Brain Basics 101

Reptilian Brain: The “Preverbal Brain”

Brain StemOldest and smallest regionControls life itselfGoverns basic, but critical survival needsHeart actionsDigestionCirculationBreathingDeeply instinctual and ritualisticExecutes the flight, fight, or freeze response

Oxygen to the brain and body is the primary function of the reptilian system.

The Limbic Brain: the "Emotional" Brain

•Common to all mammals

·Brain's emotion factory·Activated by imagery, music

and colors·Stores all memory information

Retention of information can be significantly increased when it's presented in an emotionally

charged context!

The Neocortex Brain: the "Thinking" Brain

•Constitutes five-sixths of the total brain mass •Controls such high-level processes·Logic·Creative thought ·Language ·Abstractions·Planning

·Integration of sensory information·Slower under pressure

This is the “motherlode”

So…

...who cares?

The Triune Brain Theory and Education

•Traditional education was designed for Neocortex functions

•This misses a basic brain fact:

•Reptilian brain is an interconnected pathway to the Limbic brain which is an interconnected pathway to the Neocortex

Brain-based learning experiences pay attention to the power of the whole brain by simultaneously:

• Responding to the learner's physical and sensory needs• Creating activities that link emotions to the acquisition of new

information• Designing curriculum that requires students to form their own

knowledge/meaning

Check-In

Tell somebody next to you two things you have learned thus far

that you didn’t already know.

Check-in

The Brain as a ComputerThe brain, when it is operating with healthy reptilian and limbic centers, can focus on new information for an average of 12-15 minutes. Like a computer, during that time, it “gathers information” on the “desktop” of short-term memory.After 12-15 minutes, the brain needs “downtime” to “organize” the new information it has received into “file folders” that make sense to the receiver based upon previous experiences and perceptions of reality.

This means that you need to get up and moving every 12-15 minutes when studying and learning.