of connections our brain cells can make is estimated to be from one hundred trillion to as much as ten hundred trillion followed by millions of zeroes (more than the estimated number of atoms in the known universe). These numbers provide a picture of the theoretical capacity of the human brain, but what about the practical capacity? We could increase our knowledge, skills, and brain connections by 10, 20 or even 50 percent, but realistically, there are not enough hours in the day to fully utilize our brains potential.Some researchers say that our brains begin to lose cells starting at birth. Others say, cell deterioration begins at about age twelve. We can afford to lose a few million cells. More significant is the fact that the brains plasticity continues as we age. According to Marian Diamond, a neuroscientist and professor of neuroanatomy in the University of California, The ability to change the structure and chemistry of the brain in response to the environment is what we call plasticity. This means that although we may have fewer brain cells, we are still increasing the connections between the cells. We never have to stop learning. Thus, our brains capacity is more a matter of time, exposure and motivation than it is of innate design.

6. PRINCIPLES FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNINGThe following principles for brain-based learning act as a general theoretical foundation for brain-based learning. These principles are simple and neurologically sound. Applied to education, however, they help us to reconceptualize teaching by taking us out of traditional frames of reference and guiding us defining and selecting appropriate programs and methodologies.A. Principal One: Every Brain is UniqueLike your thumbprint, your brain is unique in the world. Although we all have the same set of systems, including our senses and basic emotions they are integrated differently in each and every brain. The variability of a learners brain reflects many factors including genetic and environmental influences. The connections between cells that are made as a result of our experiences form our personal cognitive maps. Brain size and weight vary among humans as well. While the founder of relativity, Albert Einstein, had an average-size brain, the French writer Honore de Balzac had a brain 40 percent larger than average. Our brains internal wiring is distinct, too. An example would be two people at the scene of the same accident having such different eyewitness reports Our perceptions are very personal translations of stimuli based on our neural networks, which act as filters. This is why stereotypes and biases are so persistent. They are embedded in our neural networks. In other words, our genetics, as well as our life experiences, sculpt our brains into distinctly unique organs.In addition to the experience-based differences in physiology, neural wiring, and bio-chemical balance, every brain is on a different timetable of development. For some brains, the normal time to read is age six; for another, it may be age three. Completely normal development can different by a spread of three years between learning. In addition, because learning actually changes the structure of the brain, the more we learn, the more unique we become. (B. Principle Two: Every Brain Simultaneously Perceives and Creates Parts and Wholes Although there is evidence of brain, laterality, meaning that there are differences between the left and the right hemispheres of the brain, left brain-right brain is not the whole story. In a healthy person the two hemispheres are inextricably interactive, irrespective of whether a person is dealing with words, mathematics, music or art. The brain is asymmetrical. According to Dr. Laccino, The left brain is in charge in a majority of cases, regardless of body side. Considering how much in the body is assymetrical, it is no surprise that we have functional preferences for handedness, eyedness, and earedness. Oddly, even maladies like tumors (in the breast, kidney, nasal, ovary, and testes areas) are reported more often on the right side of the body.The common biological preference to right-handedness may be related to the greater number of motor fibers in the nerve pathways from the left hemisphere to the right side of the bodyThe value of the two-brain doctrine is that it requires educators to acknowledge the brains separate but simultaneous tendencies for organizing information. One is to reduces such information into parts; the other to perceive and work with it as a whole or series of wholes.People have enormous difficulty learning when either parts or wholes are neglected. Good teaching builds understanding and skills over time because it recognizes that learning is cumulative and developmental. However, parts and wholes are conceptually interactive. They derive meaning from each other. Thus, vocabulary and grammar are best understood and mastered when they are incorporated in genuine, whole-language experiences. Similarly, equations and scientific principles are best dealt with in the context of living science.C. Principle Three: All Learning Engages the Entire PhysiologyLike the heart, liver or lungs, the brain is an incredibly complex physiological organ functioning according to physiological rules. Learning is as natural as breathing and it is possible to either inhibit or facilitate it. Neuron growth, nourishment and synaptic interactions are integrally related to the perception and interpretation of experiences. There are three aspects for balance in learning: Active Learning (pair-sharing, building, discussing, drawing and performing, Passive Learning (listening, watching and generalizing) and Settling Time (walking, reflecting, sleeping, eating lunch and taking breaks). (See Figure 6.1)Stress and threat affect the brain, and it is influenced differently by