BRAIN-BASED
COMPATIBLE LEARNING
Teaching with the brain in mind
Brain-based education
is the "engagement of
strategies based on
principles derived from an
understanding of the
brain."
CORE PRINCIPLES OF
BRAIN BASED
COMPATIBLE LEARNING
This form of learning also encompasses such
educational concepts as:
mastery learning experiential learning
learning styles problem-based
multiple intelligences learning
cooperative learning movement education.
practical simulations
THE BRAIN IS A PARALLEL
PROCESSOR
The brain can
perform several
activities at once.
LEARNING ENGAGES THE
ENTIRE PHYSIOLOGY
Any factor that
yields an effect
to the body’s
physiology
affects our
capacity to learn.
THE SEARCH FOR MEANING
IS INNATE
The search for
meaning is
based on
survival and
inherent to the
human brain.
THE SEARCH FOR MEANING
OCCURS THROUGH
PATTERNING
Meaningful
organization and
categorization of
information.
THE BRAIN PROCESSES
WHOLES AND PARTS
SIMULTANEOUSLY
There is evidence of
brain laterality;
however, the two
hemispheres are
inextricably
interactive.
THE BRAIN INVOLVES BOTH
FOCUSED ATTENTION AND
PERIPHERAL PERCEPTION
The brain absorbs information of
which it is directly aware, but it also
incorporates the one that lie beyond
the field of attention.
THE BRAIN INVOLVES BOTH
CONSCIOUS AND
UNCONSCIOUS
PROCESSES
Signals that are peripherally
perceived enter the brain without the
learners’ awareness and interact at
unconscious levels.
LEARNING IS ENHANCED
BY CHALLENGE AND
INHIBITED BY THREAT
The brain downshifts under
perceived threat and learns
optimally when appropriately
challenged.
EACH BRAIN IS UNIQUE
We all have the same set of
systems, but they are
integrated differently in every
brain.
BRAIN RESEARCH
FINDINGS
Language
As much as vocabulary and foreign
language can be learned before
puberty up to age 12, neuronal loss
and synaptic pruning make the
acquisition of second language more
difficult with each passing year.
Readiness to Learn
According to Healy (1990), children
today are less prepared for school
than they were one or two
generations ago.
School Readiness
School readiness begins at
conception. The womb is the first
opportunity to get children ready for
school.
Brain cells are the first to develop
during conception at a rate of 15
million neurons per hour.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is learned in
the first year. Children learn how to
react in hundreds of simple cause
and effect situations with parents.
If a child is exposed to stress and
violence, glucose intake is consumed
which is intended for cognitive
functions.
The Motor Brain
Early motor
stimulation aids
in reading,
writing, attention,
memory and
sensory
development.
The Motor Brain
Infants who were
given periodic
vestibular
stimulation (inner
ear) develop
vision and
hearing earlier
(Restak, 1979).
The Motor Brain
According to
Kotulak (1996),
by age four, you
have essentially
designed a brain
that is not going
to change very
much more.
The Visual Brain
The child needs a flood of
information from a variety of sources.
The Visual Brain
According to Tonge (1990),
television provides no time for
reflection, interactions, or three-
dimensional visual development.
IMPORTANT
Any child of average intelligence can
learn anything given the right
stimulation and challenge and good
teacher.
THE BRAIN AS THE
MEANING MAKER
Learners Then
In the 50s,
learners are
exposed to few
books and
magazines. They
were limited to
only 3 TV
channels.
Learners Now
The 21st century
learner is exposed to
innumerable books
and magazines,
hundreds of TV
channels, MTV, e-mail,
thousands of websites,
cell phones and other
gadgets.
Learners Now
Facebook is now the prevailing
medium of conversation and
socialization for the learner. He/she
could retrieve huge information at a
lightning speed.
Meaningful Activities
When something is meaningful
during reading, there is usually more
activity. This is measured by glucose
consumption in the left frontal,
temporal or parietal lobe.
Meaningful Activities
Meaningful activities are
remembered.
Meaningful Activities
Learning takes
place when there
are patterns or
graphic illustrations
of a mental model
and when materials
are made
meaningful.
Meaningful Activities
Quality should
be above
quantity.
THE KEY TO LEARNING:
ATTENTION
The more attention the brain
pays to a given stimulus, the
more elaborately the information
will be encoded and retained …
Better attention always equals
better learning.
-John Medina Brain rules
Attention Span
For K-Grade 2, attention span is from
5 to 9 minutes.
For Grade 2-7, attention span is from
8 to 12 minutes.
For Grade 8-12, attention span is
from 12 to 15 minutes.
Attention Span
Age
determines
attention
span.
How do you get the attention
of your students?
Brain and Attention
The normal
human brain
works in periods
of high levels of
attention,
followed by
periods of low
level of attention.
Brain and Attention
The brain needs downtime. This
allows the new synapses that were
formed to strengthen. They can only
strengthen when no other
neurostimuli are competing with
them.
Brain and Attention
For novice learners,
it may require 2 to 5
minutes of
processing time
every 10 to 15
minutes. Attention
cycles every 90-110
minutes.
Brain and Attention
To get the
attention of
students, provide
a strong
contrast.
Brain and Attention
There is no such thing as a student
who is not paying attention. The
brain is always paying attention to
something, although it may not focus
on relevant information or on what
the teacher intends.
