The document discusses several key points about brain development and education: 1) The early years from birth to age 5 are critical for brain development, as skills learned during this time lay the foundation for future learning. Activities like reading, exploration, and social interaction are important. 2) The physical and social environment significantly impact cognition and learning. Factors like temperature, lighting, noise levels, seating, and relationships all influence brain function and academic performance. 3) Motivation and engagement are enhanced when learning incorporates emotions, rewards students intrinsically, and helps students adopt positive mindsets. Changing emotional states can improve receptiveness to new activities.

1. Mr Zarkovic

2.  To get the child ready in academics begin the following
at ages 2 - 5.
 Read to them.
 Give them time to discover and learn independently.
 Teach rhyming games and alphabet.
 Provide simple toys that require imagination.
 Talk to them and ask questions.

3.  Birth to Age 2 is critical in the brain
development for two main reasons.
 The Scaffold Effect says although a child could
learn motor skills later in life, she needs them
earlier because they are foundational for other
important early skills.
 The Manana Effect says that anything we can
put off until tomorrow will be put off until
tomorrow.

4.  Provide opportunities for social games
and activities.
 Role-model emotional stability.
 Teach how to behave with peers.
 Help children learn to be comfortable with
peers.

5. To work fast and function, the brain needs:
 Nutritional foods
Proteins
Unsaturated Fats
Complex Carbohydrates
Sugars
Elements, such as boron, iron, selenium,
vanadium, and potassium
 Proper hydration

6.  Hormones are only partly to blame
for teenagers’ bizarre behavior.
Teens need time to catch up with
the rapid and massive structural
change going on in their brain.
This takes place during sleeping
hours.
 The teen brain is also influenced by
increased chemical levels in the
brain.
 Suggestions for working with teens:
be concise, use modeling, be a
coach, be understanding rather
than judgmental, be tactful, cut
them some slack, just let them
sleep, and be clear about dangers
of substance abuse.

7.  Engagement is NOT a
requirement for all learning.
 However, more focused
engagement is better than less
of it.
 “Pay attention” is a payment of
the brain’s resources when
teachers orient, engage, and
maintain the student’s
attention.

8.  Repetition strengthens
connections in the brain.
 Variations and When to do it
 Pre-exposure  days, weeks,
months, years ahead
 Previewing  minutes, hours
ahead
 Priming  seconds, minutes
ahead
 Reviewing  minutes after
learning
 Revision  hours, days, weeks
later

9.  Prior knowledge influences all
learning.
 The best way to teach is to
understand, respect, and build on the
student’s prior knowledge.
 Mental models are coherent
structures for understanding things.
 When you require students to make
their own mental models, you’re
helping them reach a deep
understanding rarely achievable by
more traditional lecture.

10.  The brain and body have many different rhythms,
lasting about 90 to 110 minutes = 12 to 16 cycles
over a 24-hour period.
 The brain’s rhythms play a key role in understanding
and influencing cognitive performance, memory
processes, visual perception, levels of arousal,
performance, mood, and behavior.
 By shifting a little to align with the rhythmic patterns,
teacher’s can increase student comprehension and
retention.

11.  Hormones can and do alter how we
learn.
 Left-hemisphere performance
increases as testosterone levels
decline.
 Right-hemisphere performance
increases as estrogen levels decline.
 These level shifts affect the
performance in each hemisphere.
 Differences vary greatly in males and
females.

12.  Based on two simple truths:
 The brain rarely gets what is right the first time.
 Making mistakes is key to developing intelligence.
 Trial-and-Error learning is needed to sort out mistakes.
 Value of Trial-and-Error Learning
 Entry-level neurons receive input.
 Middle-level neurons repeatedly process input through trial-and-
error.
 Output-level neurons speak, write, and demonstrate the output.

13.  Emotions are one of the most important regulators of
learning and memory.
 The more intense the emotional state, the more likely we
are to remember it.
 Negative emotions are well known for influencing brain
functions.
 Positive emotions affect memory.

14.  Most neuroscientists
agree that movement
and cognition are
powerfully connected.
 Evidence from
anatomical studies,
imaging sources, and
clinical data shows
that moderate exercise
enhances cognitive
processing.
 Exercise also
increases the number
of brain cells and can
reduce childhood
obesity.