peace, challenge, boredom, happiness, and contentment. In fact, the actual wiring of the brain is affected by school and life experiences. Anything that affects our physiological functioning affects our capacity to learn. In this connection, we can say that brain-based teaching must fully incorporate stress management, nutrition, exercise, drug education and other facets of health into the learning process. Learning is influenced by the natural development of the body and the brain. According to brain research, for example, there can be a five-year difference in maturation between any two average children. Gauging achievement on the basis of chronological age is therefore inappropriate. (D. Principle Four: The Brain is a Parallel ProcessorThe brain ceaselessly performs many functions simultaneously. Thoughts, emotions, imagination, and predispositions operate concurrently. They interact with other brain processes such as health maintenance and the expansion of general social and cultural knowledge.Like the brain, good teaching should orchestrate all the dimensions of parallel processing and it must be based on theories and methodologies that make such orchestration possible. As no one method or technique can by itself adequately encompass the variations of the human brain, teachers need a frame of reference that enables them to select from the vast array of methods and approaches that are available. (E. Principle Five: The Search for Meaning is InnateThe search for meaning (making sense of our experiences) is survival-oriented and basic to the human brain. The brain needs and automatically registers the familiar while simultaneously searching for and responding to novel stimuli. This dual process is taking place every waking moment (and, some contend, while sleeping). Other brain research confirms the idea that people are meaning makers. The search for meaning cannot be stopped, only channeled and focused. Brain-based education must furnish a learning environment that provides stability and familiarity. At the same time, it should be able to search the brains curiosity and hunger for novelty, discovery, and challenge. Programs for gifted children already combine a rich environment with complex and meaningful challenges. Most of the creative methods used for teaching gifted students should be applied to all students. (F. Principle Six: The Search for Meaning Occurs Through PatterningIn a way, the brain is both scientist and artist, attempting to discern and understand patterns as they occur and giving expression to unique and creative patterns of its own. Designed to perceive and generate patterns, the brain resists having meaningless patterns imposed on it. By meaningless what is meant are isolated pieces of information that are unrelated to what makes sense to a particular student. When the brains natural capacity to integrate information is acknowledged and invoked in teaching, vast amounts of initially unrelated or seemingly random information and activities can be presented and assimilated. (Learners are patterning all the time in one way or another. Teachers cannot stop them; they can only influence the direction. Daydreaming is a form of patterning, so are problem solving and critical thinking. Although educators choose much of what students are to learn, they should, rather than attempt to impose patterns, present the information in a way that allows brains to extract patterns. Time on task does not ensure appropriate patterning because the student may actually be engaged in busywork while the mind is somewhere else. For teaching to be really effective, a learner must be able to create meaningful and personally relevant patterns. This type of teaching is most clearly recognized by those advocating a whole language approach to reading, thematic teaching, integration of the curriculum, and the relevant approaches to learning. G. Principle Seven: Emotions are Critical to PatterningWhat we learn is influenced and organized by emotions and mind-sets involving expectancy, personal biases and prejudices, self-esteem, and the need for social interaction. Thus, emotions and cognition cannot be separated. Emotions are also crucial to memory because they facilitate the storage and recall of information. The emotional impact of any lesson or life experience may continue to reverberate long after the specific event that triggered it.In Descartes Error, Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, it is argued that the brain, mind, body, and emotions form a linked system. Emotions are not separate, but rather enmeshed in the neural networks of reason. Scientific work based mostly on animal and human studies of subjects with brain damage, established that damage to particular areas of the brain especially to the prefrontal lobe (bilaterally) and the amygdala eliminated the ability to feel emotion, and as a result, faulty cognition occurred. In The Emotional Brain, it is argued that emotions or arousal is important in all mental functions and contributes significantly to attention, perception, memory and problem solving. In fact, without arousal, we fail to notice what is going on we dont attend to the details.. But too much arousal is not good either. If we are over-aroused, we become tense and anxious and unproductive.The old way of thinking about the brain is that mind, body, and feelings are separate entities, but theres really no division between these functions. Our emotions help us to focus our reason and logic. Our logical side may help us, for example, set a goal, but it is our emotional side that provides the passion to persevere through trying times. Certainly, excessive or undisciplined emotions can harm our rational thinking, but a lack of emotion can also make for equally flawed thinking.The influence of emotions on our behavior is immense. Because they give us a live