Brain Compatible Learning

Brain Compatible Learning

If the brain is the organ for learning, then why aren’t teachers brain experts?

Learning is constructed in the mind based on a student‘s experiences

The brains of students today are completely different than the brains of our students even 10, 20 or 100 years ago

Emotion and LearningAppeal to a student’s emotion throughStorytelling- Story ChunkingPiquing curiosityQuestioningNoveltyPrior knowledge Movement

Too many public schools focus on the measurable to the exclusion of the possible. We are preparing for tests, but are we preparing for skillful learners in the world beyond school?

Brain Development and AdolescenceWhat we have to remember when teaching

subject matter and content standardsPrefrontal lobe- looks like Swiss cheese- seat

of logical reasoning, problem solving, decision making

Amygdala- clusters of neurons that are intimately tied to our emotional responses and memory functions

Adolescent Development and LearningHormones surgingPeersSexual explorationIdentity and Role ConfusionDevelopment of abstract thinking and

metacognitionReactionary or thalamic responses come from

the amygdala which is usually stimulated and over functioning

Stress and its effects on Learning and MemoryHigh stress levels- affect immune system,

clarity of thought, and memory functionCauses of StressOver packed curriculumFear of being wrongTest-takingFrustration with difficult materialBoredom from lack of stimulation! Embarrassment ( to read aloud)

What is the worst thing a parent or teacher could do in the eyes of an adolescent? A. Pile on added chores or assignmentsB. Scream and yell engaging in power

struggles over every issue that is irritatingC. Embarrass the adolescent

Stress- The Diagnosis of the 21st centuryAnytime there is perceived fear, there is stress

and a decrease in flow of information to the PFC.

Boredom makes you do crazy things- it may create its own fun or novelty

Most often, it is not the child’s choice- misbehavior is when the lower brain is in control

Flight-withdrawal, look like ADD or ADHDFight- ODDFreeze-Social Anxiety and Seizures or OCD Dr. Judy Willis

Why do students drop out of school?75%- material wasn’t interesting39% material wasn’t relevant37%no interactions with teachers

Boredom is stressful!

So what do we do?Create a community and classroom culture that feels

safe and accepting.Teach students ways to control their own responses –

MODEL!!!Visualizations and activities that are physical and

tactile- movement engages 100% of the brain which no cognitive skill or strategy can do this!

How May I Serve You?We ask the questions: what do you need?How can I help? What can I do?Brain processes questions long after they

have been askedSelf-reflection timeStory-telling in content areas

Choices

StrategiesAllow students to design quizzes and test

questionsThere is a 95% or higher retention rate over

a 24 hour period when students are allowed to teach what they need to learn

Hand Exercise- when we are holding onto power or control , there is no room for growth, novelty or leadership from students

Strategies continuedWriting with non-dominant handWhy do you need to know this? What

professions or jobs would ask for these skills? Self-reflection Feedback- informative, frequent and

displayed with variety

Environment is KeyGenius is much more than genes! When you

enrich the environment and exercise the muscles of the brain and power of the mind, you are literally creating neurons, neural connections and stimulating IQ and brain development

Frequent informal assessment strengthens learning

Self-assessment

Strategies that enhance LearningPredictionMulti-sensoryMemory- manipulation of information and

focused attentionHooks at the beginning and end!

Memory Facts If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced

enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. (Hardly seems worth it.) If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is

produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb. (Now that’s more like it!) The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to

squirt blood 30 feet. (O.M.G.!) A pig’s orgasm lasts 30 minutes. (In my next life, I want to be a pig.) A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to

death. (Creepy.) (I’m still not over the pig.) Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour. (Do not try this at home. Maybe at work.) The male pray mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its

body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male’s head off. (“Honey, I’m home. What the….?!”)