I get asked this question a lot… so I am going to provide an explanation of what Brain-Based teaching is, as well as clear up any myths or misconceptions about it.
Brain-Based education is the active engagement of practical strategies based on learning and behavioral principles derived from neuroscience.
All teachers use strategies; the difference here is that you’re using strategies based on real science, not because someone said that they work.
An example of a principle would be…”Brains change based on experience.” The science tells us HOW they change in response to experience. The strategies are based on what we’ve learned from studies on how brains change.
Questions are often raised about the reliability of brain research for training or classroom applications. Cautious, conservative skeptics will, by nature, be hesitant to embrace new things. Overzealous or impulsive risk-takers will, by nature, try almost anything, founded or not.
A better-informed educator usually makes better decisions. We collect the research, form conclusions and make suggestions. Every effort is made to select from reliable sources with supporting data. If the studies are conflicting, we’ll either say so or not present it to you. You’ll need to be the ultimate judge as to whether and how the research fits in your particular learning climate.
One must be cautious and prudent in how research is interpreted and ultimately used. Our policy is to look for both the basic neuroscience research and match it with data from applied psychology or cognitive science. When there are multiple studies, with good samples and clear evidence, you’ll hear about it.
We will never say, “Brain research proves….” because it does not prove anything. It may however suggest the value of a particular pathway. We have heard five basic criticisms about brain-based education. Here’s what they are and our answers to them. (more…)
February is the time of the year when it’s not only colder, you’re more likely to have sick days, but also you’re heading into the testing season, too. Oh, one more thing…we tend to put on a few pounds, too!
Any help out there?
This month, we’ll learn about how to get yourself and your kids to do much, much more. We’ll learn about the science behind “self-control”. This executive function skill turns out to have such an enormous impact on our lives that those that are higher in self-control tend to be sick less often, earn more money, have better quality relationships, get more schooling, earn higher degrees, are happier and even donate more money. In short, there’s a very, very strong correlation with quality of life.
But…is it teachable? For the surprising news, keep reading… (more…)
All enrichment effects start with contrast from a baseline from which we can create environmental contrast. But remember, the baseline is not always so obvious.
The consideration of the ultimate enrichment response is laughable if the brain’s own minimum baselines are not being met. While it’s true that there are many ranges of criteria for optimal child rearing, but nonetheless baselines do exist.
I’m convinced many people think they’re living an enriched life, when it’s got a long ways to go to maximize their potential. In the cases of extreme danger, trauma or high-risk poverty, it’s pretty obvious. These seven positive factors are the contrasting factors that are most likely to maximize the enrichment response.
A child will not be raised poorly if parents and teachers ignore some or even all of these principles for a day or make occasional mistakes. No one expects constant miracles, but young children do need constant help, and it’s useful to keep these principles in mind.
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Let’s explore the role of music in your work. Whether you’re a teacher, staff developer or administrator, today’s audience often expects music. Why? A presenter who has orchestrated positive music into a thoughtful tapestry may have spoiled the audience. But is that a good idea?
First, is there any research behind using it? Second, how do you choose the right music?
Music is the perfect stimulus for triggering either raw or complex emotions. First, as you might expect, while novel music can be fun, you’ll get the highest emotional response from playing music which is familiar to your students (Pereira et al., 2011). Typically, the familiar songs evoke strong positive memories. This suggests if you want to play novel music to kids, you might need to a bit of repetition (playing it over and over and associate it with new positives) to turn it into a consistent positive trigger for students.
Another study investigated whether and how individuals employ music to induce specific emotional states. The music was used in everyday situations solely to manage personal emotions. This study shows how emotion-congruent music selections are extra powerful in activating emotional states in everyday situations (Thoma et al., 2011). It validates something very important to me: sometimes the best reason to use music in your own work is that it puts you in a positive emotional state for doing your best work.