report at all times on the bodys response, they receive priority status. Scientists believe the critical networks that process the emotions link the limbic system, the pre-frontal cortices, and perhaps most importantly, the brain areas that map and integrate signals from the body (See Figure 6.2). We know that damage to the limbic system (primarily the amygdale and anterior cingulated) impairs primary emotions (innate fear, surprise, etc.). But damage to the prefrontal cortices compromises the processing of secondary emotion that is, our feelings about our thoughts. Emotions let us mind our bodys physical reaction to the world.While other areas of the brain help process emotions, the amygdala an almond-shaped structure within the limbic system (See Figure 6.3) is highly involved. Buried deep in the front half of the temporal lobes, it is mature at birth and stores intense emotions, both negative and positive.The amygdale exerts a tremendous influence over our cortex. Although the amygdale seems to have twelve to fifteen distinct emotive regions within it, so far only two (those linked to fear) have been specifically identified. Other emotions such as intense pleasure may be linked to other areasWhen our body experiences primary emotions, our brain reads them as part of the critical information that ensures our survival. The body generates the sensory data, feeds it to the brain, and then integrates it with emotions and intellect to form a thinking triumvirate for optimal performance and decision-making. (Emotions are a critical source of information for learning and ought to be used to inform us, rather than considered something to subdue and ignore. Students who feel tentative or afraid to speak in front of a group of their peers, for instance, may have a very legitimate and even logical reason for the fear. Failing might cost them significant loss of social status.Our thinking is not contaminated by emotions. Rather, our emotions are an integral aspect of our neural operating system. Emotions speed our thinking by providing an immediate physical response to circumstances. When we value something strongly, whether it be a principle, a person, or a thing, that relationship becomes emotionally charged. If our emotions have been badly neglected by others (especially early in life), emotional problems, fortified by an overproduction of some neurotransmitters, can result. Such intense reactions to our emotions, however, are a survival benefit and allow us to preserve that which is important, including our lives.Teachers must understand that students feelings and attitudes will be involved in learning and will determine future learning. They should make sure the emotional climate is supportive and marked by mutual respect and acceptance. Cooperative approaches to learning support this notion. Student and teacher reflection and meta-cognitive approaches should be encouraged. The emotional color of teacher-student encounters depends on the sincerity of the support that teachers, administrators and students offer each other.H. Principle Eight: Learning Involves Both Focused Attention and Peripheral Perception The brain absorbs the information of which it is directly aware and to which it is paying attention. It also directly absorbs information and signals that lie beyond the immediate focus of attention. These may be stimuli that one perceives out of the side of the eyes such as gray and unattractive walls in a classroom. Peripheral stimuli also include the very light or subtle signals that are within the field of attention but are still not consciously noticed (such as a hint of a smile or slight changes in body posture). This means that the brain responds to the entire sensory context in which teaching or communication occurs. There is a fundamental principle that every stimulus is coded, associated, and symbolized by the brain. Every sound (from a word to a siren) and every visual signal (from a blank screen to a raised finger) is packed full of complex meanings. Peripheral information can therefore be purposely organized to facilitate learning.The expression pay attention is appropriate. Attention is a payment of the brains precious resources. It requires that we orient, engage, and maintain each appropriate neural network. Maintaining attention requires highly disciplined internal states and just the right chemical balance. Paying attention is not easy to do consciously. The areas of the brain dedicated to attention are highly complex and somewhat variable (See Figure 6.4). Neuroimaging methods have shown increased neuronal firing in the prefrontal and posterior parietal lobes and in the thalamus and anterior cingulated when someone is working hard to pay attention.The teacher can and should organize materials that will be outside the focus of the learners attention. In addition to traditional concerns with noise, temperature, etc., peripherals include visuals such as charts, illustrations, set designs, and art, including great works of art. It is recommended that teachers change art frequently to reflect changes in learning focus. Music has also become very important as a means to enhance and influence more natural acquisition of information. The subtle signals that emanate from a teacher also have an impact on learning. Our inner states show in skin color, muscular tension and posture, rate of breathing, eye movements, and so on. Teachers should engage the interests and enthusiasm of students through their own enthusiasm, coaching and modeling, so that the unconscious signals relating to the importance and value of what is being learned are appropriate The term double planeness was coined to describe the congruence of the internal and external in a person it is important for teachers to practice what they preach and to express genuine feelings rather than to fake them, because