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Making the Connections!: Brain-Based Learning and Promoting Healthy Students. Objectives. 1. Discuss brain research and review how the brain processes information 2. Discuss how better health can improve student achievement
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Making the Connections!:Brain-Based Learning and Promoting Healthy Students
Objectives 1. Discuss brain research and review how the brain processes information 2. Discuss how better health can improve student achievement 3. Discuss how we can use this research to convince leaders to promote the health of our students
What is brain-based learning? What it is! Attempt to match the research on how the brain processes information with the strategies and processes we utilize when working with individuals
Mechanics should understand cars.Attorneys should understand the law.Generals should understand the art of war.Professionals should understand the brain.
Rationale for Promoting Healthy Students? 1. Increased demand for accountability 2. Expanded curriculum to teach 3. Increased focus on math/language arts 4. Decreased number of trained teachers 5.Decreased number of health professionals 6. Decreased funding 7. Increased competing interests 8. Decreased understanding of true needs 9. Increased amount of rhetoric
Promoting Healthy Students in West Grand School District 1. Health Coalition 2. Dental Van 3. Medical Van 4. Community Liaison 5. Early Childhood 6. Incredible Years 7. Sun Safety 8. Physical Education 9. Staff Wellness 10. Nutrition 11. Mental health 12. Reduced academic time
Brain Fact: Composition of the brain 1. Weighs 3 pounds 2. Is 2.5% of weight 3. Uses 20% energy 4. Uses oxygen 10 X faster 5. Uses glucose 10 X faster 6. Made of 78% water 7. Has 100 billion neurons
Brain Fact:Adaption has been outpaced 1. Adaption was slow 2. Time allowed change 3. 20th Century change 4. Survival is key 5. Safety is impacted 6. Food is an issue 7. Reading for all 8. Life expectancy is lowered
Brain Fact: Brain is designed for survival 1. Survival is primary Brain will sacrifice all, including higher order thinking skills, to survive. 2. Limited attention span 3. Uses unconscious input a. Priority control b. Automatic systems c. Nonverbal clues d. Smell
Brain Fact: Healthy prenatal care is critical 1. 15 million neurons per hour a. 250,000 neurons per minute b. 4,166 neurons per second 2. Neuron growth a. 8 months 1,000 trillion synapses b. 10 years 500 trillion synapses 3. 17th week of pregnancy a. One billion neurons b. More than adult 4. Premature 13% 5. Fourth week – folic acid 6. Child’s brain 225% more active 7. First year 60% of nutrition 8. Establishing neural pathways
Brain Fact:Early Childhood – Prime Time 1. Cell migration/elaboration 2. Apoptosis 3. Plasticity 4. Windows of opportunity a. 3 months language b. 8 months vision 5. Nature of neurons a. Programmed for specifics b. Dependent on environment
Brain Fact: Humans need social interaction 1. Reduces stress by 8% 2. Isolation/smoking 3. Isolation/physical pain 4. Need 12 positive comments 5. Laugher creates T cells 6. Talking - oxygen/blood 7. Designed to live 120 years 8. Impacts body weight 9. Brain needs purpose a. Retirement b. Loss of spouse
Brain Fact:Humans need personal contact 1. Prenatal environment 2. Touch signals brain to grow 3. Safety signals brain to grow 4. Infant massage 5. Reduces stress 6. Touch impacts brains a. Humans 20-30% smaller brains b. Zoos 20-30% smaller brains
Brain Fact:Children need movement 1. Fine/gross motor skills a. Must have movement b. Reticular Activation System c. 60 hours per week confined 2. Cognitive processes a. Dependent on survival b. Motor needs take priority 3. Sensory motor deprivation a. Inhibitory control impaired b. Need for over-stimulus 4. Impact of policies a. Safety equipment b. Recess /Physical education
