Brain Compatible Learning

1. Brain Compatible Learning Robin Hewitt Edu 417 Cognitive Studies Capstone Angela Coleman January 13, 2013

2. Intelligencehas been defined in many different ways including logic, abstract thought, understanding, self-awareness, communication, learning, having emotional knowledge, retaining, planning, and problem solving. Purpose of Brain Compatible Learning

3. Personal Introduction My name is Robin Hewitt and I am 43 years old and live in Southern Ca.  I am currently the mother of 8.  My oldest is going to be 21 in a few short months and is a fireman in Utah.  My oldest daughter is married and I have a grandson who is 9 months old.  Her husband is in the Navy and is stationed in Japan.  My youngest biological child is 8 years old but thinks he is 40.  I also have custody of 5 of my nieces and nephews.  Their ages are 9, 7, 4, 18 months and 4 months (the youngest 2, I have had since they were born).  I wouldn't change anything and I love all the kids and having a big family.   I have my Bachelors degree in Cognitive Studies fro m Ashford University. I worked as an LVN or LPN for 19 years after I was in the Army.  I worked with medically fragile kids but  the loss started to be too much for me and I decided I needed a change.  I currently work in a Elementary school in the health office.

4. The key to having successful students is finding the best way to accommodate their learning style and ability.. The fields of cognitive psychology and neuroscience study how the brain takes in, stores, retrieves and applies information. Cognitive scientists and educators are learning new ways to apply this information

5. Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences • Howard Gardner's theory has emerged from recent cognitive research and "documents the extent to which students possess different kinds of minds and therefore learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways," according to Gardner (1991). According to this theory, "we are all able to know the world through language, logical-mathematical analysis, spatial representation, musical thinking, the use of the body to solve problems or to make things, an understanding of other individuals, and an understanding of ourselves. (Lane 2012)

6. Traditional Learning VS. Brain Based Traditional classroom Brain Based • Emotions should have no part in the classroom. • Lecture without participation is a good way for a student to learn • When presenting information to a student, give as much information as possible in a small amount of time • Students learn by reading material presented to them • Students should remain seated and quiet during learning time • Long lessons equal more learning • Neuroscience has proven that everything the brain learns is filtered through emotions. There are no exceptions. How we use emotion to aide learning determines learning’s success • the person doing the most talking during an education session is the one doing the most learning. So that’s actually the speaker. We talk in pairs or small groups so we can understand. We talk so we can remember. We talk so we can process. • The amount of learning directly aligns to the amount of thinking and reflection. We need to create more white space (time for the learner to think) and less pushing of content We remember images. We forget words. Why? 50%-80% of our brain’s natural processing power is devoted to processing sight • When we write or type, we are processing information. We are thinking about it and thinking increases the likelihood or retention. • The longer an audience sits, the less they learn • Neuroscience has proven that our attention span is 10 minutes. After that, our attention starts to wane. Chunking content into ten minute segments and then allowing learners 10 minutes to digest is the best way to learn (Hurt 2012)

7. Environmental Factors Affecting Learning Biological Factors Sociocultural Influences • Nutrition has been shown to affect intelligence throughout the human lifespan. Proper nutrition is especially critical in the early stages of life, as it establishes a base-line for further intellectual development. • Stress also plays a part in human intelligence. Along with maternal age, stress can put undue pressure on the development of a human body such that it can cause irreparable damage. • Exposure to toxins and other perinatal factors have also been proven to affect intelligence, and in some cases, cause issues such as developmental delays. (Myers 2012) • The family unit, or lack thereof, in which a child develops. Having an encouraging home-life that is conducive to learning has a direct effect on intelligence test scores. • A child’s position in birth order has also been found to influence intelligence. • Moving outside of the family unit, human beings are highly shaped by their respective peer groups. • person’s access to education, and specific training, intervention resources also helps determine a persons learning ability (Myers, 2012)

8. Genetic Factors Affecting Learning Genetic factors are the traits we inherit from our parents. They are what we are given to work with in regards to cognitive skills. This does not mean that we are destined to become what are parents are or that we cannot alter are apparent path. It just means that we understand that there are some factors of intelligence that seemingly can be passed on to our off spring.

9. Classroom Support Ensuring Adequate nutrition Plenty of rest at home Breaks during learning to give the brain a break Utilizing the child's own learning style to help make memories Provide positive outcomes

10. Information processing theories focus on how people: • attend to environmental events, • encode information to be learned and relate it to knowledge in memory, • store new knowledge in memory, and • retrieve it as needed (Driscoll 2011)

11. How this Affects Classroom Learning • teachers must have a students attention in order for them to remember a new concept. The teacher must find a way to relate the lesson to the students and make it meaningful for them • The students will find ways of using recognition so that they can use their imagination or a familiar process to store new Teachers can also assist students to learn and remember by the process of encoding, a process in which we find ways to relate new information to something old. It can be done using images words or even visual aids in the classroom. • Remembering can be achieved through organization by teaching students a limited amount of new material over short intervals of time. It is beneficial for students to be taught new material in small increments or have them categorize information in groups. Don’t bore the students with long lessons.