the true inner states are always signaled and discerned at some level by learners. (I. Principle Nine: Learning Always Involves Conscious and Unconscious ProcessesWe learn much more than we ever consciously understand. Most of the signals that we peripherally perceive enter the brain without our awareness and interact at unconscious levels having reached the brain, this information emerges in the consciousness with some delay, or it influences motives and decisions. Thus, we remember when we experience, not just what we are told. A student can easily learn to sing on key and learn to hate singing at the same time. Teaching, should therefore be designed in such a way as to help students benefit maximally from unconscious processing. In part, this is done by addressing the peripheral context (as described above). In part it is done through instruction.A great deal of the effort put into teaching and studying is wasted because students do not adequately process their experiences. Active processing allows students to review how and what they learned so that they can begin to take charge of their learning and the development of their own personal meaning. It refers to reflection and meta-cognitive activities for example -, a student might become aware of his or her preferred learning style. Teachers may facilitate active processing by creatively elaborating procedures and theories through metaphors and analogies to help students recognize the material in personally meaningful and valuable ways. (J. Principle Ten: We Have Two Types of Memory: A Spatial Memory System and A Set of System for Rote LearningWe have a natural spatial memory system which does not need rehearsal and allows for instant memory of experiences. Remembering what we had for dinner last night does not require the use of memorization techniques. That is because we have at least one memory system actually designed for registering our experiences in ordinary three-dimensional space. The system is always engaged and is inexhaustible. It is enriched over time as we increase our repertoire of natural categories and procedures (there was a time when we did not know what a tree or a television was). The system is motivated by novelty. In fact, this is one of the systems that drives the search for meaning.Facts and skills that are dealt with in isolation are organized differently by the brain and need much more practice and rehearsal. The counterpart of the spatial memory system is a set of systems specifically designed for storing relatively unrelated information. The more information and skills are separated from prior knowledge and actual experience, the more we depend on rote memory and repetition. These systems operate according to the information processing model of memory which suggests that all new information must be worked on before it is stored. However, concentrating too heavily on the storage and recall of unconnected facts is a very inefficient use of the brain. (Neuroscientist Daniel Schacter, PhD, suggests that multiple memory locations and systems are responsible for our learning and recall. He suggests that different learning tasks may require different ways to store and recall information.Researchers emphasize that its the retrieval process which activates dormant neurons to trigger our memories. (See Figure 6.5) They argue that you cannot separate memory and retrieval that memory is determined by what kind of retrieval process is activated. Each type of learning requires its own type of triggering. When enough of the right type of neurons, firing in the right way, are stimulated, you get successful retrieval. In larger patterns, whole neuronal fields can be activated. For example, at hearing the word school, hundreds of neuronal circuits may be activated triggering a cerebral thunderstorm. This is due to the many associations and experiences most of us have with the subject.There is one area of the brain that is solely responsible for memory. Most of our memories are well-distributed throughout the cortex. This spread the risk strategy explains why a person can lose 20% of their cortex and still have a good memory. It also helps explain why a student can have a great recall for one subject, like sport statistics, and a poor recall for another, like names and faces.Memories of sound are stored in the auditory complex. Memories of names, nouns, and pronouns are traced to the temporal lobe. The amygdale is quite active for implicit, usually negative, emotional events. Learned skills involve the basal ganglia structures. The cerebellum is also very critical for associative memory formation, particularly when precise timing is involved as in the learning of motor skills. Researchers have found that an area of the inner brain, the hippocampus, becomes quite active for the formation of spatial and other explicit memories, such as memory for speaking, reading, and even our recall about an emotional event. (When you think of an idea, hear your internal voice, get an image, recall music, or see a color in your minds eye, you are reconstructing the original memory. Your brain creates a composite of the various elements of the experience on the spot. (See Figure 6.6) This means you only remember something once. After that, youre remembering the memory! But, your memory is on-call at all times of the day and night.Educators are adept at focusing on memorization of facts. Common examples include multiplication tables, spelling and sets of principles in different subjects. However, an overemphasis on such procedures leaves the learner impoverished, does not facilitate transfer of learning, and probably interferes with the development of understanding. By ignoring the personal world of the learner, educators actually inhibit the effective functioning of the brain.K. Principle Eleven: The Brain Understands and Remembers