The third study was designed to investigate whether listening to music in a social group influenced the emotion felt by the listeners. Surprisingly, the study found that the participants (all were musicians) did not experience greater “group emotionality” or collective emotional response when listening to music in a group than when listening alone (Sutherland et al., 2009). With non-musicians, the effect was the opposite. We all felt the “collective kum-bah-yah!”
Another study goes at this social question from a different angle.
THE NEUROLOGY OF ERROR CORRECTION THROUGH THE VISUAL FIELD.
Most people probably never wonder what occurs in their brain when they make a mistake; scientists, however, have diligently pursued the question. “Solving difficult, novel, or complex tasks, overcoming habitual responses, and correcting errors all require a high degree of cognitive control,” the study reports. Acting as the brain’s “mistake filters,” the frontal eye field and anterior cingulate cortex, it appears, critically impact our thoughts, actions, and errors.
The critical point here is that when we can actually see the errors we make, we learn to correct them more quickly.
Action Steps:
Rather than simply pointing out learners’ mistakes, help them identify where and how their logic became faulty. Remember, when we can see our mistakes, the frontal eye field-which houses our error correction and overriding faculties-is activated. Next guide learners through the correct steps, thus, reinforcing accurate methods.
Create a learning environment in which students feel comfortable and safe and smart despite the making of mistakes. Reassure students that mistakes are how we learn.
Allow sufficient “down time” for reflection and consolidation of facts, concepts, and skills.
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Do you like travel? How about attending the HONG KONG BRAIN EXPO? Interested in going to China, starting with Hong Kong? There’s an amazing brain-based conference there in early February with Art Costa, Eric Jensen (me!) and the famous Dr. Daniel Amen. Check it out at http://www.brainandmindexpo.com
Yes,I’ve taken the plunge and have joined Twitter! Click here to check it out. It lets me get a feel for the issues educators are dealing with, as well as keeping up with the technology that impacts the classroom.
photo credit: Mikey G Ottawa
1. Constantly make something important to their brain (say, “Wow, this is so good that…” Or, “If you learn nothing else all day, listen closely and remember this…”)
2. Get students out of their seats for a quick energizer every 8-15 minutes (it bumps up Cortisol, Dopamine and Norepinephrine, all of which help strengthen memory formation)
3. Every single key idea, repeat after me (“Now we just learned there are four seasons. How many seasons are there?”)
4. Use acronyms
5. Use priming ALL Day long (“Earlier I said we have 4 seasons and the coldest one is W-I-N________?”) They spell out the rest of the word.
6. Use partners more often. (“We just learned the four seasons. Now, please stand up. Great. Find a neighbor and point to him or her say, “You’re it!. Great. Now, between you and your neighbor, see if you can remember all four seasons.”) Then do error correction.
7. Use their body more often, like every 15-30 minutes to connect with content. (“We just learned the four seasons. Now, let’s burn them into our brain in a fun way. Please stand up. Great. With your body, show your neighbor, you wiping sweat off your forehead. That’s summer. Great. Now show your neighbor raking up leaves. That’s fall. Etc.”)
8. Put key ideas up on posters around the room. Ask kids to stand up, find a partner and take them to the poster. Then they review the material using the poster as a helper.
9. Use peg systems
10. Use spatial learning and associate concepts to places in the room. Take a key idea like cumulus clouds and go to a corner of the room with the kids. Ask them to look up in the corner and imaging HUGE rain clouds in the ceiling corner. Imaging the rain. Repeat after me: “Cumulous clouds means.. rain (or whatever).”
Knowing these are good. Actually doing them-all day long, every day of the week, is how you get miracles.
Make it happen.
photo credit: Justin Shearer
There’s an assumption that if a student in school feels threatened in any way, there’s going to be an immediate response we’ve all heard of before. Those might include “fight” (talk back to teacher, argue or even get physical), “flight” (try to get out of the situation, change seats, rooms or get out school), or “freeze” (quit participating and disconnect from learning).
