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1. Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D.
ECIS, Rome
April 2016

2. Background
— Interdisciplinary researcher in neuroscience, cognitive
psychology and education (cultural anthropology and
linguistics).
— Boston University: BA, BS, magna cum laude
— Harvard University: Master’s in International Educational
Development
— Capella University: Ph.D. In Professional Studies in
Education (Mind, Brain and Education Science)
— Professor, Harvard University Extension School: Psych 1609
“The Neurobiology of Learning and Sustained Change”
— OECD: Member of the expert panel on Teachers New
Pedagogical Knowledge based on contributions from
Technology and Neuroscience
— Former Director of the Teaching and Learning Institute at
the Universidad San Francisco de Quito Ecuador
— Former Dean of Education at the Universidad de las
Américas, Quito, Ecuador
— Author of six books and dozens of peer review articles on
Mind, Brain, and Education science, multilingualism, sense
and meaning in classroom planning and design, standards
and learning profiles.
— Teacher at all levels of education (K-University) with more
than 26 years of experience in 28 countries.
M a k i n g
C l a s s r o o m s
B e t t e r
L E S S O N S
from the
C O G N I T I V E
R E V O L U T I O N
that
T R A N S F O R M
our T E A C H I N G

3. Today’s focus:
1. Small paradigm-shifts questions: Would
you be willing to change certain policies
in your schools if you knew they
benefited student learning?
— While seemingly harmless, these
activities impact learning. However,
change requires bold leadership.
2. Interesting facts on what really impacts
student achievement: John Hattie’s
Visible Learning
3. Mind, Brain, and Education science +
Visible Learning
4. 3-2-1

4. Premise: “Do no harm”
1. The first rule in
education is to “Do no
harm”
2. The greatest goal in
education:
— Form critical thinkers
— Form life-long
learners

5. Today’s objec<ves
— “Mindfulness” vs. “Mindlessness”
— Mindfulness:
— “Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the
present moment, and non-judgmentally” (attributed to
Kabat-Zinn, 1994).
— As school leaders, what are the things we do that are mindful,
and what are the things we do that are mindless?
— Not out to force change, just be sure that you make decisions
with your eyes wide open.

6. Is there anything you do
mindlessly as a school leader?

7. Change 1:
Different expecta<ons of school

8. WHY
is it necessary to rethink 21st c. skills?

9. Martin Prosperity Institute, University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management based on the United States
Department of Labr, Buereau of Labor Statistics, January 2014. Downloaded from http://www.citylab.com/work/
2014/02/where-good-and-bad-jobs-will-be-10-years-now/8470/

10. Changes in Educa<onal Goals
(OECD, 2014; Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2014)
1. From equal access (everyone goes to school) to equal quality.
2. From teaching in silos (one subject separate from another) to
transdisciplinarity.
3. From standards to creativity.
4. From “passing a class” to life-long learning.
5. From traditional resources to technology integration.
6. From bettering “self” to enhanced collaboration, cooperation,
communication, cultural awareness, building communities, and
wider contextual application (bettering “the group”).
7. From content knowledge to critical thinking.
8. From brick-and-mortar classrooms to Flipped Classrooms
9. ?
[Choose one of the above and explain why you think it is of importance and
how your teaching has changed to accommodate this goal.]

11. Change 2:
New expecta<ons of both
students and teachers

13. Change 3:
Technology and BeVer
Knowledge of the Brain

14. BeVer knowledge about the brain and
learning
— Improvements in technology since The Decade of the Brain (1990s)
have yielded greater insights about healthy brain functioning. Early
models promoted neuromyths.