Best When Facts and Skills Are Embedded in Natural Spatial MemoryOur native language is learned through multiple interactive experiences involving grammar and vocabulary. It is shaped both by internal processes and by social interaction. That is an example of how specific items are given meaning when embedded in ordinary experiences. Education is enhanced when this type of embedding is adopted. Embedding is the single most important element that the new brain-based theories of learning have in common.The embedding process is complex because it depends on all other principles previously mentioned. Spatial memory is generally best invoked through experiential learning, an approach that is valued more highly in some cultures than in others. Teachers should use a great deal of real life activity including classroom demonstrations, projects, field trips, visual imagery of certain experiences and best performances, stories, metaphor, drama, interaction of different subjects, and so on. Vocabulary can be experienced through skits. Grammar can be learned in process through stories or writing. Mathematics, science, and history can be integrated so that much more information is understood and absorbed than is presently the norm. Success depends on making use of all the senses by immersing the learner in a multitude of complex and interactive experiences. Teachers should not exclude lectures and analysis, but they should make them part of a larger experience. (L. Principle Twelve: Learning is Enhanced by Challenge and Inhibited by ThreatThe brain learns optimally when appropriately challenged, but downshifts under perceived threat. In the language of phenomenology, we narrow the perpetual field when threatened by becoming less flexible and by reverting to automatic and often more primitive routine behaviors. The hippocampus, a part of the limbic system, appears to function partially as a relay center to the rest of the brain. It is the part of the brain most sensitive to stress. Under perceived threat, we literally lose access to portions of our brain, probably because of the extreme sensitivity of hippocampus. The hippocampus is very sensitive to cortisol and also the center of the bodys immune system, so the chronic release of cortisol weakens the bodys ability to fight disease. Stanford scientist Robert Sapolsky said We have known for many years that stress can interfere with neuron production in the fetal brain and it can damage and even kill pre-existing neurons. We also have evidence that when there is neuron production in the adult brain, stress can also disrupt it. High levels of distress can cause the death of brain cells in the hippocampus an area critical to explicit memory formation. Chronic stress also impairs students ability to sort out whats important and whats not. (See Figure 6.7) There are other problems. Chronic stress makes students more susceptible to illnessFor the most part, the brain responds to threat exposure in predictable ways. The moment a threat is detected, the brain jumps into high gear. The amygdala is at the center of all our fear and threat responses. It focuses our attention and receives immediate direct inputs from the thalamus, sensory cortex, the hippocampus, and the frontal lobes. Neural projections (bundles of fibers) from the amygdala then activate the entire sympathetic system. Normally, it triggers the release of adrenaline, vasopression, and cortisol. These chemicals immediately change the way we think, feel, and act.New research reveals that threatening environments can trigger chemical imbalances, and especially worrisome, is the reduced level of serotonin. Serotonin is a strong modulator of our emotions and subsequent behaviors; and when serotonin levels fall, violence often rises. Threats also elevate levels of vasopressin, which has been linked to aggression. These imbalances can trigger impulsive and aggressive behavior that, some believe, can lead to a lifetime of violence. (The list of potential threats to learners is endless, and they can exist anywhere, from ones own home to a neighbors home, an over-stressed parent, a boyfriend, a rude classmate, an unknowing teacher who threatens a student with humiliation, detention or embarrassment, or a combination of these stressors. When the brain is put on alert, defense mechanisms and behaviors are activated, which is great for survival but not for learning. (See Figure 6.8)Blood flow changes to the brain also negatively impact the learner. According to Dr. Wayne Drevets of the University of Pittsburgh, when faced with threat, we experience an increased blood flow to the lower (ventral) frontal lobes and a decreased flow to the upper (dorsal) areas of the frontal lobes. This means the area of the brain that processes emotions is getting the lions share of the blood creating a sense of overwhelm, while the brain area used for critical thinking, judgment and creativity is shorted. (See Figure 6.9)Threats are defined as any stimulus that causes the brain to trigger a sense of fear, mistrust, anxiety, or general helplessness. This state can be a result of physical harm or perceived danger (usually from parents, teachers or peers); intellectual harm (unrealistic performance expectations or time constraints, or lack of resources, support, positive role models); or emotional harm (embarrassment, humiliation, or isolation). Under any type of perceived threat, the brain Loses its ability to correctly interpret subtle clues from the environment Reverts to familiar tried and true behaviors Loses some of its ability to index, store, and access information Becomes more automatic and limited in its responses Loses some of its ability to perceive relationships and patterns Is less able to use higher-order thinking skills Loses some long-term memory capacity Tends to overreact to stimuli in a phobic-like way

