ENRICHED ENVIRONMENT
When creating an enriched environment, it is important to keep in mind the extent and kind of experiences with the natural and manmade world that your students bring with them to school. The key here is to balance that experience, not replicate it. For example, if students come to you long on TV, videos, video games, and secondhand resources (books and pictures), then the classroom must provide the REAL stuff--not books about, videos about, pictures about, replicas of, models of, but the real thing! If the environment is inner city with typical harshness, chaos, and dirtiness, then you must take the time and effort to create an environment in the classroom and school that is brain-compatible, e.g., aesthetically pleasing, clean, orderly, calming, etc.
Some other things to keep in mind: Make the environment body compatible. Eliminate clutter; avoid distraction and over stimulation. Provide each class with a broad-based reference library; trade books, current encyclopedias, CD-ROM and video discs. Change bulletin boards, displays and materials frequently; always stay current with what is being studied at the moment. Put away the old except for a few items which will job recall.
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Sunday, 29 March 2009
9 BRAIN COMPATIBLE ELEMENTS
ABSENCE OF THREAT/NURTURING REFLECTIVE THINKING
What constitutes threat--real and perceived--is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, creating an environment free of threat includes a wide range of issues much like those described by Abraham Maslow. First physical safety, then psychological safety--necessary conditions for effective collaboration between teacher and students, and among students themselves, in the classroom and schoolwide. It is important to note that the environment of the school at large also spills over into the classroom. Creating a threat-free environment requires that teachers work together to alter the entire school environment.
What constitutes threat--real and perceived--is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, creating an environment free of threat includes a wide range of issues much like those described by Abraham Maslow. First physical safety, then psychological safety--necessary conditions for effective collaboration between teacher and students, and among students themselves, in the classroom and schoolwide. It is important to note that the environment of the school at large also spills over into the classroom. Creating a threat-free environment requires that teachers work together to alter the entire school environment.
Friday, 27 March 2009
9 BRAIN COMPATIBLE ELEMENTS
MOVEMENT TO ENHANCE LEARNING
Motor skills are fundamental to learning. (Eric Jensen) "Physical activity is good not only for the heart, but also for the brain, feedingit glucose and oxygen and increasing nerve connections, all of which makes it easier for children of all ages to learn. Numerous studies show that children who exercise do better in school."
Motor skills are fundamental to learning. (Eric Jensen) "Physical activity is good not only for the heart, but also for the brain, feedingit glucose and oxygen and increasing nerve connections, all of which makes it easier for children of all ages to learn. Numerous studies show that children who exercise do better in school."
Thursday, 26 March 2009
9 BRAIN COMPATIBLE ELEMENS
MEANINGFUL CONTENT
How would one describe meaningful content? That's a tricky question for an educator because, in fact, it is not the educator's question to answer. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is meaningfulness determined by the learner. And yet, it is worth answering because meaningful content is the most powerful brain-compatible element. It digs deeply into the learner's pool of intrinsic motivation and provides focus for the ever active brain, thus harnessing the brain's attention and channeling its power. Fortunately, thanks to brain research, we can do a better job than ever before of surmising what the learner beholds and how he/she processes learning.
Lack of meaning in learning something can be just a void repetition of patterns or words that have no link whatsoever to our previous knowledge, thus the information learnt cannot be stored in our long term memory.
Here is an example of how meaningless repetition leads to nothingness!!!!!! F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
How would one describe meaningful content? That's a tricky question for an educator because, in fact, it is not the educator's question to answer. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is meaningfulness determined by the learner. And yet, it is worth answering because meaningful content is the most powerful brain-compatible element. It digs deeply into the learner's pool of intrinsic motivation and provides focus for the ever active brain, thus harnessing the brain's attention and channeling its power. Fortunately, thanks to brain research, we can do a better job than ever before of surmising what the learner beholds and how he/she processes learning.
Lack of meaning in learning something can be just a void repetition of patterns or words that have no link whatsoever to our previous knowledge, thus the information learnt cannot be stored in our long term memory.