1. Important in early ages 2. Stimulates neurons 3. Increases blood flow 4. Fuels brain with oxygen 5. Provides neuorotropins 6. Increases serotonin 7. Trains quick response/recovery 8. Improves oxygen exchange 9. Creates more capillaries 10. Strengthens basal ganglia 11. Prolongs life of neurons 12. Stimulates BDNF 13. Activates LPT 14. Creates NGF 15. Stimulates dopamine 16. Cerebellum/Frontal lobe Brain Fact:Physical activity has many benefits
Brain Fact:Brain unconsciously learns 1. Subconscious learning a. Key to survival b. Unimportance of verbals c. Safety is key to all learning 2. Facial expressions a. Anger/Sarcasms 33 ms 3. Peptides 4. Power of the individual a. Affective communication b. Super collider experiment 5. Neurological search warrants
Brain Fact: Rhythm and Rhyme Music Enhances Learning: Brain Responds to Rhythm 1. Pitch and tones impact more 2. Rhythm strengthens memory 3. Rhyme strengthens memory 4. Provides connections
Brain Fact: Stress damages the brain 1. Telomeres a. 1,700 at birth b. 300 at age 70 c. Lost 9 – 17 years 2. Control is important 3. Hippocampus/danger 4. Electrical/rat experiment 5. Reduces immune system 6. Reduces T cells 7. Hardens arteries 8. Morality is compromised 9. Inactive kids have stress 10. Tunnel Vision
Stress Process a. Designed for action (heart attacks) b. Increases blood sugar c. Activates immune system d. Activates clotting (platelets sticky) e. Attention becomes tunnel vision (no multi-tasking) f. Creates “flashbulb” memory (pathological) g. Creates a “gas and brake” situation with body h. Activates hypothalamus (no sense of morality/ethics) i. Stress is self-imposed
Brain Fact:Need to stay healthy 1. Stress in school a. 20% green b. 60% red c. Allostatic load 2. Continual Stress a. Trauma b. 1/2 neurons hippocampus 3. Survey of workforce a. 28 % Scream b. 14% Hurt someone c. 27% no personal friend
Brain Fact:Diet impacts the brain and learning 1. Not designed for abundant food 2. Hunger creates consumatory prowling 3. Tyrosine & Tryptophan is critical to memory 4. Breakfast is critical to brain processes 5. Low/high calorie diets impact brain function 6. Need certain foods for neuron polarity 7. Glucose and fat are not always bad
Brain Fact: Substance abuse impacts brain 1. More harmful to youth 2. Less awareness of impact 3. Impact basic brain development 4. Invades membrane of brain 5. Causes irreversible damage 6. Impairs neurotransmitters 7. Concrete principle
Brain Fact: Mirror neurons impact our actions 1. We respond to experiences a. Consciously b. Subconsciously c. All senses impact this 2. Examples of Mirror Neurons a. Yawning b. Charismatic c. Talking softly d. Moving slowly 3. Physically experience a. Experience motor reaction b. Emotional experiences
Brain Fact: Brain needs sleep to process data 1. Operates 16 cycles 2. Cycles of 90–110 min. 3. Memory Conversion a. Converted to long-term memory during sleep b. Consolidation of learning takes place during sleep 4. Sleep reduces aggression
Frontal Lobe: Prefrontal 1. Controls thought 2. Planning 3. Decision making 4. Emotions 5. Rational thinking 6. Creativity 7. Makes us human
Brain Areas: Cerebellum 1. Key to balance 2. Posture 3. Coordination 4. Movement 5. Procedural memories 6. Age 2 – adult size 7. Automated responses
Brain Areas: Amygdala a. Controls alarm system b. Controls emotions c. Evaluates danger d. Unconscious emotions e. Damaged amygdala * afraid of everything * afraid of nothing
How do we learn? Learning is a physiological process consisting of highly complicated bio-electrical and chemical interactions
Connection: Electrical/Chemical 1. Dendrites (80%) 2. Nucleus (20%) 3. Action Potential a. calculates input b. releases NT 4. Receptors a. specific shapes
Bioelectrical Process 1. Ions of power a. Sodium + b. Potassium + c. Calcium + d. Chloride - 2. Produces 25 watts
Brain Summary? Learning, emotions, personality, intellect, - who you are – is not a spiritual event but a complex series of bio-electrical and chemical processes Restak (1994)
Understanding the Teenage Brain Adolescence is a time between infancy and insubordination.