8. MYTHS ABOUT LEARNING AND THE BRAIN

The emerging field known as Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) is committed to connecting diverse disciplines including cognitive psychology, biology, and education using this collected knowledge to inform education policy, practice, and research. We believe that MBE can help increase understanding and separate sound science from myths. Several myths impede knowledge sharing among groups that want to understand and improve teaching and learning. Some of those myths are about the field itself: the role of neuroscience in informing education and the false division between researchers and educators. Other myths, what we call neuromyths, have become widespread and influence how we educate children: left brain, critical periods, and gender differences in the brain.

A. MYTH #1 The brain is irrelevant in learningAfter Bruno della Chiesa, a leader in education neuroscience, proposed launching a project on neuroscience and learning to an international audience of policy makers, he was confronted with a surprising question from a French colleague: Questce que le cerveau a a voir I apprentissage? or What does the brain have to do with learning? Bruer presented a more refined and nuanced version of this question when he argued that brain science isnt directly relevant to learning. Cognitive psychology, he said, must mediate between neuroscience and education to develop useful applications. While there are some limitations in translating neuroscientific findings directly into classroom applications, these limitations are typically due more to insufficient collaboration among researchers and educators than to intrinsic limitations. In fact, neuroscience and education have successfully worked together to build knowledge thats applicable to the classroom. For, example, consider dyslexia. Education researcher have established that most dyslexic students have difficulty analyzing the sounds of words. Many of these students can learn to read through different learning pathways that use distinctive processes, but they still have difficulties analyzing sounds of lower levels. Biological and cognitive research helped explain how this pattern of strengths and weaknesses emerge through differences in genetics and corresponding brain processes. By understanding both the manifestation of dyslexia across many students and some of the causes for different profiles of dyslexia, researchers have been able to quickly identify students at risk for dyslexia and design differentiated interventions. As Denis Mareschal and his colleagues have pointed out, education researcher often studies the what, focusing on the outcomes of learning. By using different methods, including those from cognitive psychology and neuroscience, we can also study the why and the how of learning. While brain researcher alone cant tell us how to teach children, understanding the brain leads to uncovering underlying learning mechanisms. (

B. MYTH #2 Neuroscientists know it all, and teachers dont understand research.

A second myth is the false divide between scientists and educators. While there are some barriers to communication between researcher and educators, these barriers are far from insurmountable. Science is often seen as a collection of inviolate truths when, in fact, science is about iteratively seeking information that allows us to refine ideas and hypotheses. There are rarely quick fixes, and in our experience, educators are sometimes frustrated by the seemingly never-ending rotation of research-based interventions that theyre expected to implement. Simultaneously, educators sometimes feel, often rightfully so, that neuroscience research has little or no bearing on their classroom work. Of course, there is research that directly addresses the needs and questions of students and teachers, and some of it is wildly successful at improving educational outcomes. However, there could be much more such research if educators and researchers had more opportunities to communicate and collaborate. One way to support such interaction is through research schools, where educators and researchers work alongside one another to conduct research. In research schools, educators and researcher work together,

1) To formulate a research question thats both feasible and relevant to practice.2) To design a study to answer the question.3) To collect ecologically valid data.4) To interpret the result.5) To design interventions or policies that are implied by those results.

