1. They Were Wrong:
The Brain at School

2. ready for a
quick math
problem?

3. multiply

4. 8,388,628 by 2

5. how about a
kid who can
tell you the
exact time
of day?

6. or a girl who can
correctly
determine the
exact size of an
object from 20
feet away?

8. <50 IQ

9. we really don’t
know!

10. “If you wanted to
create an educational
environment that was
directly opposed to what
the brain is good at
doing . . .

11. “. . . you would
probably design
something like a
modern
classroom.”
John Medina
Brain Rules

13. birth of the present system

14. they were wrong

15. “We need to care about the research
and the evidence of what works. Not
knowing this constitutes educational
malpractice.”
James Stronge
What Works in Schools

16. What is
learning?

17. “Learning is the building &
strengthening of connections
between brain neurons”

18. Pat Wolfe 2007

19. so what’s
memory?

20. Ability to activate previously
constructed connections

21. “The brain developed to solve
problems relating to surviving in
an unstable, outdoor environment
and to do so in near constant
motion.”
John Medina
Brain Rules

22. can I eat it?

23. can it eat
me?

24. can I have sex with it?

25. what then . . . is
your job?

26. convince a 13 year
old that writing a five
paragraph essay is
vital for her survival

27. how we do that?

28. brain keeps
only 1%

29. what does
it keep?

30. does new content
connect to
something I
already know?

31. does new
content connect
to a strong emotion?

32. prior knowledge

33. how does your brain work?

35. you’ve got 20 seconds

37. write the following number
from memory

38. 17766024365911

39. you’ve got 20 seconds

40. Declaration of Independence

41. Minutes, hours &
days

43. 1776
60-24-365
911

48. 4 squares of history

50. Draw an event
that happened
a year ago

51. Draw an event
that happened
10 years ago

52. Draw an event
that happened
fifty years
ago

53. Draw an event
that happened
a 1000 years
ago

54. data
information
knowledge
wisdom

55. whatcha thinking?

56. something more specific?

57. when does American
history begin?

58. when does it end?

59. you often get this view
of history

60. what’s wrong with this
view of history?

61. can Google Earth help?

64. leaves out voices

65. leaves out voices
ignores international events

66. leaves out voices
ignores international events
creates a skewed view of
chronology

67. Ready Set Go Whoa
What do I What new What new What
know? information do I information do I questions do I
think I will have? still have about
gather? the topic?

68. Visual Discrepant
Event Inquiry

69. when? where? what?

74. emotion

75. can be good or bad

76. flight or fight

77. this happens before “thinking”
occurs

78. this happens before “thinking”
occurs

79. “bad” emotion
always beats cognition

80. survival isn’t always about
physical threats

81. If you’re a kid, what are some
examples of non-physical
threats?

82. Reading aloud Pop quizzes
Test Family crisis
Tornado, fire, Falling in love
intruder drills
Group work
Teacher behaviors
PE locker room
Bullies, middle
Not knowing the
school girls
hidden curriculum
Presentations and rules

84. how about emotion
in a good way?

85. Civil War images

86. video games

89. “One reason why habits are so
difficult to dislodge is that we
literally have to rewire . . . the
brain. It is much more than just
changing our minds.”
Geoffrey Caine

90. German Coast Guard and
brain research?

91. Read more
Talk more
Plan purposefully

92. Remember Jake & Erin

93. New Horizons for Learning
www.newhorizons.org
Brain Connection
www.brainconnection.com
Brains
www.brains.org

94. Mind Wide Open
Steven Johnson
The Art of Changing the Brain
James Zull
Brain Matters: Translating
Research into Classroom Practice
Pat Wolfe