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

1. Brain-STEM: Transdisciplinary Science-centric Learning Kenneth WessonEducational Consultant: NeuroscienceSan Jose, CA kenawesson@aol.com

2. Brain-STEM: Transdisciplinary Science-centric Learning How does the brain work and how does the young brain process language, science, and mathematics best in a model learning environment? How can we modify classroom instruction to achieve the goals set out in Common Core, the Next Generation Science Standards, and STEM.

3. Brain-STEM: Astonishing! “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

4. The Human Brain • Always engaged in “sense making” • Actively seeks connections that build on our prior experiences

5. The Knowledge Explosion “The sum total of humankind’s knowledge doubled between 1750 and 1900. It doubled again between 1900 and 1950, again from 1950 to 1960, again from 1960 to 1965. It’s been estimated that the sum total of humankind’s knowledge has doubled at least every five years since then. It’s been further projected that by the year 2020, knowledge or information will double every 73 days.” Dr. James Appleberry - President, American Association of State Colleges and Universities

6. Expanding Memory Techniques Memorization is what we resort to when what we are learning makes no sense. -- Anonymous

7. The “Shelf-life” of Facts ... Jupiter's Moons Jupiter has moons? giving it the largest retinue of moons with "reasonably secure" orbits of any planet in the Solar System. Saturn? 67 (50 + 17, awaiting official confirmation = 67) 62(53 + 9 awaiting official confirmation)

8. “How does the human brain learn best?”

10. Why is Hands-on Learning Effective? Developmental Neurobiology Motor cortex Sensory Cortex

11. What Does The Current Research Say About the Learning of Science and…?

12. A Framework for K-12 Science Education • Children are born investigators • Understanding builds over time • Science and Engineering require both knowledgeandpractice

13. What we are learning from Cognitive Science is Astonishing!

14. Expanding the Traditional Model of Thinking and Learning Does the name “Pavlov” ring a bell? Stimulus Response S R Teaching Learning Thinking and learning are neurobiological processes that take place inside the brain, just as digestion is another biological event that takes place in the pancreas and the stomach.

15. Factors Influencing Stimulus Response In addition to desires, tendencies, appetites, instincts, inclinations… Genetics +Epigenetics and early nutrition +Pre-natal care +Age +Early development (0-3) +Emotions/emotional state +Parenting +Gender +Physical history +Perception/expectations +Neuro-physiology +Memory +Prior learning (situated L’) +Diet +Prior experiences +Self-esteem +Need state +Disability +Strengths +Neural circuitry/plasticity* +Formal Education +Stress factors Learning/Behavior * Neural plasticity: The flexible nature of the brain to modify structures, alter its functioning and re-route neural circuitry as a response to new stimuli and ongoing learning experiences.

16. Hemispheres → Lobes → Primary Areas → Networks → Brain Cells

17. Primarily Two Types of Cells in the Brain • Neurons • The brain cells we care about most when discussing human learning • 1. Sensory processing (learning) • 2. Storage (memory) • 3. Retrieval (application) • The sameneurons for a lifetime • Glia cells (glue) • Support – blood supply, nutrients, oxygen, energy, remove waste • More? Active in slower processingof information – consolidating memory? • The “Mind”

18. Astonishing Potential for Learning and Processing Neurons and synapses. The number of neurons (the information processing cells) inside your brain is approximately equivalent to all of the trees found in the Amazon rain forest (100,000,000,000).The # of plausible permutations and combinations of brain activity > the # of elementary particles in the universe. They operate by making connections with one another. The number of connections (synapses) inside your brain is comparable to all of the leaveson all of the treesin the Amazon rain forest (approx. 62 trillion connections among the 100 billion brain cells.)

19. Making Connections Baseball ball Moon round yellow basketball coconut School bus Tennis Brown School bus banana fruits Taxi Apple persimmon Municipal bus pear Orange Train pineapple

20. Making Connections Egg yolk Baseball ball round yellow basketball coconut Tennis Brown School bus banana fruits Taxi Apple persimmon pear Orange Train pineapple

21. Making Connections Baseball ball Moon round yellow basketball coconut Tennis Brown School bus banana fruits Taxi Apple persimmon Municipal bus pear Orange Train pineapple The most important element in the formation of “context’ is you.

22. Learners use what they already know to construct new understandings. • How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School • Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L.& Cooking, R.R. (Eds) 1999, National Academy Press.

23. Maintaining and Strengthening Memory Bridge BuildExtend 10% 80% 10% Past content New information Preview

24. Memory Test • Knitting Sharp • Thread Point • Knife Thimble • Syringe Haystack • Silver Shiny • Pin Injection • Sewing Embroidery

25. Memory Test Embroidery Knitting Needle

26. Participants’ Question • Thinking back on our “tennis ball” brain pathways model, what are the typical causes of “failures to connect” during learning?

