john breur, executive administrator of the james s. mcdonnell foundation: if brain-based education...

Response to Instruction and Intervention Institute

Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12August 4-5, 2010

John Breur, executive administrator of the James S. McDonnell Foundation:

…if brain-based education is true, then “the pyramids were built by aliens---

---to house Elvis”.

is “engagement of the strategies based on

principles derived from an understanding of the

brain.”~Eric Jensen

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Age Range Working Memory in Number of Chunks

Minimum Maximum Average

Younger than 5 1 3 2

Between 5 and 14 3 7 5

14 and Older 5 9 7

Experience changes neural connections.

There is no reading gene. The brain prefers novel

stimulus. The brain is hard-wired to

mimic and imitate.

Neurogenesis – the production of new neurons in the human brain

New neurons are highly correlated with memory, mood, and learning

Neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to rewire and remap itself

Acute and chronic stress can have an effect on brain function.

There are differences in the brain according to gender:

Boys and girls see print on a page differently.

Boys and girls hear differently.

Educators can make positive and significant changes in our brains in a short amount of time.

Teachers have to help neurons fire and then provide continued experiences so that these neurons wire together.

Summarize Key Points So Far

Add Your Own Thoughts

Pose Clarifying Questions

Adapted from Jay McTighe

Reading is a complex, rule-based system that must be imposed on biological structures that were designed or evolved for other reasons. (Fisher, Frey, & Lapp, 2009)

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard neuroscientist who suffered a major stroke at age 37 recounts her personal perspective regarding learning to read again.

There are no areas of the brain that specialize in reading.

Reading is probably the most difficult task we ask the young brain to undertake.

Automaticity must be established.

The teaching of reading skills and strategies to students must be addressed across the content areas.

During ReadingPassage Reading Procedures

Read – Pause – Question› Partner #1 reads. Partner #2 asks questions.

Students alternate as reader and listener. Read – Pause – Record

› Partners alternate reading. Both students record notes or entries on graphic organizer.

Read – Pause – Retell› Partner #1 reads and Partner #2 retells

content. Alternate.

--Adapted from the work of Anita Archer

The brain pays less attention to familiar information.

The midbrain, deep inside the cerebrum, responds better to novelty than the familiar.

Mirror neurons in our brains = imitative reciprocity

School experiences are highly social. Modeling for students is critical: this

might just be one of the most important and under-reported findings for educators this decade. (Fisher, Frey, & Lapp, 2009)

Every bit of evidence available suggests that the human brain is designed for a broad range of thinking patterns. So if the brain is capable of higher-order thinking, why do we see so little of it in the normal course of student discussion and performance? (Sousa, 2006)

Thinking is easier to describe than to define.

We do not teach the brain to think. We can, however, encourage students to use their innate thinking abilities to process learning at higher levels of complexity.

We need to work harder at teaching students how to organize content in such a way that it facilitates and promotes higher-order thinking.

Modeling is critical as teachers are valuable role models.

Who was the second president of the United States?

What are the similarities and differences between the post-Civil War and post-Vietnam War periods?

Defend why we should or should not have capital punishment.

Remember

Understand

Apply

Analyze

Evaluate

Create

20%

80%

Online Research

Design, Inventor compose

Simulations & Modeling

Compare and Contrast

Expressionand

Visualization

DemonstrateExplain

Drilland

Practice

CritiqueAlternative Perspectives

Bruer, J. (1997). Education and the brain: a bridge too far. Educational Researcher, 1-13.

Fisher, F., Frey, N., & Lapp, D. (2009). In a reading state of mind: brain research, teacher modeling, and comprehension instruction. Newark, DE: International Reading Association, Inc.

Jensen, E. (2008). Brain-based education: a fresh look at brain-based education. Phi Delta Kappan, 89, 408-417.

Sousa, D. (2006). How the Brain learns. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Zambo, D., & Broze, W. (2009). Bright beginnings for boys: engaging young boys is active literacy. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

john breur, executive administrator of the james s. mcdonnell foundation: if brain-based education...

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