Transcript Brain Research and Classroom Instruction

Brain Research and ELL
Instruction
By Carla Carrizosa M. Ed.
National Board Certified Teacher
Anita Archer Explicit Instruction Trainer
Tier III Project G.L.A.D. Trainer
Carla Carrizosa 2013
Purpose of Session
Participants will be able to:
• Understand how the brain learns -by Dr. David
Sousa and Judy Willis M.D.
• Understand which strategies are best to use for
the instruction of English Language Learners
Carla Carrizosa 2013
Writing
• Research by Jean-Luc Velay and Anne Mangen at
the University of Stavanger’s Reading Centre in
Norway
– The act of handwriting activates the brain regions
that help boost recall - Emanuel Medical CenterHealth Day, 2011
• http://www.uis.no/research-and-phd-studies/researchareas/school-and-learning/learningenvironment/better-learning-through-handwritingarticle29782-8869.html
Jean-Luc Velay & Anne Mangen, Health Day
Writing
• Students personalize information to be learned,
activating the areas of the brain that help form
memories.
– Draw a sketch of their visualization
– Communicate them to a partner – Pair share
= Multiple brain pathways will be stimulated to
enter long term memory because they have
personalization and interacted with the information
Judy Willis M.D., Ignite, 2006
How the Brain Learns by Dr. David A.
Sousa
• Learning is emotional = Long term memory
(examples)
• An individual will remember curriculum content in
which they have made an emotional investment.
• A specific emotionally or physically charged event
will make its way through the neural pathway of the
emotionally pre-activated limbic system into memory
storage – can be conscious or unconscious. Willis p.
13
– Amygdala is stimulated with the positive emotions of
joy, contentment, play and comfort = better working
memory and problem solving skills
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learns,
Chapter 3, 2006
Brain Research
Emotions
The Learning Environment
(Classroom)
Positive climate lends to
endorphins in blood, which
give a feeling of euphoria
and stimulate frontal lobes
(planning, high level thinking
and focus occur)
Negative climate leads to
Cortisol in blood, which
raises anxiety level and
refocuses frontal lobe to
flight or fight
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learns,
Chapter 3, 2006
Learning Content
Instructional activities which
get students emotionally
connected to the content of
the learning
Impact = Relationships
• Establish relationships with students.
– Own
– Personal story- Russian newcomer
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
Brain Research
• Optimal Learning occurs between 7 a.m.
to around 12 p.m. for
pre/postadolescents and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
for adolescents
• Time when teaching and learning require
more effort 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. for
pre/postadolescents and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
for adolescents
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn,
Chapter 3, 2006
Brain Research
Teach New Material First
Degree of Retention
Prime Time 1
Prime Time 2
Practice
Down time
New Information
0 min 5 min
10
min
15
20
25
min
min
min
Time in Minutes
Closure
30
min
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learns,
Chapter 3, 2006
35
min
40
min
Lesson Length
Brain Research
20 min
Prime Time
40 min
Rehearsal
Prime Time 2
80 min.
0
20
40
60
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
80
Brain Research
Lesson Length
20 min.
Divide into 20
minute segments
Prime Time 1
40 min.
Rehearsal
Prime Time 2
Divide into 20
minute segments
80 min.
0
20
40
60
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
80
Brain Research
• Impact = Immediacy
– Instruction of new concepts begins immediately
• Begin new concept instruction immediately
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
Brain Research
• Grey Matter and Adolescences
– The prefrontal cortex is the last part of the brain to
mature (11 girls 12 in boys spurt of growth in the
frontal cortex) – pruning of synapses consolidates
learning and strengthens them -loss of gray matter
– Prefrontal cortex is responsible for:
• Emotional stability- mood modulation
• Moral reasoning, judgment, and executive functions such as
concentration, planning, delayed gratification, and
prioritizing. Willis p. 67 a sense of community is vital
Judy Willis MD , Ignite, 2006
Brain Research
– Link something from the learner’s past = meaning
to the new learning
– Closure strategy - journal writing = Ss make
connections to previous knowledge and organize
concepts for long term storage - Sousa
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn,
Chapter 4, 2006
Brain Research
• Readers must possess a word in their mental
dictionary to recognize the print
• Children learn vocabulary words when they
are explicitly taught individual words and
word-learning strategies
• Direct instruction is effective for teaching
difficult words representing complex concepts
which are not part of the child’s everyday
experience
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learns,
Chapter 5, 2006
Brain Research
• Review
– Learning engages the entire person (cognitive,
affective, and psychological)
– Immediate instruction is necessary
– Emotions affect all learning, retention, and recall
– Past experience affect new learning
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn,
Chapter 8, 2006
Brain Research
• What did you learn about the brain?
