What:
CHANGES IN GREY MATTER INDUCED BY TRAINING
Newly honed juggling skills show up as a transient feature on a brain-imaging scan.
By John Raty
The traditionally held view is that the anatomical structure of the adult human brain does not alter, except for changes in morphology caused by ageing or pathological conditions. This view is contradicted by the experiments of John Ratey.
A group of young people were given 3 months to learn a classic three-ball cascade juggling routine. This group, as well as a control group were given 3 brain scans, one before learning the routine, one when they had become skilled performers (that is, when they could sustain juggling for at least 60 seconds) and the last was carried out 3 months later. During the intervening period, none of the jugglers practiced or attempted to extend their skills— for example, by learning a four-ball or a reverse cascade. In fact, most subjects were no longer fluent in three-ball cascade juggling by the time of the third scan. Group comparison at the beginning (the baseline) showed no significant regional differences in grey matter between jugglers and non-jugglers.
‘In the longitudinal analysis, the juggler group demonstrated a significant transient bilateral expansion in grey matter in the mid-temporal area and in the left posterior intraparietal sulcus between the first and the second scans. This expansion decreased in the third scan. We found a close relationship in these regions between the transient structural grey-matter changes and the juggling performance. These findings were specific to the training stimulus, as the nonjugglers showed no change in grey matter over the same period.’
‘We [find] that these individuals show a transient and selective structural change in brain areas that are associated with the processing and storage of complex visual motion. This discovery of a stimulus-dependent alteration in the brain’s macroscopic structure contradicts the traditionally held view that cortical plasticity is associated with functional rather than anatomical changes.’ (Quotes from the article)
So What: In layman’s terms this basically means that by that you can expand the grey matter of your brain by learning new skills. As I explained to my grandson, ‘You can get smarter by doing things with your mind an dbody – playing the piano (He doesn’t like to), playing soccer and football, doing crossword puzzles and word searches, etc.’
Now what:
In the classroom students should be challenge to learn new skills and given exercises during classroom time to use fine motor skills to increase their intelligence. The reasons for these exercises should be explained to students and educators as well. It’s great to know that you can make yourself smarter!!!!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Chapter 6 Blog
WHAT:
Cognitivism
What different parts of the brain do and how the brain functions in adolescence
Frontal lobe: retaining long term memories that are not task based,
involves the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions,
to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best),
ability to override and suppress unacceptable social responses,
to determine similarities and differences between things or events.
Temporal lobe: one on each side of brain – hearing, memory, epilepsy from temporal lobe problems - Hippocampus and amygdale found in this area
Occipital lobe: back of brain – smallest of 4 lobes – vision and color – damage not see or recognize color. Dementia – don’t recognize colors or objects. Small relationship to hearing
Parietal lobe:spatial – perception
Amygdale: almond shape located in temporal lobe - find out
Patients with damage – anxiety and fear – don’t show an amag response to learned fear
Feel emotions that aren’t there
Men’s bigger than women’s – they feel more sexual ways rather than emotional ways like women
Hippocampus: temporal lobe – a lot like amygdale = memory
Problems = memory, amnesia, dementia
Connected to amygdale
Brain stem: everything runs thru this – nerves, etc - all things that you don’t have control over that you do automatically without conscious thought –sleeping – auto response activities
2 parts = pons and oblongata
Adolescent brain: the brain continues to develop at least into a person's twenties.
brain connections and signaling mechanisms selectively change over time to meet the needs of the environment. Overall, gray matter volume increases at earlier ages, followed by sustained loss and thinning starting around puberty, which correlates with advancing cognitive abilities.
Scientists think this process reflects greater organization of the brain as it prunes redundant connections, and increases in myelin, which enhance transmission of brain messages.
Areas associated with more basic functions, including the motor and sensory areas, mature early.
Areas involved in planning and decision-making, including the prefrontal cortex -- the cognitive or reasoning area of the brain important for controlling impulses and emotions -- appear not to have yet reached adult dimension during the early twenties.
The brain's reward center, the ventral striatum, also is more active during adolescence than in adulthood, and the adolescent brain still is strengthening connections between its reasoning- and emotion-related regions.
