Workshop reflection - ‘Behaviour Is Not Just Behaviour’ by Paul Johnson.
1. IZMIR UNIVERSITY ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING DEPARTMENT
ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-2015 / SPRING TERM
REFLECTION SHEET
FACULTY OF
ARTS AND SCIENCES
Name-Surname ALEV SENEM OZAKIN Date 19/04/2015
Student Nr. 120103035 Week 11 / 14
Course ELT 312 YOUNG LEARNERS 2 Section A
Instructor’s name GÜLBESTE DURGUN
Signature
Assignment’sTitle REFLECTIONon text: BEHAVIOURIS NOT JUSTBEHAVIOUR
BEHAVIOUR IS NOT JUST BEHAVIOUR
A week ago my classmates and i attended to a workshop called ‘Behaviour Is Not Just Behaviour’
presented by Paul Johnson. In my opinion, this workshop brought a lot to me because I learnt the exact
definition of behaviour and the connections between behaviour and neurotransmitters in the brain.
In the first place, the collocutor wanted us to define what behaviour and misbehaviour were. Some
participants, including me, shared our knowledge about the topic then he gave us the dictionary definition of
these terms. We discussed the characteristics of misbehaving classes such as boring atmosphere,
unmotivated and distracted students. In addition, what we should provide students was also one of the
discussion questions.
In the second part of the workshop, we talked about the neurotransmitters in the brain and their effects
on learning process. There are different types of neurotransmitters but we analyzed only five of them;
Adrenaline, Cortisol, Dopamine, Oxytocin and Serotonin. Each of them has different characteristics and
roles. For instance; when adrenaline is revealed to the body, it makes individual feel energetic. However, too
much adrenaline may damage one’s heart. What’s interesting is that people give three different kinds of
response when they came across an exciting or a stressful situation; Fight, Flight, Freeze. It’s an automatic
response not a pre-planned reaction so one can not choose the way he/she will behave in case of an action.
Similarly, cortisol helps body redirect energy to where it is needed. It also affects Broca’s area where the
production of language happens. When stress triggers cortisol, it inhibits memory formation and speaking
ability. Dopamine is the another neurotransmit. As I learnt from the workshop, lack of dopamine causes
fixation, disinterest and unwillingness. It is related with mood changes. Oxytocin, known as the ‘cuddle’ or
‘hug’ hormone repairs damage of heart. Last but not least, serotonin is accepted as the strongest
antidepressant we know. Sometimes it is called ‘feel good’ neurotransmitter. Serotonin level can be
increased by exercise and positive feedback.
Finally, we discussed how to increase and decrease the effects of these neurotransmitters and
hormones. For example; being exposed to florescent light increases cortisol level however drinking water
decreases it. Similarly, sleeping increases serotonin level whereas consuming caffeine decreases it.
2. To sum up, it was a very effective and information rich workshop. I’m really glad to attend it. I’ve learnt
the definition of behaviour/misbehaviour ,responses towards the behaviour , the neurotransmitters and their
effects to whole body and human mind. I will suggest this workshop to the others as well. It was not only
beneficial but also fun to attend.
ALEV SENEM ÖZAKIN
120103035