Here is an example of how meaningless repetition leads to nothingness!!!!!! F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Nine Brain compatible elements
Immediate Feedback
Each of us has personal experiences with learning when the feedback was confusing, delayed, or not forthcoming at all. Such feedback is dangerous because it too often results in development of incorrect patterns (misinformation) and programs (wrong responses). Examples abound. Many among us experience the frustration of fumbling over the spelling of a particular word; our two choices are always the same, the same incorrect version vs. the correct. Years later, we continue to fumble between the same competing set of possibilities.
Contrary to popular belief, the hardest thing the brain does is forget something it has learned, as distinguished from forgetting something it never learned in the first place or that was never meaningful....which occurs for 80 percent of the students on the bell curve who stopped just short of mastery, just short of building a program. Feedback (and time) must be sufficient for the student to develop a correct mental program.
The importance of immediate feedback to the student, then is obvious. Feedback, accurate and immediate, is needed at the time the learner is building his/her mental program to ensure that the program is accurate and to help speed up the building of a program.
We need to learn from our mistakes and the best way to do so is knowing that we are making them in the first place, so that we can work on them conscientiously. Watch this hilarious video about mistake awareness. Enjoy!!
Each of us has personal experiences with learning when the feedback was confusing, delayed, or not forthcoming at all. Such feedback is dangerous because it too often results in development of incorrect patterns (misinformation) and programs (wrong responses). Examples abound. Many among us experience the frustration of fumbling over the spelling of a particular word; our two choices are always the same, the same incorrect version vs. the correct. Years later, we continue to fumble between the same competing set of possibilities.
Contrary to popular belief, the hardest thing the brain does is forget something it has learned, as distinguished from forgetting something it never learned in the first place or that was never meaningful....which occurs for 80 percent of the students on the bell curve who stopped just short of mastery, just short of building a program. Feedback (and time) must be sufficient for the student to develop a correct mental program.
The importance of immediate feedback to the student, then is obvious. Feedback, accurate and immediate, is needed at the time the learner is building his/her mental program to ensure that the program is accurate and to help speed up the building of a program.
We need to learn from our mistakes and the best way to do so is knowing that we are making them in the first place, so that we can work on them conscientiously. Watch this hilarious video about mistake awareness. Enjoy!!
Friday, 20 March 2009
The very hungry caterpillar
For all those who love the story and enjoy reading it over and over again!!!! One of the most precious teacher resources in the google ad!!!!!
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Specially for Maira and Caro
All Wired Up: The Teenage Brain Revealed
Dr. Sheryl Feinstein is an Assistant Professor of Education at Augustina College in South Dakota, where she teaches courses in educational psychology and adolescent development. In her presentation titled “Teaching the At-Risk Teenage Brain,” Feinstein explored the functions of the teenage brain and how these processes explain their sometimes questionable behavior.Feinstein, who has conducted boundless research and written two books on the subject, defines the at-risk teenager as one in danger of emotional and/or academic problems, including youth crimes, violence, and substance abuse. Factors that put teens at risk include poverty, academic failure, and delinquent friends, among others.According to Feinstein, the adolescent brain differs from the adult brain in three primary areas:
1- There is an overproduction of dendrites (greater propensity for learning new things).
2- Pruning, or loss of dendrites not being used, occurs more rapidly.
3- The decision-making process is governed by the amygdala (rather than the frontal lobe), making teens more emotional and less logical than adults.
Use of the amygdala as the primary cerebral decision-maker is also the cause of misunderstandings, incendiary language, bad decision making, disorganization and forgetfulness. With these things in mind, teachers can use proactive and reactive strategies for possible student confrontations, including:
-Transitions are difficult; give one-step directions.
-Teach self-determination skills.
-Reduce distractions, seat them near the front, clear the desks of objects.
-Stay calm and non-confrontational.
-Don’t get off topic and don’t defend yourself.
-Don’t point the blame.
-Understanding the cerebral functions that cause certain behaviors is a big step towards knowing how to effectively teach teenagers and defuse any possible confrontations.
Monday, 16 March 2009
Short and sweet
Learn to count…
Count your garden by the flowers,
Never by the leaves that fall;
Count your joys by the golden hours,
Never when life´s worries call.
Count your nights by stars, not shadows,
Count your days by smiles, not tears;
And when life´s span so swiftly narrows,
Count your age by friends, not years
Never by the leaves that fall;
Count your joys by the golden hours,
Never when life´s worries call.
