BrainBased Instruction: Creating Opportunities for Success

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Brain-Based InstructionCreating Opportunities
for Success

• NC High School Network Conference
• Durham, NC
• January 28, 2008

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This Mornings Food for Thought
From the moment a child gets out of bed in the
morning untilsafely tucked in at night, theres
one central mission the avoidance of
humiliation at all costs. We have to be so
careful not to subject them to public
humiliation. Dr. Mel Levine A Mind at a
Time
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Resiliency

• The experiences children have profoundly affect
  the way their brains are structured and the ways
  they perform.
• The brains plasticity and resilience provide
  protection against early negative experiencesand
  help overcome them.
• Brain plasticity lasts throughout life.

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What Do We Want?

• What we want is for
• children to know what to do when they dont know
  what to do.
• Sam Houston
• Director, NC Science, Mathematics, and Technology
  Education Center

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Movement

• Physical activity helps oxygenate the blood,
  which in turn oxygenates the brain.
• Sensorimotor skills and practice encourage muscle
  memory.
• Muscle memory can tie to academics.

Problem-solving is promoted through individual
and group physical activities.
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Working With the Brain

• Creating a respectful, caring and
  intentionally inviting learning environment is
  the surest way to encourage student achievement.
• William Puckey David Aspy

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Key Principles of Brain-Based Learning

• Highly adaptable
• Pattern-seeker
• Social
• Innate search for meaning and connections
• Left Right Whole
• States influence learning
• The small stuff is big stuff
• Environment changes the brain
• Each brain is unique
• Memory is malleable
• Complex learningChallenge good, threat bad

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WATER

• Water is essential to perfusion of oxygen
  throughout the bodyand therefore maximized brain
  function.
• Recommended 10-12 glasses per day
• Water should be drunk to counteract caffeinated
  beverages (and those that contain alcohol).
• Nancy Byl, PhD (01/19/080

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States

• Emotions are hardwired, common to all cultures
  (Johnston 1999)
• 6 Primaryjoy, fear, anger, disgust, surprise,
  sadness
• Many others are learnedcultural, less stable
• Anxiety, confusion, frustration, hope
• Some are merely physical states
• Hunger, depression

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More About States

• Read your audiencechange states for your
  benefitdont tell them youre going to do it,
  just do it
• Up and moving approximately every 20 minutes
• Attention span is age in minutes (up to age 15)

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Framing

• Sets intentional bias
• Use to make things sound appealing and
  interesting
• Effort on the front endcan pay major dividends

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Memory

• Filtered.99 normal, 75 ADHD
• Sensoryonly smell is hardwired
• Practice doesnt make perfect.
• Working MemoryChunks7/- 2
• Neurogenesismovement assists
• Long Term Memory3 Ms
• Music
• Movement
• Humor (Make em laugh.)
• PEG system

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I cant memorize the words by themselves I have
to memorize the feelings. Marilyn Monroe
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• Brain-compatible learning is acknowledging
  the way the brain processes stimuli and then
  designs activities, lessons, and units that
  complement and work with these processes.
  Steven Dunn

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Wisdom from Marcia Tate

• If your students like you, there is nothing they
  wont do for you.
• If your students dont like you, there is nothing
  they wont do to you.

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Strategies

• Discussion
• Drawing/Artwork
• Games
• Graphic Organizers
• Humor
• Manipulatives/Hands-On
• Metaphors, Analogies, and Similes
• Mnemonic Devices
• MOVEMENT
• Music, Rhythm, Rhyme, Rap

• Projects
• Reciprocal Teaching/ Cooperative Learning
• Role Play
• Storytelling
• Visualization and/or Guided Imagery
• Visuals
• Technology
• Writing/Journaling
• Work Study
• Field Trips

From Worksheets Dont Grow Dendrites by Marcia
Tate and the work of Pat Wolfe
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Last Minute Details

• Please fill out your evaluation before you leave.
• PowerPoint will be posted at http//community.lear
  nnc.org/dpi/science.
• For any handouts, please contact one of the
  presenters.
• Thank you for your attendance, attentiveness and
  enthusiasm. We appreciate you!

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Presenters Contact Info

• Eleanor Enthoven Hasse eehasse_at_dpi.state.nc.us
• K-12 Science (Secondary), Curriculum, Instruction
  Technology Education
• Ragan Spain rspain_at_dpi.state.nc.us
• K-12 Science (Secondary), Curriculum, Instruction
  Technology Education
• Benita Tipton btipton_at_dpi.state.nc.us
• K-12 Science (Secondary), Curriculum, Instruction
  Technology Education