I decided to test the blog for a summary of our
Term 1 learnings on the brain
YOUR MAGIC BRAIN
YOUR MAGIC BRAIN: Target
– for every child in the school to begin to be aware of this and for teachers
to refer to parts of the brain constantly!
● Has
three distinct brains in one:
-
An instinctive brain (often referred to as reptilian – just reacts
automatically without thought)
-
An emotional brain (often referred to as mammalian)
-
And the amazing cortex (thinking brain)
If every child knows this much, how can it be used
in the classroom??
In lining up for class Tom pushes Jack out of the
way so he can be first.
Teacher: Wow, that was a real ‘reptilian’
action Tom. Lets back up (rewind) and try again.
Allow a few seconds ‘wait time’ and then: Now, what
was it that you were trying to achieve?
Tom: I wanted to be first and he was in my way.
Teacher: He was first, so what else might you have
done?
Tom: I guess just be second or be quicker next
time.
Teacher: Or perhaps we could discuss in class and
take turns at being first or see if another child has another good suggestion?
Now, Tom - you used your mammalian brain to
decide what you wanted and then your thinking brain to find a solution which
was really responsible of you.
You could relate this then to 3 I’s – next
time I see you solving a problem without reacting first you might get a ‘I am
responsible’ or ‘I am a learner’ token.
THREE BRAINS IN ONE
THREE BRAINS IN ONE!
Please add this
information to last week’s to extend the student understanding of how their
brain works and how they can enhance their own learning. It is vital that
ALL levels in the school have this information to empower their learning.
Please cover in the next fortnight before we move on – This would be a good
time to implement the VAK (Visual, Audio, Kinesthetic test). I am
happy to help in any way – please ask! Kerri
YOUR LOWER BRAIN OR
BRAINSTEM – REPTILIAN BRAIN
It is an extension of the spinal
cord and controls our most basic, instinctive responses such as breathing and
heartbeat. Its nerves are connected with all parts of the brain and the
nervous system. It is joined to the cerebellum which co-ordinates
information for smooth muscular movement.
If you dissected your brain, at
the base of your skull you would find a segment almost identical to that found
in a lizard, crocodile or a bird. This is why scientists sometimes call
it the ‘reptilian brain.
Turn on a bright light and any
insect nearby will stop dead still. The bright light will send a signal
to its tiny reptilian brain. Drive toward a bird sitting on the road and
it will fly off an instant before you hit it: its reptilian brain has an
inbuilt program to flee.
There are certain things that
keep the Reptilian Brain happy e.g.: maintaining a sense of territorial space,
ritual, avoiding anxiety..etc. If the Reptilian Brain is not kept happy
and the learner becomes too cold, stressed, insecure ... etc then learning
becomes biologically impossible. Professional educators need to make sure their
learning environments are places of low emotional and physical stress if
learning is to be most effective.
THE CENTRAL PART OF YOUR BRAIN –
MIDBRAIN - LIMBIC SYSTEM – MAMMALIAN BRAIN – contains the thalamus, the
hypothalamus and the limbic system. Scientists say mammals kept their
reptilian brain but added to it.
This is the emotional centre of
your brain. Scientists call it the ‘limbic’ system (from the latin
word ‘limbus’ meaning ‘collar or ring’ because it wraps around
the brain-stem like a collar. Since emotional arousal is needed to
activate attention and memory, the limbic system is probably a key to the
learning sequence. The hypothalamus monitors the blood and controls
our responses to hunger, thirst, oxygen needs and temperature changes.
This keeps our vital energy, water and oxygen flowing to the brain and the rest
of the body.
RAS (Recticular Activating
System) works with the Limbic System to control attention. It filters the data
that flows through the senses - picking out the important pieces of information
and bringing them into consciousness (eg; why you are able to hear your name
through a cacophony of sound). The more senses learning experiences trigger or
are needed for response, the more memorable the experience will be.
THE CORTEX OR NEOCORTEX – makes
us uniquely human. It enables us to think, talk, reason and create.
Scientists call it the cortex –
the Latin word for ‘bark’.
This covers the midbrain and is
the most highly developed section. This is the thinking part of the
brain, setting humans apart from the rest of the animal world. The cortex
is the ‘grey matter’ of the brain, its colour being due to its dense supply of
blood capillaries. It controls the use of language and symbols, analysis
and synthesis, appreciation of art and music and any rational responses to
external stimuli. It integrates information to build up overall pictures
and to make connections with what is already stored. Most memory recall
seems to come from large sections of the cortex.
