Kenneth Wesson Educational Consultant: Neuroscience San Jose, CA kenawesson@aol

1. Next Generation Success Will Be By Innovation Only: Learning For The Future, Not The Past Kenneth WessonEducational Consultant: NeuroscienceSan Jose, CA kenawesson@aol.com K. Wesson 7-2012

2. Conference Theme: “Effective Leadership in CHANGING TIMES”

3. CHANGING TIMES? EVERY TIME WE WERE BEGINNING TO FORM UP INTO TEAMS, WE WOULD BE REORGANIZED. I WAS TO LEARN LATER IN LIFE THAT WE TEND TO MEET ANY NEW SITUATION BY REORGANIZATION…… AND A WONDERFUL METHOD IT CAN BE FOR CREATING THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS WHILE PRODUCING CONFUSION, INEFFICIENCY AND DEMORALIZATION. -- GAIUS PETRONIUS ARBITER DIED 66 A.D. K. Wesson, July 2012

4. “Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still andlearning to be astonished.” -- “The Messenger” by Mary Oliver K. Wesson, July 2012

5. Today’s Kindergartners… • In what ways are you preparing them for success in the years between 2012 and 2072? • Will retire in the year 2072 (?) • What foundations for learning must we establish for them? K. Wesson, July 2012

6. 1900 Workplace Demands Highly skilled Low skilled • Avg. age to enter work force 14 • Avg. age to leave work force 47 • Life expectancy 47

7. 2010 Workplace Demands Highly skilled Low skilled • Avg. age to enter the workplace 21 • Number of career changes 5-8 • Est. Life expectancy in 2100 107 -124!

8. By looking at things differently, we can see something new. • Focus your attention on his eye • Then shift your attention to his neck and chin area Did you see the man turn his face? Creativity: approaching problems with a fresh perspective and multiple perspectives K. Wesson, July 2012

9. “The 21st Century” Technology will not replace the need to be literate. --Rebecca Alber, UCLA K. Wesson, July 2012

10. The Toolbox for Today’s Learning Professionals 13 Web conferencing 14 Course authoring tool 15 Screen Capture 16 Demo/Screencasting Tool 17 Web authoring 18 Wiki tool 19 Image/photo tools 20 Audio/podcasting tools 21 Video tools 22 Personal dashboard 23 Course management system 24 Social networking 25 Integrated social media platform 1 Web browser 2 Social bookmarking tool 3 Blogging tool 4 RSS/Feed reader 5 Micro- blogging tool 6 Email 7 Instant Messaging 8 Personal productivity tool 9 Mind mapping 10 Presentation tool 11 Presentation sharing tool 12 Online office suite

11. We don't need more information; we need more effective strategies for 1. retrievingjust what we want (memory or technology) 2. understanding it 3. managing information K. Wesson, July 2012

12. Learning for the 21st Century • Learning to learn in order to learn more, and to re-learnseveral times during one’s lifetime (“information explosion”) • Flexibility in thinking • Abstract thinking • Learning how to live with and work with a new sense of number and new technologies • Creativeand innovative thinking (visualization) K. Wesson, July 2012

13. What Are Other Countries Doing? The European Union designated 2009 as the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, holding conferences on a. The neuroscience of creativity b. Financing teacher training c. Instituting PBL programs—curricula driven by real-world inquiry—for children/adults. China is reducing the practice of “drill-and-kill” through widespread teacher reform and PD. K. Wesson, July 2012

14. Creative Minds and the Brain • Many of history's most prominent scientists were quite accomplished in the arts. • MacArthur “genius” Robert Root-Bernstein, in his book Sparks of Genius,details a startling finding. • Researched the lives of 150+ renowned scientists from Pasteur to Einstein: A single common trait. • Nearly all of the greatest scientists, inventors and innovators, were also musicians, artists, sculptors or poets. K. Wesson, July 2012

15. Learning on the Diagonal Transfer to new situations skills/knowledge Content K. Wesson, July 2012

16. The Creativity Index The “Creativity Index” (the “Gold Standard” in creativity assessment ) Torrance’s “Creativity Index” predicted the creativeaccomplishments as adults. Children with ↑ number of good ideas on Torrance’s tasks grew up to be entrepreneurs, inventors, college presidents, authors, doctors, diplomats, and software developers. Jonathan Plucker (Indiana U) reanalyzed Torrance’s data: The correlation of CQ to lifetime creative accomplishment was three times+ stronger for childhood creativity than childhood IQ. K. Wesson, July 2012