Scientists believe these collective findings:
May indicate that cognitive control over high-risk behaviors is still maturing during adolescence, making teens more apt to engage in risky behaviors.
With the brain's emotion-related areas and connections still maturing, adolescents may be more vulnerable to psychological disorders.
Prefontal Cortex - it acts as the CEO of the brain, controlling planning, working memory, organization, and modulating mood.
As the prefrontal cortex matures, teenagers can reason better, develop more control over impulses and make judgments better. Doesn’t fully develop until age 25
Corpus callosum - Of particular interest to educators and parents is their finding that the fiber systems influencing language learning and associative thinking grew more rapidly than surrounding regions before and during puberty (a similar period to the growth of the frontal cortex), but fell off shortly after. These findings reinforce studies on language acquisition that show that the ability to learn new languages declines after the age of 12.
RAD Teaching (low stress – high emotion)
Understanding how information becomes knowledge, and makes it to long-term memory can be a powerful tool for enriching our students’ academic success. Brain-friendly strategies empower students to respond to the best sensory input (information) from their environment, and turn that data into retained knowledge.
R - Reticular Activating System - activating system
The attention activation switching system located at the brainstem. You can control where students’ focus goes in the classroom, and what information gets through the RAS by incorporating novelty, multi-sensory learning, goal-motivated attention, and creativity with learning activities.
A - Amygdala –controls emotion
The center of the brain’s emotion relays in the limbic system and it also strengthens the long-term memory potential of information that enters accompanied by positive emotion. With low-risk, low-stress, positive learning activities, the RAS and amygdala can help the brain focus on the sensory information of the learning activity.
D – Dopamine- happy neoro transmitters that carry emotion
One of the brain’s most important neurotransmitters, proteins that carry information across spaces between nerve endings. When you can incorporate pleasurable learning experiences and activities into lessons, the dopamine released is then available to increase pleasure, attention, and memory.
USING RAD TEACHING: Make sure that our classroom is stress free.
Bring in emotion – emotion and memory are highly connected
Keep stress level down in class so kids can learn better!
As a teacher don’t be so frantic about getting thru lesson plans but cover the material appropriate
How do you cover what you need to without getting a stressful frantic feeling?
Prioritize what is essential instruction
Backwards design
Practice – Plan well
The Information Processing View
Cognitivism Basics
Learning is due to experience.
Meaning is constructed by the learner, rather than being derived directly from the environment.
Prior knowledge and beliefs play a major role in the meanings that people construct.
WHAT:
Cognitivism
What different parts of the brain do and how the brain functions in adolescence
Frontal lobe: retaining long term memories that are not task based,
involves the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions,
to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best),
ability to override and suppress unacceptable social responses,
to determine similarities and differences between things or events.
Temporal lobe: one on each side of brain – hearing, memory, epilepsy from temporal lobe problems - Hippocampus and amygdale found in this area
Occipital lobe: back of brain – smallest of 4 lobes – vision and color – damage not see or recognize color. Dementia – don’t recognize colors or objects. Small relationship to hearing
Parietal lobe:spatial – perception
Amygdale: almond shape located in temporal lobe - find out
Patients with damage – anxiety and fear – don’t show an amag response to learned fear
Feel emotions that aren’t there
Men’s bigger than women’s – they feel more sexual ways rather than emotional ways like women
Hippocampus: temporal lobe – a lot like amygdale = memory
Problems = memory, amnesia, dementia
Connected to amygdale
Brain stem: everything runs thru this – nerves, etc - all things that you don’t have control over that you do automatically without conscious thought –sleeping – auto response activities
2 parts = pons and oblongata
Adolescent brain: the brain continues to develop at least into a person's twenties.
brain connections and signaling mechanisms selectively change over time to meet the needs of the environment. Overall, gray matter volume increases at earlier ages, followed by sustained loss and thinning starting around puberty, which correlates with advancing cognitive abilities.
Scientists think this process reflects greater organization of the brain as it prunes redundant connections, and increases in myelin, which enhance transmission of brain messages.
Areas associated with more basic functions, including the motor and sensory areas, mature early.
