THE BENEFITS OF BRAIN COMPATIBLE EDUCATION

KRISTINA HALFORD EDU417: COGNITIVE STUDIES CAPSTONE INSTRUCTOR: JOANNA SAVARESE-LEVINE APRIL 28, 2014

BRAIN COMPATIBLE CLASSROOMS

This is a presentation to explain what brain compatible learning is and what brain compatible classrooms are, as well as how to utilize brain compatible learning in the classroom. The benefits of brain based learning are explained.

Educationworld.com

ABOUT ME
My name is Kristina. I am 29. I have been married for 8 years. My husband is worship leader/youth leader at our church. I live in central Illinois, close to St. Louis, Missouri. I have 3 amazing children. My son was diagnosed with autism when he was 2 years old. It turned our world upside down, but I wouldnt change a thing. He is now 7 and Im convinced he is a savant. His language development did not come easily, but now he knows 12 different languages. Every day he does something I was told he may never do and he amazes me. God also blessed me with beautiful twin girls, they just turned 6 years old. They are funny, loving, and amazing. They are part of the reason my sons language has developed into what it has today. I work as a classroom aide in a preschool classroom at a Christian School. I absolutely love it! I am pursuing my degree in Cognitive Studies. I would love to work with children with autism and other special needs in the future. Autism is very close to my heart.
autismspeaks.org

ME AND MY FAMILY

DEFINITION
Brain-based learning refers to teaching methods, lesson designs, and school programs that are based on the latest scientific research about how the brain learns, including such factors as cognitive developmenthow students learn differently as they age, grow, and mature socially, emotionally, and cognitively (Great Schools Partnership, 2013). Brain based learning is implementing strategies based on how the brain works.

TRADITIONAL LEARNING VS. BRAIN BASED LEARNING

FACTORS THAT IMPACT LEARNING

Many students today are faced with factors that impact their learning such as developmental delays, autism, ADHD, down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, etc. It is important for teachers to understand these factors to that they can adapt their teaching and accommodate students who are affected by these conditions. Many of these factors could be genetic or environmental. No matter what the cause, teachers need to educated to that their classroom becomes a great environment for all students to learn. Information may need to be presented in different ways to accommodate any students who do not learn in a conventional way. For example, some students have a reading comprehension issue. If they are taking a reading test it may be easier for the student if the teacher reads the questions orally instead of the student taking the test in a written manner.

BE AWARE
It is important for teachers who are using brain compatible strategies to be aware of students with factors that impact their learning because the students could be very sensitive to certain types of things used for some of the learning strategies. A student with autism could be very sensitive to loud music and sounds, or even to the fluorescent lighting in the room. Teaching lessons involving loud music or things that bother the student could cause a meltdown creating problems not only for that student, but for the others students and the teacher. Sensitivities to things such as the lighting should be kept in mind because that could be a distraction to the student. There are many things in a brain compatible classroom that could be overstimulating to a student with sensory issues. The teacher will need to know a lot about their individual students to know how to accommodate their teaching as well as the environment of their classroom.

HOW DO STUDENTS LEARN?

Students learn by processing information. This could be a sound, a sight, or a touch. This is stimuli. It then becomes a sensory memory. After that is becomes a short term memory, triggering a response. If the stimuli becomes encoded it is then transferred to long term memory and is able to be retrieved. Memories linked to strong emotion are more likely to be retrieved. Emotion enhances memories. When something significant happens in our life we tend to remember it more clearly than we would if it were just any other day. For instance, most of us remember September 11, 2001, however if we were asked about April 22, 2002 or any other specific date we would probably not remember it unless it was something significant as well.

INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL

EXAMPLE OF A BRAIN COMPATIBLE ACTIVITY

http://www.brainrush.com/lesson/the-four-seasons-1 Here is a game I created on brainrush.com. There is a bucket for each of the four seasons. There are different pictures that pop up. The students are to look at the picture and drag into the bucket in which season it belongs in. For example, flip flops go in summer and snowflakes go in the winter bucket. This game is considered brain compatible because it is extremely fun for young children. They love playing on the computer and will see it as a type of reward, yet will still be learning. When children enjoy something that much they tend to retain the information very well and will understand it better. This is the kind of learning that their brains react to.

