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How the brain learns!

How the brain learns!. DAVID SOUSA. No multi tasking!. The brain can only do one thing at a time! ” The mind can only pay conscious attention to one thought at a time. You can only do two things at once if one of them is automatic.

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How the brain learns!

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  1. How the brain learns! DAVID SOUSA

  2. No multi tasking! The brain can only do one thing at a time!” The mind can only pay conscious attention to one thought at a time. You can only do two things at once if one of them is automatic.

  3. The role of the lower parts of the brain and spinal cord have been underestimated! Routine Tasks The spinal cord and lower parts of the brain can perform these skills automatically, without conscious attention to detail. This allows the consious part of the brain the freedom to attend to other mental activities. • Walking and talking • Driving a car and thinking • Reading and comprehending

  4. Memory Learning and retention are different. We can learn something for just a few minutes and then lose it forever.

  5. Memory Learning and retention are different. We can learn something for just a few minutes and then lose it forever.

  6. Retention This process is affected by many factors including: • the degree of student focus • the length and type of rehearsal that occurred • the critical attributes that may have been identified • the students’ learning style • the inescapable influence of prior learnings.

  7. Rehearsal Initial Rehearsal • This happens when the information first enters working memory • If the learner cannot attach sense or meaning, and if there is no time for further processing then the information will likely be lost. Secondary Rehearsal Allows the learner to review the information, to make sense of it, to elaborate on the details, and to assign value and relevance, thus significantly increasing the chance of it going into long-term memory.

  8. Rote rehearsal: not complex; learner needs to remember and store information exactly as it entered into working memory (memorize a poem) • Elaborative Rehearsal; more complex thinking; used when it is important to associate the new learnings with prior learnings to detect relationships; reprocesses information several times to make connections to previous learnings and assign meaning (interpret message of poem).

  9. The goal of learning is not just to acquire knowledge, but to be able to use that knowledge in a variety of different settings. • Remember, rehearsal will only contribute, but does not guarantee transfer to long-term memory. However, there almost no long-term retention without rehearsal.

  10. Memory“The real key to teaching is trying to help students put things into their memory system and then hopefully retrieve them out again.”“LEARNING IS MEMORY”

  11. Teaching Method Retention varies with teaching method

  12. Primacy-Recency Effect During a learning episode, we remember best that which comes first, second best that which comes last, and least that which is in the middle. CHUNKING There are 3 limits to our power of reasoning and thinking: our limited attention span, working memory and long term memory. Chunking is an effective way of enlarging working memories capacity and for helping the learner make associations that establish meaning.

  13. Plasticity of Learning and Memory • It was once believed that as we aged, the brain’s networks became fixed. • In the past two decades, however, an enormous amount of research has revealed that the brain never stops changing and adjusting. • Learning, as defined by Tortora and Grabowski (1996), is “the ability to acquire new knowledge or skills through instruction or experience. • Memory is the process by which that knowledge is retained over time.

  14. LEARNING • The capacity of the brain to change with learning is plasticity. • So how does the brain change with learning? • According to Durbach (2000), there appear to be at least two types of modifications that occur in the brain with learning: change in the internal structure of the neurons, the most notable being in the area of synapses. An increase in the number of synapses (more dendrites) between neurons.

  15. Dendrite Growing/Pruning GROWING DENDRITES PRUNING DENDRITES

  16. GROWING DENDRITESHOW AND WHENWhy sleep is necessary? Actual branching of the nerve cells occurs primarily at night during sleep or more specifically, during various times of our sleep cycle. Sleeping after learning grows twice as many neural dendrites as learning the material did. The bulk of hard wiring takes place during sleep. Children who are sleep deprived after learning new information are unable to process and use the information as well as children who are not sleep deprived.

  17. FIVE RULES OF THE BRAIN • Dendrites grow only from what is already there. • Dendrites grow for what is practiced. • Dendrites grow from stimulating experiences. • Emotions affect learning. • Use it or lose it!

  18. Dendrite Pruning

  19. Developmental Plasticity/Synaptic Pruning • Ineffective or weak connections are "pruned" in much the same way a gardener would prune a tree or bush, giving the plant the desired shape. • It is plasticity that enables the process of developing and pruning connections, allowing the brain to adapt itself to its environment.