Count your nights by stars, not shadows,
Count your days by smiles, not tears;
And when life´s span so swiftly narrows,
Count your age by friends, not years
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
The curious case of Benjamin Button
A wonderful movie with an unforgettable message, and a wonderful tool for those teaching Multiple Intelligences. Hope you like it as much as I do!!
Sunday, 8 March 2009
The most beautiful song describing women..A tribute to us all!
SHE
She May be the face I can't forget
The trace of pleasure or regret
May be my treasure or the price I have to pay
She May be the song that summer sings
May be the chill that autumn brings
May be a hundred different things Within the measure of a day
She May be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams The smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem Inside her shell
She Who always seems so happy in a crowd Whose eyes can be so private and so proud
No one's allowed to see them when they cry
She May be the love that cannot hope to last
May come to me from shadows of the past
That I'll remember till the day I die
She May be the reason I survive
The why and wherefore I'm alive
The one I'll care for through the rough in ready years
Me I'll take her laughter and her tears And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes I've got to be
The meaning of my life is She She, oh she
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Multitasking drains the brain
Mind is designed to handle one complex activity at a time.
Scientists have bad news for people who think they can deftly drive a car while gabbing on a cell phone.
The first study using magnetic resonance images of brain activity to compare what happens in people's heads when they do one complex task, as opposed to two tasks at a time, reveals a disquieting fact: The brain appears to have a finite amount of space for tasks requiring attention.
When people try to drive in heavy traffic and talk, researchers say, brain activity does not double. It decreases. People performing two demanding tasks simultaneously do neither one as well as they do each one alone.
The study, published in tomorrow's issue of the journal NeuroImage, was led by Marcel Just, a psychology professor and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. While this study did not examine the brain activity of people who were driving cars and conversing, it used tasks that engage similar brain regions, Just said. Moreover, he said, plans are under way to study the brains of people who are using driving simulators while someone is talking to them.
Jordan Grafman, a neuroscientist at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke in Bethesda, Md., said that while the study did not involve cell phones, it was relevant to public policy. "Lawmakers need to know there is a cost whenever people try to do multiple tasks," he said.
Christof Koch, a professor of cognitive and behavioral biology at the California Institute of Technology, said: "No question this study was very nicely executed. After all, if you really want to listen to something, you close your eyes, right?"
In recent years, it has become possible to map brain areas involved in high-level cognitive tasks -- processing sentences, comprehending paragraphs, formulating strategies, planning many moves ahead and evaluating uncertainty.
When people do these mental tasks, functional brain imaging machines can detect which areas of their brains become most active. Because active brain cells use more oxygen, they can be seen as hot spots against a background of less-active cells.
The active regions are measured in voxels, volumes of brain tissue about the size of a grain of rice. When a particular part of the brain is working hard, more voxels light up with greater intensity.
Previous research showed that when a single area of the brain, like the visual cortex, has to do two things at once, like tracking two objects, there is less brain activation than occurs when it watches one thing at a time, Just said.
The new study sought to find out whether something similar happened when two highly independent tasks, carried out in very different parts of the brain, were done concurrently. The answer was not obvious, Just said. Maybe the tasks would work independently and activate twice as much space in the brain. Or they could compete for space and activate a different, and unpredictable, set of brain cells, he said.
Just and his colleagues chose two tasks for the study. One was language comprehension, which is carried out in the brain's temporal lobe. The other task required mentally rotating objects in space, a process that is done in the parietal lobe.
Eighteen volunteers had their brains scanned while doing one or both tasks. For one scan, they listened to complex sentences like "the pyramids were burial places and they are one of the seven wonders of the ancient world," and had to indicate whether the statements were true or false. For another, they were shown pairs of three-dimensional figures and asked to rotate them mentally to judge whether they were the same.
Then they tried to do both tasks simultaneously and equally conscientiously. Researchers confirmed that the two tasks relied on different parts of the brain. The language task alone activated 37 voxels of brain tissue, mostly in temporal regions, Just said. The mental rotation task alone also activated 37 voxels, mostly in parietal regions.
But when both tasks were done at the same time, the volunteers' brains did not engage the sum of the two, or 74 voxels. Instead, their brains displayed only 42 voxels of activity.
