Presentation of information Thinking Routines to help us
reflect on our own thinking and identify our own dispositions as
learners. Activities individual or group
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What can learning about the brain teach us about how we learn?
How can examining our own dispositions help us achieve a better
understanding of how we learn? How can we develop strategies to
help us with the process of learning?
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1. What do you think you know about your brain? 2. What
questions or puzzles do you have? 3. What does the topic make you
want to explore?
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We are learning more and more every day about how the brain
functions and how that translates to behavior including
learning.
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1.You only use 10% of your brain power. 2.You have 6000
thoughts every day. 3.Your brain uses as much energy as a
refrigerator bulb. 4.Drinking kills brain cells. 5.Memory starts to
get worse when you hit 30. 6.Doing Sudoku improves memory.
7.Listening to Mozart makes babies smarter.
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A cabbage A raisin A pillowcase A grapefruit String cheese A
walnut
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Your brain is your most powerful organ, yet weighs only about
three pounds. It has a texture similar to firm jelly. It has three
main parts: The cerebrum fills up most of your skull. It is
involved in remembering, problem solving, thinking, and feeling. It
also controls movement. The cerebellum sits at the back of your
head, under the cerebrum. It controls coordination and balance. The
brain stem sits beneath your cerebrum in front of your cerebellum.
It connects the brain to the spinal cord and controls automatic
functions such as breathing, digestion, heart rate and blood
pressure.
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Your brain is nourished by one of your body's richest networks
of blood vessels. With each heartbeat, arteries carry about 20 to
25 percent of your blood to your brain, where billions of cells use
about 20 percent of the oxygen and fuel your blood carries. When
you are thinking hard, your brain may use up to 50 percent of the
fuel and oxygen. The whole vessel network includes veins and
capillaries in addition to arteries.
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The real work of your brain goes on in individual neurons.
Scientists call this dense, branching network a "neuron forest.
Signals traveling through the neuron forest form the basis of
memories, thoughts, and feelings.
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There are ~ 100 billion Small enough for 30,000 to fit on head
of a pin Connects with thousands of other neurons Courtesy of
Morphonix LLC, Sausalito, CA
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Three major components: Dendrites: Receive information from
other neurons Courtesy of Morphonix LLC, Sausalito, CA
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Soma: Cell body containing the nucleus, the brain of the neuron
Courtesy of Morphonix LLC, Sausalito, CA
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Axon: Connects with other cells to transmit information Can be
up to several feet long! Courtesy of Morphonix LLC, Sausalito,
CA
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Always active! Constantly integrating and generating
information Hotbed of activity! Neurons dont hibernate! Courtesy of
Morphonix LLC, Sausalito, CA
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Signals that form memories and thoughts move through an
individual nerve cell as a tiny electrical charge. Nerve cells
connect to one another at synapses. When a charge reaches a
synapse, it may trigger release of tiny bursts of chemicals called
neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitters travel across the synapse,
carrying signals to other cells.
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100 billion nerve cells 100 trillion synapses dozens of
neurotransmitters This strength in numbers provides your brains raw
material. Over time, our experiences create patterns in signal type
and strength. These patterns of activity explain how, at the
cellular level, our brains code our thoughts, memories, skills and
sense of who we are.
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Dendrites can grow at any age Synaptic connections occur at any
age; easier earlier in life Brain is PLASTIC. Adaptable Use it or
Lose it
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If you were to write a headline that captures the most
important aspect to keep in mind for this seminar, what would that
headline be?
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With a partner, discuss your headline. What are the
similarities and differences in your thinking?
Slide 23
Both hemispheres work together Many functions occur
simultaneously Studies show that when more neurons in the brain
were firing at the same time, learning, meaning, and retention were
greater for the learner.
Slide 24
Brain is malleable; our experiences help shape it. It is like a
muscle the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. Every
time you try hard and learn something new, your brains form new
connections. Intellectual development is not the natural unfolding
of intelligence, but rather the formation of new connections
brought through EFFORT & LEARNING!