THE FOUR SEASONS

The top pictures are the buckets for the seasons and the bottom two rows are the pictures to drag into the corresponding bucket.
http://www.brainru sh.com/lesson/thefour-seasons-1

CONCLUSION
Brain compatible learning is extremely beneficial for students as well as teachers. Students will benefit greatly by being able to express themselves and learn in a comfortable, fun, and brain compatible classroom. They will each be encouraged to try fun and new things. They will be more excited about learning than they had previously been. By enjoying learning more students will retain the information better than they may have if it were traditional learning. Some students do not respond to traditional learning and may be overlooked. By using brain compatible learning many students will learn things that they may have struggled with in traditional learning. It will become easier and more natural to them. Since the students will be struggling less and having fun this will make the teachers jobs much less frustrating and very enjoyable. Teaching is always a rewarding experience, but in this situation I feel that the teachers will feel much more fulfilled knowing that they have tried these strategies and have reached students that have struggled with other methods of learning. Brain based learning is great for our future generations and will help students to learn that they can succeed and that learning is a fun experience.

MODIFICATION OF A LESSON PLAN

Fall Vs. Spring (Modifications in red)

Grades: 2-3 (was originally K-1)

Overview The students will learn about fall and spring through hands-on activities that connect science and language arts. Objective

Students will:
Identify pictures of fall and spring Compare and contrast fall and spring Engage in a color science experiment

Identify the different characteristics of a flower

Participate in independent writing Engage in Brain Break Activity (each day I will incorporate a variety of brain breaks during the activity) Collaborate in Small Groups

Use thinking skills to create songs and poems and have fun.

 Day 1

Step 1: Read Apples and Pumpkins (or any other book that describes what fall is like).
Step 2: Discuss the different characteristics of fall. (Talk about different smells, tastes, sights, etc.) Step 3: Have the students go to their seats and cut out pictures from the magazines that correlate with fall. (Have the students put the pictures on a paper plate in the middle of the table.) Step 4: After students have accumulated a substantial pile of pictures, have them glue the pictures in collage form to construction paper. Make sure you have enough pictures to fill up five pieces of 18- by 12-inch pieces of construction paper. (The teacher is to cut out each piece of construction into the letters that spell "fall." For example, take the first collage and trace a large "f" out of the paper and cut it out.) Step 5: Display the collage in the middle of a bulletin board. Step 6: Students will work in groups to write a poem or a song explaining their favorite sights or smells about fall.

 Day 2
Step 1: Read It's Spring! by Pamela Chanko and Samantha Berger (or any other book that describes what spring is like). Another good book to read is Spring by Maria Rius. Step 2: Use the Venn diagram to compare and contrast what is similar about fall and spring and what is different about fall and spring. Have the students discuss their favorite things about spring, including sights, smells, sounds, etc. Step 3: Have the students go to their seats and only cut out pictures from the magazines that correlate with spring.

Repeat steps 4 and 5 from Day 1.

Step 6: Put the students back into their groups to create a poem or song describing their favorite things about spring.

 Day 3 Step 1: Sing this poem (sung to the tune of "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain"). Oh, the leaves turn red and yellow in the fall. Oh, the leaves turn red and yellow in fall. Oh the leaves turn red and yellow, the leaves turn red and yellow,

oh the leaves turn red and yellow in the fall. Yee-Haw!

Step 2: Squirt a little red and yellow paint on a paper plate. Let the students guess what color will result when the two colors are mixed. Mix the two colors. (I would just allow the students to choose fall colors to use for their leaves because most of them already know the basics of colors at this age) Step 3: Have the students go back to their seats and cut out the traced leaf. Step 4: In small groups, have students squirt a little bit of red and orange tempera paint on the cut leaf. Let students use their fingers (it's best to have them use one hand only) to mix the two colors. Have them cover the whole leaf. Step 5: Have the students write this sentence independently: "In the fall leaves change colors." (I would also have them write a descriptive sentence about their favorite thing about fall, for example: I like to pick apples with my grandpa in the fall.) Step 6: When the artwork is dry, glue the students' writing to their leaves.

 Day 4 Step 1: Read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. Discuss how flowers bloom and trees blossom in the spring. Step 2: Use the 10- by 10-inch white construction paper. In a small group have the students come back to the tables and put paint smocks on.