  20. During Adolescence… • The density of synapses declines during adolescence due to selective pruning of redundant or unused connections. • Synapse formation continues despite ongoing pruning

  21. Enriched Environments • Children who are exposed to a rich and varied education early in life develop a great capacity for learning throughout life. • Real learning, not just rote exercise, can have a dramatic influence on the physical structure of the brain.

  22. Into Adulthood… • The brain continuously remodels itself-even into adulthood. • Synapses (dendrite growth) continue to be formed in the brain. • Lifelong enrichment experiences are important for continued dendrite growth and healthy functioning brains.

  23. REFLECTION Any activity through which the brain recalls a concept, skill, or process. Reflection activities will prompt the brain to re-stimulate the new connections among neurons, which helps strengthen them. Summarizing and note taking are reflective activities!

  24. The Brain is ‘Pattern Seeking” The brain seeks to make order out of chaos. • Use mindmap formats • Use graphics • Create daily agendas • Set goals • Review at the end of the day

  25. Executive Functions • Refers to the conscious control of what we think and do. • Get the image of a CEO in the head. An executive is someone who decides upon a course of action, issues commands by virtue of rank in a hierarchy, and ensures that the commands are implemented. • Executive functions include identifying problems, making decisions, planning, staying focused on a task, adapting flexibly to changing situations, controlling impulses, and regulating emotions and behaviours. • Ask, “How do I identify and organize steps for completing an independent project? Why is this information related to that? How do I start this project/assignment? When do I self-check my progress in order to evaluate how much I have left to do? • These questions help us manage ourselves as learners, developing awareness of our knowledge as well as lack of knowledge, and knowing how to accomplish various goals by using executive or metacognitive skills.

  26. Summarizing & Note Taking Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student AchievementFromClassroom Instruction that WorksbyR. Marzano, D. Pickering, J. PollockCreated by The School District of Lee County, CSDC in conjunction with Cindy Harrison, Adams 12 Five Star Schools

  27. Objective Students will: • Understand the purpose and importance of summarizing and note taking • Review examples of summarizing and note taking activities • Will summarize and take notes on today’s topics-Differential equation/ trigonometric equations

  28. “why do we have to learn this?” • Summarization and note taking will be skills that can be used beyond the scope of your class and help students process specific content and terminology into long-term memory where it can be accessed in the future (Wormeli, 2005). • Summarization and note taking are two of the most powerful skills that students can learn because they give students tools for understanding and identifying the most important components of what they are learning.

  29. How are summarization and note taking defined? • Summarization is restating a portion of text in as few word as possible that accurately covey the key points of the text (Wormeli, 2005). • Note taking is the restating of information from text and other forms in a way that the student can best use for review. • While some best practices are specific to certain curriculum, summarization and note taking fall under study skills and can be used in any area for increasing comprehension of content.

  30. Summarizing Summarizing is synthesizing information. Summarizing can be verbal or written.

  31. Research and Theory aboutSummarizing • Generalizations based on research: • Students must delete, substitute, and keep some information when summarizing. • Deep analysis is needed in order to do #1. • Must be aware of explicit structure of information.

  32. Research and Theory aboutNote Taking • Generalizations based on research: • Verbatim note taking is least effective. • Notes should be a work in progress. • Notes should be used as study guides for tests. • The more notes taken, the better.

  33. Problem / Solution Frame • What is the problem? • What is a possible solution? • Are there any other solutions? • Which solution has the best chance of succeeding?

  34. Kissin’ Cousins You are planning on attending a family reunion. When you arrive there will be 10 cousins there. If you kiss each cousin hello, how many kisses are there?

  35. Problem / Solution Frame • What is the problem? How many kisses were exchanged? • What is a possible solution? 10 • Are there any other solutions? 20 • Which solution has the best chance of succeeding? Depends on family heritage

  36. Recommendations for Classroom Practice onSummarizing Reciprocal Teaching • 4 step process • Summarizing • Questioning • Clarifying • Predicting

  37. Reciprocal Teaching • Summarize what was taught. Summarizing • What did you understand or not understand about the topic? Why? Summarizing • What questions did you have as you learned the lesson? Questioning • Were there any words you did not understand? Clarifying • What do you think will be taught next? How do you think this concept could be used in the future or real world? Predicting

  38. Cornell notes • Cornell Notes- Well-documented method used by lawyers and doctors in school that divides the note taking paper into sections: general notes, a large left margin for main ideas, and a large bottom margin for question, comments, and summaries

  39. Evaluation- Help your students become better at summarization and note taking by having them self-evaluate and modify for improvement.

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