Category Archives: Brain-based Research

The Glossary of Education Reform for Journalists, Parents, and Community Members

#pieedu, Brain-based Research

Created by the Great Schools Partnership, the GLOSSARY OF EDUCATION REFORM is a comprehensive online resource that describes widely used school-improvement terms, concepts, and strategies for journalists, parents, and community members. | Learn more »

BRAIN-BASED LEARNING

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Brain-based learning refers to teaching methods, lesson designs, and school programs that are based on the latest scientific research about how the brain learns, including such factors as cognitive development—how students learn differently as they age, grow, and mature socially, emotionally, and cognitively.

Brain-based learning is motivated by the general belief that learning can be accelerated and improved if educators base how and what they teach on the science of learning, rather than on past educational practices, established conventions, or assumptions about the learning process. For example, it was commonly believed that intelligence is a fixed characteristic that remains largely unchanged throughout a person’s life. However, recent discoveries in cognitive science have revealed that the human brain physically changes when it learns, and that after practicing certain skills it becomes increasingly easier to continue learning and improving those skills. This finding—that learning effectively improves brain functioning, resiliency, and working intelligence—has potentially far-reaching implications for how schools can design their academic programs and how teachers could structure educational experiences in the classroom.

Related terms such as brain-based education or brain-based teaching, like brain-based learning, refer to instructional techniques that are grounded in the neuroscience of learning—i.e., scientific findings are used to inform educational strategies and programs. Other related terms, such as educational neuroscience or mind, brain, and education sciencerefer to the general field of academic and scientific study, not to the brain-based practices employed in schools.

Reform

A great deal of the scientific research and academic dialogue related to brain-based learning has been focused on neuroplasticity—the concept that neural connections in the brain change, remap, and reorganize themselves when people learn new concepts, have new experiences, or practice certain skills over time. Scientists have also determined, for example, that the brain can perform several activities at once; that the same information can be stored in multiple areas of the brain; that learning functions can be affected by diet, exercise, stress, and other conditions; that meaning is more important than information when the brain is learning something new; and that certain emotional states can facilitate or impede learning—among many other findings.

Given the breadth and diversity of related scientific findings, brain-based learning may take a wide variety of forms from school to school or teacher to teacher. For example, teachers may design lessons or classroom environments to reflect conditions that facilitate learning—e.g., they may play calming music to decrease stress, reduce the amount of time they spend lecturing, engage students in regular physical activity, or create comfortable reading and study areas, with couches and beanbag chairs, as an alternative to traditional desks and chairs. They may also encourage students to eat more healthy foods or exercise more—two physical factors that have been shown to affect brain health.

The principles of brain-based learning are also being introduced into teacher-preparation programs, and an increasing number of colleges and universities are offering courses and degrees in the field. For example, Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education now offers a Mind, Brain, and Education master’s-degree program.

Debate

Because educational neuroscience is still a relatively young field, the methods and technologies of cognitive science are still being developed and tested. That said, people are often predisposed to view scientific findings as incontrovertible “facts” rather than complex and evolving theories, so it’s possible that some educators may view scientific findings as being more “solid” than they actually are, or they may misinterpret scientific evidence and act upon findings in ways that would not be recommended by the research. In addition, “neuroscientific myths”—widespread misinterpretations of scientific evidence—can potentially give rise to educational practices of dubious value.

Another point of potential debate is how educators should balance the findings of neuroscience with the practicalities of teaching. For example, some neuroscientists might argue that teachers shouldn’t lecture for longer than ten minutes, but it is probably more practical to interpret that recommendation as a guideline, not a strict instructional prescription. Other findings might support the use of treadmills in classrooms—because the brain is more stimulated during physical activity—but such options may be impractical, unworkable, inadvisable, or financially infeasible in many school settings.
The Glossary of Education Reform by Great Schools Partnership is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Recommended APA Citation Format: Hidden curriculum (2014, August 26). In S. Abbott (Ed.), The glossary of education reform. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/hidden-curriculum

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Your Teenager’s Development Brain

#pieedu, Advice, Brain-based Research
Pre-teen boy reading

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Scientists once thought that brain development stopped after the first few years of life. Now we know that it keeps going well into adulthood.

As children become teenagers, their brains grow and change. These changes affect their thinking and behaviour. When you understand how, you can better help your child build a healthy teenage brain.

Teenage brain development: the basics

Children’s brains have a massive growth spurt when they’re very young. By the time they’re six, their brains are already about 90-95% of adult size. But the brain still needs a lot of remodelling before it can function as an adult brain.

This brain remodelling happens intensively during adolescence, continuing into your child’s mid-20s.

Some brain changes happen before puberty, and some continue long after. Brain change depends on age, experience and hormonal changes in puberty.

So even though all teenagers’ brains develop in roughly the same way at the same time, there are differences among individual teenagers. For example, if your child started puberty early, this might mean that some of your child’s brain changes started early too.

Inside the teenage brain

Adolescence is a time of significant growth and development inside the teenage brain.

The main change is that unused connections in the thinking and processing part of your child’s brain (called the grey matter) are ‘pruned’ away. At the same time, other connections are strengthened. This is the brain’s way of becoming more efficient, based on the ‘use it or lose it’ principle.

This pruning process begins in the back of the brain. The front part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, is remodelled last. The prefrontal cortex is the decision-making part of the brain, responsible for your child’s ability to plan and think about the consequences of actions, solve problems and control impulses. Changes in this part continue into early adulthood.

Because the prefrontal cortex is still developing, teenagers might rely on a part of the brain called the amygdala to make decisions and solve problems more than adults do. The amygdala is associated with emotions, impulses, aggression and instinctive behaviour.

The back-to-front development of the brain explains why your child’s thinking and behaviour sometimes seem quite mature, and illogical, impulsive or emotional at other times. Teenagers are working with brains that are still under construction.

Building a healthy teenage brain

The combination of your child’s unique brain and environment influences the way your child acts, thinks and feels. For example, your child’s preferred activities and skills might become ‘hard-wired’ in the brain.