15.  68% of high school students do not participate in
a daily physical educational program
 Schools that do not implement a solid physical
activity program are shortchanging students brains
and their potential for academic success.

16.  Research found that
exercise improves
classroom behavior and
academic performance.
 “Loss” in studying time
does not translate into
lower academic scores.
 It can enhance social
skills, emotional
intelligence, and conflict
resolution ability.

17.  Neuroscientists have emerged with important
research that has changed the way we think about
emotions—they are related to learning!
 Emotions drive attention, create meaning, and have
their own memory pathways.
 Emotions regulate behaviors, and they help us
organize the world around us.

18.  Emotions are not
located in a single
emotion center but are
distributed throughout
the brain.
 Brain chemicals are
transmitted from the
synapse but are
dispersed to wide
areas of the brain.
 Chemicals of emotion
influence our behavior.

19.  Emotions give us a
more activated and
stimulated brain.
They help us recall
things better and form
more explicit
memories.
 Good learning
embraces emotions,
recognizing emotional
states as fast
changing, specific
neural networks that
incorporate multiple
areas of the brain.

20.  Emotions affect student behavior because they create
distinct mind-body states.
 The most important things every educator should
know about emotional states:
*They are everywhere.
*They are connected.
*They are who we are.
*They are brief.
*Stable emotional states can be a problem.

21.  Strategies that can
change a student’s
emotional state:
*Compelling questions
*Role-modeling
*Celebrations
*Physical activity
*Engineered controversy
*Purposeful physical rituals
*Getting personal

22.  Physical environments influence how
we feel, hear, and see. Those factors
influence cognitive performance.
 5 variables in the physical
environment that have the greatest
effect on academic success: seating,
temperature, lighting, noise, and
building design.
 Better awareness, smarter planning,
and simple changes can be made in
every environment to improve
learning.

23.  Student seating can affect student success in
several ways.
*Influences stress levels.
*Influences access to resources.
 Design of students’ desks and chairs can play a
role in cognition.
 How students’ seating is arranged matters.
*Match the seating arrangement to the activity.

24.  The human brain is temperature sensitive and
temperature is a factor in cognition.
 The cooler the brain is, the more relaxed, receptive,
and cognitively sharp.
 Classrooms kept 20-23 C are most comfortable for
the majority of students.

25.  Students in brightly lit
classrooms perform
better in school
compared with
students in dimly lit
classrooms.
 Natural sunlight is the
best for learning.
 Practical suggestions:
*Maintain constant,
adequate level of
bright lighting.
*Maximize student
exposure to daylight.
*Hold class outside on
occasion.

26.  In classrooms that fail
to address noise,
student attention
decreases and off-task
behaviors and
discipline problems
increase.
 Children for whom
English is a second
language and children
with hearing or
learning deficits have
difficulty attending to
the teacher in noisy
classrooms.

27.  Room décor needs to be rich and full but not
distractingly cluttered
 Oppor tunities for mobility need to be
offered with flexibility in seating.
 Aromas ought to be kept to a minimum.
 Accommodating special needs makes a
world of difference to the student.

28.  Research indicates that well-planned learning
environments stimulate learning and reduce discipline
problems.
 Brain-friendly learning environments strengthen neural
connections and support long-term memory, planning, and
motivation.
 Quality facilities with strong academic programs are
conditions essential to optimum student learning.

29.  Top school designs:
*Acoustics
*Daytime lighting
*Ecology
*Temperature,
Humidity, and
Ventilation
*Learning spaces
*Optimal views
*School size
*Staff areas

30. Cognition Social Stress
 The extent to which social  Stress plays a role in many
conditions can influence social interactions.
cognition cannot be  Females are more likely to
overestimated. mobilize social support under
stress than males.
 Key factors to consider within  Males are more likely to affiliate
the learning environment: with groups of people with
 Peer Pressure similar status or power.
 Acceptance  Females are more likely to
 Disapproval affiliate by friendships or task
 Reinforcement needs.

31. Social Bonding Social Bias
 Preening is a common  Racism is learned.
manifestation of the  Our brain does respond
social brain. in a negative way to
 The increased risk of those different from
depression and suicide ourselves if we have not
among teens makes been desensitized to
obvious their need for those differences.
more guidance,  How you treat another
camaraderie, and after the initial wariness
support. is the learned behavior.