On closer inspection, the researchers found that the number of activated voxels was smaller and less intense in each of the two brain regions. The amount of brain activation generated by mental rotation decreased 29 percent if the person also was listening to a sentence. The amount of activation generated by listening to sentences decreased 53 percent if the person was also trying to rotate objects.
While the volunteers' overall accuracy did not suffer, Just said, it took them a bit longer to do each task. If the tasks had been more difficult, their performance would have suffered even more.
It appears that the brain has limits and can only do so much at one time, Just said. "You can't just keep piping new things through," he said, and expect the brain to keep up. With practice, the brain can become more efficient at carrying out multiple tasks, he added, but performance is never as good as when the tasks are carried out independently.
Everyone has had the experience of trying to do two things at once, like driving a car and talking to a passenger, Just said. Both speech and driving can become automatic and not very demanding of brain power. But when an experienced driver encounters a sudden increase in complexity -- an argument erupts and it also starts to sleet -- that driver probably will stop the conversation and pay attention to the road.
The difference between in-person and cell phone conversations is that a passenger can see changing road conditions and will likely shut up when needed, Just said. The person on the other end of a cell phone does not see these changes and may keep on blathering.
Making cell phones hands-free will not solve the problem of the brain's inability to carry out complex tasks in tandem. And since it is not possible to ban other human conversation in cars, the next best thing is education, Just said. People need to know that their brains have limits, even if they are under the illusion that multitasking is the wave of the future.
Scientists have bad news for people who think they can deftly drive a car while gabbing on a cell phone.
The first study using magnetic resonance images of brain activity to compare what happens in people's heads when they do one complex task, as opposed to two tasks at a time, reveals a disquieting fact: The brain appears to have a finite amount of space for tasks requiring attention.
When people try to drive in heavy traffic and talk, researchers say, brain activity does not double. It decreases. People performing two demanding tasks simultaneously do neither one as well as they do each one alone.
The study, published in tomorrow's issue of the journal NeuroImage, was led by Marcel Just, a psychology professor and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. While this study did not examine the brain activity of people who were driving cars and conversing, it used tasks that engage similar brain regions, Just said. Moreover, he said, plans are under way to study the brains of people who are using driving simulators while someone is talking to them.
Jordan Grafman, a neuroscientist at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke in Bethesda, Md., said that while the study did not involve cell phones, it was relevant to public policy. "Lawmakers need to know there is a cost whenever people try to do multiple tasks," he said.
Christof Koch, a professor of cognitive and behavioral biology at the California Institute of Technology, said: "No question this study was very nicely executed. After all, if you really want to listen to something, you close your eyes, right?"
In recent years, it has become possible to map brain areas involved in high-level cognitive tasks -- processing sentences, comprehending paragraphs, formulating strategies, planning many moves ahead and evaluating uncertainty.
When people do these mental tasks, functional brain imaging machines can detect which areas of their brains become most active. Because active brain cells use more oxygen, they can be seen as hot spots against a background of less-active cells.
The active regions are measured in voxels, volumes of brain tissue about the size of a grain of rice. When a particular part of the brain is working hard, more voxels light up with greater intensity.
Previous research showed that when a single area of the brain, like the visual cortex, has to do two things at once, like tracking two objects, there is less brain activation than occurs when it watches one thing at a time, Just said.
The new study sought to find out whether something similar happened when two highly independent tasks, carried out in very different parts of the brain, were done concurrently. The answer was not obvious, Just said. Maybe the tasks would work independently and activate twice as much space in the brain. Or they could compete for space and activate a different, and unpredictable, set of brain cells, he said.
Just and his colleagues chose two tasks for the study. One was language comprehension, which is carried out in the brain's temporal lobe. The other task required mentally rotating objects in space, a process that is done in the parietal lobe.
Eighteen volunteers had their brains scanned while doing one or both tasks. For one scan, they listened to complex sentences like "the pyramids were burial places and they are one of the seven wonders of the ancient world," and had to indicate whether the statements were true or false. For another, they were shown pairs of three-dimensional figures and asked to rotate them mentally to judge whether they were the same.
Then they tried to do both tasks simultaneously and equally conscientiously. Researchers confirmed that the two tasks relied on different parts of the brain. The language task alone activated 37 voxels of brain tissue, mostly in temporal regions, Just said. The mental rotation task alone also activated 37 voxels, mostly in parietal regions.