Areas involved in planning and decision-making, including the prefrontal cortex -- the cognitive or reasoning area of the brain important for controlling impulses and emotions -- appear not to have yet reached adult dimension during the early twenties.
The brain's reward center, the ventral striatum, also is more active during adolescence than in adulthood, and the adolescent brain still is strengthening connections between its reasoning- and emotion-related regions.
Scientists believe these collective findings:
May indicate that cognitive control over high-risk behaviors is still maturing during adolescence, making teens more apt to engage in risky behaviors.
With the brain's emotion-related areas and connections still maturing, adolescents may be more vulnerable to psychological disorders.
Prefontal Cortex - it acts as the CEO of the brain, controlling planning, working memory, organization, and modulating mood.
As the prefrontal cortex matures, teenagers can reason better, develop more control over impulses and make judgments better. Doesn’t fully develop until age 25
Corpus callosum - Of particular interest to educators and parents is their finding that the fiber systems influencing language learning and associative thinking grew more rapidly than surrounding regions before and during puberty (a similar period to the growth of the frontal cortex), but fell off shortly after. These findings reinforce studies on language acquisition that show that the ability to learn new languages declines after the age of 12.
RAD Teaching (low stress – high emotion)
Understanding how information becomes knowledge, and makes it to long-term memory can be a powerful tool for enriching our students’ academic success. Brain-friendly strategies empower students to respond to the best sensory input (information) from their environment, and turn that data into retained knowledge.
R - Reticular Activating System - activating system
The attention activation switching system located at the brainstem. You can control where students’ focus goes in the classroom, and what information gets through the RAS by incorporating novelty, multi-sensory learning, goal-motivated attention, and creativity with learning activities.
A - Amygdala –controls emotion
The center of the brain’s emotion relays in the limbic system and it also strengthens the long-term memory potential of information that enters accompanied by positive emotion. With low-risk, low-stress, positive learning activities, the RAS and amygdala can help the brain focus on the sensory information of the learning activity.
D – Dopamine- happy neoro transmitters that carry emotion
One of the brain’s most important neurotransmitters, proteins that carry information across spaces between nerve endings. When you can incorporate pleasurable learning experiences and activities into lessons, the dopamine released is then available to increase pleasure, attention, and memory.
USING RAD TEACHING: Make sure that our classroom is stress free.
Bring in emotion – emotion and memory are highly connected
Keep stress level down in class so kids can learn better!
As a teacher don’t be so frantic about getting thru lesson plans but cover the material appropriate
How do you cover what you need to without getting a stressful frantic feeling?
Prioritize what is essential instruction
Backwards design
Practice – Plan well
The Information Processing View
Cognitivism Basics
Learning is due to experience.
Meaning is constructed by the learner, rather than being derived directly from the environment.
Prior knowledge and beliefs play a major role in the meanings that people construct.
A Model of Memory
Input to sensory register – (some lost)
attention goes into shorter /working memory
goes into long term memory (Some lost)
in depth processing often involves connecting new information to prior knowledge
can be retrieved fro working knowledge
Characteristics: Sensory Register, Working Memory, Long-Term Memory
Long-term Memory: Declarative/Semantic, Procedural, Episodic
SO WHAT: Putting Cognitivism into Practice
In the Classroom:
Make sure you have the students' attention;
Help students focus on the most important details and separate less vital information;
Help students make connections between new information and what they already know;
Provide for repetition and review of information;
Present material (instruction) in a clear, organized, way;
Focus on meaning, not memorization, of information.
Encoding
Rehearsal
Meaningful Learning (e.g., analogies)
Organization (e.g. advance organizers, chunking)
Elaboration
Visual Imagery
Mnemonics (if necessary)
Better Encoding: How do we get students to remember things better?
Emphasize meaningful learning
Teach for transfer
Promote flexibility
Group discussion and projects
Authentic activities
Foster dispositions
Dual coding in presentation
What we really want is Higher-Level Thinking
Bloom’s Taxonomy:
Remember: Recognizing, Recalling
Understand: Interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, explaining
Apply: Executing, implementing
Analyze: Differentiating, organizing, attributing
Evaluate: checking, critiquing
Create: generating, planning, producing
Metacognition:
Learners’ knowledge and beliefs regarding their own cognitive processes
Their attempts to regulate those cognitive processes to maximize learning and memory
How can we help them develop a realistic view? This is affected bythe students stages of development.