Brain and Attention
Too much attention to anything may
be counter adaptive. By making
successive attentional demands,
teachers can create resentful
learners.
Brain and Attention
Learning comes through indirect
acquisition such as peer discussion
or environmental stimuli. Engage
learner’s attention only 20-40% of
the time. Keep attentional demands
to short burst of no longer than the
learner’s attention span of attention
in minutes.
Brain and Attention
According to Eric Jensen, evidence
suggests that the brain’s ability to
stay attentive for extended periods of
time is not only rare by also difficult.
BRAIN GYM
ENRICHING THE BRAIN
Cerebellum and Movement
The cerebellum
takes up just
one-tenth of the
brain by volume,
but it contains
over half of all its
neurons.
Cerebellum and Movement
Exercise and physical activities
strengthen cerebellum and corpus
callosum. Exercise enhances growth
and greater connections between
neurons.
Cerebellum and Movement
Children engaged in daily physical
education show superior motor
fitness, academic performance and
attitude towards school as compared
to their counterparts who do not
participate in daily physical activities.
Cerebellum and Movement
Those who
exercised 75
minutes a week
demonstrated
quicker reactions,
thought better and
remembered more.
Cerebellum and Movement
Chronic stress releases chemicals
that kill neurons in the critical area of
the brain for long term memory
function. Exercise makes children
feel less stressed, feel better about
themselves, and feel more ready to
learn in school. (www.fitnesslines.com)
Cerebellum and Movement
According to Kotulak (1996), there is
a link between violence and lack of
movement.
Cerebellum and Movement
Misguided teachers who
constantly tell their
students to sit down and
be quiet imply a
preference for working
with a grove of trees, not
a classroom of students.
Art
A strong art foundation builds
creativity, concentration, problem
solving, self-efficiency, coordination,
values attention and self-discipline.
Music
Learning and performing music
usually exercises the brain – not
merely by developing special music
skills, but also strengthening the
synapses between brain cells.
According to a study by University of
Toronto researchers, organized music
lessons appear to benefit children's IQ
and academic performance—and the
more years the student takes lessons, the
greater the effect. The study found that
taking music lessons in childhood was a
clear predictor of better grades in high
school and a higher IQ in adulthood.
(health.msn.com)
Novelty
Novelty is important. Change in the
décor on the classroom walls every
two to four weeks is valuable. Have
the students do it for best
enrichment.
MOTIVATION
Motivating the Brain
According to Pelletier, et.al. (1991)
and John (1993), short-term rewards
can temporarily stimulate simple
physical responses but more
complex behaviors are usually
impaired, not helped by rewards.
Motivating the Brain
Studies confirm that humans are just
happy to seek new experiences and
behaviors with no perceivable reward
or impetus.
Temporary Demotivation
Sometimes
students go in and
out of “motivating”
states, but they
occasionally
engage in learning
in some ways.
“There is no such thing as
unmotivated student. There
are, however, students in
unmotivated states.”
-Eric Jensen
Rewards and the Brain
The brain is perfectly satisfied to
pursue novelty and curiosity,
embrace relevance, and bathe in the
feedback successes. It makes its
own rewards by producing opiates,
which are used to regulate stress
and pain.
Rewards and the Brain
External rewards are not
good for the brain. They
provide little or no lasting
pleasure. Students who
brains are rewarded by
the satisfaction of
completing homework can
work well in cooperative
learning activities.
Rewards and the Brain
In a study done among 8th graders
who were given exemption from a
final exam in Los Angeles Country,
some students may actually know
the material covered in the exam but
be unmotivated to demonstrate it
(Colvin, 1996).
Promoting Intrinsic
Motivation
According to Ford (1992), if students
are intrinsically motivated, several
factors present include compelling
goals, positive beliefs and productive
emotions.
Promoting Intrinsic
Motivation
Motivated brain needs quantity,
variety, elimination of
embarrassment, different learning
styles, multiple intelligences, well-
defined goals and positive thinking.
BRAIN AND CHALLENGE
Challenge
Too much or too
little challenge
will let students
give up or get
bored.
Challenge http://www.brain
week.co.nz/Cont
Students with ents/TryGrowing
more challenging
and demanding
student lives had
more dendritic
branching than
those who did
not.
Challenge vs Feedback
Challenge
involves problem
solving, critical
thinking, use of
relevant projects
and complex
activities.
Challenge vs Feedback
Feedback should
be specific,
multi-modal,
timely, and
learner-
controlled.
EMOTIONS
EMOTION
DRIVES
ATTENTION
DRIVES
LEARNING
DRIVES
PERFORMANCE
Importance of Emotions
Emotions not
only help us
make better
decisions faster,
but we make
better quality,
value-based
decisions.
Importance of Emotions
Emotions
provide a more
activated and
chemically
stimulated brain,
which helps us
recall better.
IMPORTANT
When emotions are expressed, all
systems are united and made whole.
When emotions are repressed, our
network pathways get blocked,
stopping the flow of the vital feel-
good unifying chemicals that run
both our biology and our behavior.
IMPORTANT
Threats from
inside the
classroom and
from the teacher
prevent dendrite
connections.
IMPORTANT
Too much and
too little stress
prevents
learning.
RECLAIM your Classroom
R-elaxation
E-environment
C-color
L-long term memory
A-arrange(organize)
I-intution (emotion)
M-movement
THANK YOU!