How teenagers spend their time is crucial to brain development. So it’s worth thinking about the range of activities and experiences your child is into – music, sports, study, languages, video games. How are these shaping the sort of brain your child takes into adulthood?

You are an important part of your child’s environment. You mean a lot to your child. How you guide and influence him will be important in helping your child to build a healthy brain.

You can do this by:

  • encouraging positive behaviour
  • promoting good thinking skills
  • helping your child get lots of sleep.

Encouraging positive behaviour
While your child’s brain is developing, your child might:

  • take more risks or choose high-risk activities
  • express more and stronger emotions
  • make impulsive decisions.

Here are some tips for encouraging good behaviour and strengthening positive brain connections:

  • Let your child take some healthy risks. New and different experiences help your child develop an independent identity, explore grown-up behaviours, and move towards independence.
  • Help your child find new creative and expressive outlets for her feelings. She might be expressing and trying to control new emotions. Many teenagers find that sport or music, writing and other artforms – either as a participant or a spectator – are good outlets.
  • Talk through decisions step by step with your child. Ask about possible courses of action your child might choose, and talk through potential consequences. Encourage your child to weigh up the positive consequences or rewards against the negative ones.
  • Use family routines to give your child’s life some structure. These might be based around school and family timetables.
  • Provide boundaries, and opportunities for negotiating those boundaries. Young people need guidance and limit-setting from their parents and other adults.
  • Offer frequent praise and positive rewards for desired behaviours. This reinforces pathways in your child’s brain.
  • Be a positive role model. Your behaviour will show your child the behaviour you expect.
  • Stay connected with your child. You’ll probably want to keep an eye on your child’s activities and friends. Being open and approachable can help you with this.
  • Talk to your child about his developing brain. Understanding this important period of growth might help teenagers process their feelings. It might also make taking care of their brains more interesting.
Teenagers are often passionate about their interests, especially ones that give them opportunities to socialise. You can help your child develop skills and confidence by supporting her interests, activities and hobbies.

Promoting thinking skills
Brain growth and development during these years mean that your child will start to:

  • think more logically
  • think about things more abstractly – things are no longer so black or white
  • pick up more on other people’s emotional cues
  • solve more complex problems in a logical way, and see problems from different perspectives
  • get a better perspective on the future.

You can support the development of your child’s thinking with the following strategies:

  • Encourage empathy. Talk about feelings – yours, your child’s and other people’s. Highlight the fact that other people have different perspectives and circumstances. Reinforce that many people can be affected by one action.
  • Emphasise the immediate and long-term consequences of actions. The part of the brain responsible for future thinking (the prefrontal cortex) is still developing. If you talk about how your child’s actions influence both the present and the future, you can help the healthy development of your child’s prefrontal cortex.
  • Try to match your language level to the level of your child’s understanding. For important information, you can check understanding by asking children to tell you in their own words what they’ve just heard.
  • Prompt your child to develop decision-making and problem-solving skills. Try role-modelling and suggesting a process that involves defining the problem, listing the options, and considering the outcome that leads to the best solution for all involved.

Getting lots of sleep
During the teenage years, your child’s sleep patterns will change. This is because the brain produces melatonin at a different time of the day. This makes your child feel tired and ready for bed later in the evening. It can keep your child awake into the night and make it difficult to get up the next morning.

Sleep is essential to healthy brain development. Try the following tips:

  • Ensure your child has a comfortable, quiet sleep environment.
  • Encourage ‘winding down’ before bed – away from TVs, mobiles and computers.
  • Reinforce a regular sleeping routine. Your child should aim to go to bed and wake up at regular times each day.
  • Encourage your child to get an adequate amount of sleep each night. While the ideal amount of sleep varies from person to person, the average amount of sleep that teenagers need is around nine hours.

Risk-taking behaviour

The teenage brain is built to seek out new experiences, risks and sensations – it’s all part of refining those brain connections.

Also, teenagers don’t always have a lot of self-control or good judgment and are more prone to risk-taking behaviour. This is because the self-monitoring, problem-solving and decision-making part of the brain – the prefrontal cortex – develops last. Hormones are also thought to contribute to impulsive and risky behaviour in teens.

Teenagers need to take risks to grow and develop. You can support your child in choosing healthy risks – such as sports and travel – instead of negative ones like smoking and stealing. All risk-taking involves the possibility of failure. Your child will need your support to get over any setbacks.

Stress and the teenage brain

With so many changes happening to your child’s brain, it’s especially important that your child is protected and nurtured.

The incidence of poor mental health increases during the teenage years. It’s thought this could be related to the fact that the developing brain is more vulnerable to stress factors than the adult brain.

Teenage stresses can include drugs, alcohol and high-risk behaviour, as well as things like starting a new school, peer pressure, or major life events like moving house or the death of a loved one.

But don’t wrap your child in cotton wool! Too much parental attention might alienate your child.

Staying connected and involved in your child’s life can help you to learn more about how your child is coping with stress. It can also help you keep an open relationship with your child and ensure that your child sees you as someone to talk to – even about embarrassing or uncomfortable topics.

It’s thought that children are more likely to be open to parental guidance and monitoring during their teenage years if they’ve grown up in a supportive and nurturing home environment.

Every teenage child is unique, and teenagers respond to stress in different and unique ways. You know your child best, so it’s OK to trust your instinct on how to support your child if he’s going through a stressful time. It’s also OK to ask for help from friends, family members or professionals such as your GP.

Getting help

Every child experiences changes at a different rate. If you’re concerned about your child’s rate of development or you have concerns about your child’s changing body, thinking or behaviour, you could start by talking to a school counsellor or your GP. If you’re really worried, you could look for a counsellor or psychologist. You don’t need a referral, but you might prefer to have your GP recommend someone.

Mindfulness In The Classroom

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Under Stress, Students in New York Schools Find Calm in Meditation
By ELIZABETH A. HARRISOCT. 23, 2015

Fourth graders at Public School 212 in Queens practice mindful exercises in the classroom. Credit Lindsay Morris for The New York Times

On the first day of the new school year, the schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, stood in an elementary school classroom in Queens beaming at a hushed room full of fourth-grade children sitting cross-legged on the floor.
“Please let your eyes close,” said a small boy named Davinder, from his spot on the linoleum.

