With thanks to Margie Schwartz and the committee for excellent guidance

What does current brain research tell us about effective strategies for teaching?

How can curiosity and prediction promote and sustain attention so students want to know what they have to learn? How can prepare the brain to optimize memory acquisition?

Essential Questions

•! How does the brain !pay attention"? •! What gets through the brain#s !attention filter" • How can sustain attentive focus?

R = REACH ATTENTION Essential Questions

Attention & Memory

!! Learning begins with sensory information

!!Input not attended to, can#t become memory

REACHING ATTENTION

Prefrontal Cortex

a basil gimlet Ray of Light

Only

!

Millions of bits of sensory data available every second

Reticular Activating System: RAS

A primitive low brain structure !Programmed" to select intake based on survival value

What#s New?

Can it hurt me?

Where’d you come from?

!

!

Students are always

paying attention

!

!

!

!

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They are paying attention to sensory input, just not always to the sensory input teachers want them to select

Millions of bits of sensory information are available each second

The RAS, an involuntary filter, gives priority to novelty

Perceived threat before curiosity

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!! Sound (voice volume, pitch, cadence)

!! Color

!! Movement

!! Placement of objects

!! Your appearance (hat, clothing)

!! Curious Items

For CURIOSITY

Walk backwards

before teaching negative numbers, past tense, or going !back"in history

!

Student Distress

Students distressed by change or the unexpected?

Plan and partner with them!

ADVERTISE to promote

CURIOSITY

!Promos" for a coming unit

Videos For Curiosity & Relevance

Advertising

Sign up as educator-you’ll get code Access to their video clips, photos, music, or your own Your students can use your code and make animotos to summarize understanding

Animoto.com

Draw Attention With Cues

RAS Intake Strategy

Curiosity + Prediction =

Sustained Attention

Prediction

Does your brain !need to know" if a prediction it makes is correct?

Why Did You Need to Know?

"! wants to predict

"! needs to know if predictions are correct

"! learns from feedback

Your brain seeks the pleasure of accurate predictions so it:

When the brain predicts (selects & !bets")

•! Increases curiosity

•! Sustains attention

•! Promotes memory

!

!

A song related to the day#s lesson

!

!

•! Visual images related to lesson • Unusual objects

Through novelty, curiosity, and prediction, children are motivated to want to know what they have to learn.

Accountability

Wait time

Lower mistake and participation fear

You get feedback on mastery or needs

Predict with individual response tools: white boards, magic pads, clickers

Use the power of *prediction*

to promote and sustain curiosity:

All Students Respond to All

Questions

!

!

!

To change passive inattention to sustained attention and participation

Novelty and Curiosity promote intake by attention intake (RAS) Prediction sustains focus

•! How can input be propelled through the brain#s !emotional filter" to reach the thinking brain?! • What strategies reduce stress & negativity

Essential Questions

PREFRONTAL CORTEX

Wang, Jiongjiong et al. (2005) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci 102, 17804-17809.

PFC Reflective

brain

Reactive! brain

Stress blocks flow through Amygdala

Amygdala

Teachers !

React !to Stress Also!

Images of faces seen before memory task

Group B

Group A

A B

Hamman, et al., Cog NS 2007Neuroscience 2007

A: Positive emotional state: PFC passage & better memory

B: Stressed state: no PFC passage = low memory

AMYGDALA

Scans During Memory Task

"

!

Stress State Lower reactive brain in control

Fight Flight

Freeze

Fight: Disruptive Flight: Create own brain stimulation Freeze: Zone out

Stress State Behavior Outputs

82

•! Unprepared for class

•! Peer relationships

•! No personal relevance

•! Boredom from material already mastered

•! Frustration due to previous failure

•! Test-taking anxiety and oral presentations

•! Physical, clothing, language differences

Causes of Stress in School

•! One’s intelligence and skills are predetermined, limited,

unchangeable •! Effort is fruitless after repeated

failure

Fixed Mindset Beliefs

Carol Dwerk’s research

Repeatedly expending effort when there is a low probability of success promotes: "

"

Fixed Mindset & Survival

•! Survival in animals

•! !Drop out"$emotional/physical in students

"

"

The amygdala is an !emotional filter"$

High or sustained stress blocks PFC flow

Failure to reach PFC: Information cannot become long-term memory

Behavioral outputs from lower brain: reactions to stress: fight/flight/freeze

The PULL of the Video Games Model to Promote PFC Passage of Information:

"! 80% of the time failure

"! buy-in to goal

"! persevere with challenge

"! use immediate feedback to improve

Characteristics of Video Gamers

Correlations from Neuroscience to Classroom

"! achievable challenge

"! goal buy-in

"! timely & frequent feedback

"! acknowledgment of incremental goal progress

The Pull is powered by Dopamine

!