27. “Failure To Connect” • Lack of adequate brain “wiring”(poorly “wired” brains) • No emotional connections • Little or no prior experience • Delayed development • An injury to the brain • Teaching a developmentally-inappropriate concept to young children (a lack of brain “Readiness”) • Cannot find meaning (“sense-making” or “meaning-making”) • Thinking back on our “tennis ball” network model, what are the typical causes of these “failures to connect”? • 1. Lack of adequate brain “wiring” • Poorly “wired” brain (a delayed development issue, no prior experience, no relevance, no emotional connections) • An injury to the brain • Teaching a developmentally inappropriate concept to young children (a lack of brain “Readiness”)

28. Hole in the Concept Baseball ball Moon round yellow basketball coconut School bus Tennis Brown School bus banana fruits Taxi Apple persimmon Municipal bus pear Orange Train pineapple

29. Brain-STEM: Transdisciplinary Science-centric Learning 2. How can we plan daily classroom experiences to meet the goals of STEM?

30. What is STEM? STEM Education integrates all 4 contents of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. It supports application by combining these “silos” into a new trans- disciplinary subject in meaningful realistic ways. STEM Education seeks to ↑ access to learning preparing students for post-secondary study, the 21st century workforce, and becoming informed citizens.

31. Scientists, Mathematicians and Engineers • Do scientists, mathematicians and engineers communicate with one another? • Do scientists, mathematicians and engineers write summaries of their work? • Do they write reports? • Do they write research papers? • Do they give oral presentationsof their research at symposiums? Interviews?

32. Scientists, Mathematicians and Engineers “Reading and writing comprise over half of the work of scientists and engineers.” (NRC 2011)

33. 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/Integrative STEM T’ & L’

34. Published Online: October 23, 2012 http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/10/24/09wesson.h32.html COMMENTARY From STEM to ST2REAM: Reassembling Our Disaggregated Curriculum By Kenneth Wesson Countless millennia before the acronym STEM—for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—entered our modern lexicon, early man was already engaged in STEM endeavors. Our ancestors spent significant portions of their days experimenting, tinkering, and thinking their way through myriad problems and challenges. During those prehistoric periods, the dreamers, the designers, and the builders identified the urgent problems, and subsequently crafted tools, crude instruments, and strategies to resolve them, working collaboratively for both survival and human progress. Columbus' historic trans-Atlantic journey in 1492 was

35. S.T2.R.E.A.M. • The “drivers” are → new sets of instructional behaviors where all learning overlaps (converges, intersects, etc.) in ways that “makes sense” to the learners • “Common Core” = The Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects (“The Standards”) • Every teacher must become a literacy teacher when implementing the CCSS (using informational text; integrating knowledge and ideas; presenting evidence-based arguments; domain-specific vocabulary…).

37. BBR + NGSS = STEM Students and Teachers Enjoying every Minute of the school day, because it is finally connected and learning suddenly makes sense!

38. …not merely “academic problems” for the purpose of intellectual development, but global challenges to the very survival of our planet and our species. They will require new approaches, novel ideas, new solutions, and the complex merging of multiple disciplines.

40. STEM The most recent 10-year employment projections by the U.S. Labor Department show that of the 20 fastest growing occupations projected for 2014, 15 of them require significant mathematics or science preparation to successfully compete for the job. In 2012, nearly 70%of American HS graduates failed to meet college-readiness benchmarksin science.

41. The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) "Since the beginning of the 20th century, the average per capita income in the United States has grown more than sevenfold, and science and technology account for more than half of this growth."

42. “We don’t learn from experience, we learn by reflecting on it.” • John Dewey Play and Science Running Together 3. Compose an “I will” statement based on today’s experience.

43. “Reflect and Connect” • • What was the most valuable piece of information that you learned this morning? • How did our conversation change some of your thinking? • Write down one “I will” statement (what will you look at differently and what will you plan to do differently?) Wesson - CCSS + NGSS = ST2REAM - 2013

44. Each year, new findings in cognitive psychology and neuroscience will be infused into teacher preparation, curriculum, instruction, student assessment, and the classroom environment. The works of Howard Gardner (“Multiple Intelligences”),Daniel Goleman(“Emotional Intelligence”),Kenneth Wesson (“Brain-considerate Learning”), and others have already been influential in reshaping the independent school classroom, while programs like Mel Levine’s Schools Attuned are assisting educators in using neurodevelopmental content in their classrooms to create success at learning and to provide hope and satisfaction for all students. Forecasting Independent Education to 2025 -- NAIS

45. Magic • Teachers = Neuro-plasticians Neuro-plasticiansare shaping the brains of the new STEMgeneration.

46. Brain-STEM: Transdisciplinary Science-centric Learning sciencemaster.com Contact Information: Kenneth Wesson (408) 323-1498 (office) (408) 826-9595 (cell)San Jose, CA kenawesson@aol.com