Journal entry 1 EDUU 512
*
Physiology of Learning
*
*
Education is discovering the brain, and that’s about the best news there could be….anyone who does not have a holistic grasp of the brain’s architecture, purposes and main ways of operating is as far behind the times as an automobile designer without a full understanding of engines.
Leslie Hart
*
Leslie Hart was one of the first educators to write about the brain in his book “Human Brain & Human Learning. His quote infers that teachers need to know about brain research because it will inform their teaching.
*
The Decade of the Brain
1990-2000
New imaging technologies
Better understanding of the brain and how it functions
*
In the past much of what we knew about how students learn came from observing them in the classroom and watching their behavior. The 1990’s were declared the “Decade of the Brain” by President George Bush to increase public awareness of what scientists were learning about the brain. The nationwide focus on the brain led to more research, more media attention on the topic and new imaging technologies (EEG, MEG,CAT, PET) that have allowed us to see inside the brain when people are active. These images are providing us with information about how the brain is structured and how it works.
*
Electroencephalography
EEG
- Electrodes are placed on a particular area of the patient's scalp
- EEG records electrical signals from the brain
- Detects changes in brain activity when the neurons respond to a specific event
- Response is called an Event-Related Potential and indicates how much time is needed to process information
*
EEG measures electrical activity in the brain.
*
Magnetoencephalography
MEG
- measures the very faint magnetic fields that emanate from the head as a result of brain activity.
- MEG provides the most accurate resolution of the timing of nerve cell activity -- down to the millisecond.
*
MEG measures magnetic fields that emanate from the head as a result of brain activity. This allows us to record the exact timing of nerve cell activity.
*
Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) Scan
- Combines many 2-dimensional x-ray images to generate cross-sections or 3-dimensional images of internal organs and body structures (including the brain).
- CAT scans of the brain can detect brain damage and also highlight local changes in cerebral blood flow (a measure of brain activity) as the subjects perform a task.
*
CAT scan- multiple x-rays of the brain that create a 3D image of the brain. The image shows a tumor in the brain of a patient.
*
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
- A small amount of radioactively tagged glucose is injected into the blood stream of subject
- Traces where blood flows in the brain
- Higher levels of blood flow= larger amounts of the tracer
High Activity
Normal Brain
Alzheimer’s
Low Activity
*
PET scan- radioactive glucose is used to trace blood flow in the brain. The red and yellow colors indicate areas of more activity in certain parts of the brain while the darker colors indicate less activity.
*
Brain Facts
- Composition of the Brain
- 75% water
- 10% Fat
- 8% Protein
- Energy Requirements
- 2% of body’s adult weight
- Consumes 20% of body’s energy
*
In order to understand how the brain operates we need to know a little about the physiology of the brain. While the brain is a rather small organ it uses an incredible amount of the body’s energy
*
Brain Power
- Uses 8 gallons of blood per hour
- Blood provides fuel in the form of oxygen and glucose
- Brain uses 1/5th of the body’s oxygen
- Water is required to move neuron signals
*
*
Brain Composition
- Weighs 3 pounds when fully developed
- Made up of at least 100 billion nerve cells (neurons)
*
The brain develops over time. The first pound in utero, the second pound during the first year of life and the last pound is added over time during adolescence. What adds weight to the brain is not that you develop more neurons (nerve cells) but as the neurons get more active they require more nutrients and actually thicken.
*
Neurons
Synapse
Dendrite
Axon
*
Neurons have three main parts. The dendrites receive information from other nerve cells. The axons send signals to other nerve cells. The synapse is the gap between nerve cells. Messages must be transmitted to other nerve cells by traveling across the synapse which is a gap between the cells that contains neurotransmitters.
*
Nerve Cell Growth
*
As a child begins to experience the world nerve cells begin to form connections. Nerve cells don’t actually touch but it looks like they do. The nerve pathways that are activated repeatedly based on what the child experiences in life tend to strengthen over time.
