BRAIN POWER!!!

I remember my first year of college and the local blockbuster video had an entire shelf dedicated to DVDs. Now, both DVDs and Blockbuster Video Stores are fading into the background. If you are like me and have witnessed the technology wave hit, it is time to succom to the vast ocean of high-tech information and communication.

Like flip phones and cassettes, many educators are relics of the past and are being asked to teach to ‘digital natives’ who have know nothing except a world consumed by technology.  High-tech environments are their way of life. So how do we teach to ‘digitally native’ students? Certainly not the way we were taught. I don't even know if our students would recognize a typewriter or a disc drive. The good news is they are still using one tool that we used too...THE BRAIN!!!!!

In the classroom we will have to create an environment that supports brain-based learning and recognizes the impact of technology in the process. As educators we need to take note of all the high-tech advancements in the last 15 years and teach our students to thrive in a future that will only be more-and-more technology laden.

The BRAIN is too complex to understand!

Come on...we are educators. We're practically SUPERHEROS. We can totally figure this out, right? We just need to completely simplify how the brain works in order to establish a good foundation to work from. Here is my completely over simplified version of how the brain works and how, as awesome ‘superhero’ educators we can teach students using the most powerful tool known to man….The BRAIN!!!!!!

The brain SENSES the environment

The brain adds up what it sees and INTEGRATES the information
Then it generates the appropriate movements and ACTS.

Knowing this, we need to create lessons that connects content to these three main processes of the brain, particularly with the innovative use of technology. Simple, right?.....WRONG. That’s why we leave teaching to superheros like us.

SENSING

Information is processed through the emotional center of the brain BEFORE the ‘thinking’ cognitive center. This means that we need to create a positive emotional environment for our students.  When considering environment, it is made up of two parts: the way it looks physically and the way it feels. 

The physical environment needs to be stimulating by infusing visuals that evoke emotions and connects to a students self (culture/history/etc) and interests (sports/hobbies/etc). We can do this through posters, physical artifacts, literature and even the digital images we display (video/powerpoints/etc).  In addition, we need to consider what elements promote or hinder this process. For example, the use of music and art connect with the emotional centers of the brain allowing information to connect with the ‘thinking’ part of the brain. On the other hand, stress hinders this process. We can work to minimize stress through calm lighting, relaxation zones, etc.

What does a student need to FEEL emotionally connected?

Let’s face it, superheros love being the center of attention, but these days students are the CENTER of education, not the teacher. This allows our students to feel like their interests/lives are being valued, building their self-worth. Having pride in their lives and for their work is incredibly motivating and essential to learning. We can support this by connecting content to their culture/interests and giving them choice in their work. Allowing them to use digital sources to not only research these areas, but also connect with them via communication forums (blogs/email/etc).

INTEGRATING

Now we need our students to take the information we are giving them and harness its amazing power.  We can do this by ‘planning multiple activities to activate the brain’s memory systems.’ Stations can be created in the classroom to not only meet the needs of differentiated learners, but also reinforce content knowledge through multiple activities. Next, we need to give the student time to reflect on what they learn and connect it to previous learning.  For example, if I am teaching a student about pyramids they can read a text, discuss in a group, watch a video, research online, build a model. Then we can give the student time to reflect on their learning and then report their findings (verbal/written). “When this "deep meaning" connects with "surface knowledge," you have what we call felt meaning, which is this "Aha!" experience that we now define as learning.’

ACTING

We do all of this so that our students can actually do something with everything they learn. They can show learning through many different actions as follows:

DEVELOPING 21st CENTURY SKILLS: Students are learning skills that will allow them to compete in the real world, such as collaboration, technology use and expanding their learning beyond the classroom.

TEST TAKING: Let’s face it….we live in an era of ‘high-stakes accountability for student performance.’ By integrating technology into brain based learning we are not only promoting 21st century skills, but also preparing them to take tests, which is an integral part of student achievement.

WOA...WOA...WOA...STOP the Clock!!!! Not everything about digital integration is good. We need to be aware of the downfalls in order to try and avoid them. First, increased technology use means less face-to-face interactions. This means our students struggle more and more with traditional modes of interaction, such as conversations and opt for texting/twittering/etc. We need to create opportunities to develop our students 21st century skill of face-to-face communication.

Second, students brains of changed. In my day, we had less simili and we had longer attention spans. With the influx of technology, our students are bombarded with stimuli and at a very quick rate. This has trained their brains to search for stimuli. This leads to shorter attention spans and an associated higher anxiety rate. Balancing between creating an environment that is stimulating enough, but not too overwhelming is a task only for a SUPERHERO.

1. The Art of Changing the Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2014, from file:///home/chronos/user/Downloads/the%20art%20of%20changing%20the%20brain-zull.pdf  
2. The Talking Page Literacy Organization - The Twelve Principles for Brain-Based Learning. (n.d.). The Talking Page Literacy Organization - The Twelve Principles for Brain-Based Learning. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://www.talkingpage.org/artic011.html
3. Brainbasedoverview. (n.d.). Brainbasedoverview. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://www4.uwsp.edu/education/lwilson/brain/bboverview.htm
4. Advice & Support. (n.d.). Teens and Social Media. Retrieved February 20, 2014, from http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/2013-11-26-self-esteem-and-anxiety-digital-age
5. Building a Better School with Brain-Based Learning. (n.d.). Edutopia. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://www.edutopia.org/brain-based-learning-key-largo-school-video
6. Building a Better School with Brain-Based Learning. (n.d.). Edutopia. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://www.edutopia.org/brain-based-learning-key-largo-school-video 
7. Elementary-Age Learning. (n.d.). Videojug. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://www.videojug.com/interview/elementary-age-learning-2
8. School of Education at Johns Hopkins University-The Brain Targeted Teaching Model. (n.d.). School of Education at Johns Hopkins University-The Brain Targeted Teaching Model. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/spring2010/thebraintargetedteachingmodel/index.html