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
Quote
“The limits of my language mean
the limits of my world”
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
The ELL Brain
• Lexicon – The lexicon of a
person is all the words they
commonly use
David A. Sousa, How the ELL Brain Learns,
Chapter 1, 2011
• Decoding of words (example /d/ /o/ /g/)
which are familiar will activate the lexical
entry for that word (four legs, furry, wags tail,
..)
• Use multi-sensory approaches and deep
knowledge of words beyond dictionary
definitions
• Schemata – (restaurants and toast)
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
The ELL Brain
• Size of mental lexicon = the richness of the
exposure to vocabulary word in their native
language
– Reliable predictor of how well student will learn to
read
• The ELL brain will attempt to match a new
English word with its counterpart stored in the
child’s native language lexicon.
David A. Sousa, How the ELL Brain Learns,
Chapter 1, 2011
How the ELL Brain Learns- by Dr. David
A Sousa
English Vocabulary Size at Three Years of
Age in Various Economic Groups
Social Economic Group
Average Number of Words in Vocabulary
Upper
1,116
Middle-Lower
749
Welfare
525
David A. Sousa, How the ELL Brain Learns,
Chapter 1, 2011
The ELL Brain
• Acquiring vocabulary is not enough
– EL’s must also KNOW what the words means
– English is a contextual language - a word can have
a different meaning depending on context (Ex. run
has a 120 definitions context is critical to the
definition)
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learns,
Chapter 3, 2006
The ELL Brain
• Wang, Spencer, & Xing, 2009
• Metacognition
– Critical for learning another language
• Skill used by highly proficient readers of any language
• Skills include
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Prereading
Prewriting
Word Analysis
Methods for monitoring their reading comprehension
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn,
Chapter 5, 2006
The ELL Brain
• Critical thinking
– When students are taught how to deal with
unknown vocabulary to recognize Spanish
cognates in English and to use their background
knowledge and to ask questions
– Students developed more awareness of their own
cognitive behavior (metacognitive) as well as a
positive attitude (emotional) towards reading
both of which are characteristics of skilled readers
Research (Jimenez, 1997;Jimenez & Gamez, 1996)
David A. Sousa, How the ELL Brain Learns,
Chapter 5, 2011
The ELL Brain
• Discuss the lexicon.
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
Instruction
• Student needs to understand 80-90 percent of
the words in a sentence, paragraph, or test
question in order to comprehend text
• Levels of word knowledge
1. No knowledge
2. General sense of the word
3. Narrow, context-bound knowledge
4. Forgetting the word- knows the word but cannot
recall, cannot apply in a meaningful way
5. Depth of word knowledge- knows it means two
different things in other languages, use of idioms
Margarita Calderon, Teaching Reading &
Comprehension to English Learners, K-5,
Chapter 6, 2011
Instruction
• Choral reading. In grades 1-6
• Key words and pictures to help make
connections
• Examples and non-examples. Enhances
understanding
• Easily Pronounced Words. Initially select
words which are easy for EL’s to pronounce
correctly
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learns, 2006
The Brain
• Specialized visual areas of the brain engage in
print devoted to the perception of objects
• Simultaneously higher-order brain regions are
engaged in phonological and semantic
processing of words
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
Instruction
• Affective Filter
• Tools
• Model
– Think-out-Louds- Teacher or Student
– Metacognition Strategies- student recognizes the
strategies themselves reflect on what they did right
• Pair-share- Reciprocal peer teaching
• Ball toss – Willis p.60
• Immediate feedback – video games - Dophimine
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
Instruction
• Select words that are:
– Unknown
– Are critical to passage understanding
– Students will encounter in future
• Focus on Tier Two words
• Academic Vocabulary
• Select words that are more difficult to obtain, words
with:
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abstract versus concrete references
unknown concept
not adequately explained within the text
Examples and non examples Willis p. 60
Anita L. Archer & Charles Hughes, Chapter
3, 2011
Instruction
• Research done by Carlo et al. 2004
• Vocabulary Instruction
– 10-12 vocabulary words a week
– In the context of a thematic unit
– Teachers use high level vocabulary
– Word association tasks
– Analysis of word roots
– Cloze
David A. Sousa, How the ELL Brain Learns,
Chapter 5, 2011
Instruction
• Cognates
Using the L1 to facilitate the English form-to meaning
linkage allows more of the brain’s cognitive resources
to be focused on the English form itself free-up the
brain to focus on learning the more contextualized
types of word knowledge
Use cognates to help students see the connections
between their language and English through the
