Transcript Brain-based Learning

Response to Instruction and Intervention Institute
Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12
August 4-5, 2010

John Breur, executive administrator of
the James S. McDonnell Foundation:
…if brain-based education is true, then
“the pyramids were built by aliens-----to house Elvis”.
is “engagement of the
strategies based on
principles derived from
an understanding of the
brain.”
~Eric Jensen
9217053
4915082637
Age Range
Working Memory in Number of Chunks
Minimum
Maximum
Average
Younger than 5
1
3
2
Between 5 and 14
3
7
5
14 and Older
5
9
7
 Experience
changes neural
connections.
 There is no reading gene.
 The brain prefers novel stimulus.
 The brain is hard-wired to mimic
and imitate.
Neurogenesis – the production of new
neurons in the human brain
 New neurons are highly correlated with
memory, mood, and learning
 Neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain
to rewire and remap itself
 Acute and chronic stress can have an
effect on brain function.


There are differences in the brain
according to gender:
Boys and girls see print on a page
differently.
Boys and girls
hear differently.
Educators can make positive and
significant changes in our brains in a
short amount of time.
 Teachers have to help neurons fire and
then provide continued experiences so
that these neurons wire together.


Summarize Key Points So Far

Add Your Own Thoughts

Pose Clarifying Questions
Adapted from Jay McTighe
 Reading
is a complex, rule-based
system that must be imposed on
biological structures that were
designed or evolved for other
reasons. (Fisher, Frey, & Lapp, 2009)
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor,
a Harvard
neuroscientist
who suffered a
major stroke at
age 37 recounts
her personal
perspective
regarding
learning to read
again.

There are no areas of the brain that
specialize in reading.

Reading is probably the most difficult
task we ask the young brain to
undertake.

Automaticity must be established.

The teaching of reading skills and
strategies to students must be addressed
across the content areas.
During Reading
Passage Reading Procedures

Read – Pause – Question
› Partner #1 reads. Partner #2 asks questions.
Students alternate as reader and listener.

Read – Pause – Record
› Partners alternate reading. Both students
record notes or entries on graphic organizer.

Read – Pause – Retell
› Partner #1 reads and Partner #2 retells
content. Alternate.
--Adapted from the work of Anita Archer

Summarize Key Points So Far

Add Your Own Thoughts

Pose Clarifying Questions
Adapted from Jay McTighe

The brain pays less attention to familiar
information.

The midbrain, deep inside the cerebrum,
responds better to novelty than the
familiar.

Summarize Key Points So Far

Add Your Own Thoughts

Pose Clarifying Questions
Adapted from Jay McTighe
Mirror neurons in our brains = imitative
reciprocity
 School experiences are highly social.
 Modeling for students is critical: this
might just be one of the most important
and under-reported findings for
educators this decade. (Fisher, Frey, & Lapp,

2009)

Every bit of evidence available suggests
that the human brain is designed for a
broad range of thinking patterns. So if
the brain is capable of higher-order
thinking, why do we see so little of it in
the normal course of student discussion
and performance? (Sousa, 2006)
Thinking is easier to describe than to
define.
 We do not teach the brain to think. We
can, however, encourage students to
use their innate thinking abilities to
process learning at higher levels of
complexity.


We need to work harder at teaching
students how to organize content in such
a way that it facilitates and promotes
higher-order thinking.
Modeling is critical as
teachers are valuable
role models.


Who was the second president of the
United States?

What are the similarities and differences
between the post-Civil War and postVietnam War periods?

Defend why we should or should not
have capital punishment.
Create
Critique
Alternative
Perspectives
Design, Invent
or compose
Simulations &
Modeling
Evaluate
Online
Research
Compare
and Contrast
80%
Expression
and
Visualization
Analyze
Apply
Understand
Remember
Explain
Drill
and
Practice
Demonstrate
20%

Summarize Key Points So Far

Add Your Own Thoughts

Pose Clarifying Questions
Adapted from Jay McTighe





Bruer, J. (1997). Education and the brain: a bridge too far.
Educational Researcher, 1-13.
Fisher, F., Frey, N., & Lapp, D. (2009). In a reading state of
mind: brain research, teacher modeling, and comprehension
instruction. Newark, DE: International Reading Association,
Inc.
Jensen, E. (2008). Brain-based education: a fresh look at
brain-based education. Phi Delta Kappan, 89, 408-417.
Sousa, D. (2006). How the Brain learns. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin Press.
Zambo, D., & Broze, W. (2009). Bright beginnings for boys:
engaging young boys is active literacy. Newark, DE:
International Reading Association.