Davinder gently struck a shallow bronze bowl.

Gong!

“Take three mindful breaths,” he said, and the room fell silent.

“Do you do personal visits?” Ms. Fariña asked after the exercise was over. “Like to offices?”

In schools in New York City and in pockets around the country, the use of inward-looking practices like mindfulness and meditation is starting to grow. Though evidence is thin on how well they might work in the classroom, proponents say they can help students focus and cope with stress.

At the Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School in Windsor Terrace, 15 minutes are set aside at the beginning and end of every school day, when students must either meditate or sit quietly at their desks.

The goal of mindfulness exorcises, practitioners say, is to get students into the habit of calming themselves and their minds. Credit Lindsay Morris for The New York Times
“It’s built into the schedule,” said Linda Rosenbury, founding principal at Brooklyn Urban Garden, a middle school. “Everyone clears off their desks. They shouldn’t be chewing gum, but if they are, they spit it out. Their hands are free. We ring a bell.” A building full of preteens and teenagers goes quiet, she said.

“It used to be that you wouldn’t say ‘meditation’ in polite company,” said Bob Roth, executive director of the David Lynch Foundation, a charitable foundation founded by the director of “Blue Velvet,” that promotes and teaches Transcendental Meditation to adults and children, including those at Brooklyn Urban Garden. “Now we’re working with all the large banks, we’re working with hedge funds, we’re working with media companies. People are having us come in as part of their wellness programs, and that wasn’t the case even two years ago.”

While Transcendental Meditation entails silent inward repetition of a mantra, a mindfulness exercise might ask children to focus on breathing in and out. In a classroom, both activities have similar goals; the idea, practitioners say, is to get students into the habit of calming themselves and clearing their minds so they can better focus on the day’s lesson.

“We’re putting it in a lot of our schools,” Ms. Fariña said about mindfulness, on the first day of school, “because kids are under a lot of stress.”

The Department of Education does not keep track of how many schools have mindfulness programs, but a spokeswoman said that grants and professional development seminars have provided some training to school staff members.

The city’s Move to Improve program has also taught nearly 8,000 elementary school teachers how to use activities in the classroom that can include things like mindfulness, balance exercises and stretching.

In many cases, schools are finding their own way. To mindfulness, in particular.

At Public School 212 in Jackson Heights, Queens, the school Ms. Fariña visited on the first day of classes, a literacy coach named Danielle Mahoney began doing regular mindfulness exercises with some classes the year before last, while taking a one-year certification course.

Last year, the school converted a large closet in a subbasement into a room devoted to mindfulness, complete with dim illumination and a string of rainbow Christmas-tree lights, allowing users to switch off the harsh fluorescent light overhead.

This sort of homegrown effort has created a patchwork effect; “mindfulness” might look a little different in every school.

“It’s a bottom-up process,” said Mark T. Greenberg, a professor of human development and psychology at Penn State. “You have very early adopters who are very interested in the ideas, and they are trying out different ideas and venues.”

Some districts, however, are experimenting with a more holistic approach. In Mamaroneck, N.Y., in Westchester County, the district has funded mindfulness training for teachers and parents in each of its six schools, and is encouraging the use of mindfulness exercises as part of an effort to address the social and emotional needs of students.

In Louisville, Ky., more than half of the city’s public elementary schools are expected to participate in a randomized study next year that will teach mindfulness exercises to some students as part of a so-called health and wellness curriculum.

Donna Hargens, the superintendent of the Louisville district of Jefferson County’s public school system, said that in classrooms a teacher’s reflex is to say, “ ‘Focus! Why aren’t you focusing?’ But what does that really mean, and have we given them any tools to help them do that?”

Research in a classroom setting appears to be picking up steam. In Britain, researchers from Oxford and University College London are studying whether teaching mindfulness in schools can improve the mental health of students, and some studies have shown benefits for many adults. Still, little is truly known about how, or even whether, children benefit from the practice in an academic setting.

“It definitely doesn’t address poverty, and it may not work for everybody,” said Patricia Jennings, an associate professor at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and the author of a book called “Mindfulness for Teachers.”

Mr. Greenberg of Penn State cautioned that even if the practice does provide benefits for students, the research has yet to explain how.

A version of this article appears in print on October 24, 2015, on page A20 of the New York edition with the headline: City Classrooms Give Pupils a Moment to Turn Inward . Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe

Healing the 7 Types of ADD!

ADHD, Advice, Brain-based Research, Educational News, Learning Disabilities, Partner with Parents, Student Support, Teacher Support

Dr Amen:

“One Treatment Does Not Fit Everyone”

As the founder of six Amen Clinics, I bring a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosing and treating brain based disorders including attention deficit disorder and coexisting conditions. For over twenty years, I’ve used SPECT brain scans (along with other diagnostic techniques) to develop individual, targeted treatment plans for each patient. Early on, I discovered through brain SPECT patterns that attention deficit is not a single or a simple disorder.

My ADD Is Not Your ADD

ADD, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, autism, and other conditions are not single or simple disorders. They all have multiple types. ADD affects many areas of the brain—the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum primarily, but also the anterior cingulate, the temporal lobes, the basal ganglia, and the limbic system. The 7 types of ADD that I studied are based around three neurotransmitters—dopamine, serotonin, and GABA.

Classic ADD

This is the easiest type to spot of the 7 types of ADD: Primary symptoms are inattentiveness, distractibility, hyperactivity, disorganization, and impulsivity. Scans of the brain show normal brain activity at rest, and decreased activity, especially in the prefrontal cortex, during a concentration task. People with this type of ADD have decreased blood flow in the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, and the basal ganglia, the last of which helps produce the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Treating Classic ADD

The goal here is to boost dopamine levels, which increases focus. I do it with either stimulating medications — Ritalin, Adderall, Vyvanse, Concerta — or stimulating supplements like rhodiola, green tea, ginseng, and the amino acid L-tyrosine. Getting lots of physical activity also helps increase dopamine, as does taking fish oil that is higher in EPA than DHA.

