Ode to the Brain!

Ode to the Brain! by Symphony of Science

A nice way to learn a bit about the brain, through music.  Anyone using something like this to teach a concept to students?  Either by showing it to them or having them create one themselves?  You can download the videos from the Symphony of Science website.

The Wizard of Oz and a shared perception in language

“A baby has brains, but it doesn't know much. Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

“For I consider brains far superior to money in every way. You may have noticed that if one has money without brains, he cannot use it to his advantage; but if one has brains without money, they will enable him to live comfortably to the end of his days.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  

“If you only have brains on your head you would be as good a man as any of them, and a better man than some of them. Brains are the only things worth having in this world, no matter whether one is a crow or a man.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  

 

It is not unusual for common references to be used yet not truly understood by students.  Last summer, I took my children and their friends to see The Wizard of Oz performed in the park.  None of them (ages 8-17) had seen it before.  On the way home, my 13 year old son talked about how many of the phrases can be heard in regular conversations, but he never really understood where they came from.  Now he knows.  “There’s no place like home”, “…pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”, “…ding, dong, the witch is dead”, “… lions and tigers and bears, oh my”, “…I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too” are some examples. 

I thought about it and realized that these quotes are more than just words.  They encompass an entire experience, an entire story, in just a few words.  It is a shared experience that is collectively owned by the viewers (readers, listeners) that shapes a perception.  This perception is later recalled with a few words.

In essence, this is how “language stabilizes perception”.  It begins with the correct naming of something and then is tied tightly together with perception.  When that perception is a shared experience, the connections are that much stronger and can become a cultural foundation.

Reflection #2- Fundamentals of Cognitive Development

... in the groove... the Emperor's Groove, that is.

How prepared do you feel to write a literature review on a topic of your choosing?

This question is what I consider to be a loaded question!  To be honest, the amount of reading in this course has been more intense than what I have encountered in any other course (and I have taken a lot of courses!).  It has been a bit daunting at times, but I am starting to find my groove and am fairly confident in taking on the challenge of the literature review.  The hardest part of an assignment like this one is finding enough articles from reasonable sources on the topic at hand.  Especially those that are timely.  Organizing everything into a coherent format will be the next challenge.

Upon completing the course, how might you use the skills that you’ve gained to seek out and apply scientific knowledge about cognition in your own educational settings?

We have a particularly challenging 6^th grade entering the Upper School this fall, cognitively speaking (a group that is bright, but packed with “issues”).  I plan to use some time this summer to better utilize the BTT model in my activity planning for the 2012-13 school year.  After today’s staff meeting, I see that this class will benefit from attention to the specific brain targets.

In our 5-8 grades, 62% of the students are in the top 16% of academic ability compared to the national average according to recent testing.  However, many of them have their own challenges that include ADHD, executive processing issues, anxiety, etc.  I would love to begin utilizing the BTT model and knowledge from my coursework to better help these kids reach their full potential. 

Biology of Mind

"Because of its broad implications for individual and social well-being, there is now a consensus in the scientific community that the biology of mind will be to the twenty-first century what the biology of the gene was to the twentieth century."

Eric Kandel, In Search of Memory

Reflection #1- Fundamentals of Cognitive Development

Write a response to the reflection #1 prompt:

Learning to think "scientifically" about learning, development, and education is no small task. A scientific approach doesn't always fit neatly with our instincts as teachers. Teaching is often described as an art--one based on individual judgment and social interactions. That said, there's a great deal of scientific knowledge out there that can inform the art of teaching. What do you think will be the most difficult part of learning to think more scientifically about educational problems? What do you think you will need the most help with along the way?

 

Why we do what we do

My first thought, upon reading the instructions above, was “which educational problems should I focus on as there are so many?”  Those that can be thought of in scientific terms could include:

·         our culture of over-testing

·         how our “schools kill creativity” a la Sir Ken Robinson

·         the push for STEM training

Fortunately, I work in a private school and we are free from many of the constraints that the public schools face.  Although there is always room for improvement, I do think that we are on-track with much of this “scientific” approach to learning (even if staff doesn’t realize the scientific component!).