roots, prefixes, and suffixes
False Cognates
– Library not Libreria/bookstore
– Story not historia/history
– Exit not exito/success
David A. Sousa, How the ELL Brain Learns,
Chapter 3, 2011
Instruction
• Teaching Tier I, II, and III words
– Tier I
• Basic words needed to communicate, read, and write
– Tier II
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Information processing words
Complex words
Longer phrases
Polysemous words –words with multiple meanings, use meaning in the text –
(trunk)
Transition words
Idioms – break a leg –get your head out of the clouds- he is in heaven- let’s get
crack’n
Connectors
Sophisticated words used for specificity in descriptions and rich discussions
– Tier III
• Subject specific, and content based
Margarita Calderon, Teaching Reading &
Comprehension to English Learners, K-5,
Chapter 5 & 6, 2011
Instruction
Tier II Words
Polysemous words (homonyms or homographs) across academic content areas
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Solution
Table
Round
Divide
Prime
Round
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Trunk
State
Power
Cell
Right (Go right then left)
Radical
Leg (the last leg of the race)
Margarita Calderon, Teaching Reading &
Comprehension to English Learners, K-5,
Chapter 5 & 6, 2011
Instruction
• Tier II Words
– Homophones
Sum
Cell
Weather
Blew
Whole
Some
Sell
Whether
Blue
Hole (Imagine a whole cake)
Margarita Calderon, Teaching Reading &
Comprehension to English Learners, K-5
2011
Instruction
Students in small groups – static – no
movement
•Two grade levels below in reading
•Next (January) DIBELS at grade level
Instruction
Instruction
Stimulate Senses
• Meaningful Contexts. Himmele and Himmele (2009)
• Emotions. Create language rich lessons in which ELLs
can hear the language in contexts that are
comprehensible and engage their emotions through
activities that are relevant and authentic. Ss can
celebrate their emotional attachment to the learning
• Student-centered lessons increases engagement –
Revolutionary war = Ss who are mechanical can
research ammunition and arms. Willis p. 43
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
Instruction
Stimulate Senses Con’t
• Interact with the information they need to learn =
moves from working memory to executive function
which includes interpreting, analyzing processing
practice and discussing information. Willis p. 11
• Use novel events – surprises– brains are encoded and are stimulated
by surprise (predict one effect and experience a different one)
• Open ended questioning – personal opinions valued– establishes
memorable connections penetrating through the brains circuits to
relate to tan build upon existing memory pathways. p. 12 improves
critical thinking skills
• Hands-on = Retention due to the trigger of both stored episodic or
event memories (relational memory). p. 14
• Role play or pantomime
Judy Willis M.D., Ignite, 2006
Instruction
• Pop-ins – popcorn reading even during mid
sentence – keeps Ss following text while
listening to others p. 21
• Information repeated in in multiple ways there
is priming process that makes encoding of the
information more efficient…writing vocab
work in a sentence, hearing classmates read
their sentence and the using the word in a
conversation = long term memory p. 29
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
Instruction
• Visual Cues
• Select important words in the passage write
them down on board or wall and rehearse
them.
• Seeing the words repeatedly adds visual
information in addition to saying them aloud.
Himmele and Himmele (2009)
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
Instruction
Visual Cues Con’t
• Graphic Organizers- Willis p. 17- helps students see
relationships and pattern new information
– Separated into chunks = student can remember
– Connect information in meaningful relationships
– Higher cognitive process of using information – rational
memory will be available for critical thinking skills and
other executive functions for use in problem solving
– Concept Maps provides framework for retrieval
– Visual timelines using words or pictures on paper
– Color coding helps students pay more attention and
remember information more successfully
– Visualization stimulus for brain circuitry that will be called
upon in the learning process
David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learn, 2006
Instruction
Project G.L.A.D.
Instruction
Project G.L.A.D.
Review
Participants you can:
• Understand how the brain learns according to Dr. David
Sousa
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Emotional
Optimal Engagement Times
Background Knowledge
Direct and explicit instruction
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Choral Reading
Examples and Non-Examples
Cognates
Affective Filter
Tools for Comprehending Text
Carla Carrizosa 2013
Quote
“Learning, as a language based activity, is
fundamentally and profoundly dependent on
vocabulary knowledge. Learners must have
access to the meanings of words that
teachers, or their surrogates use (to learn
something new).”
Baker, Simmons, & Kame’enui
Baker, Simmons, & Kame’enui