Inattentive ADD

This type, as well as Classic ADD, have been described in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders since 1980. This type is associated with low activity in the prefrontal cortex and low dopamine levels. Symptoms are short attention span, distractibility, disorganization, procrastination. People with this type are not hyperactive or impulsive. They can be introverted and daydream a lot. Girls have this type as much as, or more than, boys.

Treating Inattentive ADD

Inattentive ADD is usually responsive to treatment. It is often possible to change the course of a person’s life if he or she is properly treated. The goal, as with Classic ADD, is to boost dopamine levels. I use the supplements like the amino acid L-tyrosine, which is a building block of dopamine. Take it on an empty stomach for maximum effect. I often prescribe a stimulant like Adderall, Vyvanse or Concerta. I put patients on a high-protein, lower-carbohydrate diet, and I have them exercise regularly.

Over-Focused ADD

Patients with this type have all of the core ADD symptoms, plus great trouble shifting attention. They get stuck or locked into negative thought patterns or behaviors. There is a deficiency of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. When the brain is scanned, you see that there’s too much activity in the area called the anterior cingulate gyrus, which is the brain’s gear shifter. This overactivity makes it difficult to go from thought to thought, task to task, and to be flexible.

Treating Over-Focused ADD

The goal is to boost serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain. Treatment is tricky. People with Over-Focused ADD get more anxious and worried on a stimulant medication. I use supplements first—L-tryptophan, 5-HTP, saffron, and inositol. If supplements don’t help with symptoms, I prescribe Effexor, Pristique, or Cymbalta. I avoid a higher-protein diet with this type, which can make patients mean. Neurofeedback training is another helpful tool.

Temporal Lobe ADD

Of the 7 types of ADD, this type has core ADD symptoms along with temporal lobe (TL) symptoms. The TL, located underneath your temple, is involved with memory, learning, mood stability, and visual processing of objects. People with this type have learning, memory, and behavioral problems, such as quick anger, aggression, and mild paranoia. When the brain is scanned, there are abnormalities in the temporal lobes and decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex.

Treating Temporal Lobe ADD

I use the amino acid GABA (gamma-aminobutryic acid) to calm neuronal activity and inhibit nerve cells from overfiring or firing erratically. Taking magnesium—80 percent of the population are low in this mineral—helps with anxiety and irritability. Anticonvulsant medications are often prescribed to help with mood instability. For learning and memory problems, I use gingko or vinpocetine.

Limbic ADD

This type looks like a combination of dysthymia or chronic low-level sadness and ADD. Symptoms are moodiness, low energy, frequent feelings of helplessness or excessive guilt, and chronic low self-esteem. It is not depression. This type is caused by too much activity in the limbic part of the brain (the mood control center) and decreased prefrontal cortex activity, whether concentrating on a task or at rest.

Treating Limbic ADD

The supplements that work best for this type of ADD are DL-phenylalanine (DLPA), L-tryosine, and SAMe (s-adenosyl-methionine). Wellbutrin is my favorite medication for this type of ADD. Researchers think it works by increasing dopamine. Imipramine is another option for this type. Exercise, fish oil, and the right diet will help a person with Limbic ADD better manage symptoms.

Ring of Fire ADD

Patients with this type don’t have an underactive prefrontal cortex, as with Classic and Inattentive ADD. Their entire brain is overactive. There is too much activity across the cerebral cortex and many of the other parts of the brain. I call it “ADD plus.” Symptoms include sensitivity to noise, light, touch; periods of mean, nasty behavior; unpredictable behavior; talking fast; anxiety and fearfulness. In brain scans, it looks like a ring of hyperactivity around the brain.

Treating Ring of Fire ADD

Stimulants, by themselves, may make symptoms worse. I start out with an elimination diet, if I suspect an allergy is involved, and boost the neurotransmitters GABA and serotonin through supplements and medication, if necessary. I prescribe GABA, 5-HTP, and L-tyrosine supplements. If I prescribe medication, I start with one of the anticonvulsants. The blood pressure medicines guanfacine and clonidine may be helpful, calming overall hyperactivity.

Anxious ADD

People with this type have hallmark ADD symptoms, and they are anxious, tense, have physical stress symptoms like headaches and stomachaches, predict the worst, and freeze in anxiety-provoking situations, especially where they may be judged. When the brain is scanned, there is high activity in the basal ganglia, large structures deep in the brain that help produce dopamine.This is the opposite of most types of ADD, where there is low activity in that region.

treating Anxious ADD

The treatment goal is to promote relaxation and boost GABA and dopamine levels. ADD stimulants, taken alone, make patients more anxious. I first use a range of “calming” supplements—L-theanine, relora, magnesium, and holy basil. Depending on the patient, I prescribe the tricyclic antidepressants imipramine or desipramine to lower anxiety. Neurofeedback also works to decrease symptoms of anxiety, especially to calm the prefrontal cortex.

For More Information:

Learn more about the 7 Types of ADD:

  • Listen to Dr. Amen’s podcast on the 7 Types of ADD

Types of ADHD

ADHD, Advice, Brain-based Research, Student Support, Teacher Support, ,

Raising or being an ADHDer is not easy.  Brain scans and specs are reaching great heights towards assisting those that struggle.  The more we learn, the better we can address issues towards a healthy outcome.

As I have researched ADHD, I have found that doctors vary on how many types of ADHD exist.  I have found at the most, seven, by Dr. Amen. www.amenclinics.com

We have attached some to cartoon character you may recognize.

 

1. CLASSIC ADHD – Primary ADD symptoms (short attention span, distractibility, disorganization) plus hyperactivity, restlessness, and impulsivity.

Usually low prefrontal cortex and cerebellar activity with concentration.

TIGGER

 

2. INATTENTIVE ADD – Primary ADD symptoms plus low energy and motivation, spacey, and internally preoccupied. Type 2 tends to be diagnosed later that than Type 1, if at all. It is more common in girls. These are quiet kids and adults, often labeled as “lazy”, “unmotivated”, or “not all that smart”.

Usually low prefrontal cortex and cerebellar activity with concentration. We are working hard to see how these two types differ in the brain.

