Rule #12: We are powerful and natural explorers

Think of a time in your life that you had a problem that you solved creatively on your own. For example, once I was baking something that was bigger than my bread pan. I decided to "build" the pan up by adding about 2 inches of tin foil--worked great!

Think of something you were interested in enough to learn on your own. I have a whole list of such things, but one was wikis and for that matter, lots of other 2.0 tools.

Describe your learning (and your remembering) of one of these occasions. Did it coincide with some of the information from this last chapter? Was your head down on the desk? Were you bored?

Now, think about providing that experience for a group of 25 students in your class. Think of it as exploration, problem-solving. How would a baby go about coming up with this answer?

Rule #11: Male and female brains are different

The diagram to the left shows the "Gist" and the diagram to the right shows the "Details."

1. Boys Read: Considering Courage in Novels
2. Girls Read: Online Literature Circles

Do Gender Specific Classrooms Increase the Success of Students?

Read through the lessons. Compare them with the information from the chapter.

Read

Rule #9: Stimulate more of the senses at the same time

1. "Learning abilities are increasingly optimized the more multi-sensory the environment becomes. Learning is less effective in a unisensory environment."
What are the implications of this finding for education?

2. Think about the last lesson you taught that 'bombed'. What senses were most in use during that lesson? How could you have put smell, sound, or touch into that lesson?

3. A couple of sites with more information:

• Nonlinguistic Representation
  http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/nonl.php
• Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers
  http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/cues.php

How the Internet Affects Reading

I came across some articles having to do with the effects of the internet on reading and thinking. Some you may have read before, but I am listing them here because they certainly give us something to think about.
Yes, the Internet is rotting your brain Laura Miller

Reading in a Digital Age Sven Birkerts

Is Google Making Us Stupid? Nicholas Carr

Why Abundance is Good: A Reply to Nicholas Carr Clay Shirky

Why Abundance Should Breed Optimism: A Second Reply to Nick Carr Clay Shirky

Where are those Brodkey articles?

Staff folders-->Common Folder-->Brain Rules-->Helping High School Students Deal with Stress

Rule #8 Stressed Brains Don't Learn the Same Way

Respond to these statements:
1. "One persons's stress is another person's shrug. These three things must be in effect: You have a physiological response to the stressor; You'd avoid the stressor if you could; You don't feel in control of the stressor." (http://www.brainrules.net/stress)

2. "One of the greatest predictors of performance in school turns out to be the emotional stability of the home." (p. 183)

3."These days Gottman says he can predict the quality of a relationship...by taking a urine sample of their (the parents') children." (p. 189

4. "My idea envisons an educational system where the first students are not the children. The first students are the parents." (p. 189)

It would be nice to think we have nothing to do with student stress. Read the articles written by Jerry Brodkey. Think about stressors in your classroom. Are there ways to mitigate those stressors?

Rule #7: Sleep Well, Think Well

Cape Cod Morning and Nighthawk both by Edward Hopper

Did Edward Hopper know about Larks and Owls? Who knows? But if you look at these pictures you can probably tell which scene you would rather be a part of, and your choice may indicate which end of the day you are working at your optimum!

Fill out the rubric to decide whether you are a Lark or an Owl. Then read the article your group assigns you. Afterwards get together with your group and talk about some of the things below:

• What did you find out in your reading about sleep and students?
• If you were in the school system that matched sleep style to school attendance time, when would you be teaching?
• Aside from the pieces you can't control about school day schedules, are there things in this chapter you can use to optimize learning?

Rule #6: Remember to Repeat

"Memory does not refer to a single aspect of our experience but rather encompasses a myriad of learned information, such as knowing the identity of the 16th president of the United States, what we had for dinner last Tuesday or how to drive a car. The processes and brain regions involved in consolidation may vary depending on the particular characteristics of the memory to be formed. "
Preston, Allison. "How Does Short-term Memory Work in Relation to Long-term Memory? " Ask the Experts. Scientific American, 27 Sept 2007. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=experts-short-term-memory-to-long-term&print=true

Today's Discussion
The reading mentions that long-term memory takes awhile to form. It suggests that if a school day were set up to maximize long-term memory retention, it would include half-hour "skinnies" with students returning to each class for another half-hour after a two hour absence. This will never happen in our situation. How could we structure instruction to make sure students DO remember what they need to learn? After your discussion, respond to this brain rule on this blog.



Click on the link below to find out about the brain in an interesting way.








http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/index_i.html

Rule #5--Repeat to Remember

1. So was Madeline Hunter right after all? What did you learn in this chapter that could be applied to her Anticipatory Set?
2. Do our classes use repetition enough for students to actually learn? How could we incorporate repetition across the curriculum?
3. Whenever we lost things, my dad would always say, "Where were you when you had it last?" Also, if I forget what I am doing, because I have been interrupted mid-flight, I often go back to the location I started in to remember. Any other stories that have been given an aha by this reading?
4. What is one thing you will change in your pedagogy because of reading this chapter?