12. Theory and Presentation • When using the theory in the classroom, teachers can identify a child’s strengths and present instruction that incorporates the types of intelligences in their class lessons. The children will be given a variety of experiences as well as finding ways to strengthen their knowledge providing for a greater outcome. • "We are not all the same, we do not all have the same kinds of minds, and education works most effectively for most individuals if human differences are taken seriously" (Gardner, 1995).

13. Lesson Overview • They learn about the relationship between emotions and mood and consider why it is important to recognize our emotions and manage our moods. They create a survey and collect data on the effects of music on emotions. They then graph and analyze the data they collect to determine the most common emotions evoked by certain songs. Students then create personal playlists to help them manage their emotions and improve their moods.

14. Learning Objectives Students will be able to: Understand how emotions affect our choices and our overall health and wellness Identify some of the key factors that affect our emotions Conduct an experiment to determine the effects of music on emotions Analyze the results of an experiment and use the information to create tools to help manage emotions and improve mood Time Frame: This lesson requires roughly 2 30-minute class periods or 3 20-minute class periods to complete. Teacher Prep: Create cards with faces reflecting the following six emotions: happy, tired, angry, bored, sad, and anxious (one card per student).

15. Engage • 1. Before class begins, tape cards representing the six emotions on the walls of the • classroom. • 2. Open the class by handing out one face card to each student. Make sure that the • cards are face down and explain to students that they must not reveal the emotion • on their card. Have students walk around the room and find the other students with • the same emotion without talking. They can use facial expressions and/or act out • the emotion. • 3. Once students have found others with the same emotion, there should be six groups. • In their groups, the students should reflect on and discuss times in which they have • experienced the particular emotion their group was assigned. • 5. Ask students to identify which of the ideas in the Response column are healthy • choices and which ones are unhealthy choices. For each of the unhealthy choices, • ask students if they can identify a healthy alternative. • 6. Explain to students that our emotions affect the choices we make and we’re often • not even aware of it. If we don’t pay attention to our emotions, we can make • unhealthy choices. • 7. Introduce the definitions for mood and emotion. Help students understand that

16. moods differ from emotions in that they are less intense, less specific, and less likely to be triggered by specific events. It is sometimes hard to know why we are in a particular mood, but it’s important to think about what we’re feeling and why we’re feeling that way so that we can figure out how to feel better. 4. Reinforce the following key ideas: Our emotions influence our choices. We need to recognize our emotions and manage our moods to help us make healthy choices. One way to manage our moods is to listen to music that makes us feel good.

17. Elaborate 1. Explain to students that they are going to create personal playlists based on songs with which they are familiar to help them manage their emotions and improve their moods. Playlists should include at least 3 songs 2. Invite students to share their playlists in small groups. As they share, students should explain the emotions the songs are meant to target and why the songs help improve their mood. 3. After students have presented, reinforce the idea that listening to music is one healthy technique to influence emotions and manage moods

18. Evaluate 1. Why is it important to find ways to recognize our emotions and moods? 2. What is the difference between emotions and moods? 3. Identify three times during the day that you can check in with yourself to figure out how you’re feeling. 4. Name three healthy choices that can be made to improve one’s mood. (Discovery Education)

19. References Jossey-Bass . (2008). The Brain and Learning. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons. Wolfe, P. (2010). Brain Matters. Alexandria : ASCD. Hurt, J. (2012, January 31). 10 Brain Based Learning Laws that Trump Traditional Methods. Retrieved from Midcourse Corrections: http://jeffhurtblog.com/2012/01/31/10-brainbased-learning-laws-that-trump-traditional-education/ Myers, D. (2012). Genetic and Environmental Impacts on Intelligence. Retrieved from Boundless: https://www.boundless.com/psychology/intelligence/measuring-intelligence/genetic-and-environmental-impacts-on-intelligence/ Driscoll, M. (2011, September). Summary of Cognitive Information Processing. Retrieved from Expert Learners: http://expertlearners.com/cip_theory.php Discovery Education. (n.d.). Fit 4 the Classroom . Retrieved from Mood Music: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-pl Gardner, H. (1995). Reflections of Multiple Intelligences:Myths and Messages. Phi Delta Kappan, 200-209. ans/