This is the most certain way to ensure that researchers are asking the questions that matter to teachers and that teachers are engage on both the inputs and outputs of research. Both scientist and educators have important knowledge ton contribute to solving educational problems, and supporting this type of collaborative work leads to improved educational outcomes. One result of the difficulties in translating neuroscientific findings for the education community has been the perpetuation of neuromyths, misinformation about the brain and the way we learn that has led to common popular beliefs. While there are unfortunately many of these neuromyths floating about, weve chosen to highlight three that have particularly important implications for educations: right brain/left brain, critical periods and gender differences in the brain. (

C. MYTH #3 Johnny is right brained and that is why..This myth can be traced back to the days of phrenology in the 19th century, when some believed that particular characteristics resided in certain sections of the brain, which could be detected by mapping individuals skulls. We still see ridiculous permutations of this kind of myth in the popular press from time to time (i.e., there have been accounts of the love area of the brain and similar ideas, such as a warrior gene). Most of us recognized that feeling the ridges on ones head isnt likely to be good in math. However, a modern version of these beliefs is common: People believe that each hemisphere of the brain controls separate cognitive skills. For example, if you Google right brain left brain, youll learn within the first few hits that the left hemisphere is much more logical and analytical while the right hemisphere is creative and holistic. You can even take a short quiz to find out which hemisphere dominates in your case, and youll learn that schooling tends to emphasize left-brained skills. But all of this is simply not true. First all of us use all of our brains so the idea that we use mainly one hemisphere just doesnt make much sense. Certain hemispheres of the brain do play a larger role in particular functions, such as the left hemisphere in many speech functions in most people. However, all complex learning tasks involve a widely distributed network of brain areas. In fact, functional imaging technology, which allows us to view brain activity while people are performing cognitive tasks, shows that reading even a relatively simple word such as dog activates networks widely distributed across the brain, including both the right and left hemisphere. Moreover, some functions involve different brain areas in different people. We now know that the brain is remarkable adaptive, with the capacity to adapt to new demands and new environments across an individuals life, even late in life. What are the implications of the pervasiveness of this myth for education? One of the most dangerous implications centers on teacher and parent expectations for students, which often lead to stereotyping students capabilities and limitations according to adult perceptions of their strengths or weaknesses. Research on motivation indicates that students and teachers alike often falsely believe that intelligence is a fixed, intrinsic characteristic (Dweck 1988). Coupled with right brain/left brain neuromyth, this can result in Johnny thinking hes simply not good at math and importantly, that he cant change this characteristics of his brain. Of course, individuals do indeed have relative strengths and weaknesses, but its important not to stereotype them or treat them as fixed and immutable. The right brain/left brain split is indeed a myth, not a fact. Its wrong to imply that strengths and weaknesses come from the dominance of one hemisphere and are resistant to good teaching and learning. Profiles of strengths and weaknesses are much more complex than simple hemispheric dominance, and theyre malleable because the brain is remarkably flexible and adaptive (OECD 2007; Shonkoff and Phillips 2000).

D. MYTH #4 Everyone knows you cant learn a language after age_.

The critical period myth is another neuromyth that has a significant influence on how we educate. This neuromyth is related to the previous one in that it rests on a static conception of the brain, which we now know to be false. A critical period is a period of time when some stimuli must be presented in order for a biological function to be activated. While theres evidence for limited critical periods in brain development in limited domains (such as the strength of vision in the two eyes), no evidence supports a critical period for academic skills. We most often hear the critical period myth applied to language acquisition, with the prevalent belief being that its impossible or at least extremely difficult to achieve competency in a language after a certain age. The age that people cite often varies from 3 or 4to a high of about 13 or 14. This myth is so interactive, in part, because it seems to hold true to the experience of many people who struggled through a second language requirement in school only to promptly forget almost everything after graduation. In fact, however, extensive research shows that there are sensitive periods for certain aspects of language, but not a critical period for language learning. Sensitive periods are windows of opportunity in which an individual can acquire a certain ability most easily and efficiently. For example, there appears to be sensitive period for learning phonology, with evidence that infants are initially able to recognize and distinguish phonemes across multiple languages, but after three to six months of age (and exposure to the sounds of the languages spoken at home), children become more skilled at producing the sounds that apprear in languages that they have heard. This effect appears to be the result of neural pruning (removing less efficient neural connections), probably to increase the efficiency of sound processing by the brain. One result may be increased difficulty with age in acquiring a native-like accent in a non-native language. However, people show large individual differences in learning a new language, and some individuals can still acquire close to a native accent in adulthood. Other studies have shown that adult non-native language learners are actually quicker at acquiring new vocabulary in a second language and that they may draw on a sophisticated understanding of meanings that gives them advantages over young children. In short, there is no evidence that there are biological critical periods for acquiring non-native languages. Recent studies have even begun exploring the cognitive benefits of acquiring a non-native language in adulthood for mitigating or delaying the symptoms of some age related disorders such as Alzheimers. In the United States, as elsewhere, globalization and migration patterns have meant a dramatic increase in the number of non-native language learners who enter school each year. Understanding how these students learn has important implications for all students, particularly in a world where multilingualism is becoming the expectation instead of the exception. Some estimates suggest that outside of the United States, two-thirds of the world population speak more than one language competently. If American students are to be successful, educators and parents must have clear expectations regarding students language acquisition based, not neuromyths. (