Other things we can do…
Primacy & Recency Effect
Practice: Massed, Distributed, Enactment
Effective Study Strategies:
Identifying Important Information
Taking Notes
Retrieving Relevant Prior Knowledge
Organizing
Elaborating
Summarizing
NOW WHAT:
As a teacher my goal is to help students learn lifetime skills so they can become productive members of society. This can be done by teaching effective learning and study strategies and higher level thinking skills. Knowing what can be expected of students at their developmental stages and understanding how the adolescent brain functions helps me as a teacher to gear my teaching to the level at which my students are functioning. Blooms taxonomy and Rad teaching would be things I would incorporate into my lesson planning and teaching strategies. The information about using cognitivism in the classroom gives succinct and clear ways to help students retain the information being presented and gives me, as a teacher, a way to check list to make sure my students are retaining what I teach. Good chapter!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 leaning log
What: This week we discussed:
Kohlberg’s Moral Development
Develop moral reasoning – teach one level above where they currently are (ZPD)
Preconventional
Punishment – avoidance and obedience – speeding reasons
Exchange of favors – you can copy my math homework if I can copy your English
Conventional
Good boy/good girl – behave because you want people to like you
Law and order – no reasons but the law is the law (no field trip w/o permission slip – Jonny’s mom is in hospital and couldn’t sign – can he go)
Post conventional
Social contract – understanding why rules are needed and that they can be bent (few get here)
Universal ethical principle – moral right and wrong that can conflict with human laws
Willingness to break laws, knowing and accepting consequences, knowing laws are unjust
Social and personal development
Kids in JHS and HS trying to figure out who they are / unsure of themselves
Imaginary audience – everyone is looking at and judging ME!
Personal fable -My life is unique – no one has ever lived like me before
Thinks that affect others don’t affect me because of personal fable
DON’T CALL THEM OUT IN FRONT OF FRIENDS / DON’T CALL ATTENTION TO THEM
Erickson’s Psychosocial Development (each stage is the crisis)
Erik Erikson’s eight stages of development
Trust vs. mistrust (infancy) - to learn whether or not other people satisfy basic needs
· If basic needs are met, a sense of trust is developed
· If needs are not met its mistrust
Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (toddler years) – developing self sufficient behavior
· Autonomy – a sense of being able to handle many problems on their own
o Care givers encourage self sufficient behavior
· Shame and doubt about their ability to handle problems
o Caregivers demand too much too soon
o Attempts ridiculed or refusal to let child perform tasks they are capable of
Initiative versus guilt (preschool years) – independent activities
· Encouraged and supports – children develop initiative
· Discouraged, dismissed as silly and bothersome –guilt about needs and desires
Industry vs. inferiority (elementary school years) –
· Encouraged to do things, praised for accomplishments children develop industry by being diligent persevering at tasks until completed, put work before pleasure
· Ridicules or punished for efforts, find they are incapable of meeting adult expectations, develop feelings of inferiority about capabilities
Identity vs. role confusion (adolescence) –
· Role confusion – mixed ideas and feelings about the specific ways in which they will fit into society
o May experiment with a variety of behaviors and activities
· Identity – most adolescents achieve a sense of identity regarding who they are and where their lives are headed
Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood) –
· When identities are established, ready for long term commitments to others – capable of forming intimate, reciprocal relationships, willing to make sacrifices and compromises that such relationships require
· Cannot form intimate relationships – possible reluctance or inability to forego satisfactions of own needs – a sense of isolation may result
Generativity vs. stagnation (middle age) –
· contributed to society – sense of Generativity ( productivity and accomplishment) results
· Self-centered and unable or unwilling to help society move forward – stagnation – a dissatisfaction with the relative lack of productivity
Integrity vs. despair (retirement years) – retrospection – looking back on life
· Integrity and contentment if believe have led a happy, productive life
· Despair – a life of disappointments and unachieved goals
SO WHAT: As a teacher knowing - as per Kohlberg - what stage my students are in and teaching them one level above where they currently are (ZPD) will help them development strong morals. In regards to Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development, the teenage and young adult years are crucial in developing a sense of who and what a person wants to become. Although labeling can be counterproductive, labeling stages of development and understating them gives a teacher tools to guide students through this challenging phase of life.
