Chapter 3 Embracing the Mind-Set of Change By Amelia Yates Brains Can Change I first learned about neuroplasticity while training with Pat Wolf, the author of the book Brain Matters. In her book she writes about how to use what we know about the brain in the classroom. During her training, she called teachers, brain surgeons, because of how the experiences that occur in our classrooms literally change the formation of the brains in the students in our classrooms. The brain is the only organ in the body that we are able to mold by the experiences that we provide. She said that the actually weight of the brain will not be the same at the end of the year, if a teacher provides the experiences necessary to grow the brain. That fact has changed the way I think about teaching. I don’t want any student in my room to have the same size brain just because of my decisions. I realized for the first time how important the decisions that I make about daily lessons and classroom management are, and how they impact the students that I teach. It wasn’t just about a grade or a test score anymore; it was their brain being a different size because of what I did in the classroom that year. I felt that if I was a “brain surgeon” I could be held responsible for “malpractice” if I didn’t do my job and help my students’ brains get bigger. Jenson also talks about neuroplasticity and gene expression which I found very interesting. He said that the old debate of nurture vs. nature is outdated, and there is a third factor call gene expression which is the process that makes a gene active or silent. Stress, nutrition, exercise, learning, and socialization all influence gene activity. Jenson says, “Through gene expression, students can make significant transformations in behavior and cognition regardless of the genetic makeup of their parents.” Socialization is the factor that stands out most to me. Sometimes as a teacher, I suppress their need to socialize, because I feel the need for them to be quiet while I teach. I am going to try to implement more cooperative learning into my day, so that the need of students to socialize is met while they learn. It also makes me think of the playground and the students that are continually playing by themselves day after day. How do you help those students to socialize with the other children? Changing IQ I am not sure where I learned this, but I thought that a person had about the same IQ all through their life. However, Jenson taught me that IQ is not fixed but variable. Heredity is huge, but there are also many factors that can affect IQ such as: · Home environment and living conditions · Early childhood experiences and early educational intervention · Amount and duration of schooling · Quality of nutrition Jensen says that educational intervention has the potential to narrow the performance gap across socioeconomic status. He says to focus programs of the neurocognitive abilities that vary most steeply with socioeconomic status such as: · Working memory · Vocabulary · Ability to defer gratification · Self-control · Language skills Fluid intelligence is a way to improve IQ intentionally. Skills like problem solving, pattern recognition, abstract thinking, reasoning skills, drawing inferences, and understanding relationships of context in a new setting are a part of the fluid intelligence. These skills transfer from one content to another. Jensen suggest teaching these skills by using brainstorming, mind maps, prewriting, science projects with a planning process, and graphic organizers. I also think as teacher we can expect students to solve many of their own problems in the classroom. At the beginning of the year, many of my students came to me with a pencil and told me that it was broken. I asked them what they planned to do about their problem. They looked at me with this strange expression and went back to their desk. Later, I would see them either using a different pencil or sharpening it, so I would let them know that I was proud of them for solving their problem. There are lots of opportunities for students to solve their own problems, if we as teachers don’t fix it for them. The Brain’s Operating System Many low-SES kids lack skills that are essential for school success. The skills that are must-haves in order for a student to be successful in schools are: · The ability and motivation to reach long-term goals (tiger tokens) · Auditory, visual, and tactile processing skills · Attention skills · Short-term and working memory capacity · Sequencing skills · Confidence In this section, it reminded me of how important special classes are to our students’ brain development. P.E.- Increases the production of new brain cells Art- Improves attention, sequencing, processing, and cognitive skills Computers- Increases working memory by using programs that require students to identify, count, and remember objects. Music- enhances self-discipline, wide brain function, and verbal memory This section also discusses the importance of early education and its ability to narrow or eliminate the socioeconomic performance gap. In order for a school to make changes necessary to help students in poverty acquire the skills necessary to be successful in school and increase brain development, teachers must understand the power of the decisions that they make in the classroom every day and the difference that they are able to make despite a child’s circumstances. Action Steps 1. Change staff members’ mind set 2. Invest in staff 3. Support ongoing collaboration 4. Encourage staff dialogue 5. Gather quality data Comments are closed.
|
Archives
May 2021
|