WINNIE THE POOH

 

3. OVER-FOCUSSED ADD/ADHD – Primary ADD symptoms plus cognitive inflexibility, trouble shifting attention, being stuck on negative thoughts or behaviors, worrying, holding grudges, argumentativeness, oppositional, and saddled with a need for routines. It is often seen in families with addiction problems or obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

Usually high anterior cingulate activity plus low prefrontal cortex with concentration.

RABBIT

 

4. LIMBIC ADD/ADHD – Primary ADD symptoms plus chronic mild sadness, negativity, low energy, low self-esteem, irritability, social isolation, poor appetite, and sleep patterns.

Stimulants by themselves usually cause problems with rebound or produce depressive symptoms.

Usually high deep limbic activity plus low prefrontal cortex at rest and with concentration.

EEYORE

 

5. ANXIOUS ADD/ADHD – Inattentiveness, distractibility, disorganization, anxiety, tension, nervousness, a tendency to predict the worst, freezing in test-taking situations, and a tendency toward social anxiety. People with this type are prone to experience the physical symptoms of stress, such as headaches and gastrointestinal problems.

Increased activity in the basal ganglia at rest and while the person is concentrating. Decreased activity in the underside of the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum while the person is concentrating.

PIGLET

 

6. TEMPORAL LOBE ADD/ADHD – Primary ADD symptoms plus a short fuse, misinterprets comments, periods of anxiety, headaches or abdominal pain, history of head injury, family history of rage, dark thoughts, memory problems, and struggles with reading. This subtype is often seen in families with learning or temper problems.

Usually low temporal lobe activity plus low prefrontal cortex with concentration.

 

7. RING OF FIRE ADD/ADHD – Primary ADD symptoms plus moodiness, anger outbursts, oppositional, inflexibility, fast thoughts, excessive talking, and very sensitive to sounds and lights. Dr. Amen named it “Ring of Fire” after the intense ring of over-activity he saw in the brains of those affected. This type is usually made much worse by stimulants.

Marked overall increased activity across the cortex; may or may not have low prefrontal cortex activity.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM DR. AMEN

  1. Take a 100% multi-vitamin every day. Studies have reported that they help people with learning and help prevent chronic illness.
  2. Eliminate caffeine from your diet. It interferes with treatments and sleep.
  3. Get 30-45 minutes per day of intense aerobic exercise. At Amen Clinics, brain health is very important to us, so please make sure kids have safe exercise outlets and wear helmets when appropriate. When nothing else is available, go for long, fast walks.
  4. Turn off the television and video games, or limit them to no more than 30 minutes a day. This may be hard for kids and teens, but it can make a huge difference.
  5. Food is a drug. Most people with ADHD do best with a diet that is high in protein and low in simple carbohydrates. Healing ADD is a good place to start learning how to make this diet work for you or your loved one.
  6. Do not yell at people with ADD/ADHD. Many people with ADD/ADHD seek out conflict or excitement because they like the stimulation it brings them. They can be masters at making other people mad or angry. Do not lose your temper with them: if they are able to get this reaction out of you, their subconscious, low-energy prefrontal cortex lights up and the stimulation makes them feel great. Never let your anger be their medication—they can get addicted to it.
  7. Test ADD/ADHD kids and adults for learning disabilities. They occur in up to 60% of people with ADD/ADHD. The local schools are often set up to do this for school-age children.
  8. Apply for appropriate school or work accommodations.
  9. Take a high-quality fish oil supplement. Adults: 2,000-4,000mg per day. Children: 1,000-2,000mg per day.
  10. Never stop seeking the best help for your brain.

For more information, go to amen clinics.com

 

DON’T LEAVE. WE JUST HAVE A NEW LOOK!

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As the calendars moves forth, so do we at Passion In Education/The Bridge Virtual Academy.
Questions? Contact: scarl@passionineducation.com

LET IT GO. HAVE FUN TEACHING/LEARNING!

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I love to listen to a teacher’s passion for teaching others.  Passion burns hot until others extinguish the flames.  Currently, I’m hearing ,”If we only had this or didn’t have to do that, we could reach the students.”  I love to hear students excited about what they are learning in schools.  From them, I currently hear, “This common core stuff is too much and no one knows what they are doing.”

I’m here to encourage you.  BE BOLD!  CREATE!   TEACH WHAT WORKS!  DEVELOP YOUR OWN LEARNING COMMUNITIES!  Follow the standards as we need common standards.  Educations needs to have the basis for what should be taught to most children at specific readiness point, but let’s move forth with what we know.  Children are sponges until they aren’t.  Teachers are excited until they are not.  We need to catch both while the fire is hot!  There is no time to waste.

Common Core carries a very poor connotation for something I believe we all really want to see happen.  Common curriculum across the United States in order that everyone have an equal opportunity for learning.  How did it get so blown out of whack in the eyes of teachers, parents and students?  If your child was moving from California to Florida as a third grade student, wouldn’t you want your child to be “on the same page” when they move to the new school?  I think yes!  Now what is good for the mass doesn’t mean that is all that should be available.  We still need to build in a support system for those with learning disabilities or a gap in their learning. We also need to provide fun, engaging opportunities for those that are ahead of the game.  I believe in flexible grouping based on a students previous knowledge and the learning goal, not necessarily based on age.

The other aspect of Common Core is to create connection between the learning and real-life problem solving.   Simply relate what you are teaching to how it will be seen in life.  Another aspect of Common Core is to teach to all the modalities by using hands-on approach to reach auditory, visual and kinesthetic modes.  Remember that no one has stated what or how teaching needs to be done at this point except the your own districts.