And tucked out the back you have
the cerebellum which plays a vital role in storing “muscle memory”: the things
you remember by actually performing tasks such as riding a bike or playing any
sports.
You use many different parts of
your brain together to store, remember and retrieve information. Each one
has an important bearing on how you use your own inbuilt power.
This is the academic brain where
the higher order thinking skills occur. It is divided into two hemispheres: the
right and the left (see below). The brain is stimulated to learn by novelty,
multi-sensory learning techniques (see VAK theories), high stimulation and
regular feedback. It works best in short bursts.
Each brain is unique and the
individual must tailor learning approaches according to their own needs (see
Gardner's 8
Intelligences/multiple intelligences).
WHAT NEXT?
NOW WE KNOW ABOUT THE THREE
PARTS OF THE BRAIN, WHAT NEXT?? Well, let’s look a little further about
how we can begin to use this information.
The working units of the cortex
are the nerve cells, called Neurons. These nerve cells are made up of a cell
body, a fibrous stem called the Axon
and tree-like structures called Dendrites
that connect with other neurons across tiny gaps called Synapses. The brain collects
messages by the dendrites. The
messages are processed in the cell body and converted to chemical material that
is sent along the Axon.
By the time that this information reaches the end of the dendrites it has been
converted so it can cross over Synapses to other dendrites.
This movement of electrical energy within our brain creates Brainwaves.
Our brain contains as many
as 15,000 synapses connecting to other neurons. Although the number of
neurons is fixed at birth, the number of dendrites increases as more learning
occurs and more information is processed.
Wow, this means the more we use
our mind, the greater its capacity becomes. A mature brain may have a
100,000 kilometres of dendrites. However, it is said that we only use a
small fraction of our brain – perhaps less that 10% of our brain’s incredible
capabilities.
So, over the coming weeks we will look at how we can
‘power’ our brains to maximise our learning opportunities!! It’s how we use it that counts – our responsibility to be
the best learner we can be!!
THE AMAZING BRAIN
THE AMAZING BRAIN
Language sets up different
patterns in your brain – and different patterns in your culture.
If you grow up in China or
Japan you learn to write a ‘picture’ language; in western cultures you learn to
take in information through all your senses but to communicate in linear
writing.
If you grew up in a
traditional Polynesian culture in the Pacific then your main communication
would be through sound alone – rhyme, rhythm, song and dance.
This is either visual,
auditory or kinaesthetic learning.
HOW YOUR BRAIN STORES
INFORMATION
The brain stores information
by making use of associations. Every person’s brain has an association
cortex. It can link up like with like, from different memory banks.
Learning to store information
in patterns and with strong associations is the first step toward developing
your brain’s untapped ability.
The second step is learning
to use your subconscious mind. This is where we meet up with brain waves.
Parts of your brain can send
and receive information on different frequencies. Like TV, tune in to
Channel 9 or 7 and you will be able to receive messages sent out on that
wavelength.
Scan your brain when you are
wide-awake and it will be transmitting a certain number of cycles per
second. Scan it when you are dozing and it will be transmitting on a
different frequency.
Researchers are now convinced
that we can absorb information much more quickly and effectively when our
brains are in a state of relaxation.
That’s why nearly every
successful study session starts with relaxation – clearing your mind so your
subconscious can receive uncluttered messages and store them in their right
file.
So this week, lets practise
breathing deeply to relax –
Sitting straight – it is
impossible to breathe well when the spine is hunched.
Balloon breathing – move the
lower rib cage out and up for inhalation and in and down for exhalation while
shoulders remain relaxed and almost stationary.
Breathing deeply – breathing
in to the count of four and out for the count of six – a great strategy for
students before and during tests and when stressed.
STILL THE AMAZING
BRAIN!
How I would love one’s like Julia’s
(Atkin)!
I am sure Julia extended everyone’s
thinking on Friday so I thought it would be a good time to recap.
3 parts of the brain –
Reptilian – instinctive
reactions
Mammalian – emotions
Cortex – thinking/ storing
information
The brain collects information through
the dendrites. Dendrites can connect together through the synapses to
link stored information.
A mature brain can have 100,000
kilometres of dendrites. Great Maths activity.
(Lix K/ Xav – please pass this on to your class – we were discussing
this when I was in there)
POSSIBLE LEVEL TV DISPLAYS
So – how many dendrites can you ‘grow’
this week to store new information????
Store some new information in your
(memory) bank to grow new dendrites!!
FURTHER INTEREST:
Your expertise on the brain is always appreciated Kerri. I particularly love this link you have provided: http://pinterest.com/kathytps/growing-dendrites-with-kathy-griffin/ . What a terrific resource!
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