However, recent research tells us there’s far more going on. In fact, you might be surprised what researchers have discovered about student emotions (and your own)…
There are many things you should know about our emotional system, but we’ll focus on just one area (the amygdala) and only the relevancy to school and your own life. Just maybe we can help out your relationships and add joy to your life!
First, there are gender differences in our emotional system.
You may have heard of the amygdala as if it’s singular, but we have two of them (on the left and right side of the brain). Technically, it should be referred to as the amygdalae (plural). Known as small, almond-shaped brain structures, they are highly involved in the fear response. These structures are located deep in the temporal lobes at the foot of the hippocampus in each hemisphere. And, they operate differently in males and females. (more…)
“There’s a big front coming in this weekend. Expect temperatures to drop to well below freezing. There will be icy and dangerous conditions. Winds will be near gale force. Please take all necessary cautions to protect life and property.”
Sometimes being right is just as bad as being wrong. Just ask any weatherman or weatherperson. Nobody likes to hear the messenger when the news is bad. It’s no different when the news is about our own lives.
Today, we take a look ahead. That’s always a bit dangerous. Today’s world has so many complex variables that any predictions beyond the next few weeks seem far too tenuous to “bank on.” Who would have predicted interest rates would fall to record lows in 2011? Few would have predicted the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, which set back the space program by years (and maybe put it out of business). The events following 9/11 changed many things in politics, economics and even tourism. The point here is simple; general timelines are easier to predict, high impact events are, well, unpredictable. We’ll have to exclude in this chapter those catastrophic events (sorry, even psychics get them wrong) and stick with the likely stream of events. Based on the trends so far, there are three possible trajectories. One is the nightmare, where all that can go bad, does. Another is the dream, where most important decisions and events are positive. And finally, there’s the most likely scenario of all. That I’ll leave to the end. (more…)
In September, I shared the research that told you that feedback was the top achievement-boosting variable. in learning. This month, we’ll tie together some brain research and student achievement data to reveal the most VISIBLE ingredient in better teaching.
First, the hint: It is consistently correlated with high achievement gains and it is one of the single biggest variables in teacher quality.
For years, realtors have tried to help sell prospective home buyers on the neighborhood with “good schools.” You may have had parents that fixate on picking the right school for their child. But the research shows it matters far more which teacher the child gets.
Teachers had THREE times as much influence on students’ academic development as the school they attended.
Many of the factors commonly assumed to be important to teachers’ effectiveness are NOT causal or even strongly correlated with student achievement. Although teachers are paid more for experience, education and training, those are not a guarantee of better student performance. (more…)
In-depth discussions and summaries.
There is no replacement for this strategy. Students somehow need to talk about, argue, think through, summarize, question, rewrite and recall the learning to develop some depth of elaboration.
An older study (Eysenck and Eysenck1979) showed that processing capacity was greater when information was retrieved from secondary (the resource) memory than from primary memory (“I recall”). It’s better when processing was of a deep, semantic nature than when it was shallow. Students have to do the digging, not you. Let them create quizzes, summaries or dialogs with the material.
More recently, teachers found that if you pause and give students time to answer questions on index cards, then discuss in groups learning goes up. These short, in-class writing exercises increase focus, thinking and depth of knowledge (Butler 2001). Reciprocal teaching is well supported by research. Developed by Annemarie Palincsar and Ann Brown in 1984, reciprocal teaching switches the roles of the student and teacher.
It has been well generalized (Coleman 1997) to many subjects areas as well by using three basic steps:
* Group discussions. These smaller groups allow less competent students to perform at higher levels with greater safety than in the large group. These may include small groups.
* Independent Group Discussions. The group collaborates to revise, understand and construct the meaning of the material their way. Students become motivated by autonomy and curiosity.
* Scaffolding: Students can learn from peers just as well as they can from adults. But the process must be guided and managed to avoid any downsides. Here the teacher encourages and provokes students for deeper understanding. The teacher provides support for those less able students and then backs off.
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