Transcript How the Special Needs Brain Learns

How the Special Needs Brain
Learns
David Sousa
By
Dr. Paul A. Rodríguez 11
Introduction,
Chapters 1 & 2
Who are the special needs students?
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Those diagnosed and classified with
having specific learning problems,
including speech, reading, writing,
math, emotional & behavioral
disorders
Those enrolled in supplemental
instruction programs for basic skills,
such as Title 1
Those not classified but still
struggling with problems affecting
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their learning
Who is not covered in Sousa’s book?
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Those students with learning
problems resulting primarily from
hearing, visual, or physical
handicaps
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Focus of Sousa’s book
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Brain research – how it can help
teachers reach special needs
learners
Common difficulties & disorders that
teachers are likely to encounter
Practical applications/strategies
Not to be used for diagnoses!
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Something to Think About
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“As we gain a greater
understanding of the human brain,
we may discover that some
students designated as ‘learning
disabled’ may merely be ‘schooling
disabled.’ Sometimes, these
students are struggling to learn in
an environment that is designed
inadvertently to frustrate their
efforts…”
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Something to Think About (cont.)
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“…Just changing our instructional
approach may be enough to move
these students to the ranks of
successful learners.” (Sousa, p. 4)
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The Brain and Learning (chapter 1)
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Exterior Parts of the Brain
(pp. 5-8)
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Four lobes in each hemisphere –
each lobe tends to specialize for
certain functions
Motor cortex and somatosensory
cortex
Cerebellum
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Interior Parts of the Brain
(pp. 8-12)
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Brainstem
Limbic area: thalamus,
hypothalamus, hippocampus,
amygdala
Cerebrum
Brain cells & related parts: neurons,
glial cells, dendrites, axon, myelin,
sheath, synapse, synaptic vesicles,
neurotransmitters
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Mirror Neurons (p. 12)
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Clusters of neurons in the premotor
cortex fire just before person carries
out a planned movement
Also fire when see someone else
perform the movement (reach for
ball or cup)
Scientists believe mirror neurons
help us decode the intentions &
predict the behavior of others
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Mirror Neurons (cont.)
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Structures in the limbic area that
activate during one’s own pain also
activate during empathy
See look of disgust, pain,
happiness, etc. on someone else’s
face triggers that feeling in us
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Mirror Neurons (cont.)
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Mirror neurons might explain young
children’s mimicry, yawning when
someone else does, etc.
New idea: People with autism may
have a deficit in their mirror-neuron
system, which would explain why
they have difficulty inferring the
intentions and emotions of others
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Learning and Retention
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Learning is the process by which we
acquire new knowledge & skills
Memory is the process by which we
retain knowledge & skills for the
future
Retention is the process by which
long-term memory preserves
learning so that the memory can be
located, identified, & retrieved
accurately in the future
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Retention (cont.)
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Retention requires building
conceptual frameworks that have
personal meaning to the student
This relevancy is especially
important for students with special
needs, as they may have trouble
focusing for very long
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Rehearsal
(pp. 14-15)
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Time is needed for initial and
secondary rehearsal – for
information to first enter working
memory and for the brain to make
sense of that information & add
details
Rote rehearsal – remember & store
(often seen as boring to students
with learning disabilities)
Elaborative rehearsal – associate
new learning with prior learning
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Rehearsal (cont.)
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Students with learning disabilities
often find rote rehearsal boring
They need more time & guidance
through elaborative rehearsal –
seeing relationships, finding
meaning/relevance
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Something to Remember:
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“Rehearsal only contributes to, but
does not guarantee, information
transfer into long-term storage.
However, there is almost no longterm retention without rehearsal.”