16. Refined technology
(healthy subjects)
Simple models Replicas of connections
Actual computer enhanced connections

17. Educa<onal competencies
— If teachers only teach “knowledge” without going
deeper, there is no need for the teacher.
Knowledge
Skills
Attitudes
“Superficial”; easily Googled
Where teachers are most needed

18. Video: A Hole in the Wall
— What is the role of schools in today’s world?
1. Ian Jukes: Why Do I Need a Teacher When I’ve got
Google
2. Can the brain not learn?
— How does it learn best?
— Under what conditions does it learn best?
— What levels of learning require a teacher to be
successful?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_CkyPbigFU&feature=youtu.be

19. Your job descrip<on just
changed…
— Ian Jukes: “Do we need teachers if we have
Google?”
— Sugata Mitra:
— “Groups of students can learn basic
education on their own.”
— Ex: Groups of 6-12 year-olds can self-
instruct, irrespective of language, socio-
economic status, gender…Entire primary
curriculum in 6-9 months.
— Self-organized learning environments
better than kids on their own (regular
homework structure).
Mitra, S., & Judge, P. (2004).
The hole in the
wall. Dataquest India;
Mitra, S. (2015). Minimally
Invasive Education: Pedagogy
for Development in a
Connected
World. International
Perspectives on Home
Education: Do We Still Need
Schools?, 254.

20. — “A teacher that can be replaced by a
machine, should be.”
“Where there is interest, there
is [self] education.”

21. Flipping the Classroom
— Differentiate more and go more deeply into material by:
— Delivering “lower level” (Googlable knowledge) first through
videos
— Providing opportunities and resources for the extra practice
some students might need
— Providing resources that meet student where they are
starting from, not where the text starts based on their prior
experiences
— Consider Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

22. Change 4:
BeVer Insight as to What Really
Influences Student Learning

23. BeVer knowledge about what really
influences teaching and learning
outcomes
— Longitudinal studies (age comparative)
— International comparative studies
(independent of cultural context=what is
true for “all”)
— Methodologically comparative scale

24. John Hade (2009; 2012; 2013; 2014)
Star<ng point: High quality educa<onal research
900 meta analyses; 50,000 studies; 2.4 million students

25. Teachers New Pedagogical Knowledge
Educational Neuroscience Education Differentiation and
Inclusion
Technology

26. The most (nega<ve) influences on
student learning

27. Ian Jukes
— 21st Century Fluency Project
(www.fluency21.com)
— “TTWWADI”

28. Jukes: Seven Things We Must Changes

29. Mind, Brain, and Educa<on science combined with Visible
Learning in a professional development format

30. A 21st century teacher professional
development track?

31. Newly
Qualified
Teacher
(Q)
Core
Teacher (C)
Post-
threshold
Teacher (P)
Excellent
Teacher (E)
Advance
Skills
Teacher (A)
United Kingdom, 2011

32. Teacher Training needs to be
rethought…
Examples of possible new addi<ons:
1. Emotions è Motivation è Time-on-task è Learning
2. How (non-verbal) communication (faces, body, intonation) impacts the
perception of teacher self-efficacy èStudent confidence in teacher
èStudent learning
3. Attention spans as they relate to different methodologies
4. Mirror neurons: understanding “the other”; contagious attitude
5. Feedback and Autonomy

33. Rip van Winkle

34. Transporta<on

35. Banks

36. Government

37. Supermarkets

38. Schools….

39. Educa<on has to catch up with
other aspects of society! But how?
— Baby steps è Bold measures
Teacher Education and 21st Century Skills http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eGHAuV5yLo

40. Three steps to ensuring understanding
(backward design)
Adopted from Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (1998), Understanding by Design.

41. Decide:
1. Ideal society
2. Ideal citizen
3. Philosophy of the institution
4. Mission and vision of the institution
5. Profile of the ideal graduate
6. Teacher profile
7. Profile of students at each level
8. (Standards)
9. Curriculum (macro)
10. Course (meso)
11. Unit (micro)
12. Activities
(Ideal) educa<onal planning

42. Paradigm-shij ques<ons: Rows
— Why do we sit our students in rows?
— Is there a difference between “front row
kids” and back row kids?
— Circles?
— If we know that kids in the back
perform worse than kids in the front
(because we pay less attention to them),
why don’t we do something about this?
— If we know that seating students in a
way in which they can see one another
stimulates greater exchange, why do we
insist on rows?

43. Paradigm-shij ques<ons: Daily start <mes
— Why do we start the school day
at 7h30-8h30 in the morning
instead of slightly later?
— If we know that our school days
are arrange for the convenience
of parents’ work days, but go
against what we know about
students’ brains, why don’t we
have the courage to defend what
is better for the learner?

