Neuroscience in the Classroom
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Transcript Neuroscience in the Classroom
NEUROSCIENCE
IN THE
CLASSROOM
Presentation created by Amelia Warshaw
Big Ideas
Automaticity
(nonconscious vs. conscious processing)
Multiple Platforms of Input
(mixed-media, thematic, and interdisciplinary learning)
Self-Deception
(and better test results)
A Little Basic Neuroscience
Neural Connections and Memory
Basic Science
Neurons fired during recall = neurons fired
during learning
Repetition myelination (wrapping in fat
cells) which strengthens pathway
Allows
for faster and more automatic recall
Big Idea #1- Automaticity
Automaticity:
point at which something
has been so ingrained in brain that recall
is automatic and nonconscious.
Automated
behaviors are faster, require less
work for brain
Michael
S. Gazzaniga: “conscious processes are
expensive: they require not only a lot of time, but also
a lot of memory. Nonconscious processes, on the other
hand, are fast and rule-driven.”
Creating Automaticity
Requires
repetition and “drilling”
Creating
nonconscious shortcuts through
certain centers of the brain means that we
can respond quickly to certain stimuli
“Acquiring
automaticity” helps us learn
new skills and not require new deliberate
integration and output every time
Examples- Automaticity
Automaticity in everyday life: playing piano,
sports
Commercials and marketing create
automaticity
Ever had the experience of trying to pick out cold
medicine in the pharmacy? Having too many options can
make a decision impossible. Commercials aid in this
process because they make that choice automatic.
Obviously you’re going to choose Nyquil because it’s the
“Best Sleep You’ve Ever Had With a Cold… Medicine”
Automaticity in the Classroom
Drilling easier test experience
Automatically go through the
processes of the problem
Eliminates the “freezing up” that can
happen during a test when stress
and anxiety block certain pathways
Automaticity in the Classroom
Choosing fewer points when
teaching students learn more
Giving students too many minute
facts and accessory information
decreases automaticity and
retention
Automaticity and the DM
Allowing students to experience and
exercise DM pathway strengthens it and
makes its engagement more automatic and
efficient
Nonconcious and automatic toggling
between DM and extrinsic mode
Big Idea #2Multiple Platforms of Input
Multiple platforms of input create
multiple pathways for information recall
Memories are stored in the form of
synaptic connections between neurons
The more pathways or triggers linking
learned concepts easier to access
information.
Media
Example of multiple platforms:
different kinds of media
Ipads
Anti-war
example
Movies
Songs
Newspaper
Textbook
articles
Thematic and Interdisciplinary Study
Another example of multiple
platforms: thematic and
interdisciplinary study
“Isolationism
Coordination
The
vs. Interventionism” example
History and English departments
Great Gatsby
While learning about the 1920s and prohibition
Big Idea #3- Self-Deception
Robert Trivers’ The Folly of Fools: a
look at the evolution of human
behavior
The two main factors that determine our
behavior are deception and
self-deception
Study:
Self-Deception and “Saving Face”
Human tendency to back up our choices and
“save face” and justify first decisions
Trivers presents a study about chimpanzees asked to choose
between a yellow and blue m&m
He found that if the monkeys first chose a blue m&m,
if then asked to choose between a red and the
rejected yellow m&m, then the chimps would choose
the red
Why Not Choose a Yellow M&M?
Subjects felt compelled to justify their
rejection of an arbitrary choice
Adaptive value/relevance:
Human beings feel compelled to back up
their choices (and deny correction) to
“save face” and protect their egos
Self Deception in the Classroom
Self-deception barrier to learning
When looking at test results students
often blame a “mean teacher” or an
“unfair test” and don’t admit to
difficulty with material
Self-Deception in the Classroom
Suggestion:
Meta cognition: experience of self-awareness
(DM engagement)
Build in time for reflection after going over a test
Go over tests as a class
Have students mark mistakes as “silly” or a problem
with comprehension
Acknowledging mistakes helps student to avoid selfdeception through dismissing whole experience as
“unfair”
Bibliography
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/theneuron.html
http://www.psypress.com/groome/figures/
http://www.brainwaves.com/brain_diagram.html
Trivers, Robert. The Folly of Fools: The Logic of Deceit and
Self-deception in Human Life. New York, NY: Basic, 2011.
Print.
Gazzaniga, Michael S. Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the
Science of the Brain. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2011.
Print.