17. Test Scores vs. Entrepreneurship “But test scores are not measures of entrepreneurship or creativity. Not even scores on the intensely watched and universally worshiped Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, are good indicators of a nation's capacity for entrepreneurship and creativity. In the book World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students, Yong Zhao, the author found a significant negative relationship between PISA performance and indicators of entrepreneurship.” Initiated in 1999, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, or GEM, is an annual assessment of entrepreneurial activities, aspirations, and attitudes of individuals in more than 50 countries. GEM has become the world's largest entrepreneurship study. Thirty-nine countries that participated in the 2011 GEM also participated in the 2009 PISA, and 23 out of the 54 countries in GEM are considered "innovation-driven" economies, which means developed countries.” Yong Zhao, College of Education at the University of Oregon, is a professor of educational measurement, policy, and leadership. His latest book is World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students. K. Wesson, July 2012

18. Good thinking is a matter of making connections, and knowing what kinds of connections to make. ---David Perkins K. Wesson, July 2012

19. Technology Reading/LA Math Thematic Instruction Engineering Art Science K. Wesson, July 2012

20. Learning: When “More” Becomes “Less” • Enrichment studies: Examine the effects of enrichment or deprivation on brain development, neurogenesis, neuronal growth and synaptogenesis. • While neuronsgenerally grew in size, measures of (a) increased dendritic density (b) increases in the number of glial cells (c) myelinationof the axons (d) changes in brain weight and overall brain volume • No toys or playmates  all growth measures(impoverished) • Playmates + a change of toys every other day (Enriched environments) • Changing toys every hour: → similar  neural connections in brain growth and development (your school day??) K. Wesson, July 2012

21. Obstacle: Conceptual “holes” in a student’s thinking caused by a lack of clear connections and practice knowing (finding, seeing and understanding) where the connections are and what the connection is. K. Wesson, July 2012

22. The Hole Illusion • Roll a sheet of paper lengthwise into a tube shape approximately 2 inches in diameter. • Hold the tube up to your left eye with your left hand. • Focus on an object 12-15 feet away with both eyes, with the left eye still looking through the tube. • Hold right hand 8-10 inches in front of right eye -- with right hand open/palm facing towards you. • Move your right hand towards side of the paper tube until your little finger touches the edge • With both eyes open you should see a strange sight. • What happened? K. Wesson, July 2012

23. “A Hole in the Concept”- Instructions • Read the excerpt on the next slide at normal speed. • 2. Do not skim or give up halfway (read through to the end.) • 3. Once you've finished, ask yourself how do you feel about reading the paragraph. K. Wesson, July 2012

24. “A Hole in the Concept” A newspaper is better than a magazine. A seashore is better place than the street. At first it is better to run than to walk. You may have to try several times. It takes some skill, but it is easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Once successful, complications are minimal. Birds seldom get too close. Rain, however soaks in very fast. Too many people doing the same thing can also cause problems. One needs lots of room. If there are no complications, it can be very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things break loose from it, however, you will not get a second chance. On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not Robert A. Burton, M.D.

25. Making Connections Was this paragraph comprehensible or is it meaningless to you? • Note what happens in your mind when a title is added. • Re-read the excerpt (knowing the title, now with no change to the contents) K. Wesson, July 2012

26. Flying a Kite A newspaper is better than a magazine. A seashore is better place than the street. At first it is better to run than to walk. You may have to try several times. It takes some skill, but it is easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Once successful, complications are minimal. Birds seldom get too close. Rain, however soaks in very fast. Too many people doing the same thing can also cause problems. One needs lots of room. If there are no complications, it can be very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things break loose from it, however, you will not get a second chance. K. Wesson, July 2012

27. Making Connections • After seeing the word "kite," we quickly go back and test each sentence against this singleconnecting piece of new information. • What created your shift from not knowing to knowing? • When did that “shift” take place for you as you re- read the paragraph? • At what point did you make a “cognitive leap” from confused (emotionally unsettling) to “knowing”? • How often does this happen to our students, but they never are allowed to make the connection? K. Wesson, July 2012

28. S.T2.R.E.A.M. Reading/Language Arts (Standards) Reading, writing, discourse, argumentation, vocabulary development, comprehension, journals, note-booking, lab reports, summaries, oral presentations, recording interpreting and critiquing data and information Science Technology Visual Literacy Engineering Art Drawing/diagramming, visual spatial thinking, imagery, inferential thinking, 2/3-dimensional modeling, symbolic models, interpreting visual evidence, visual representations - illustrations, charts, etc. Mathematics Convergent and Integrative K. Wesson, July 2012