32. Peer Pressure Social Difficulties
 Adolescent and teen  Research suggest that
students are more more than 10 % of
interested in peer students may suffer
approval, autonomy, and some social impairment.
discovery.  Social difficulty can be a
 These tendencies can be result of:
either a nightmare for a  Emotionally poor
school or a delight, upbringing
depending on how well  Genetics
they are managed.  Biological dysfunctions
 When specific areas of
the brain are damaged,
social skills fail.

33.  Social contact has significant and broad-based effects.
 Teachers influence students a great deal.
 We must believe that school is about the “whole person”.
 Practical ways to apply research findings related to the social brain:
 Information gathering
 Quick social grouping
 A balance of social and individual events
 Cooperative learning
 Social skills instruction

34.  Lack of positive relationships
 Learned helplessness
 Awareness of disrespect toward one’s culture or
ethnicity
 Perception of threats
 Brain anomalies
 Drug use
 Perception that class assignments or tasks are
irrelevant.

35. • Biologically, human brains are designed to predict, process,
enjoy, and remember rewards.
• The brain may have different types of reward signal systems:
• One system includes codes for reward prediction, and the other for
error correction.
• The first system creates attentiveness, and the second creates better
learning.
• Although learners improve when they’ve received an initial reward,
over time, the performance of many will actually drop as their
actions are being rewarded.
• Biologically speaking, the brain quickly habituates to rewards.
• What one student finds rewarding may not be rewarding to
another.

36.  Practical ways to use
rewards in the classroom
in order to increase
motivation:
 Use rewards judiciously
 Use low-cost, concrete
rewards
 Use abstract rewards
 Avoid going “cold turkey”
 Begin to develop intrinsic
motivation
 Step up the abstract
rewards

37.  Activating intrinsic
motivation depends on
the student as well as
your own skill.
 The students’ feelings
matter a great deal!
 Skills in orchestrating a
good environment, one
with low stress and high
challenge, are critical.

38.  Ways to build students’ intrinsic motivation:
 Make sure students have either a process model to follow or
a strong end goal.
 Ensure they have the working tools they need.
 Provide plenty of encouragement but not a direct reward.
 Allow students to exercise choice.
 Role-model the joy of learning.
 Provide a variety of relevant experiences.
 Ensure that the content has high relevance.
 Allow students to be part of a successful team.
 Increase feedback to the learners.

39.  In the ideal states, motivation and engagement
are far easier to achieve than you could ever
imagine.
 States are the body’s environment for making
decisions.
 If you think you’re going to get a negative response to
the next activity you want your students to do, change
the state first.
 You will be more successful when you ask them to do
the activity while they’re in a good state to say yes!

40.  Some practical ways to change student states:
 Eliminate threat.
 Set daily goals that incorporate some student choice.
 Work to have a positive influence.
 Manage student emotions and teach them to do it too.
 Provide relevant curriculum and coherent activities.
 Give feedback.

41.  Both prenatal differences and postnatal experiences causes
the differences that show up in the unique brain.
 Differences are attributed to many factors.
 Gender
 Exposure to abuse or neglect
 Specific disorders
 Culture
 Exposure to drugs, trauma, or toxins
 Teachers should consider approaches to teaching thinking that
includes a significant amount of variety and choice.

42.  The human brain was designed to solve problems.
 General problem solving requires many skills.
 Problem solving skills must be taught and require the following:
 Motivation to use the skill
 Role modeling
 Opportunity to acquire the skills
 Time for trail and error, practice, and debriefing
 Time to use and strengthen the skill in multiple contexts
 Critical Thinking skills can take weeks, even years to realize.
 It is usually easier to get younger children to comply than older
children.

43.  Environmental factors can
influence brain maturation.
 Specific life experiences during
the early years influence patterns
of interactivity between brain
areas.
 The brain changes so much that
the same behaviors in infants and
adults may be mediated by
completely different brain
structures.
 This suggests educators can
expect a wide range of student
performance, and some inabilities
may be a result of maturation.

44.  There is no need for the
brain to adapt to change if
what it must deal with is the
same.
 Novelty creates a stronger
opportunity for new learning
and pathways in the brain.
 Educators should provide
something unusual and the
support to go with it.
 Learning will follow.

45.  Students emotions are constantly
fluctuating.
 Emotional states are always in the process
of:
 Strengthening
 Diminishing
 Changing to another state
 The longer a student is in a particular
state the more likely it is for that student
to re-enter that same state.
 Students must be able manage their
emotional states in order to be able to
think well.
 The best learners “shift states” on their
own; other students need to learn how.