*
How information is processed
Fast
Slow
*
Information enters the brain through the senses. The first place that sensory information goes is to the thalamus (sensory relay station). The brain determines if the sensory information carries with it any emotional meaning. If the information indicates that the person might be in danger the brain process the information quickly by sending the information from the thalamus(sensory relay station) to the amygdala (center of emotion) and then to the cerebelum (movement center). This enables the person to do whatever they need to do to avoid the danger. (see the red arrows for that pathway).
If the sensory information being received does not have any negative emotional overtones it is processed slowly by going from the thalamus to the cerebral cortex (thinking & learning center of the brain) where the information can be assessed. (see the green arrows for that pathway)
The lesson in all of this is that in order for children to learn they need to feel safe and be in a non-threatening environment in order to process information in a way that it will be remembered (through the cerebral cortex).
*
Fast Processing
- Sensory input goes first to the thalamus (sensory relay station)
- The brain determines if the information contains any emotional meaning
- If the sensory information indicates that the person might be in danger the information is processed quickly through the amygdala (center of emotion) and cerebellum (center of movement)
*
Have the students brainstorm examples of the kinds of threats that may exist in schools today. Many of the threats they come up with will probably fit into these categories. Have them discuss what teachers and administrators can do to minimize the threats and make students feel safe and able to learn.
Slow Processing
- If the information does not have any negative emotional overtones it is processed slowly going from the thalamus to the cortex (thinking and learning center)
*
*
Brain Basic #1
Emotions are the gatekeeper to learning.
*
This is the first lesson from the brain research that teachers can utilize.
Emotions are critical to learning and while negative emotions may inhibit a child from learning positive emotions may engage students in learning.
*
19 Senses
- Sight
- Hearing
- Touch
- Taste
- Smell
- Balance/Movement
- Vestibular
- Temperature
- Pain
- Eidetic Imagery
- Magnetic
- Infrared
- Ultraviolet
- Ionic
- Vomeronasal
- Proximal
- Electrical
- Barometric
- Geogravimetric
*
While we think of ourselves as having only 5 senses there are actually many more ways we take in information.
*
Sensory Rich Experiences
- Being There Most Sensory Rich
- Immersion
- Hands On “The Real Thing”
- Hands On “Representational”
- 2nd Hand
- Symbolic Least Sensory Rich
Kovalik, S. (1994) ITI: The Model. Susan Kovalik & Associates. Kent: WA.
*
While we can learn things through experiences that are symbolic (words and numbers are symbol systems) it is best to learn new things in the most sensory rich way possible by actually doing what we are learning about and when that is not possible creating immersion experiences that are close to the real thing. We can then reinforce the learning with 2nd hand or symbolic methods. You can then ask the class which methods are typically stressed in schools? (usually their response is 2nd hand and through symbolic methods-words and numbers).
Could this be why students don’t remember what they were taught?
*
Brain Basic #2
Learning is a function of experience. The more sensory rich the experience the better.
*
This is the second lesson that we can glean from brain research.
*
What’s going on here?
Try to read the paragraph below, then consider what it actually says.
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is that the frist and lsat ltter be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can still raed it wouthit porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe and the biran fguiers it out aynawy.
*
This paragraph shows that although only the first and last letters of each word are correct you can still read it. Why? Because your brain is a pattern seeking device and naturally looks to see how the information it receives is connected.
*
Factors effecting pattern perceivability
- Prior experience & knowledge
- Nature of the experience
(first hand, second hand, symbolic)
- Mental wiring of observer
(Interests, Motivations, Learning styles)
These are factors that indicate whether or not a person will be able to pick up a pattern. The more experience the person has with the topic the more likely he/she will perceive the pattern. How the person originally learned the material matters as well. It also helps if the information is presented in a way that “hooks” the learner.
*
*
Brain Basic #3
The brain is a pattern seeking device.
*
This is the third lesson from the brain research that applies to teachers.