So, how do we get the fun and learning back into the classroom but stay on track?  Use your freedom at this time period to find the joy of the teaching/learning process for your students.  As your break approaches, look into ideas that will rekindle your flames and light the students back up!  Consider something like Whole Brain Learning, AIMS, College Prep Math, STEM or STEAM, Pinterest…

Following are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Three basic techniques in whole brain teaching

The class yes, the teach OK and the scoreboard

In an article which I wrote for ajarn.com I introduced a wonderful system of teaching called “Whole Brain Teaching” (WBT) in which I outlined the fundamental techniques it uses. For those of you who have not read the article, WBT is a pedagogical approach which is based on current research into brain activity and how we learn. Not specific but very applicable to EFL , WBT uses techniques which activate both hemispheres of the brain – thus it is a “Whole Brain” approach.Traditionally education has focused on right brain activity – the reasoning, rational part of the brain. WBT techniques seek to make connections between this rational part of the brain and the left side of the brain which is concerned with creative activity . It is being proven more and more that an approach which integrates these two different activities of the brain leads to far more effective teaching. We will today look at three of the most basic techniques involved in WBT: “THE CLASS-YES”, “THE TEACH-OK”, and “THE SCOREBOARD”. These are three amazingly simple techniques you can quickly learn and immediately use to greatly improve your effectiveness as a teacher.What makes them especially useful in ESL classes is it gets the students talking in English , which is often problematic, especially here in Thailand. It is not necessary to implement all of the WBT techniques at once. You can choose to use just a few techniques,. I have however found the more techniques you use the better you and your students’ performance will be. It is important to note that of course when introducing a new technique to class that they understand what is expected of them. In addition you have to practice the procedures with them and get them to the point where they can do what you tell them on command. It doesn’t take too long. . Depending on your level of Thai you may at times need somebody to explain to the class in Thai what it is they are required to do. The directions are basically like rules to a game. WBT is very big on rules and has easy ways to get students to comply with them.TECHNIQUE ONE: THE “CLASS-YES” – “PLUG” YOUR BRAIN INTO THE BRAINS OF YOUR STUDENTS.The prefrontal cortex is nicknamed the “CEO” by scientists who do research into the human brain . It controls decision making, planning and is also responsible for the focusing of attention. The “CLASS-YES’ works like this: The teacher makes a decision to get the class’s attention. To do this the teacher is activating his/her prefrontal cortex by using the decision making function of that part of the brain. The teacher then says “CLASS” and the students respond by saying “YES” in unison. The students must say “YES” in the same tone of voice and in the same way that the teacher says “CLASS” – this is crucial.So if the teacher says “CLASS CLASS’ in a high whiny tone the students respond “YES YES” in a high whiny tone. The students, by mimicking the tone of the teachers voice, have now activated their own prefrontal cortexes by using its focusing mechanism. In a very literal sense the teacher’s brain is now “plugged into” the students’ brain. The “CEO” of teacher’s brain, exercising its decision making capacity, now has the attention of and is ready to instruct the “CEO” of the students’ brains, which are utilizing its focusing mechanism.

It is fundamentally the same type of relationship that would exist, at that moment, between the CEO of Pepsico and the CEO of KFC. (Pepsi owns KFC and I assume KFC takes direction form the parent company). The technique can be understood as a brain switch which readies the students for instruction. In Whole Brain teaching classrooms it is used whenever the teacher needs the class’s attention, which is of course quite often. This technique, like almost all WBT techniques,can be used from kindergarten to university and with adult classes. With children in addition to being a “brain preper” for instruction it an indispensable tool for classroom management. 

TECHNIQUE TWO: THE “TEACH- OK” – TEACHING ISN’T JUST FOR TEACHERS

Some of us may have come to Thailand just a bit unclear on the differences between the Present Perfect and Past Simple tenses, or between First and Third Conditional. I know I did. I also know that I could now tell you about fundamental English grammar in my sleep and I am sure, at least hope, that everyone reading this who has taught English for a few years can as well.

How did you learn this grammar so thoroughly? . You did it by teaching. This is the main idea behind the next crucial technique of WBT- the “TEACH-OK”. Research has shown, not surprisingly really, that students learn best when actively engaged in the teaching process. When students , using energetic gesturing, reteach to their partner what the teacher has just taught them they are activating five parts of the brain important to learning : the visual cortex (seeing gestures), motor cortex (making gestures), Broca’s area (verbalizing), Wernickes area (hearing) and the limbic system (giving emotional content). I will number the steps of the “”TEACH OK” to hopefully make it easier to understand and use.

STEP ONE – Divide your classes into pairs. You will want to group weaker students with stronger ones. I think two is the ideal number but if you have an odd number of students you will have to have at least one group of three. In this case put the best student in the class with the two who need the most help and ask the best student to take special care of the group. I have found that at first you may need several groups of three students if stronger students are hard to come by. However as time passes and you continue to implement WBT, you will see a more uniform level in your students ability. This is due to the fact you will be getting almost 100 per cent participation and the students lagging behind will begin to catch up with the others. 

STEP TWO – Micro teach with gestures. This means giving one small bit of information that the students will reteach to each other. It requires the teacher to be animated and use gestures as he or she teaches. As an example, if we were teaching the Present Perfect, the teacher would begin the process by introducing a very small bit of information such as “We form the present perfect with have or has.” After the students have learned this small bit of information you build on this idea. The following TEACH-OK segment would be ” We form the present perfect with have or has and verb three.”

We continue building so on and so forth until all the rules of present perfect have been taught or at least all the rules that we wish to cover . If this were a very advanced class the final installment of our look at the present perfect would finally build to up to the studetns teaching each other in pairs something like” The present perfect is formed with have or has plus verb three. It is used for both unfinished actions from a specific time in the past which are continuing into the present and with finished actions that have a relevance to present circumstances. Although it is used exclusively with already, just and yet in British English, these words can be be used correctly with both the Present Perfect and the Simple Past in American English.” I have used an extreme example here of a final “TEACH OK” mini lesson on the Present Perfect to make my point that we build to whatever level the dictates of the course demand, as opposed to giving a lot of information at once. 

STEP THREE – To recap steps one and two-we have divided the class into pairs and presented a small bit of information . Now it is time for the teacher to say TEACH! and his/her hands clap hands and have the students respond in the same tone of voice with the same number of claps with an OK! They then work with their partner taking turns reteaching what was just presented. the students are expected to use gestures as they teach each other. 

STEP FOUR – The teacher monitors the groups as the students teach each other. 

STEP FIVE – The teacher brings the “TEACH-OK” to a close with a “CLASS-YES”

STEP SIX – The teacher then continues with another bit of information building on the previous bit of information, or if it is time, change activities. 