What I need the most help with is how to bring this information to colleagues and parents in terms that are vivid, understandable, and engaging.  It is wonderful to now have scientific backup for what our teachers are doing in their classrooms each day.  Being able to communicate that effectively, especially to parents, is crucial.

I would love to have one-page takeaways to give at weekly staff meetings.  I envision them to be very visual in nature (infographics) that could supplement a 10-minute “presentation” on a topic. 

Next, we need to extend this discussion into the home.  Parents are a huge part of the equation for student success and those that are making excuses for their child or don’t educate themselves on how to best help prepare the children are doing all a disservice.

We need parents that are assisting and challenging their children to become independent learners.

Brain Gardens

“Learn­ing is phys­i­cal. Learn­ing means the mod­i­fi­ca­tion, growth, and prun­ing of our neu­rons, con­nec­tions called synapses and neu­ronal net­works, through experience…When we do so, we are cul­ti­vat­ing our own neu­ronal net­works. We become our own gar­den­ers — "

Dr. James Zull, Pro­fes­sor of Biol­ogy and Bio­chem­istry at Case West­ern Uni­ver­sity.

Sharing resources

I'm forever collecting bits and pieces from the flotsam and jetsam that drift through the internet.  Ha, net, get it?  Fishing humor aside, there are fascinating items that I am compelled to collect.  I use Pinterest, Diigo, Scoop.it, etc. to curate my collections and am happy to share.

Take a look at my Scoop.it collection titled Mind, Brain, and Teaching or my Pinterest collection with the same title Mind, Brain, and Teaching along with Diigo bookmarks tagged "brain".

We are all in this together and sharing our ideas, resources, best practices, and support is important.  Feel free to comment, feel free to join the conversation!

You can also find me on Twitter as @MrsDi.

Reflection #3- Explorations in MBT

Reflect on the content presented and what you have learned in the last ten weeks.

·         What were some of the most important concepts that you will take away from this class?

·         How has the content informed or changed your practice as a result from taking this course?

·         What goals might you set for yourself regarding what you would like to know and be able to do by the time you have completed the certificate program?

We get stuck in routines.  This includes routines of thought and routines of practice.  It can be difficult to step out of that comfort zone, but it can also be very beneficial.  Take, for example, the persistent belief in the variety of neuromyths discussed at the beginning of this course.  Even when science can prove that a belief is untrue, it is very hard to let go of the training drummed into us.  However, we do our students a disservice by clinging to these neuromyths and basing practice on them. 

 

Additionally, it is fascinating how the primitive brain still has the first say as to what happens to stimuli that enters the brain.  Taking that knowledge and capitalizing on it is fundamental when using the BTT method.  Emotions, physical space, and designing the learning experience knowing how the brain best responds in these situations allows us to be better educators. 

Already I am advocating for activities and classroom practices that take the brain targets into consideration when talking with my peers.  I am stepping outside my comfort zones and trying new ideas directly in my classroom that take these into consideration.

As I move through the courses in this program, I would like to move beyond where I am just trying elements in the classroom.  I would like to implement a full scale BTT program (longer than one unit) to really get into the thick of it.  Once comfortable, I would like to bring my co-workers in to observe and discuss it as well.

A beautiful mess

The brain is a monstrous, beautiful mess. Its billions of nerve cells - called neurons - lie in a tangled web that displays cognitive powers far exceeding any of the silicon machines we have built to mimic it.

- William F. Allman (from Apprentices of Wonder. Inside the Neural Network Revolution, 1989)

Brain Awareness Week

I found information that Brain Awareness Week is NEXT WEEK (March 12-18, 2012)!  This is information I wish I knew months ago.  I will have to do something interesting in my classes next week for BAW and look to next year for something bigger.


More info at the Neuroscience for Kids website (that's where the cool clipart brain came from too).  There are some lesson plans there as well.


So, looking forward, mark the date - March 11-17 for Brain Awareness Week 2013!