(p. 15)
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Learning Motor Skills
(pp. 15-16)
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Too much conscious attention
focused on learning a new motor
skill can reduce the quality of the
output
Attention & awareness are
necessary for learning a new skill,
though
Deep sleep & time help skill become
more automatic (requiring less
direct thinking)
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Learning Difficulties & Motor Skills
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Low motor ability does not
necessarily mean low perceptual or
intellectual ability
Sometimes can be related –
developmental dyslexia
ADD – may not be able to focus
long enough to learn new motor
skills – get person to focus
externally
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Today’s Brains
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Differences in environment of past
& present – see pp. 16-18
Brain seeks novelty – if classroom is
too predictable in its stimuli, then
the brain will look inward for novel
sensations
Even using technology in the
classroom may not be novel enough
– depends on how it is used
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Something to Think About
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What some teachers see as a
learning disability may jus be
alienation from school due to lack of
engagement, relevance, & novelty
(Sousa, p. 18)
We must adjust our schools even
more to keep up with the changing
brains
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When Learning Difficulties Arise
(Sousa chapter 2)
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Prenatal Development
(p. 19)
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Defective apoptosis (purposeful
destruction of extra neurons) may
prune more than it should, such as
photographic memory
Maternal drug & alcohol use can
interfere with growing brain cells –
fetal addiction & mental defects
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Infancy
(p. 19)
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20 hours of sleep each day – energy
for rapid brain development &
neuron connections
A richer environment = more
connections made = faster learning
with more meaning
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Approaching Puberty
(pp. 19-20)
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Neuron connection pace slows
Useful connections become
permanent
Non-useful connections are
eliminated (apoptosis)
All “decisions” based on experience
These processes continue
throughout life, but are most
intense during ages 3-12
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Possible Causes of Learning
Disabilities (pp. 20-27)
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Genetics
Maternal use of tobacco, alcohol, &
other drugs
Problems during pregnancy or
delivery
Toxins in the child’s environment
Stress in the child’s environment
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Possible Causes of Learning
Disabilities (cont.)
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Gender differences (p. 25):
More boys than girls
Foreign body response?
Testosterone?
Genetic mutations on the X
chromosome?
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Most Effective Forms of Instruction
(p. 25)
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Combine direct instruction with
teaching students learning
strategies (memorization & study
skills)
Use of technology
Control of task difficulty – small
group work
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Misconceptions about Learning
Disabilities
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Look at chart on p. 26
Which misconceptions do you have?
Which misconceptions do you hear
most often from others?
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Gifted Students with Learning
Disabilities (p. 27)
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Twice-exceptional
2-5% of student population
Tend to fall through the cracks
Often labeled “lazy” – see Levine
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Responsiveness to Intervention
(pp. 27-31)
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Many variations, but all follow
basics:
Use data
Multi-tiered interventions
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Helping Students Become Strategic
Learners (pp. 31-35)
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Cognitive & metacognitive strategies (p.
34)
Students with learning disabilities may
have problems with learning due to being
overwhelmed, disorganized, frustrated,
unable to follow directions, etc.
They may have perception or processing
problems
Lack of prior success = lack of confidence
They may not see connection with
information
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Helping Students Become Strategic
Learners (cont.)
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Therefore, students with learning
disabilities need to learn strategies
for how to learn
Some of these strategies include
note taking, outlining, asking
questions, rereading, asking others
to edit work, making up mnemonic
devices
See even more strategies on p. 33
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Something to Remember
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“Learning and retention are more
likely to occur when students can
observe, engage in, discuss, reflect
upon, and practice new learning.”
(Sousa, p. 34)
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Importance of Self-Esteem
(pp. 35-36)
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Students with learning disabilities
often have negative feelings about
learning
They feel that they cannot learn,
because they could not in the past
School-based interventions to raise
self-esteem do show success
Word of caution: Not all of our
perceptions about self-esteem
appear to be correct (bullies, drug
users, etc.)
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Strategies to Consider
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Break into 5 “groups”
Each group (or individual) will take
one of the Strategies to Consider
(pp. 37-47) & summarize the ideas
as quickly as possible
You will have 5 minutes to do that,
then 1 minute to present your
summary
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Final Discussion
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What are the main ideas that you
will take away from Sousa’s
introduction and chapters 1 & 2 that
we just went over?
How will you apply those ideas in
your classroom beginning
immediately?
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