Some Neuroscience Stuff

We haven't really posted lately--things got a little crazy! But, I will post more things soon. In the meantime, I found this to be very relevant to what we're learning in class:

Here are three facts about the brain that every educator ought to know
By Daniel Willingham


"Fact 1: The brain is always changing.
Sometimes an education nostrum is supported by the claim that "it actually changes the brain.” (Less often it's offered as a warning against some alleged danger, e.g., video games.)
The phrase is meant to convey that the object under discussion has a powerful impact, but a change in the brain is no evidence of impact at all. The brain is always changing. Every experience you have, however trivial, leads to some change in the brain.
Brain changes would be a meaningful measure of impact if we knew how they relate to behavioral changes, which brings us to fact number two.

Fact 2: The connection between the brain and behavior is not obvious.
We can readily measure certain aspects of brain anatomy and physiology, and the confidence with which we can interpret what those data mean for behavior varies; but usually we're not all that confident.
This fact sounds self-evident, but it's regularly forgotten or ignored. For example, much has been made of new data showing that myelination (the process by which some neural pathways become insulated) is not complete in humans until they reach their mid-20's.
The last brain area to be myelinated is the prefrontal cortex, a region thought to play a role in inhibiting unwanted behaviors. These facts have been offered as a reason that teenagers have difficulty controlling impulses. They can't help it—their brains are not fully developed.
But this interpretation has unsupported assumptions embedded in it. First, it assumes that we know what the prefrontal cortex does. It does appear to play some role in impulse control, but it does lots of things; it's a large area, which seems to contribute to many higher cognitive functions.
Second, it assumes we know the behavioral consequences of the absence of myelin. The brain is a complex system, and the consequences of changing one component of a complex system are usually not straightforward.

Fact 3: Deriving useful information for teachers from neuroscience is slow, painstaking work.
This fact is a corollary of Fact 2. Teaching is a behavioral business. We describe the desired outcomes for students in behavioral terms—that is, what students can do. We discuss teaching in behavioral terms.
When we bring the brain into the picture, we need to be able to get back to that behavioral description. When I say “the brain works this way,” that's fun and interesting, but for it to do any useful work for me, I need to know what the consequences are at the behavioral level.
Because we're defining educational goals in terms of behavior, I need to be able to move readily from neuroscience to behavior. A bridge between the two must be built. It was to that bridge that John Bruer referred in an influential article from 1997 titled “A Bridge Too Far.” Bruer argued that the ties between neuroscience and behavior were too tenuous to be of much use in education.
Neuroscience can contribute to education—it has already done so, especially in our understanding of reading and why some students have difficulty learning to read. Pick up a copy of the journal Mind, Brain, and Education and you'll see more examples. (I'm an associate editor of that journal.)
But most of what you see advertised as educational advice rooted in neuroscience is bunkum.
How can you tell the difference between bonafide research and schlock? That's an ongoing problem and for the moment, the best advice may be that suggested by David Daniel, a researcher at James Madison University: “If you see the words 'brain-based,' run.”"

Happy Reading! Happy New Year!

3 Critical Components for Learning

The attached two articles give specific examples of how students learn, and what may be happening when they do not learn. In essence, the following 3 components are crucial:

-Recognition networks (the "what" of learning)
-Strategic networks (the "how" of learning)
-affective goals (the "why" of learning)

Usually we focus on 2 of the 3, but all 3 are critical in creating a balanced curriculum. How do we do this when we have so many students? With the new technology, individualizing learning will be more possible. See "Learning to Read in the Digital Age" (Rose & Dalton, 2009).

Okay, frustrating-- can't upload PDFs here. The citations are below, or if you're interested, message me.

McPherson, S. (2009). A Dance with the butterflies: A metamorphosis of teaching and learning through technology. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37, 229-236.

Rose, D. and Dalton, B., (2009). Learning to read in the digital age. Mind, Brain, and Education, 3 (2), 74-83.

More personal posts soon-- lots of school things happening at the moment.

Miss you all!

Reflections on Teaching 1

I truly believe that had I received the training I have had at Harvard during the past 4 weeks prior to my teaching career, I would have been a much more effective teacher. (Well, or perhaps I needed to experience to fully understand the implications of what we're studying and doing). It is absolutely amazing to be in the hub of educational research. I am truly blessed, and I feel a need to communicate what I've been learning. Blogging is, of course, a rather fragmented approach, but a nevertheless valuable one. I think I would just like to take all of the information I've learned and travel around the States and give presentations. A liaison for the MBE program? A Neuroeducator Liason for MBE (Mind, Brain, and Education) at Harvard. There. I've created my own job :)

Anyhow, I have extracted a few ideas from the following articles: 

Carey, S. (in press, 2010). Precis of The Origin of Concepts. Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Fischer, K. W., & Bidell, T. R. (2006). Dynamic development of action and thought. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Theoretical models of human development, Handbook of child psychology (6th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 313-399). New York: Wiley. pp. 313-336, 347-399

Learning is really dynamic and not the traditionally seen linear approach. We have commonly seen education as a linear system (imagine a ladder where each step up signifies learning new skills, understanding concepts, etc.). This ladder metaphor does not truly represent what happens in the brain; rather, individuals go through a series of progressions and regressions. Before a new concept is fully understood, and individual will go through a series of "dips" before acquiring the new material. We build knowledge on past experiences and past knowledge. In essence, a boot-strapping mechanism is in place (Carey). When learning a new concept, students have what's called a placeholder (Carey) for the knowledge they do know, and then they grapple and negotiate with the new concept (a series of ups and downs) until it is embedded in their minds. 