E. MYTH #5 Girls are better at reading, but boys dominate math and science.

Like the other neuromyths, popular conceptions about ability differences between boys and girls come from misinterpretations of legitimate neuroscientific findings. Brain size does correlate with overall body size, and men are larger on average than women. Therefore, many men will have larger brains on average than many women simply because they tend, on average, to be physically larger. At the same time, women who are larger will typically have larger brains than men who are smaller. Also, contrary to common belief, there is no inherent correlation between brain size and intelligence or academic achievement. Yes, men and women show important differences-most clearly in sexual anatomy and also in cultural roles, which lead to differences for men and women in every culture. However, neither boys nor girls have any inherent advantage in general. Girls show a small advantage in language on a average, but many boys are better at language on average than most girls. Boys show a small advantage in spatial reasoning on average, but many girls are better at spatial reasoning than most boys. No neuroscientific data suggest that boys brains are better suited to any given domain or subject or vice versa. The research pendulum is shifting from how to improve the performance of girls in math and science to how to improve academic outcomes for boys across domains. Individual differences in talents certainly exist, and every student has a profile of strengths and weaknesses, but no evidence suggests that these profiles are biologically limited by gender. (See Figure 8.1) (

F. DEMYSTIFYING THE MYTHSAs so-called brain-based programs and interventions continue to be marketed to educators and parents, educator and parents must become ever more knowledgeable about how to distinguish legitimate scientific findings from ministerpretations and neuromyths. However, not all of the burden should fall on educators and parents. Researchers also have a responsibility to communicate their findings in ways that minimize misunderstanding. One responsible activity for researchers and educators alike is transdisciplinary discussion: Teachers and scientist can cooperate to use research to answer practical questions about the problems facing schools or with the help of neuroeducational engineers trained to join research with practice, our ultimate goal is to increase shared knowledge. By working together, we can shift our focus from debucking neuromyths to building understanding of teaching and learning. (

9. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONSThe brain-based education movement is now about 30 years old. Its no longer a flash in the pan, no longer a topic to ignore. In recent decades, nearly every responsible academic discipline has turned to the brain to learn something new, and those that have not explored this option run the risk of falling behind.The new research into the brain is helping us better understand curriculum, discipline policies, assessment challenges, special education students, cafeteria food, the role of arts, retention policies, and countless other aspects of the teaching profession. In light of brain research, school districts have changed their start times, reexamined cafeteria food, and altered reading programs.However, brain-based learning is neither a panacea nor a magic bullet that will solve educations problems. It is not yet a program. a model or a package for schools to follow. Neuroscientists Michael Merzenich and Paula Tallal developed Fast For Word, a reading improvement product that applies discoveries in neural plasticity to change the brains ability to read the printed word. The benefits are already helping many students.Educators should not run schools solely on the basis of the biology of the brain. However, to ignore what we do know about the brain would be irresponsible. Brain-based learning offers some direction for educators who want more purposeful, informed teaching. It offers the possibility of less hit-or-miss instruction in the classroom. We have learned about the impact of the environment on learning, the roles of trauma, and the effects of distress and threat. With additional clarity from research, brain-based approaches may suggest better options for anyone who struggles with learning.We are still new in brain research but dismissing it as faddish, premature, or opportunistic is not only short-sighted, but also dangerous to our learners. At this early stage, rejecting brain research would be like calling the Wright Brothers first flight a failure because the plane flew only a few hundred yards. (Understanding how the brain learns has implications for instructional design, administration, evaluation, the role of the school in the community, teacher education, and a host of other issues critical to educational reform. The evidence suggests not only that we learn from experiences but that there is much more to this process than what we now know and accept. Acknowledging how the brain learns from experiences will help us to understand meaningful learning more fully. In that sense, brain-based learning is not a separate thrust or movement in education; it is an approach from which all education will ultimately benefit.

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