Reflection #2- Explorations in MBT

Reflect on the content presented in Weeks 4-6 and how it relates to your current job responsibilities. What would you highlight or share with your colleagues at this time with regards to your learning in this course?

We are now delving into the Brain Targets (BTs) associated with the Brain Targeted Teaching (BTT) method.  The emotional, physical, and how to best design learning for students are the BTs in focus these past 3 weeks.

I work in the classroom with students so these BTs relate directly to what I do each day with them.  Although my title is Technology Integration Specialist, I am also a teacher.  Grades K-8 come to my Media Lab for computer/technology classes, but I primarily work with grades 6, 7, and 8.  I am beginning to look more carefully at how each of these BTs is currently in practice within my classroom with the thought of being flexible and changing things soon.

My goal, once some free time opens up, is to create some one page “cheat sheets” that highlight what I am learning though this course.  Starting with basic brain structure/function and working through each BT, the sheets would contain images, bullet points, definitions, best practices, etc.  I would like to present these at our weekly staff meetings with a quick 15 minute overview of the sheet and the content.

Although this is not ideal and does not allow for the presentation of the topic in-depth, this method would provide basic information and a conduit for discussion.  With my responsibilities with technology in the school, I can additionally provide resources and links to more information to staff as well.  This is something that I believe the administration and faculty will be very receptive to.

Reflection #1- Explorations in MBT

Reflect on the content presented these past three weeks and how you have been able to apply your learning thus far as an educator. Reflect on your progress in the course to-date and how you have been able to manage your time. 

 

To kick off our course, we reviewed brain anatomy and how learning happens at the neural level.  I have been talking about these topics to my colleagues and to my students.  My sixth graders were up against a project deadline and I could see that they were extremely stressed.  I had a chat with them about how stress affects our ability to learn effectively.  I had the students take a deep breath and we talked about time management at the middle school level.  After thinking about it, I decided to extend the project deadline as I thought the teachable moment was significant (BT1).

One aspect that can be overlooked is the physical environment (BT2) of a learning space.  Although I try to create a comfortable space in the media lab, recently I have taken care to change it more often.  Changing items on the walls, adding more exemplars (BT3), and talking to the students about it has been interesting.  Students now come in looking for changes and seem to be more involved in the space.  I hope to expand this and have them take ownership of some of those changes.

I also began a 5-minute transition time to the beginning of class.  We did “what would you rather” questions to get us all thinking together.  Even my toughest brain raised her hand and participated!  I am now investigating adding some quick meditation/visualization techniques.

Time management is fine although team work is challenging with differences in approach.  Enjoying the progress!

Looosah (that's "loser" with a New England accent)

Stress.  Disappointment.

We know that stress has a big impact on learning.  My stress this week came from a timed quiz that could not be retaken.  I have not run into this yet in all the grad level courses I have taken over the past few years. 

I read through the material once and take notes.  I read through it again and look over my notes.  By the end of the week I am reading it a third time and decide to take the quiz (more stress as I do not usually do things this close to deadline).

Only 10 questions and there is a timer, in red numbers, counting down off to the side.  More stress.

A question talks about “near native” status.  Well, I read that a student cannot reach native status after the critical window closes, but certainly can learn a second language.  Only the sounds won’t be native-like.  Is that not “near native”?  Stress, more stress.  What exactly does this question mean?

I try to go over all my questions, but the timer mocks me.  Stressful.  If I second guess myself too much, it defeats me.  No matter as I am already defeated.  Submit.

Stress.  I see the class average and mine is below.  A completely new experience for me and extraordinarily disappointing.  I feel like a young student does when they believe the teacher is out to trick them with oddly worded questions (I hear my son's voice in my head "my teacher hates me!").  My confidence plummets.

Did I learn anything?  I thought I knew the material, but that percentage score tells me otherwise.  I know that I believe in letting students have more than one chance to learn the material and prove it on an assessment.  This has been reinforced.  I learned that my stress levels negatively affected my learning and subsequent performance.  Most important, I need to be vigilant that I am not creating this type of stress in my own students.

