Transcript the amazing brain learning through play

Chapter 4….continues
THE AMAZING BRAIN &
LEARNING THROUGH PLAY
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Everything is
learned through
your body!
BODY MAPS
THE BRAIN AND ITS DEVELOPMENT
THE PHYSICAL BRAIN
Neurons – Transmit: Receive info
from senses or neurons and
communicate the info back to
parts of body
Axons - Send
Dendrites - Receive
Synapses - Connect
Glial Cells - Support
Circuits - Maps
ROLE IN THE BODY-BRAIN SYSTEM
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Regulates other systems in
the body
Senses information from the
body and environment
Guides child’s movements
MENTAL ABILITIES
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THE BRAIN
Forms Associations
Reads Emotions giving
experiences Meaning
Translates thoughts and
feelings into words, images
and behaviors
Determines actions needed
to achieve outcomes or goals
MIRROR NEURONS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8WV1zAh9zU
DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES
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Prenatal development – production,
migration, connection (or die)
Infancy and early childhood – dendrite
branching, (synaptogenesis), synaptic
pruning, myelination, foundation of
later abilities
Middle Childhood - two hemispheres
more distinct, more elaborate
mapping, pruning, learning,
myelination
Adolescence - myelination, planning,
simultaneity,
EXPERIENCE AND THE BRAIN
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Plasticity – The brain’s ability to develop and change
in response to experiences
During early childhood – Brain is most receptive and
responsive to experience
Both positive and negative experiences modify the
brain architecture
Windows of Opportunity - At times the brain is more
open to certain types of learning; Montessori called
these “sensitive periods”
LEFT BRAIN~RIGHT BRAIN
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BLUE
BLACK
RED
YELLOW
VIOLET
GREEN
ORANGE
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BLUE
BLACK
RED
YELLOW
VIOLET
GREEN
ORANGE
APPLICATION OF BRAIN RESEARCH
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Give children many opportunities to learn simultaneously
Be optimistic that everyday experiences and classroom
instruction can have an impact throughout childhood and
adolescence
Accommodate individual difference in neurological
functioning
Provide extra guidance to children who have had early
exposure to drugs and alcohol.
Encourage children and adolescents to think about he
consequences of their actions – Play! Act them out!
Help children who have been neglected or abused to form
warm, trusting, and stable relationships.
CHILDREN AT PLAY
“Let the wild rumpus begin”
TYPES OF PLAY
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Different types of play
have different benefits
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Functional play
Constructive play
Symbolic play
Games with rules
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Extending play
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If you pretend, children
will begin to pretend too
Begins as functional
becomes more symbolic
Unimaginative play =
immature play
Games with rules can be
symbolic
What is the connection between
mirror neurons and play?
What do children pay attention to?
Role of emotions…
Development of feeling/thoughts
MIRROR NEURONS
AND PLAY
PLAY AND SELF-REGULATION
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Rapid growth in pre-frontal cortex where selfregulation occurs
Self-regulation predicts academic performance in 1st
grade more than cognitive performance
A child from at risk family who has self-regulation does
better than even middle class child who doesn’t
possess these skills
No self-regulation…you don’t know if you know
something unless the teacher says you do
SELF-REGULATION
Marshmallow Experiment
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 Inhibitory
and effortful self-control
 Working memory
 Cognitive flexibility
SELF-REGULATION CHANGES THE BRAIN
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Being regulated by another person (to internalize
standards). Teacher regulation is not the same as selfregulation and this is apparent when children misbehave
out of the view of the teacher.
Regulated other people (shows the child is thinking about
the rules/standards and applying them). This is often seen
in tattling.
Self-regulating. This occurs when children voluntarily apply
rules to self-not mere obedience.
Theory into Practice and Practice Driving Theory
REGGIO EMILIA APPROACH
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
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Following WWII
Founder Loris Malaguzzi
Child rich in potential –
Citizen with rights
Hundred Languages of
Children
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Inherent genius of each child
Process of learning –
demonstration of learning
Languages – symbols systems
to promote understanding
Make learning visible
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Not a curriculum
Not a model
The place theory and
practice touch like the magic
moment when night
becomes day
PRINCIPLES & VALUES OF REGGIO EMILIA APPROACH
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The image of the child
Children’s relationships and
interactions
The role of the parent
The role of space
ATILIER - ART STUDIO
EXCITING
ENVIRONMENTS
Interactive Areas
Construction - big and small
Dramatic play and movement
Music exploration
Nature explorations
Book area
Mini-atelier: painting, drawing,
sculpture, weaving, composition
Message
Center
Design Elements
Color/ Light/ Transperancy/
Reflection/ Mirrors
Texture/ Nature/ Shapes/ Lines
Continuity between inside and out
Complexity of ideas - Layers/
Different Perspectives
Organization and freedom
Variety of work spaces-heights,
levels
Focusd - Nothing by chance
Use of cloth/mobiles to soften
COLOR & LIGHT
CONSTRUCTION AREAS
PRINCIPLES & VALUES
Teachers and children as partners in learning
 Curriculum as a process of inviting and
sustaining learning
 The many languages of children
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CITY PROJECT
Game
Board of
the City
Drawing Explorations
Constructing
The City of
Reggio Emilia
Projecting a transperancy of
the city on the construction
site
EXPLORING
COMPOSITION
Composing
Nature
Collages on
Nature
Pictures
Steps in a composition
Collage
with White
Things
Color compositions with watercolors
with inspiration from Kandinsky
ART EXPLORATIONS
Paper making center
Moving from 2D to 3D
COLOR EXPLORATIONS
PRINCIPLES AND VALUES
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The power of documentation
Documentation is listening - listening changes you - courage of doubt
Narrates a learning story
Gives life and value to the learning experience
Reinterpret and re-elaborate on the process
Occurs on many levels
Day-to-day traces: diaries, work, dialogue
Display panels as a memory and history of learning
Valuing process
Uncovers personal meaning, understanding, and learning
Emerge from invisibility
Creates culture
THE BRAIN
DOCUMENTATION