NOW WHAT:
As a teacher my job is to educate and prepare students to be fully functioning and productive members of society.
o In the classroom I can help my students develop morality by doing the following:
§ Giving reasons that some behaviors are unacceptable
§ Encouraging perspective taking, empathy and prosocial behaviors
§ Exposing students to numerous modals of moral behavior
§ Engaging students in discussions of moral issues related to academic subject matter
§ Getting students actively involved in community service
o Understanding the stages of psychosocial development, (most of my kids should be in the stages of Identity vs. role confusion and Intimacy vs. Isolation) will help me as a teacher to guide my students to become emotionally healthy individuals.
What: This week we discussed:
Kohlberg’s Moral Development
Develop moral reasoning – teach one level above where they currently are (ZPD)
Preconventional
Punishment – avoidance and obedience – speeding reasons
Exchange of favors – you can copy my math homework if I can copy your English
Conventional
Good boy/good girl – behave because you want people to like you
Law and order – no reasons but the law is the law (no field trip w/o permission slip – Jonny’s mom is in hospital and couldn’t sign – can he go)
Post conventional
Social contract – understanding why rules are needed and that they can be bent (few get here)
Universal ethical principle – moral right and wrong that can conflict with human laws
Willingness to break laws, knowing and accepting consequences, knowing laws are unjust
Social and personal development
Kids in JHS and HS trying to figure out who they are / unsure of themselves
Imaginary audience – everyone is looking at and judging ME!
Personal fable -My life is unique – no one has ever lived like me before
Thinks that affect others don’t affect me because of personal fable
DON’T CALL THEM OUT IN FRONT OF FRIENDS / DON’T CALL ATTENTION TO THEM
Erickson’s Psychosocial Development (each stage is the crisis)
Erik Erikson’s eight stages of development
Trust vs. mistrust (infancy) - to learn whether or not other people satisfy basic needs
· If basic needs are met, a sense of trust is developed
· If needs are not met its mistrust
Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (toddler years) – developing self sufficient behavior
· Autonomy – a sense of being able to handle many problems on their own
o Care givers encourage self sufficient behavior
· Shame and doubt about their ability to handle problems
o Caregivers demand too much too soon
o Attempts ridiculed or refusal to let child perform tasks they are capable of
Initiative versus guilt (preschool years) – independent activities
· Encouraged and supports – children develop initiative
· Discouraged, dismissed as silly and bothersome –guilt about needs and desires
Industry vs. inferiority (elementary school years) –
· Encouraged to do things, praised for accomplishments children develop industry by being diligent persevering at tasks until completed, put work before pleasure
· Ridicules or punished for efforts, find they are incapable of meeting adult expectations, develop feelings of inferiority about capabilities
Identity vs. role confusion (adolescence) –
· Role confusion – mixed ideas and feelings about the specific ways in which they will fit into society
o May experiment with a variety of behaviors and activities
· Identity – most adolescents achieve a sense of identity regarding who they are and where their lives are headed
Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood) –
· When identities are established, ready for long term commitments to others – capable of forming intimate, reciprocal relationships, willing to make sacrifices and compromises that such relationships require
· Cannot form intimate relationships – possible reluctance or inability to forego satisfactions of own needs – a sense of isolation may result
Generativity vs. stagnation (middle age) –
· contributed to society – sense of Generativity ( productivity and accomplishment) results
· Self-centered and unable or unwilling to help society move forward – stagnation – a dissatisfaction with the relative lack of productivity
Integrity vs. despair (retirement years) – retrospection – looking back on life
· Integrity and contentment if believe have led a happy, productive life
· Despair – a life of disappointments and unachieved goals
SO WHAT: As a teacher knowing - as per Kohlberg - what stage my students are in and teaching them one level above where they currently are (ZPD) will help them development strong morals. In regards to Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development, the teenage and young adult years are crucial in developing a sense of who and what a person wants to become. Although labeling can be counterproductive, labeling stages of development and understating them gives a teacher tools to guide students through this challenging phase of life.