46.  Memory tied to survival
is the simple things of
every day life:
 The location of your
house
 Your parents’ names
 Favorite foods
 Four main ideas of
memory are organized
around survival.

47.  Locations—How to Find
 Food, Housing, Social Contact
 Also called Episodic memory
 Procedures—How to do
 Walking, driving, putting on clothes
 Emotional Experiences—How to feel
 Car accidents, natural disasters
 Rarely need review
 Conditional Responses—How to react
 Smells, tastes, reactions to the tone of someone’s voice
 Response to stimuli

48.  Scientifically speaking—it is the
particular firing of neurons.
 The pattern of the firings
determines memory.
 Researchers are unsure how the
brain creates these patterns.
 Current understanding is the
process between two neurons:
 Electrical impulse triggers
neurotransmitter release. Within
the neurotransmitter is the
messenger ribonucleic acid
(mRNA).
 The mRNA dock into receptors.
 Electrochemical threshold is
reached and long-term
potentiation (LTP) is formed.
 LTP reaction stimulates new
electrical activity in the neuron.

49.  While the previous is complex there are
three critical principles:
 Encoding—multiple pathways of memory
 Maintenance—activating memories keeps them
strong
 Retrieval—the ability to access memories

50.  Semantic  Episodic
 This includes the factual  Had to have been present
elements of our to use this type
memories.
 Facts, figures, and
 Unlimited capacity
textbook- like information  Often associated with
 Limitations include time location
and capacity.  When asked: “What did
 Only lasts seconds in our you eat last night?” Often
memory like forgetting a we ask ourselves “Where
name of a person you just was I?” before an answer
met. to the question is formed.
 Often times to remember  Contamination can occur
things we need it in when many memories are
chunks.
 Lists rather than random associated with one
items particular location.

51.  Reflexive  Procedural
 Responds to stimuli  Also known as habit
 Ex: The doctor taps your memory
knee and it jerks.  These are memories of
 Learning can become learned skills.
reflexive.  Very complex in
 Two sub-categories: formation so they are
 Emotional easily remembered.
 Non-emotional  Ex: walking or riding a
bike

52.  “Teaching with the Brain in Mind”
10% Prepare
Before Create
Engage
Frame
80% Acquire
During Elaborate
Connect
10%
After Settle
Rehearse and Incorporate

53.  Consider the students who
need extra are they behind or
ahead???
 Walk through the lesson.
Ask: “How will I engage the
student?”
 Get into a good emotional
state. The students notice
things like this.
 Prime your students’ brains
with content days and weeks
prior. Post key ideas so
students can become familiar
with them.
 Or as stated earlier: Prepare
and Create!

54.  1. Engagement
 Both mind and body
 Make sure environment is
positive—it helps with
learning.
 First few minutes of class
 2. Framing
 After engagement
 This is the emotional
invitation to learn.
 As a teacher you want to
hook the students—
arouse their curiosity.

55.  3. Acquisition
 Really goes on all the time
 Learning activities, lectures,
and fields trips
 Can be individual or social
 4. Elaboration
 The deepening of learning
 Connecting the synapses of
the brain and solidifying
what was just covered
 5. Connect
 Help build recall skills.
 Use a variety of skills—
drama, quizzes, rhymes,
mnemonics.

56.  Settle
 Break times
 Walks, lunch, and for younger students—naps
 Rehearse and Incorporate
 Review the material
 Exercise the newly formed synapses of the brain.

57.  This is difficult because not all
children develop at the same
pace; therefore, curriculum
connections may be hard to
come by.
 Finding these connections may
lead to questions about how
curriculum has been created.
 We must examine content and
see if it is what the children
need for survival.
 Also, teaching social behaviors
must be emphasized.

58.  We must value learning as
much as the results.
 Often times the classroom
narrows thinking strategies
and answer options …
effectively ignoring the
natural human instinct to
question.
 Use creative problem solving
rather than the right answer
approach.
 Make assessment
challenging.

59.  Student achievement is
tied to teacher
effectiveness.
 Teachers must work to
critically think about their
effectiveness.
 Other teachers and the
administration must help
in these endeavors.
 This includes stress
reduction tools.