Engaging the Brain

Engaging the Brain Lori Wegman Instructional Specialist Fairfield City Schools High Aims 2018 All presentation files are found in the High Aims app My email address: wegman_l@fairfieldcityschools.com

Reflection – Your Current Practices • Graphic organizers • Drawing • Humor • Discussion • Games • Project-based • Field trips • Manipulatives • Technology • Work-study • Writing • Story-telling • Mnemonics • Visuals • Movement • Role play • Visualization • Vocabulary • Cooperative groups • Music • Compare/Contrast • Summarizing/Note-taking • Praise and recognition • Homework and Practice • Objectives/Goals • Generating/testing hypotheses • Cues and Leading Questions • Metaphors and Analogies • Feedback • Student Choice/Voice

Did you know???? • Multitasking does not exist. • 3 times is the MINIMUM something needs to be taught. Some research indicates up to 17 times. • 21 days until something becomes a habit. • Practice/homework should be intentional, have a specific goal/outcome, and in smaller chunks. • Mirror neurons (primate specific): fire when you act and when you observe that action in others (modeling is important!) • There is a connection between writing (over typing) info and memory/recall

6 Principles of Brain-Friendly Teaching (Kagan) Social Interaction Attention Safety Nourishment Stimuli/Info Processing Emotion

Attention • Novel stimuli + orienting response = increased alertness + better retention Example: Quiet Signal

Safety • In the presence of a threat, the Amygdala is activated – Fight or Flight. • Inhibits the pre-frontal cortex (planning, problem solving, cognition) • Student signals: slow down, over my head, etc. • Choice • Sharing in pairs first, then fours. Build up to “hot seat”. • Class building and team building activities • Brain breaks/fun • Coping skills

Emotion • Emotion produces retrograde memory enhancement (anything followed by emotion is better remembered). • Positive emotions = deeper thinking and creativity • Praise/appreciation • Greetings • Parting/saying goodbye • Celebrating • Hand shakes • Humor • No put downs

Social Interaction • The brain is a social organ. It is at maximum engagement when socializing. • Soft skills: cooperation/collaboration, empathy, communication, problem solving.

Nourishment • Increase O2 and glucose levels • Novelty • Intelligence shift • Releases dopamine, endorphins • Movement • Kinesthetic learning • Brain breaks • Hands-on

Stimuli/Information Processing • Brains have: • Multiple intelligences • Multiple memory systems

Brains seek a balance between: • Novelty (anti-boredom-attention) • Predictability (safety) N P N P P N Balance = relaxed alertness (body) (mind) Monotony = bored Chaos = anxiety

Q & A This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Articles of Interest • Research and Rational for Cooperative Learning • Resources on Engaging Student Voices • Help your students speak up and speak out in the classroom, online, and wherever they go. • #JokeoftheDay • Build community and prime students for critical thinking by starting class with laughs. • Burn Your Podium (and other Hacks) • Put an end to sleeping in your classroom. When students are at the center of the learning experience, engagnment will come naturally • “I wonder”: Harnessing the Power of Inquiry • Letting student curiosity inform your teaching naturally increases the relevance and student buy-in of your content.

Books/Authors of Interest • Mirroring People by M. Iacoboni • Memory and Emotion by James L. McGaugh • Mapping the Mind by Rita Carter • Blink by M. Gladwell • Spark by J. Ratey • Robert Marzano • Eric Jensen • Marcia Tate • Spencer and Laurie Kagan • Rick Wormeli

Videos of Interest • Kagan Videos • Brain Based Learning-Edutopia • Jensen Learning • Dr. Marcia Tate • Wormeli-Teaching with a Growth Mindset

Thank you for joining me! Please complete my exit ticket at: https://tinyurl.com/EngageExitHA2018 Engaging the Brain High Aims 2018 Lori Wegman wegman_l@fairfieldcityschools.com

Engaging the Brain