UPDATE:

The corrected version of the quiz is available and I just took a look (yes, the stress continues for me even after it is all done).  I missed 1 out of 4 matching questions and 1 other question.  Shouldn't I be losing 2 points?  No, the quiz calculated that I lost 5 points.  No matter that I answered 3 of 4 matches correctly, I lose ALL the points.  These feelings are not "graduate student" feelings, they are "middle-school student" feelings that I have right now.  Sigh, time to contact the instructor.

UPDATE:

All taken care of.

The BTT (Brain Targeted Teaching) Puzzle

The video “Brain Targeted Teaching Model Overview” was assigned viewing for week 1 of our Explorations in Mind, Brain, and Teaching course.  At just over 9 minutes, the video gives a brief overview of the BTT model with the narration of our instructor Dr. Mariale Hardiman.

Watching the video, I jotted down notes that included my own questions on implementing this model in my teaching environment.  As a middle school computer/technology teacher that is also very interested in the brain, here are my thoughts:

Brain Target 1 – Emotional Climate for Learning

·         Connected & emotionally engaged = more powerful learning

·         Students want to be treated fairly, feel safe, loved, OK to take risks

THOUGHTS

At the mid school age, a high emotional window of development, how do we teach that it is OK to fail and to take risks within the safety of peer environment?

Brain Target 2 – Physical Learning Environment

·         Novelty is important to learning

·         We are attracted to novelty

THOUGHTS

How do I make the media (computer) lab more novel?  More comfortable?  Do I need to smooth the tech edges and bring in other elements?

Brain Target 3 – Designing the Learning Experience

·         The brain is a processor that likes to see the WHOLE first, wants the gist, not bit by bit.

·         A big picture of what students will learn is important so each small activity fits and makes sense.

·         Visual organizers of the entire learning experience.

THOUGHTS

I think that I can do this with the computer classes and like the idea very much.  Are there any examples of something like this for this curriculum?

Brain Target 4 – Teaching for Mastery (skills, content, concepts)

·         Repetition, more times done = more in long term memory

·         Must do this with different activities

·         Arts used as vehicle for content to make it come alive

THOUGHTS

How can I do this more with computers/technology?  The art studio is adjacent to the media lab and staff is willing to be involved, I just need to actively find activities that merge the two.

Brain Target 5 – Application & Extension of Knowledge

·         Real teaching = applying knowledge meaningfully in real world context

·         Innovative thinkers

THOUGHTS

How do I expand the depth of projects?  Is PBL or CBL (project based and challenge based learning) an effective method?  Do I devote more time for these?

Brain Target 6 – Evaluating Learning

·         Using a variety of methods and outcomes for assessment

THOUGHTS

This is something I am already doing, however can always improve upon.  I would like to add this more in our overall curriculum (tech integration) and teach the staff how important this is.  Any ideas are welcome.

Reflection of Online Learning Orientation Experience

Upon completing the Online Learning Orientation (a 2 week online facilitated course designed for students who are about to begin an online graduate program within the Johns Hopkins University School of Education) reflect on your experiences.

By Monday, in the blog you created during Week 1, post an entry in response to the following questions:

• What are your expectations for this program? What do you hope to accomplish?
• Now that you have a good sense of the types of online activities and the rhythms of an active participant, what steps will you take to be successful in this program?
• Where do you still need additional support to be successful? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My expectations are to have a greater understanding of how the brain functions and in particular how this affects learning.  In order to be an effective educator it is necessary to know how to reach each and every student.  Too many students get lumped into categories that don't do them justice and it is due to our own misunderstanding.  I hope to be an advocate for students and how their brains and learning are connected.  Fortunately, my co-workers are truly interested in this as well and are very open to discussions.

In order to be successful in the online community I need to be involved.  Asking questions and listening to others is a great way to begin.  Sharing experiences and ideas is also helpful.  Keeping up with assignments and activities is essential.

At the moment I do not see the need for additional support, but am comfortable reaching out and asking for help when needed.