29. We “hook” students on learning by “hooking” together our curriculum (PBL) and by integrating ideas across the disciplines (ideas, concepts and content are seen as relevant in multiple contexts). Doing so prepares students for 1. The real-world (relevant to my life beyond the lesson, the classroom, and the school) 2. Increasingly complex and abstract concepts that require background knowledge from multiple fields of study (relevant and connected to each other) 3. Higher education, graduate work, and careers in the 21st century workplace K. Wesson, July 2012

30. Advances Prompting Brain Changes • •Brain spurts: Increases in the volume of the human cranium that coincided with impressive advances in cognitive, emotional, communicative and social capabilities. • Upright walking (bipedalism):(4.3M to 2M years ago): Hominid cranium 1/3 of present day - Australopithecus fossils • Tool usage:(2.4M years ago): The ability to ascertain the tool-potential in objects and tool-making ability (problem-solving) - Homo Habilis: Oldowan tools are the oldest known, appearing first in the Gona and Omo Basins in Ethiopia about. K. Wesson, July 2012

31. The Heritage of the Human Brain Homo habilisbegan an exponential brain growth (enlarging the cerebral cortex and expanding the cranium to encase/protect the new large brain). Within 2M years, the Homo sapiens brain →2X to 1350 cm2. The most distinguishing features -- cognitive abilities 1. to create tools and technology 2. to reason and plan 3. to imagine and build speculative plans based on invented mental scenarios K. Wesson, July 2012

32. Advances Prompting Brain Changes • Art, artifacts and symbolism: • ∙ Objects with irresistibly striking visual (representational) • properties, “manuports” • ∙ Ornamental jewelry (shells, bones, stones, beads, etc.) • ∙ Engraved objects 300K years old • ∙ Wall paintings 60- 40K years old • ∙ Cognition andrepresentational skills(thinking: building • bridges betweensymbols, experiences and ideas) • the foundations for language development and • abstractions. • 4. Complex social structure and relationships • ∙ Cro-Magnon man (40-10K years ago) • ∙ Large-group living • ∙ Communication: Nonverbal gestures, hand movements, • Broca’s Area, limited oral language. K. Wesson, July 2012

33. The Heritage of the • Human Brain • …increasingly relied upon patterns and relationships in nature to plan their future actions/responses (behavior) accordingly in an environment that was subject to change at a moment’s notice. • Daily, these early “scientist-explorers” devoted time to • making those connections • storing accurate memory records • visualizing appropriate responses. • Matters relevant to the danger-opportunity • continuum warranted visualization and • memorization. K. Wesson, July 2012

34. 5. Oral language: • ∙ Fostered the ability to preserve and transmit information and • ideasfrom one generation to another (oral tradition). • 6. Language, symbols and the printing press(570 years ago): • ∙ Symbolic usage of language: Representational advancements • ∙ Opened a new dimension in the brain for the long-term • recording of communications and other information. • ∙ Trans-generational learning and communications were made • possible (culture, religion, literature) in the absence of the • “history-keeper.” Increased the shared sense of reality • among members of a social group. • Replaced the need for“oral tradition” K. Wesson, July 2012

35. Advances Prompting Changes in the Human Brain 7.Technology: ∙ Tools designed to extend the normal ranges of human sensory systems,memory systems and communications (telescope, microscope, telephone, radio, TV, etc.) ∙ Advanced technology: Computers, Internet, DVD simulations ∙ Virtual reality/virtual sensory experiences: Experience anything in the world from virtually anywhere in the world. Travel to other lands, outer space, beneath the sea, death-defying, etc. ∙ Obliterating the limitations of time/place, which had governed all previous interactions for generations of human beings.Asynchronous, not occurring at the same time, andasyntopic,not occurring in the same physical place. K. Wesson, July 2012

36. Advances Prompting Changes in the Human Brain Is our species on the verge of experiencing another neurological “Brain spurt”? Our evolutionary history would suggest an answer in the affirmative. K. Wesson, July 2012

37. Why Is the Human Brain “Folded”? • More than 3.5 million years ago… •  Walk upright •  Reliance vision(enemies, mates, etc.)  on smell • Cognitive activities: decision-making •  Use of language, tools, nomadic existence, navigating complex social arrangements/hierarchies (“socialized mind”). • Evolutionary problem •  Brain’s versatility increased brain growth 4X (2.5 sq. ft.) •  Larger cranial vault •  Back began to support the body’s entire weight •  Thicker pelvis to accommodate the additional weight •  The thickening of the pelvis narrowing of the birth canal K. Wesson, July 2012