Step 3: Have each student pick any color watercolor paint to make a medium sized dot in the middle of their paper, forming the center of a flower.
Step 4: Students use another color to paint the outline of the petals. Step 5: Students use another color to paint the inside of the petals.

Step 6: Students use another color to paint the stem of the flower.
Step 7: Have the students write this sentence independently: "In the spring, flowers blossom." (I would also have them write an additional sentence describing something they enjoy doing in spring, such as I like to water the flowers with my mom.) (I would also allow the students to be more creative with their flower if they wanted to, for example, each student would be allowed to choose what type of flower they wanted to paint, one could choose a tulip, one a sunflower, one a rose, etc.) Step 8: When the artwork is dry, glue a piece of construction paper to the back of the watercolor flower. Add the student's writing sample to his or her flower.

Evaluation Could the students respond to the Venn diagram? Could the students follow one- and two-step directions? Could the students stay on task?

Assess Students Could the students name one thing that is the same and one thing that is different about fall and spring? Could the students verbalize what color red and yellow make? Could the students identify the parts of a flower? Could the students write phonetically? Could the students write conventionally?

For children with special needs I would ask them the questions according to their abilities. I would also allow another student to help them during the projects, but would want to ensure that they were included in the group activities.

REASONS FOR MODIFICATIONS

I added into the lesson plan to include brain breaks during the lesson. Brain breaks will help to regain focus. They are refreshing for the students as well as the teachers. I also added for them to work together in small groups. They can listen to one anothers ideas and help one another with things that some of them may not understand. It is good for them to be exposed to the fact that other students have other ideas. I also added for them to write a poem or song. This will be extremely helpful to help keep them engaged in the lesson. They will be talking about the characteristics that they have learned about as they are writing and they will also be having fun, so they will enjoy what they are learning.

They will be allowed the choice of a poem or song which will be fun and exciting to them. When they are discussing the characteristics of the seasons they will also talk about different sights, tastes, smells, sounds, etc. The lesson calls for them to write a sentence about fall or spring, but I will have them make up a sentence of their own choice about fall describing something that they enjoy doing in fall or spring instead. The students are supposed to paint a flower. I added to have them decide what type of flower they want to paint as well as the color. By allowing the students to choose things that they enjoy during their activities they will remain engaged and really gain a lot out of the lesson. When something is fun it tends to stay with you. For students with special needs I would allow other students to assist them as needed and be sure that they are treated with respect and given choices as well. During the assessment part of the lesson I would ask the questions according to their abilities. If they answer questions more easily orally rather than written I would do it that way. I want to ensure that they are given the opportunity to succeed and learn in the best environment for them

REFERENCES
Blaser, Linda. Oct. 24, 2013. 'Brain breaks' boost concentration - and add classroom fun. Main News Page, p. 14 6pp. Retrieved from http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/iwsearch/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=AWNB& p_text_direct0=document_id=%28%20149A3C0688A83F60%20%29&p_docid=149A3C0688A83F60&p_the me=aggdocs&p_queryname=149A3C0688A83F60&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=B75J5DXYMTM5ODczOTY5NS41 OTUwMDoxOjEwOkVCU0NPM Tc5NzI&&p_multi=LFRB Degen, Ronald Jean. Feb. 2014. Brain-Based Learning: The Neurological Findings About the Human Brain that Every Teacher should Know to be Effective. Amity Global Business Review. Vol. 9, p15-23. retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=97f25643-8fa4-41608fb8- eba4af7bc923%40sessionmgr4005&vid=2&hid=4111 Education World. 2014. The educators best friend. Retrieved from educationworld.com Mugurussa Tiffani. 2013. Brain Breaks. An energizing time out. Retrieved from

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2013/04/brain-breaks-energizing-time-out

REFERENCES, CONT.

Scholastic.com. 2014.Teachers. Where teachers come first. Lesson Plan. Fall vs. Spring lesson plan. Retrieved from

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/fall-vs-spring-lesson-plan
Teacher Vision. 2013. Family Education Network. Adaptations and Modifications for Students with Special Needs. Retrieved from https://www.teachervision.com/special-education/resource/5347.html The Glossary of Education Reform. 2013. Great Schools Partnership. Brain Based Learning. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/brain-based-learning/ Wolfe, P. (2010). Brain matters: Translating research into classroom practice. (2nd ed.). Alexandria,VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.