But when both tasks were done at the same time, the volunteers' brains did not engage the sum of the two, or 74 voxels. Instead, their brains displayed only 42 voxels of activity.
On closer inspection, the researchers found that the number of activated voxels was smaller and less intense in each of the two brain regions. The amount of brain activation generated by mental rotation decreased 29 percent if the person also was listening to a sentence. The amount of activation generated by listening to sentences decreased 53 percent if the person was also trying to rotate objects.
While the volunteers' overall accuracy did not suffer, Just said, it took them a bit longer to do each task. If the tasks had been more difficult, their performance would have suffered even more.
It appears that the brain has limits and can only do so much at one time, Just said. "You can't just keep piping new things through," he said, and expect the brain to keep up. With practice, the brain can become more efficient at carrying out multiple tasks, he added, but performance is never as good as when the tasks are carried out independently.
Everyone has had the experience of trying to do two things at once, like driving a car and talking to a passenger, Just said. Both speech and driving can become automatic and not very demanding of brain power. But when an experienced driver encounters a sudden increase in complexity -- an argument erupts and it also starts to sleet -- that driver probably will stop the conversation and pay attention to the road.
The difference between in-person and cell phone conversations is that a passenger can see changing road conditions and will likely shut up when needed, Just said. The person on the other end of a cell phone does not see these changes and may keep on blathering.
Making cell phones hands-free will not solve the problem of the brain's inability to carry out complex tasks in tandem. And since it is not possible to ban other human conversation in cars, the next best thing is education, Just said. People need to know that their brains have limits, even if they are under the illusion that multitasking is the wave of the future.
Friday, 6 March 2009
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Monday, 2 March 2009
I am a teacher
I am a Teacher.I was born the first moment that a question leaped from the mouth of a child.I have been many people in many places.I am Socrates exciting the youth of Athens to discover new ideas through the use of questions.I am Anne Sullivan tapping out the secrets of the universe into the outstretched hand of Helen Keller.I am Aesop and Hans Christian Andersen revealing truth through countless stories.I am Marva Collins fighting fir every child's right to an education.I am Mary McLeod Bethune building a great college for my people, using orange crates for desks.And I am Bel Kaufman struggling to go Up The Down Staircase.The names of those who have practiced my profession ring like a hall of fame for humanity ... Booker T. Washington, Buddha, Confucius, Ralp Waldo Emerson, Leo Buscaglia, Moses and Jesus.I am also those whose names and faces have long been forgotten but whose lessons and character will always be remembered in the accomplishment of their students.I have wept for joy at their weddings of former students, laughed with glee at the birth of their children and stood with bowed in grief and confusion by graves dug too soon far too young.Throughout the course of a day I have been called upon to be an actor, friend, nurse and doctor, coach, finder of lost articles, money lender, taxi driver, psychologist, substitute parent, salesman, politician and keeper of the faith.Despite the maps, charts, formulas, verbs, stories and books, I have really had nothing to teach, for my students really have only themselves to learn, and I know it takes the whole world to tell you who you are.I am a paradox. I speak loudest when I listen the most. My greatest gifts are in what I am willing to appreciatively receive from my students.Material wealth is not one of my goals, but I am a full-time treasure seeker in my quest for new opportunities for my students to use their talents and in my constant search for those talents that sometimes lie buried in self-defeat.I am the most fortunate of all who labor.A doctor is allowed to usher life into the world in one magic moment. I am allowed to see that life is reborn each day with new questions, ideas and friendships.An architect knows if he builds with care, his structure may stand for centuries. A teacher knows that if he builds with love and truth, what he builds will last forever.I am a warrior, daily doing battle against peer pressure, negativity, fear, conformity, prejudice, ignorance and apathy. But I have great allies: Intelligence, Curiosity, Parental Support, Individuality, Creativity, Faith, Love and Laughter all rush to my banner with indomitable support.And who do I have to thank for this wonderful life I am so fortunate to experience, but you the public, the parents. For you have done me the great honor to entrust to me your greatest contribution to eternity, your children.And so I have a past that is rich in memories. I have a present that is challenging, adventurous and fun because I am allowed to spend my days with the future.I am a teacher ... and I thank God for it every day.
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