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.