Environmental and Chemical Factors

1. Environmental and ChemicalFactors Nicole L. McIntyre EDU 417 Dr. Maureen Lienau May 19, 2014

2. Neurotransmitters and learning/memory • Neurotransmitters are what stimulate our brain to learn new information and store it in our memory to recall at a later time. • The most common of these are dopamine, serotonin, and acetycholine. • Dopamine controls our motor activity along with enhancing our feelings of enjoyment. (Wolfe, 2010). • If in class teachers use a reward system it assist the students learning due to them feeling enjoyment from doing good work. • Serotonin is our “feel good” transmitter and it is what keeps our moods balanced out. • If serotonin levels are low then the students behavior and understanding of what is being taught can be negatively affected. • Acetylcholine is what influences our thoughts, memory, and learning. It also heightens how we focus and see things. • It is needed for students to be able to concentrate in class and process what is being taught.

3. Influential Environmental Factors • Our brains are constantly learning and taking in information to store in our memory from the influence of the environment. • “Neural plasticity is the process of the brain growing and changing because of new learning opportunities” (Gregory & Chapman, 2013). • Environmental factors that affect our learning and neuroplasticity: movement, sleep, nutrition, and technology.

4. Movement • Students should be active in order to stimulate their brain and learning. • It gets their blood pumping which means more blood flowing to the brain to be alert to learn more. • “Studies have shown that exercise enhances student learning and positively impacts students’ emotional and physical well- being” (Wolfe, 2010). • New cells grow within the brain from being active and stimulating the body.

5. Sleep • Sleep is important to learning because it helps with memory development. • While we are asleep short-term memory is transferred to long-term memory, information we learn takes time to be stored. (Wolfe, 2010) • Students need enough sleep to also help them concentrate and be ready to learn at school. • Children that are between 5-10 years old need 12 hours of sleep, pre-teens/teenagers need about 9 ½ hours of sleep in order to ensure their brain is healthy and can store memories. (Wolfe, 2010)

6. Nutrition • “Malnutrition during rapid periods of growth apparently damages the brain, affecting a child’s abilities to pay attention and learn (Benton, 2010; Morgane et al., 1993)” (as cited by Kail& Cavanaugh, 2013). • Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and students should be sure to either eat at home or school. It will provide them with increased energy and preparedness to have a successful day at school. • A healthy diet will keep students fit and increase their energy to get the oxygen flowing in their brain. • Various foods that we consume affect how efficient our neurotransmitters form and work in our brains. (Wolfe, 2010)

7. Technology • Technology is everywhere these days and our children enjoy it all the time wherever they go. • Parents should monitor or restrict how much time is spent playing video games or watching television. • Too much television can lead to children becoming inactive and childhood obesity. • There are positives that do come out of television and video games though. If they are information/educational to students and assist students to think about things more in depth then they are learning from it. • Video games could have negative effects especially if they are violent. It could lead students to become violent and aggressive with their peers.

8. Support In the Classroom • Movement-Teachers should off students to take breaks, dance to various songs that promote learning, and even offer aerobics/yoga to the students. • Sleep-Teachers could inform students the importance of sleep and show them the effects of not getting enough sleep. They could also send home fact sheets with information for parents on it. • Nutrition-Teachers should encourage students to eat before school starts, tell them the benefits of why eating breakfast is important, and allow only healthy snacks at school. • Technology-Teachers utilize technology within the classroom to promote learning by using Ticket to Read, ST Math, Raz kids, Moby Max, etc. Many of these programs are accessible at home also and reward the students for achieving levels. • Some teachers even use iPads for research and instruction and have Appletv hooked up in the classroom to show educational videos.

9. Support Out of the Classroom • Movement-Parents could encourage children to workout with them, go on a bike ride, run, etc. • Sleep-Parents should set a bedtime that allows students to get the adequate amount of sleep and be consistent with it. • Nutrition-Parents should be sure students are eating breakfast at home or at school before school. Provide students with healthy snack choices and a healthy balanced diet at home. • Technology-Parents should monitor how much time is spent playing video games and watching television. They could also encourage students to get on one of the programs that teachers also use within in the classroom and set a specific amount of time they play that. If the student spends 20 minutes on ST math then they are allowed to play a game of their choice for 30 minutes afterwards.

10. References • Gregory, G. & Chapman, C. (2013). Differentiated instructional strategies: One size doesn’t fit all(3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Ltd./Corwin Press. • Kail, R. V. & Cavanaugh, J. C. (2013). Human development: A life-span view (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage/Wadsworth. • Wolfe, P. (2010). Brain matters: Translating research into classroom practice. (2nd ed.). Alexandria,VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.