As Fischer discusses in his essay, “When individuals are beginning to develop a new skill, they shift between two different representations or two different strategies, each of which is only partly adequate to the task” (as qtd in Fischeràpg. 355). Therefore, learning any new concept takes quite a bit of time and periods of uncertainty are to be expected.

Here is a graph that shows these progressions and regressions in various individuals:

 Pretty cool, huh?

Here's what happens to students' learning over time when they receive support (optimal level) vs. no support (functional level). Notice the HUGE leap over the course of years! We really need to have smaller class sizes, implement RtI, etc. to make this happen for each student!

And then I leave you with one final thought:

“To flourish, living systems must be more than just organized. They must be dynamic. Systems must constantly move and change if they are to carry out their functions and maintain their integrity and their interrelations with other functioning systems. A system that becomes static—unable to change and adapt to varying conditions—will quickly parish” (Fischer, Bidell, p. 308, 2006).

A living system applies to not just biological beings, but to social and mental entities as well. If something does not adapt, it will fall apart. The world of education is changing, and I couldn't be more excited about what this means for our society :)

There are so many other cool models I could post here, but I need to do homework for now.

Sensory Lobes

The following video belongs to Prof. Todd Rose from Harvard University. It is linked to YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVD3JCXdrTA


It covers the following material:

Term	Definition
Parietal Lobes	Processing somatic signals, sensory integration, and spatial navigation
Somatosensory Cortex	(Parietal) Target area for signals from skin; has "somatic" map
Posterior Parietal Areas	(Parietal) Major multisensory integration area; links to motor areas
Temporal Lobes	Processing auditory signals, critial for certain kinds of memories
Primary Auditory Cortex	(Temporal) Target area for signals from cochlea; has "tonotopic" map
Auditory Association Areas	(Temporal) Involved in more complex processing of auditory signals
Occipital Lobes	Processing of visual signals; the smallest of the four lobes
Primary Visual Cortex	(Occipital) Target area for signals from retina; has "retinotopic" map
Visual Association Areas	(Occipital) Involved in more complex processing of visual signals

Frontal Lobes

The following work belongs to Prof. Todd Rose from Harvard University. It is linked to YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zJwkDUZKec

It covers the following concepts:

Term	Definition
Cortical Lobes	Functional division of the cortex (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital)
Frontal Lobes	Involved in many different functions (e.g., motor, language, reason, etc)
Primary Motor Cortex	(Frontal) Generate movement; has map of muscles that is controls
Motor Association Areas	(Frontal) Plan and refine complex movements
Prefrontal Cortex	(Frontal) Executive functions (e.g., impulse control, delayed gratification)

The Cerebrum

The following material in linked to YouTube, and belongs to Prof. Todd Rose of Harvard University.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58fnNuFkpME

Term	Definition
Cerebrum	Grouping of brain areas involved in (among others) the control of voluntary actions
Cortex	(Cerebrum) The thin, outermost layer of cerebrum; aka: "gray matter"
White Matter	(Cerebrum) Just below cortex; consists of myelinated axons of neurons
Corpus Callosum	(Cerebrum) Bundle of axons (white matter) connecting the hemispheres
Basal Ganglia	(Cerebrum) Subcortical area involved in movement & behavioral selection
Amygdala	(Cerebrum) Subcortical area involved in (among others) fear response
Hippocampus	(Cerebrum) Subcortical area involved in formation of explicit memories

Brain Organization

Once again, the following belongs to Prof. Todd Rose of Harvard University:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C_unYyMUZ8

The above link is about the following terms:

Term	Definition
Brain Stem	Grouping of brain areas that control automatic functions (e.g., heart rate)
Cerebellum	Brain area key for functions like skeletal-muscle control & coordination
Diencephalon	Grouping of brain areas involved in a range of regulatory functions
Pineal Gland	(Diencephalon) Helps regulate sleep/wake cycle by producing melatonin
Hypothalamus	(Diencephalon) Internal regulation (e.g., temperature, thirst, appetite)
Thalamus	(Diencephalon) Relay station for sensory signals (except smell) to the cortex

The Neuron

Here are some YouTube videos that my professor posted to help us get acquainted with the brain before we delve into its role in our every-day life. I thought some of you might be interested in perusing this, too. They are really fascinating. There are 5 videos, which I will post as different posts. They are linked to YouTube. All of the material below belongs to, and is credited to, Professor Todd Rose of Harvard University:

Session 1 Vocab:

The Neuron
This video covers the following terms:

Term	Definition
Neuron	Specialized brain cell capable of sending and receiving information
Dendrite	(Neuron) Branches that capture incoming signals from other neurons
Cell Body	(Neuron) Largest part of the neuron; contains the nucleus
Axon	(Neuron) Fiber bundle that carries signals away from the cell body
Myelin	(Neuron) Insulation around some axons that increases speed of signals
Neurotransmitter	(Neuron) Chemical used for communication between neurons
Synapse	(Neuron) Specialzed site (small gap) for communication between neurons