Intrinsic reinforcement from making correct predictions

"! pleasure "! decreased stress "! curiosity "! attention "! motivation

!

!

Dopamine Promotes

perseverance & memory

Moving Enjoying music Being read to Interacting well with peers Experiencing humor Choice Optimism

!

BOOSTERS

Scientific

Am Mind

8/2010!

Dopamine-Reward Center (Nucleus Accumbens)

Memory Predicting Network

Dopamine-Reward System

Steady state of dopamine to PFC except when a prediction (choice, decision, answer) is made

Prefrontal Cortex Where Prior Knowledge is pulled to make a prediction

!!!! !

Correct predictions increase dopamine pleasure

The prefrontal cortex really loves its dopamine pleasure, so the networks used to make the correct prediction are reinforced

!!!! !

Less dopamine is released when a a prediction is incorrect The prefrontal cortex wants to avoid the drop in dopamine

+ Corrective feedback

= Revised networks (neuroplastic changes) + Practice (fire together)

"! Buy-in to goal "! Achievable challenge "! Frequent feedback "! Incremental progress

Video Game Model for Motivation and Memory

Growth mindset beliefs:

One’s intelligence and skill

have the potential to grow

Effort and practice can

increase ability

"

"

Growth Mindset

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Relevance: YouTube and other downloads to show relevance…

Preassessment

Differentiation (individualization) i.e. scaffolding, flexible groups

!!

!!

Achievable Challenge

!

"

Awareness of Incremental Goal Progress

"

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gr

Analytic Rubrics Reveal multiple criteria to be used in assessment Students can select from a range of quality levels Provide informative feedback about their incremental progress Rubicon.com .

Rubrics Help Students

Incremental Progress

Effort to goal

progress graphs

TOTAL TIME PRACTICED

Number of successful attempts

Video Game Model

Goal “buy-in”

Achievable Challenge: e.g. pre-assessment, scaffolding, enrichment

Awareness of Incremental Goal Progress

Participation and Mistakes The Keys to Long-term

Memory

The neuroplasticity of strong accurate memory is fueled by DOPAMINE-PLEASURE

"!Intrinsic satisfaction from making correct predictions

MAKING A MISTAKE IN WHOLE

CLASS SETTING

How can we increase active participation when students are worried about making mistakes in front of classmates?

!

!

Reduce !

Mistake !

Fear!

!Decrease the fear of participation!!

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Point out your own mistakes Example and non-example column Repeat correct part of their answer

Reduce Participation Fear

Use questions with no wrong answers (see optical illusion website)

Reduce Participation Fear

Mystery story

Riddles

Estimation

!

1.! Meaningful goals

2.! Achievable Challenge (scaffolding, enrichment) 3.! Help students acknowledge incremental goal progress (frequent assessment & feedback)

Neuro-logical Success Cycle

!

!

Growth of self-confidence/

competence (growth mindset)

3

Effort to Progress Experiences

Increase “risks” of participation and creative innovation

Motivated to persevere through challenge and setbacks

Short-term (working) Memory

Pattern

Matching

Two Big Ideas of Neuroscience

The brain seeks

Patterns

Pleasure

!

!

Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction "

Computers offer a constant stream of stimuli,

new challenge to focusing and learning.

!

! Where is memory made? What makes something stick in working memory?

! !

Essential Questions

Pattern Matching For Working Memory

The brain interprets new information based on existing patterns.

If there is no pattern waiting…

new input is misinterpreted, rejected, or

disappears!

When there is a successful pattern match…

The hippocampus encodes sensory input into working memory

Patterning is the basis for literacy & numeracy

!

!

Patterning is the brain’s process for linking new learning to existing knowledge !

Patterns are Passageways for Memories to Follow

Activate Prior Knowledge for Successful Pattern Match

The hippocampus encodes sensory input into working memory

Activated Prior Knowledge

Pattern Activation With Prior

Knowledge Bridges

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!

!

Bulletin boards that preview

Pre-unit assessments

Show videos or images that remind students of prior knowledge

Remind students about previous exposures (cross-curricular, spiraled curriculum)

Activation of Prior Knowledge

Predict/KWL

Graphic Organizers

Activate prior knowledge

Relate new to existing memory

Venn Diagram

New information must link (encode) with existing memory to become working memory

Frequently activated patterns promote automatic responses (milk, cow, white)

Patterning strength promotes automaticity for literacy and numeracy

Prior knowledge activation and graphic organizers increase pattern matching for memory encoding

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www.RADTeach.com

Judy Willis’ Books & Website