The more we can help students connect new learning to what they already know and provide them multiple opportunities to experience the patterns, through a variety of learning modalities, the more likely they will remember what we are teaching them.
*
Short Term Memory
The capacity of short term memory appears to develop with age. The number of spaces increases by one unit every other year beginning at age three. Juan Pascual-Leon, 1970.
Age 5 = 2 spaces
Age 7 = 3 spaces
Age 9 = 4 spaces
Age 11 = 5 spaces
Age 13 = 6 spaces
Age 15 = 7 spaces
*
Short term memory is rather limited and is age dependent. For example you can’t expect a Kindergarten child to remember several things at one time. On the next slide you will test students’ memory by showing them a series of numbers or letters for a brief moment and then have them try to repeat the series. They can usually remember no more than 7 items.
*
Can you remember these?
Test 1: 7 4 9 3 6 5 1
Test 2: 5 2 1 6 3 8 4 7 9 4
Test 3: LS DTVF BIJ FKU SA
Test 4: LSD TV FBI JFK USA
*
Show the students these patterns of letters or numbers one test at a time and then have them try to recite them back. Chances are they will only remember 7 items. The last test has more than 7 items but they will probably remember it. This is because the letters are “chunked” in a way that have meaning. Thus you can fool your short term memory and get more out of it if you chunk information into memorable segments. (That is how we remember phone numbers and social security numbers)
*
Long Term Memory
- Declarative
-Semantic
-Episodic
- Procedural
- Emotional
- Automatic
*
One of our ultimate goals as educators is to make sure that information enters long term memory so that students can retrieve and use that information as they need it throughout their lives.
- Declarative memory involves remembering names, facts, objects
etc…
-Semantic memory is a type of declarative memory that consists of
remembering facts and data that may not be related to an event.
-Episodic memory involves remembering events in our own lives.
2. Procedural memory involves motor movements (riding a bike,
brushing your teeth)
- Automatic Memory- conditioned response memory where certain
stimuli automatically trigger the memory
- Emotional memory- positive or negative emotions associated with
learning
.
*
Steps in Memory Storage Process
Jensen, E. (1998). Teaching with the Brain in Mind. Virginia: ASCD ( p. 10)
*
In order to get information into long term memory it needs to be actively processed. That means that in the classroom we can’t just talk about a concept, students have to actively engage with the concept in order for it to be stored in long term memory.
The Give-One- Get-One activity I listed on the course at a glance is a chance for student to “actively process” the information from this powerpoint.
*
Brain Basic #4
You have to use information in order to get it into long term memory.
*
This is the last brain lesson. We need to build opportunities into the school day for students to actively process the information they are learning in class.
*
Brain Development
*
Brain Develops Over Time
*
Brain Maturation
Maturation occurs from Back to Front
*
1st Wave of Proliferation
(Before Birth)
Focus is on number of brain cells
*
1st Wave of Pruning
(Before Birth)
- Occurs during the last few months before birth
- Brain cells that don’t find a job to perform are lost
Autism may be a result of insufficient pruning during this time
*
Early Years
Windows of Opportunity
(Sensitive Periods)
Vision Birth 2
Hearing Birth 12
Emotions Birth 3
Vocabulary Birth 6
Second Lang Birth 10
Movement Birth 10
Math Birth 4
Music 3 10
*
2nd Wave of Proliferation
(Ages 6-12)
- Focus is on number of connections between nerve cells
- Gray matter (neurons & dendrites thickens)
Connection to ADHD and Tourette’s Syndrome ??
*
2nd Wave of Pruning
(Ages 12-25)
- Gray matter thins
- White matter (myelin sheaths) thicken
- Fewer but faster connections
- Pruning is guided by the “use it or lose it principle”
Connection to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder??
*
Teen Brain
The prefrontal cortex (thinking brain)
is the last part of the brain to develop.
*
Prefrontal Cortex
Prefrontal cortex controls executive
functions such as:
- Planning
- Setting priorities
- Organizing thoughts
- Weighing consequences