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Educational Leadership:Revisiting Teacher Learning:Brain-Frie...

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Saved by 32 people (0 private), first by anonymouse user on 2009-06-17


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As teachers participate in learning activities, how do their brains determine what—if anything—to take away? And how can we use insights into the brain's workings to improve learning activities for teachers?

Highlighted by karenjanowski

The brain's biological mechanisms responsible for learning and remembering are roughly the same for learners of different ages. However, the efficiency of these mechanisms varies with the degree of development of the brain regions involved (Shaw et al., 2006). Emotional and social factors and past experiences also enter into play in terms of the brain's efficiency and an individual learner's motivation. Because these factors are more developed in adults than in children, they have greater influence over adults than they have over children.

Highlighted by twiggy44

the efficiency of these mechanisms varies with the degree of development of the brain regions involved

Highlighted by becampy

Emotional and social factors and past experiences also enter into play in terms of the brain's efficiency and an individual learner's motivation. Because these factors are more developed in adults than in children, they have greater influence over adults than they have over children.

Highlighted by tech4teachers

maging studies show that regions in the brain's emotional and cognitive processing areas are activated when an individual is motivated to perform learning behaviors.

Highlighted by twiggy44

This inherent desire to learn to do something simply for the satisfaction of doing the job well is an intrinsic motivation. Four key factors affect the intensity of a learner's intrinsic motivation in any given situation: emotions, feedback, past experiences, and meaning. These factors are all connected and influence one another to some degree.

Highlighted by tech4teachers

Four key factors affect the intensity of a learner's intrinsic motivation in any given situation: emotions, feedback, past experiences, and meaning

Highlighted by jvandertie

Four key factors affect the intensity of a learner's intrinsic motivation in any given situation: emotions, feedback, past experiences, and meaning.

Highlighted by twiggy44

Our brain pays more attention to stimuli and events that are accompanied by emotions.

Highlighted by mmkrill

attention to stimuli and events that are accompanied by emotions

Highlighted by becampy

on 2009-06-18 by becampy

Learning MUST be emotional? salient What a toll on teachers and students?

on 2009-07-06 by awyatt

I think this is one reason why multimedia is so powerful. Adding all the visual cues, facial and body language, as well as audibles add a huge amount. I do an exercise with my class where we READ the Gettysburg Address and then watch a video that has the same text paired with photographs of the carnage of war. There is no comparison in terms of the effect produced.

How we feel about a learning situation often affects attention and memory more quickly than what we think about it.

Highlighted by mmkrill

How we feel about a learning situation often affects attention and memory more quickly than what we think about

Highlighted by twiggy44

(the limbic area

Highlighted by becampy

on 2009-06-18 by becampy

Limbic system not limbic area, the system includes the prefrontal cortex, while the limbic area could be considered in "more primitive" area of the brain Let's not forget the the role of neurotransmitters which is more than endorphis, cortisol and dopamine (i.e. responder to crack)

Adults may also come to a learning activity with strong emotions. But a fully developed prefrontal cortex enables most adults to consciously dampen their emotions.

Highlighted by twiggy44

When people feel positive about a learning situation, chemicals called endorphins and dopamine become active. Endorphins provide a feeling of euphoria. Dopamine stimulates the prefrontal cortex, keeping the individual attentive, interactive, and likely to remember what he or she experiences. Negative feelings, on the other hand, cause the hormone cortisol to enter the bloodstream. Cortisol puts the brain into survival mode; this shifts the brain's attention away from learning so it can deal with the source of stress. Instead of learning, the brain remembers the pressure and registers these kinds of situations as unpleasant.

Highlighted by tech4teachers

Endorphins provide a feeling of euphoria

Highlighted by becampy

on 2009-06-18 by becampy

When the student is heavily involved in physical education, maybe

Negative feelings, on the other hand, cause the hormone cortisol to enter the bloodstream. Cortisol puts the brain into survival mode; this shifts the brain's attention away from learning so it can deal with the source of stress. Instead of learning, the brain remembers the pressure and registers these kinds of situations as unpleasant.

Highlighted by twiggy44

  • Does the program offer learning experiences associated with moderate challenge, excitement, creativity, and joy so teachers will be more likely to remember what they learn and implement it in the classroom?
  • Does the program speak to a problem that teachers identified rather than some outside entity? If not, can we connect this content to teachers' concerns?
  • Are teachers excited about this initiative?
  • Have we included opportunities for hands-on participation and activities that address a variety of learning styles?
  • Will participants give leaders feedback on the program—and receive regular feedback?

    • Highlighted by tech4teachers

    Are teachers excited about this initiative

    Highlighted by becampy

    Feedback is a key contributor to motivation. The need to be valued is a potent emotional force, and positive feedback fills that need

    Highlighted by jvandertie

    Feedback is a key contributor to motivation. The need to be valued is a potent emotional force, and positive feedback fills that need. In our professional development with West Orange teachers, each participant presented a minilesson and received constructive feedback.

    Highlighted by twiggy44

    Effective feedback is timely. The sooner an observer provides reinforcement for a teacher's desirable behavior (such as trying out a new instructional strategy), the more likely that teacher is to repeat that behavior. Using peer coaches (teacher pairs who observe in each other's classrooms) is one way to provide frequent job-embedded professional development that uses nonthreatening feedback.

    Highlighted by jvandertie

    You're doing a nice job" doesn't help that person's brain explore and apply modifications to behavior that might lead to continued success

    Highlighted by jvandertie

    A better example of positive feedback might be, "Your students seemed engaged when you had them create graphs using data from their online survey."

    Highlighted by jvandertie

    Specific, positive feedback stimulates the prefrontal cortex to reflect on ways to improve performance

    Highlighted by jvandertie

    the release of cortisol

    Highlighted by becampy

    on 2009-06-18 by becampy

    Cortisol is released from the adrenal glands atop your kidneys in times of severe stress, as in fight or flight. Not something to be promoted in a classroom

    Past experiences always affect new learning. As we learn something new, our brain transfers into working memory any long-stored items it perceives as related to the new information. These items interact with new learning to help us interpret information and extract meaning, which is part of the principle called transfer (Sousa, 2006).

    Highlighted by twiggy44

    Working memory draws on the individual's past experiences to help it answer two questions: Does this new information make sense? and Does this information have meaning for me personally? When both sense and meaning are present, the likelihood of long-term storage is high.

    Highlighted by twiggy44

    Use instruction modalities other than "telling." Participants need to see the strategy modeled and then apply it themselves soon thereafter. When teachers actively participate in a demonstration of the primacy-recency effect, for example, they more clearly recognize that the brain remembers best the first and last items presented in a learning episode—and they are more likely to sequence instruction with this phenomenon in mind

    Highlighted by jvandertie

    When teachers actively participate in a demonstration of the primacy-recency effect, for example, they more clearly recognize that the brain remembers best the first and last items presented in a learning episode—and they are more likely to sequence instruction with this phenomenon in mind.

    Highlighted by twiggy44

    Promote in-school study groups around the topic. As group members exchange new research and share in-class experiences, they can analyze why—and under what conditions—a strategy is effective. Participating in study groups helps teachers who are reluctant to try out new ideas gain confidence

    Highlighted by jvandertie

    The field of education is strewn with the corpses of well-intentioned programs that failed to lead to action because developers failed to give teachers motivating feedback; connect new learning to relevant past teaching; establish long-term supports (such as peer coaching or action research); or consider how the program's approach might interact with teachers' emotions. In

    Highlighted by jvandertie