Brain Compatible Fundamentals Rethinking Our Classrooms

Brainwashings… All children can learn. You are a gifted teacher of gifted children. Students are no better than the assignments they are given. Different is fair.

Mindset – Behavior - Results Your beliefs and attitudes create your mindset. Your mindset determines your behavior. Your behavior determines the results you produce. To understand your mindset, look at the results that you produce. To produce different (more desirable) results on a consistent basis, change your mindset!! ©Performance Fact

Principles of Learning Effort produces achievement Learning is about making connections We learn with and through others Learning takes time Motivation matters ©National Institute for School Leadership

Principles of Teaching The teacher matters Focused teaching promotes accelerated learning Clear expectations and continuous feedback activate learning Good teaching builds on students’ strengths and respects individuals’ differences Good teaching involves modeling what students should learn ©National Institute for School Leadership

Group Work Ineffective Classroom Effective Classroom Exemplary Classroom

Success - Achievement Same students 4 Different Teachers Can the results be different?

Brain Needs… “Three principles from brain research: Emotional safety, appropriate challenges, and self constructed meanings suggest that a one-size-fits all approach to classroom instruction is ineffective for most students and harmful to some.” ©Teach Me Teach My Brain – A Call for Differentiated Classrooms – Carol Ann Tomlinson

Brain Compatible Learning Brain research confirms what experienced teachers have always known: –No two children are alike –No two children learn in an identical way –An enriched environment for one student is not necessarily enriched for another –We should teach children to think for themselves

Brain Compatible Learning Brain doesn’t need motivated to learn any more than the heart needs to be motivated to pump blood. Most classrooms actually de-motivate children to learn. Leslie Hart

Brain Compatible Classrooms 7 Brain Compatible Fundamentals –Emotional Wellness and Safe Environment How are students’ emotions linked to memory and learning? How do stress and emotions affect student learning? –Body, Movement, and the Brain Why do oxygen, water, sleep, certain foods, and movement affect students’ brains and their learning? –Relevant Content and Student Choices Why does the brain remember some information and skills more readily than others? How, when, and why should we offer student choices?

–Time, Time, and More Time What three time elements dramatically affect when and how well students learn? –Enrichment for the Brain Is enrichment just for gifted kids? –Assessment and Feedback What forms of assessment are and are not brain compatible? –Collaboration How and why do students learn effectively through collaborating with others, both adults and peers?

Emotional Wellness and Safe Environment Recall your most memorable school experience –Crystallizing –Paralyzing Stress and Memory –Long-term stress=memory impairment Safe Environment –Sense of Community –Expectations for Students –Teacher Behaviors

Body, Movement, and the Brain Oxygen –Brain uses 1/5 of body’s oxygen – weighs about 1/70 th of the body’s total weight Water –Brain’s second favorite food –Dehydration Sleep –Students age need 8.5 – 9.25 hours of sleep Foods –Fruits and vegetables –Breakfast Movement –Increases oxygen level in the body by 20% –Change location

Relevant Content and Student Choices Patterns and connections Student choices

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Time, Time, and More Time Time on Task –One minute per year – 20 minute max. –Physical breaks to increase productivity, quality, and morale Need for More Time –Practice over time –Conceptual understanding linked to prior knowledge Opportune Time Periods for Learning

Enrichment for the Brain Problem Solving –Puzzles, brainteasers –Problem of the day –Bloom’s Taxonomy Music –Uplifting songs –Background music –Songs for learning Physical Environment –Ownership –Bulletin boards –Colors/Patterns

Assessment and Feedback Assessments –Authentic –Variety –Expectations/Rubrics Feedback –Prompt –Specific –Multimodal

Collaboration Pair and Share Cooperative Learning Group Work Collaboration between School and Community

Cognitive Learning Styles Concrete Sequential Abstract Sequential Abstract Random Concrete Random

Drawing Your Brain Multiple Intelligences –Verbal/Linguistic –Visual/Spatial –Logical/Mathematical –Musical/Rhythmic –Interpersonal –Intrapersonal –Bodily/Kinesthetic –Naturalistic –Existential

Learning Modalities Visual Auditory Kinesthetic