Ten Key Facts about Your Brilliant Brain

1. Ten Key Facts about Your Brilliant Brain Based on information from: Conyers & Wilson’s BrainSMART 60 Strategies for Boosting Test Scores Chapter 2

2. 1. The Brain has onehundred billion neurons • It’s not the size of the brain, but the connections in it! • Einstein’s brain had a larger than average number of connections in it! • People with advanced degrees have more connections than high school drop outs!

3. 2. You have two hemispheres • Left- linear processing, logical thought, words & numbers. • Good at editing reality to fit what we already know • traditional education fits left brain learners • Right- visualization, movement, color, voice tone, abstract thought. • Good at recording reality • Most students labeled with learning disabilities are right – brained learners

4. 3. The brain weighs three pounds. • 3% of body weight, but uses 20% of Oxygen in the body • The neocortex burns 400 calories each day • The brain can process 1000 bits of information each second

5. 4. There are four lobes of the brain. • Frontal- planning- includes the pre-frontal lobe- which is one of the last to develop- is used for reading. • Temporal lobe- speech and some memory. • Occipital lobe- visual cortex & long term memory • Parietal lobe- movement & touch- kinesthetic memory

6. 5. The brain uses five senses. • Eyes take in 100 million bits of data/sec. • Skin- 10 million bits/second • Ears- 30 thousand bits/second • The more senses we use- the better learning , retention, & recall • Traditional lecture teaching- works with only about 15% of students

7. 6. Six eye positions • 1. Up and left- visual retention • 2. up right- visual imagination • 3. side & left- auditory retention • 4. side & right- auditory imagination • 5. down & right- kinesthetic • 6. down & left- self talk/ self dialogue • These patterns may be reversed in left handed people

8. 7. Seven chunks of info at a time • Structure lessons into a max of 7 chunks • Less is more • The more you ask someone to remember, the more the will forget • (hmmm, phone #’s are 7 numbers long)

9. 8. There are at least 8 intelligences • Remember Gardner? • Interpersonal • Intrapersonal • Musical • Spatial • Bodily/kinesthetic • Naturalistic • Mathematical • Verbal • Possibly- humor and existentialist • Traditional teaching- uses mathematical & verbal

10. 9. The human brain has a 9 second attention span • To sustain it- build curiosity • Make learning relevant • Ask questions • Use variety • Use emotion • Use a 20 minute attention cycle- after 20- have a transition • Survival instinct teaches students to look like they’re paying attention

11. 10. Ten million books • The brain can store the equivalent of the information in 10 million books. • Traditional lecture- 95% of information is lost within 24 hours • Using effective strategies can reduce that to 10% loss in 24 hours. • Are you a traditional or an effective teacher?

12. 10 pegs for learning • Head one hundred billion brain cells • Shoulders two hemispheres Left/right • Heart three pound brain • Belly four lobes- • Hips five senses to help learn • Backside six eye positions • Thighs seven chunks of information • Knees eight intelligences • Shins nine second attention span • Toes ten million books- storage