Two other valuable tools which are often used during the presentation of a micro bit of information are the “HANDS AND EYES” and “MIRRORING.” These are related but separate techniques that will be elaborated on at a later date that augment the effectiveness of the presentation of information. If you just cant wait for the next blog visit www.powerteacher.net for an immediate explanation. 

I have not found a lot of information about EFL and WBT, although it is certainly being used for teaching foreign languages. In my past training I found an emphasis on getting students to use the language creatively. I have certainly done this in the context of WBT. Since I work with phratom students now the steps to creativity are very small but they are creative nonetheless.

For example during the presentation of information I may want the kids to practice using the question word “where.” I may drill the class as a whole by asking students a question like “Where is the dog?” trying to get them to think of places a dog might be. Often times kids will come up with something really silly like “The dog is on the sun.” I love this kind of response. It shows they have used the language creatively. In fact a kid told me when asked once “The dog is on the sun.” I quickly joked back with the question “Is he a hot dog?” and pretty much everybody got the joke.

That really shows that language acquisition was taking place with a group of phratom two students. Think about the implications of that- Phratom two students involved in the creation of and appreaciating a double entendre. Thats the power of Whole Brain Teaching at work. After the good laugh about the” hot dog on the sun” the kids were coming up with wacky places the dog was. During their ” TEACH OK”segment of “Where is the dog?” they seemed to be trying to outdo their partner with the craziest place a dog could be. This is proof of being able to use the language creatively which means real learning is taking place. 

TECHNIQUE THREE: “THE SCOREBOARD” – KEEP THE TEACHER HAPPY AND EVERYTHING IS SABAI.

The scoreboard is a central feature of the Whole Brain Teacher’ s classroom. It is an integral part of class management when working with younger students and is critical in keeping older students focused. It basically operates on good ole positive and negative reinforcement. It is simple to understand and use.

STEP ONE – On one side of the whiteboard draw a “Smiley face” next to a “Happy face.”

STEP TWO – Draw a line between the two faces creating a column under each face.

STEP THREE – When students are paying attention, and paricipating with gestures and you are happy with the way things are going put a check in the Smiley face column and have them cheer your approval by saying an enthusiastic “OH YEA” in unison (known as ‘the “MIGHTY OH YEA”). 

STEP FOUR – When student performance/behavior is not up to par put a check under the the Frowny face and have the students moan a a collective “OH NO” while wiping away an imaginary tear.

STEP FIVE – At the end of class add up the checks under the respective faces. More checks in the Happy face column means the class has earned some kind of reward (I usually use less homework as a reward) More checks under the frown face means a negative reinforcement (for me more homework).

IMPORTANT NOTE! Do not have a total of more than three checks in in the Frowny face column in excess of the number in the Smiley face otherwise the “SCOREBOARD” loses effectiveness. Students become resentful and lose interest in the “game.”

The “SCOREBOARD” works on the limbic system which is the part of the brain that controls emotional response. It is a powerful tool to keep order and keep things focused. In follow up blogs I will discuss “THE FIVE CLASSROOM RULES” which for the most part are used for class management issues with kids. The rules obviously relate closely to the “SCOREBOARD”. Remember though the “SCOREBOARD” is also used with older students to keep focus.

If I were teaching up university anywhere in the world I would have no qualms about using the “SCOREBOARD” as a fun way to give the class feedback about how well they were performing . That being said I would feel a little foolish walking into a corporate training class anywhere but sanook loving Thailand and drawing a Smiley face and Happy face on a whiteboard in front of a group of business executives and telling them to give me a “MIGHTY OH NO”.

I have taught all kinds of classes here in Thailand as well as a lot of corporate classes . Although I have not had the opportunity to use WBT in a corporate situation, my guess is all Thai students would play along with “THE SCOREBOARD.” Having been witness to a teacher leading a group of bank managers in a game of “Simon Says” I gotta figure you are on safe ground with “THE SCOREBOARD” in any class in Siam. (Simon says touch your butt hahahahah….true story).

These are the three most important techniques in WBT. Just these three simple things can greatly enhance your students learning as well as making your job a helluva lot easier and more enjoyable. There is a lot more to WBT but this can get you started.

Finally I want to underscore that these techniques are flexible and can be used in harmony with your own style and class goals/level. That is unless sadly you have an “I don;’t really give a damn” attitude. I think it is more easily adapted to animated lively styles of teaching but I personally think there is room for those of a more phlegmatic nature, however gestures must be used.

You look at professional athletes, say in a sport like golf or tennis, you will see that the pros are all pretty much adhering to the same set of fundamentals to swinging a club or racket. In spite of this commonality each player has his own unique swing. In the same way each teacher will have his own style in which he can adapt a given pedagogical approach to be the most effective teacher he or she can be.

It is my stalwart conviction that Whole Brain Teaching (or in our case here in Thailand “Ajarning”…lol..) is by far the most effective approach to accomplish this goal. Give WBT a try, you’ll love it and so will your students. Again to find out more about WBT visit the powerteachers website 

Happy teaching!

Here is where a creative teacher brought the popular game of Mine Craft into his math lessons.

6 Minecraft lesson ideas for your Common Core math class

Jim Pike
December 1st, 2014

From graphing paper to algebra puzzles, one teacher shares tons of practical lesson ideas for turning math class into “Mathcraft”

minecraft-mathLast year I taught third-grade math in a whole new way. Combining elements from the wildly popular sandbox game Minecraft, I had students thinking visually and creatively about mathematical models and theories that went way beyond a typical third-grade curriculum, transforming math class into what I like to call Mathcraft.

Why Minecraft? I could say I am using Minecraft for a number of reasons, like how I find Minecraft enhances metacognition by increasing students’ memory storage capacity. The game itself creates a relatable enjoyable experience that can be internalized and shared in a community of learners. The limitations on the working memory are minimized because the gameplay itself is an extension of our visual sketchpad. Working with students they always say, “I can see it,” and when they see it they share it.