Brain Rule #4--We don't pay attention to boring things!

PBS Frontline recently presented a show called digital_nation: life on the virtual frontier.

1. Watch the first section of the show.
2. Talk about it with your group.
3. Blog about your discussion.

Scientists find how relaxed minds remember better

(Reuters) March 24, 2010
Stronger and more lasting memories are likely to be formed when a person is relaxed and the memory-related neurons in the brain fire in sync scientists said on Wednesday. read more

Brain Rule #3--Every Brain is Wired Differently

1. Theory of Mind and Autism

• Theory of mind in normal development and autism by Simon Barron-Cohen
• Theory of Mind in Autism: Development, Implications, and Intervention by Johanna Lantz, Indiana Resource Center for Autism
• Sally Ann and the Smarties Test

2. Customized Instruction and Dyslexia

3. Teachers as "Mind Readers" : How do we actually "...git 'er done?"

• The Brain Rules Teaching Method
• A2i
• Web Tool Boxes for Educators
• Differentiated Instruction and Implications for UDL Implementation
• Differentiated Instruction and Resources

Brain Rule #2 The Human Brain Evolved, Too.

1. Click on the picture below to watch a flash presentation on the parts of the brain.




2. Go to the top left corner of this blog under the heading "Pages" and click on the title of the article below to find out what makes the human mind special.

Frith, Chris D., and Uta Frith. "Interacting Minds--A Biological Basis." Science 286.5445 (1999): 1692. Professional Development Collection. EBSCO. Web. 9 Mar. 2010.

3. Click on the picture below to read about how stress affects learning.

" Stress: Interference to Learning." Brain Connection. August 2000 By E. Simon Hanson

4. Click on the picture below to see where brain evolution might lead.

Get Smarter By Jamais Cascio--The Atlantic--March 9, 2010

Go You Chicken Fat Go!

When I taught preschool between 1978 and 1984, one of my teacher aides brought in a 78 rpm record that she had received from an adult ed exercise program called Chicken Fat. Needless to say, it appealed to my sense of the absurd, and I try to keep my teaching absurd, if nothing else to keep myself amused. We had no gym facilities (Catholic School), so if it wasn't a good day outside, we stayed in the classroom for our physical activities. I can't tell you how many times 3 and 4 year-olds exercised with me to this tune! Check out the links to the left to hear the tune and learn a little more about it. 6 minutes of this would certainly raise the pulse rate and it can be done in a small setting. The following is information from the JFK Library:

"Possibly the oddest contribution to the effort (The President's Council on Physical Fitness) was the Chicken Fat Song. Written by Meredith Willson, creator of the Music Man, and sung with enthusiasm by Robert Preston, the actor most responsible for that musical's success, the Chicken Fat Song was produced in a three-minute, radio-friendly version and a six-minute version to accompany schoolchildren during Council-approved workout routines. The song didn't get much airplay, but for tens of thousands of children doint sit-ups in school gyms around the country, the cajoling chorus of "go, you chicken fat, go!" became ingrained in their memory. "

Rule #1 Exercise Boosts Brain Power

Our books won't be available at least until the end of this week. Please read the articles below before our meeting tomorrow:

• Brain Rule Rundown #1 by John Medina
• Exercise Improves Kids' Academics by Dan Peterson
• A Fit Body Means a Fit Mind by Vanessa Richardson
• Classroom Exercise Makes Learning Lively: Four Techniques for Mental Clarity (video)

Anyone interested in an alternate time?

A couple of our members are having trouble meeting on Thursday nights. If you would like to join a group meeting on an alternate evening (in the morning? That's 6:25 people) blog on and see what can be arranged.

Where are the books?

22 books are at Barnes and Noble waiting for a PO from the DCSD. Hopefully I can pick them up and pass them out soon. I will be ordering 11 more books so we have enough to go around. Keep track of the blog to find news you can use!

New members join our group...

We have had a surge of new members joining our study group. Right now, we stand at 32 people. There should be plenty of discussion and opportunities for collaboration. Our first discussion group will meet next Thursday, February 25.

Signing up as a follower.

Please sign up to be a follower of this blog. Then, after each discussion we'll be doing some posting to summarize our thoughts. Feel free to post when you like.

12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School

Welcome to the blog connected to our study of John Medina's book, Brain Rules. In order to be paid for the discussion portion, we are documenting by summarizing input from each discussion. Feel free also, to continue the discussion or ask questions of your peers using this blog. I will try to put some extra resources on the blog that you may find interesting.

John Medina has a video on the website mentioned above. To see the video, click here