38. Why Is the Human Brain “Folded”? • Birth canal was decreasingwhile the brain was increasingin size to 102-105% the size of the cervix • CPD: “cephalopelvic disproportion” or IC: “incompetent cervix” (Geometry, Obstetrics, Physics and Economics) K. Wesson, July 2012

39. Why Is the Human Brain “Folded”? The evolutionary “corrections” –  Human infants would be born extremely early during their development (prenatal)  A significantly larger percentage of a parent’s life would be devoted to child-rearing  Humans would experience the longest period of postnatal helplessness in the animal kingdom.  Parenting lasts for ____ years? K. Wesson, July 2012

40. We were never “born to read.” We Were Born to Learn K. Wesson, July 2012

41. The Heritage of the • Human Brain • Human beings have always been • naturally explorers/scientists and • have been so inclined for the last • 4.5 to 5M years. • In their quest to respond to danger and • opportunities,and the most important • of all cognitive tasks -- survival. K. Wesson, July 2012

42. Our ancestors’ survival was determined by… • Discovering patterns to understand/predict the ever- changing world around them • We became the only animal on the planet that looks for problems and invents problems to solve. We even practice solving imaginary problems in school -- preparation for adulthood. • Scientists estimate that 99.99% of all species that have ever lived on earth are extinct today. Practicing for real and imagined problems has played a vital role in our long term survival K. Wesson, July 2012

43. The Human Brain Evolved As… • An emotional • A pattern-seeking device • Finely tuned to solve problems in the context • of the real-world • 4. While moving about outdoors • 5. In largely unpredictable conditions in order to survive to the next day or beyond. • (brain-compatible schools?) • Lived → passed on the genes that carried those successful adaptation strategies. • Failed → a “final” exam K. Wesson, July 2012

44. The Heritage of the Human Brain Early man learned to visualize future possibilities by using imagination asking the right questions making observations classifying objects and events making predictions thoughtfully conducting tests and experimenting operating on “best-guesses” and hunches framing explanations based on evidence communicating ideas using trial-and-error strategies revising their thinking as-needed → “making sense” K. Wesson, July 2012

45. Innovation We teach children that “Columbus sailed the ocean blue In fourteen hundred and ninety-two.” 1. But why 1492? 2. What made it the “right time” for Columbus’ transatlantic journey? 3. What were some of the innovations in technology surfacing at the time? K. Wesson, July 2012

46. Technological Advances 1. The design of a new ship, “caravels” made them faster and easier to navigate than other ships at that time. Time requirements for transatlantic travel was cut to “do-able.” K. Wesson, July 2012

47. Technological Advances 2. Inventions like the astrolabe and The mariner's compass made long difficult trips feasible. K. Wesson, July 2012

48. Technological Advances • Cartography ↑ the accuracy of map-making (↑detail ↑ accuracy). • The European techniques for printing had taken on a new ↑ dimension (Gutenberg) • ↑ mathematical procedures for estimating the earth’s circumference → greater accuracy in estimating Europe ↔ the New World K. Wesson, July 2012

49. Early Brain Surgery • In 1865, an archeologist found a skull in southern France with a large hole in the cranium. “The area around the hole had been polishedexpressly made for the application of the lips” in order to drink from the skull (gruesome drinking vessel). • Consistent with 19th century thinking – “barbarous savages” drinking from one another’s skulls. • The “polish” was actually the re-growth of bone tissue after cutting a hole in the skull. A cut but bone surface reveals tiny pores that are easily visible to the naked eye. When bones heal, tissue builds up blocking the pores causing a smooth appearance (Prof. Paul Broca – Paris). K. Wesson, July 2012

50. Early Brain Surgery • Trepanation or trephination – a recognized surgical practice performed throughout the world (crainoplasty) to relieve pressure on the brain (e.g., hydrocephaly), tumors, for individuals with severe/ incurable headaches, as well as for severe head trauma (battle casualties) • The Incas of Peru • Burial sites in prehistoric Europe • 4K year-old skull found in Crichel Down, England • Palestinians goals of 6th century BC • Some skulls have been found with more than one completely healed (polished) hole indicating multiple successful operations for these patients. K. Wesson, July 2012