44. Early starts are especially detrimental to teenagers
— “Carskadon and colleagues
have reported
maturational changes in
the biology of sleep-wake
and circadian regulation
during puberty that may
provide impetus for a sleep
phase delay” (2006)
— Melatonin secretory
pattern: adolescents want
to sleep later at night and
wake later in the morning.
Jennis, O.G., Acebo, C., Achermann, P., & Carskadon, M.A. (2006). Regulation of Adolescent Sleep: Implications for Behavior

45. Paradigm-shij ques<ons: Nutri<on
— Why do we sell chips and
sodas in our cafeteria bars?
— If we realize that there is a
higher profit margin on junk
food (and it tastes better to
many), but that “all calories
are not created equal” and do
not help students brains learn
in the best way possible, why
don’t we have the courage to
ban them in our cafeterias?

46. Twenty percent (20%) of the body’s energy
is used by the brain
n “Nutrition impacts learning (good
eating habits contribute to learning
and poor eating habits detract from
the brain’s ability to maximize its
learning potential).”
n The body and the brain impact each
other.

47. Paradigm-shij ques<ons: Summer vaca<on
— Why do we have summer
vacation?
— If we know that summer vacations
were designed to allow children to
help with the harvest, but that now
fewer and fewer percent of the
world’s population is dedicated to
agricultural activities (very low
likelihood that our students help on
the farm), and that the forgetting
that occurs over the summer break
retards the learning processes, then
why don’t we have the courage to
create year-round schooling?
— In the United States less
than 1% claim farming
as an occupation (and
about 2% actually live
on farms).
— In Europe, roughly 5%
of the population is
dedicated to agriculture.

50. Paradigm-shij ques<ons:
Standardized tests
— If we know that tests offer
a “snap-shot indicator” of
learning, why do we use
them as an indicator of
“good teaching”?
— We have progressively
adapted more extreme
testing measures,
presuming test results are
a reflection of teacher
efficacy. Is this correct?

51. Paradigm-shij ques<ons: Merit Pay

52. Ludger Woessmann , Spring 2011 / Vol. 11, No. 2

54. Paradigm shij ques<ons: Do we only care
about Math, Reading, Wri<ng and Science?
— What about the arts
and stimulating
creativity?
— Real metacognitive
and critical thinking
skills are “messy”-
— How can they be
measured?

57. Paradigm-shij ques<ons: Soj skills?
— Teaching to the test or teaching
life skills?
— What do we know and believe
about the application of “21st
century skills” development and
how do our classes respond to
“real learning goals” such as
developing habits of mind that
need cultivation from the
youngest child through
adulthood?
— If our goal is to develop … (IB
learner profile?)

58. Paradigm-shij ques<ons: How to think
versus what to think
— If you know that teaching how to think is often more important
than what to think, would you have the leadership skills to change
your institution (classroom) to value thinking skills more than
content knowledge?
— Why or why not?
— Hostage to university entrance exams?
— Parent expectations?
— Is there a way forward?

59. Paradigm-shij ques<ons: Achievement
versus perseverance?
— If we know that the greatest
contribution that school
leadership can provide is in
creating a school environment
that tolerates error, why do we
prize achievement over
perseverance?

60. Finally, if we “know” all of these things,
why do many school leaders mindlessly
adhere to prac<ces contrary to beVering
student learning outcomes?

61. Bold leadership
What would you, as a school leader, have the
courage to change?
— Change the ergonomics of your school?
— Change the daily schedule to begin later?
— Consider ways to leverage technology to differentiate learning?
— Soften the blow family moves?
— Do everything possible to not hold a student back? (Other
accommodations?)
— Change summer vacation schedule?
— …?

62. Bold leadership
Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is
the quality which guarantees all others.
-Winston Churchill
Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.
-Confucius
One man with courage is a majority.
-Thomas Jefferson

63. 3-2-1
1. Three things you learned.
2. Two things you will share.
3. One thing you will change.

64. Contact informa<on:
Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D.
www.traceytokuhama.com
tracey.tokuhama@gmail.com