Teenage Brain Development:Health Paradox Biological Impact 1. Physical zenith 2. Morbidity/Mortality a. 200/300% increase b. Accidents/Suicides 3. Drug abuse a. Alcohol dependent 12% b. Greatest use (age 18-20) c. Marijuana use Age 15
Teenage Brain Development:Prefrontal Cortex is developing Biological Impact 1. Regulation of words/ideas 2. Body language & jokes 3. Makes bad social inferences 4. Limited social conscious 5. Uses little common sense 6. Can’t read social emotions 7. Last area to mylienate 8. Phineas Gage example
Teenage Brain Development:Amygdala is fully developed Biological Impact 1. Acts on emotion more than rational thought 2. Amygdala is impacted by dopamine 3. Conflict and stress is processed by amygdala 4. Reduces influence of the prefrontal cortex 5. Automated verbal response
Teenage Brain Development:Bonding instinct is strong Biological Impact 1. Females a. Oxytocin (bonding) b. Serotonin (attachment) 2. Males a. Vasopressin (dominance) b. Testosterone (competition) 3. Strong need to bond or mate 4. Neurotransmitters impact vision
Teenage Brain Development:Puberty is occurring earlier Biological Impact 1. 1860 – Age 16 – 17 2. 2007 – Age 13 a. Energy Balance b. Electricity c. Stress 3. Maturation Gap a. 1800’s 2 years c. 2000’s 7 years 4. Post-puberty a. Creates anxiety b. Startles more quickly
Teenage Brain Development:Engage in at-risk behaviors Biological Impact 1. Brain discovers dopamine 2. Necessary in animals to move out of nest 3. Consistently seeks dopamine or pleasure 4. Pleasure reinforces at-risk behavior 5. Eliminates common sense approach 6. Dopamine rush must be increased to impact
Teenage Brain Development:Rapid growth and changes Biological Impact 1. Sudden changes in maturity level a. Brain becomes tired b. Creates poor sleep patterns c. Increases cortisol d. Decreases effective memory 2. Teens experience uncertainty a. Unsure of who they are b. Unsure of future 3. Corpus Callosum develops a. Connections begin to occur b. Begin to understand complexity
Teenage Brain Development:Vulnerable to substance abuse Biological Impact 1.Drugs act like neurotransmitters 2. Decreased sensation of drug impact 3. Substance abuse reduces dopamine a. Need drugs to replace dopamine b. Creates cyclical issues 4. Alcohol reduces glutamate a. Destroys memory “glue” b. Impacts the hippocampus 5. Drugs alter brain formation a. Has greater impact b. Creates permanent damage
Teenage Brain Development:Sleep patterns are interrupted Biological Impact 1. Second growth spurt 2. Need 8-9 hours 3. High school Students a. Get less than 7 hours b. Sleep 11:30/Wake at 6:15 4. Lost of sleep cause a. Memory/attention loss b. Violence/irritability c. Cognitive loss d. Sleep may be tipping point
Teenage Male Brain Scenario: Exposure to Confrontation 1. Receives sensory input 2. Processed in thamlus 3. Sent to amygdala 4. Testosterone a. Confuses response b. Stimulates action 5. Neural Pathway a. Connects to motor cortex b. Causes physical activity
Teenage Brain Development:Time for igniting passions Biological Impact 1. Romantic adventures 2. Social consciousness 3. Permanent values 4. Opportunity to teach 5. Searching for models
Brain Facts: There are gender differences 1. Tendencies/not absolute 2. Mature differently 3. Different chemicals 4. Use different areas 5. Designed for purposes 6. Structural differences (100) 7. Have different visual perceptions