NOW WHAT:
As a teacher my job is to educate and prepare students to be fully functioning and productive members of society.
o In the classroom I can help my students develop morality by doing the following:
§ Giving reasons that some behaviors are unacceptable
§ Encouraging perspective taking, empathy and prosocial behaviors
§ Exposing students to numerous modals of moral behavior
§ Engaging students in discussions of moral issues related to academic subject matter
§ Getting students actively involved in community service
o Understanding the stages of psychosocial development, (most of my kids should be in the stages of Identity vs. role confusion and Intimacy vs. Isolation) will help me as a teacher to guide my students to become emotionally healthy individuals.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Piaget and Vygotsky
WHAT"
- Piaget: (major criticism – ages aren’t right / how kids interpret the test, etc/the way we ask the questions matters a lot)
Cognitive Constructivism
Constructing knowledge through experience / environment
PG 29-basic assumption
Children are active learners
Children construct knowledge through experience – not by being told them
Change schemes in order to understand them
Through interaction with the environment
Hands on learning – student centered experiences
Proposed that new experience created disequilibrium – brain feels off balance
To fix –
assimilate - become one with- fit it in with existing schemes
Learn a new letter in typing – already know how to put the finger to the key
Accommodation – change scheme because the info doesn’t fit.
A child learns that a long slithery thing is a snake, now finds a long slithery thing with legs – accommodation has to modify what she knows about snakes
Assimilating – snakes have legs
Accommodation – not a snake but a salamander
Sometimes kids assimilate when they should accommodate
Errors happen – dribble a soccer ball because learned basketball first
End result that you want – equilibrium
At secondary level – present info contrary to earlier belief (in this culture example evolution)
Assimilate – God used evolution as a process for creationism
Accommodation – two separate theories – creationism and evolution
Piaget – four stages
Sensory motor – has to touch
Preoperational (2 to 6/7)
Egocentric perspective
Lack of inclusion
Lack of conservation
Irreversibility
Inability to reason about transformations
Transductive reasoning
Concrete operational (6/7 to 11/12)
Differentiation of one’s own perspective from the perspective of others
Class inclusion
Conservation
Reversibility
Ability to reason about transformations
Deductive reasoning
Dependence of concrete reality
Inability to formulate and test multiple hypotheses
Inability to separate and control variables
Lack of proportional reasoning
Formal operational (11/12 to adulthood)
Ability to reason about abstract, hypothetical, contrary – to – fact ideas
Formulation and testing of multiple hypotheses
Separation and control of variables
Proportional reasoning
For different levels in classroom
Instructions:
Clarity
Differentiate
Explain reasoning (get accommodation)
Deductive / abstract (problem based learning – trying to figure out solutions)
Questioning techniques / control for variables
Hands on experiences
Lev Vygotsky - did bulk of experiments on own children – dies at age 37
Social Constructivism
Interaction with other people / sociocultural learning (learn from culture)
Strong proponent of group play with focus on adult tasks
Guided participation – walk kids thru process
Cognitive apprenticeship – guide thru thought process as well
Development of speech (and any higher level thought process)
Listening (watch)
Self talk (practice)
Inner speech (internalize)
We discussed Zone of Proximal (near to or next) Development with the idea that too hard or too easy isn't effective
We learn best when things are not too hard or not too easy but where someone can help us get through it.
NOW WHAT:
Knowing the different ideas of Piaget and Vygotsky helps me as a teacher to understand the stages of development of my students and be able to develop lesson strategies that can help me educate my students with appropriate activites. This ties into Zone of Proximal Development. I need to make sure that my expections of my students fall into that Zone. This also bears to mind the need for approriate scaffolding. The idea of accomodation and assimilation was especailly interesting in the learning process.
SO WHAT: As a teacher I'm going to use this information as a guide in setting up appropriate lesson plans and teaching methods and not expect my students to perform in a way that is impossible for them because of their stage of development.
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