However, the real reason I use Minecraft is that the students chose it. The popularity of the game is so overwhelming and when the lesson became the engagement their attention, confidence, and motivation soared. Here are six great ways to use it in your math classroom.

1. Let students create their world.
If you have an aggressive Minecraft class, you can put them in a single world and either let them all build it by themselves, or allow all the students to build a world together. Personally, I just open up a world in MinecraftEDU (which makes it easier for the teacher since you can do things like freeze the students and transport). I don’t use worlds that have already been created, opting instead to let the kids build their own. I use MinecraftEDU as my server runner and open up the superflat world. We start building and we end up with a crazy math city.

2. Create your own visual, conceptual math world.
I’ve tried to use base ten blocks before because they’ve got a lot of great conceptional knowledge, but they’re just a nightmare to use—to get them to fit in and take out, and with the kids always messing up each other’s blocks. But with Minecraft, the blocks are digital so the kids can’t mess each other up, if you know how to manage them, and the bonus is that the students are incredibly engaged. Then you can throw in the fun part. You can let them PvP (fight) and chase each other in their world. The structures they’ve just made make a lot of fun things to hide behind, like funky-looking trees based on prime factorization or stacks of blocks in patterns that represent long division. It’s kind of a conceptual math world.

3. You can use Minecraft, even without access to computers.
We were only able to play Minecraft in the computer lab twice a week but that was perfect because I just ran math class using Minecraft as the lesson on those days. On other days, we’d be doing similar things. The kids would have graphing paper and would make their models with colored pencils and crayons and we would play math. I was really trying to teach them how to read and write algebra and to look at math as a different language.

4. Minecraft is just one creative tool in the toolbox.
In my third-grade class, we did a lot of tracking and graphing slopes, and I turned it into a maker activity as well. We learned how to read rise over run, and how to build a slope in Minecraft. Then we chopped up a bunch of different cardboard boxes and made racecar ramps at different slopes around the classroom, and ran averages on how far the racecar would travel with each slope—and this was a third-grade classroom.

5. Let the dog drive—at least sometimes.
One way to get started is just to try a whole class lesson and to see how the kids respond to it. And be prepared to let the dog drive at times—meaning when the class is playing the game, let them take control and just play. Give them their time but take yours as well. If you need a jumping-off point to get started, look for Minecraft lessons online, or see mine on the website Educade. The Parthenon lesson I created is one example. It turns algebra into a puzzle and it gives students simple instructions on how to build something cool. (There’s also a video that explains why the formulas actually work).

6. Use Minecraft to help change your classroom culture into something students love.
By far the greatest effect Minecraft has had on my students was a change in the classroom culture and attitudes about education. When we were preparing for our benchmark test I gave them ten Common Core word problems for homework. When I put them on our Edmodo page, they got mad at me. Mathcraft—at least the way I use it in the classroom—is not all in a video game. There is a lot of reading and writing of algebra and word problems. Before, they used to complain and give up when they had to do similar problems out of textbook. But now my kids turned even that part of the curriculum into a game and can not put down the pencil.

Jim Pike formerly taught third grade at Ascension Catholic School in Los Angeles. He currently teaches a Mathcraft course at CodeRev Kids Learning Center in Santa Monica, CA, and is working on bringing Mathcraft professional development to teachers using online Minecraft servers.

 

Frozen-inspired coding is a very creative idea to hook students into their learning:

‘Let it Code’ with Frozen-inspired coding

November 19th, 2014

Hour of Code initiative aims to help students, especially girls, get coding with real-world examples

code-codingOn Nov. 19, Code.org unveiled a computer science tutorial featuring heroines Anna and Elsa from The Walt Disney Company’s film “Frozen.” The tutorial kicks off the second annual Hour of Code campaign, a worldwide effort to broaden participation in computer science – especially by girls – during Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 8-14, 2014.

Thanks to Disney Interactive, students will learn to write code that enables Disney Infinity versions of Disney’s “Frozen” characters Anna and Elsa to draw snowflakes and snowmen and perform magical “ice craft” in Code.org’s signature lesson for the Hour of Code 2014. The tutorial aims to teach logic and math and nurtures creative thinking through introductory computer programming.

Role-model technologists and celebrities, including Polyvore CEO Jess Lee, Microsoft engineer Paola Mejia, app developer and model Lyndsey Scott, and model Karlie Kloss, provide short video lectures to guide students through the one-hour activity. Students will be able to share their artwork online or with friends through a unique link.

“As a parent, I know firsthand how excited kids are over Disney’s ‘Frozen,’” said Hadi Partovi, co-founder of Code.org. “Our entire team is grateful for Disney Interactive’s tireless support of the Hour of Code, which provides students an entry point into the world of creativity that opens up when they build technology for the first time.”

“Disney Interactive shares Code.org’s passion to unleash the creative potential within all of us and we’re proud that the Disney characters will help children grow and learn important skills,” said Jimmy Pitaro, president of Disney Interactive. “Computer science and coding literacy are vital to our children’s future and we applaud Code.org for making computer science education more widely available.”

Along with this collaboration, Disney is donating $100,000 to support Code.org’s efforts to bring computer science education to afterschool programs nationwide. Disney Interactive will host Hour of Code events for local students at their Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Seattle, and Kelowna, British Columbia offices.

The tutorial, “Artist with Anna & Elsa,” is Code.org’s newest addition to its online learning platform, Code Studio, designed to teach students the basics of computer science, starting as early as kindergarten. Code Studio is used in more than 50,000 classrooms.

Last year, Code.org launched the Hour of Code with a tutorial featuring artwork from Rovio’s Angry Birds, PopCap Games’ Plants vs. Zombies and video lectures by Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. To date, 22 million students have tried the one-hour, introductory tutorial.

Students and teachers can try “Artist with Anna & Elsa” now at Code Studio: code.org/frozen.

 

Here’s another blogger sharing how Whole Brain Learning works for her:

http://www.teachingandlearningtogether.com/whole-brain-teaching.html

 

Here are ideas on pinterest of Whole Brain Learning:

http://www.pinterest.com/rbiondo/whole-brain-learning/

 

Happy planning!  Happy teaching!  Happy learning!

 

ENJOY!

~Sandy