1. The document discusses how the brain learns best, including that learning must be meaningful, contextual, and involve multiple senses. 2. Effective learning produces positive emotions, provides feedback, and allows students to process information through trial and error. 3. Teachers should focus on designing immersive learning experiences that involve students' interests and assess their understanding frequently.

1. Karen Gazith Ph.D.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/1074.htm

2. Karen Gazith Ph.D.
•Work in partners
•Each partner must think of one piece of challenging information (something you can teach your partner) that you know well but your partner probably doesn’t
•In passing information to your partner use the following techniques
http://www.hcc.uce.ac.uk/physiology/pharmacology01.htm

3. Karen Gazith Ph.D.
1. Visual Images
2. Connect to life of your partner
3. Ensure they are active – doing something not just listening
4. Assess his/her understanding
Our Entry Point

4. Karen Gazith Ph.D.

5. 1.The brain can rewire itself
2.Emotions are highly connected to learning
3.Intrinsic rewards create a dopamine effect
4.Learning is all about building neural networks
5.Specific functions in the brain are localized in specific regions
6.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI1BT7E58WU
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

6. http://psychology.about.com/od/biopsychology/ss/brainstructure_2.htm
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

7. •X-Rays – radiation from electromagnetic waves
•MRI – magnetic field measuring blood flow
•PET SCAN – radioactive glucose injected into the subject allowing for observation of tasks
•fMRI – why is this so exciting?
•Why all the buzz - The field of cognitive science, neuroscience and pedagogy coming together informing teaching and learning
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

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11. 1.Is relevant, meaningful and understood
2.Recognizes that attention is in constant flux
3.Provides contextual coherence
4.Appeals to many senses
5.Produces positive/healthy emotions
6.Learning takes place only after the new information is processed (recoded)
7.Information is provided in bite sizes
8.Immediate feedback is provided
9.Learning is done through trial and error
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

12. Karen Gazith Ph.D.
1. Learning is meaningful and understood – meaning must come first
http://atiekwin.wordpress.com

13. Explain it before you name it!!
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

14. First the gist, then the details
Organize knowledge around core concepts
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

15. Don’t give it a name before you explain what it is.
Capitalism: Explain it – then name it.
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

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18. WHY???????
Words, grammar must be put in context
We communicate for a purpose
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19.  Not this
 Hello table
 Yes chair
Karen Gazith Ph.D.
This

20. Brain is wired for survival
Our brains have a surveillance and alerting system
Make it worth it or lose the attention
Saying pay attention is antagonistic – the brain is wired to attend to its surroundings
Karen Gazith Ph.D.
http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/p/paying_attention.asp

21. Emotions get our attention!!!!
Called ECS: Emotionally charged Stimulus
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

22. Novelty
Music
Laughter – oxygen to the brain
Movement – neurotropic factors (proteins) that act as miracle grow in the brain. Enhance the growth of new connections (neurogenesis)
 Remember – the brain attends to whatever calls attention to it. It’s wired that way
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

23. What could you do to capture your students’ attention?
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24. The brain is a pattern seeker
The more information is isolated – the more the brain depends on the rote system of learning
Make a connection/Tell a story
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3. Learning includes contextual coherence

25. Once processed info moves to the hippocampus, a temporary store house, which evaluates whether it should be distributed into short- or long-term memory (no context, remains in short term memory).
Hippocampus
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

26. Connect the new to the known
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28. The brain seeks patterns making the multiplication tables challenging
The brain looks for patterns
›7x8 activates 48, 56, 54….
The challenge of learning the times tables - pattern seeking vs correct response
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

29. Pattern interference causes problems
2x3=5 (student sees that is ok)
2x3=7 (we have no pattern for this)
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30. The deeper the encoding, the greater the chance that info will be recalled
What does this mean to me?
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31. Teacher owns it
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Student owns it

32. 5. Appeals to many senses (brain is a parallel processor)
Karen Gazith Ph.D.
http://www.optimumlearningandhealth.com/Transaction/frmCMS.aspx?T=3&ST=1

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6. Produces positive/healthy emotions

34. Karen Gazith Ph.D.
Stimuli
Thalamus
Amydgala
Neo-cortex – prefrontal lobe
Evaluates its emotional content
If the amydala senses
Threat – it sends a signal to
the hypothalamus which sends the
message to the endocrine system
-increase in hormones
Heart rate and blood pressure
Muscles get ready to run
Info goes to the amygdala 40 milliseconds before going to the cognitive centre of the brain
RAS
Primitive network of cells
Precedence Info most critical for survival
Brain Stem

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Threats, punishment, embarrassment
Release of cortisol and adrenaline
Puts the system on alert

36. •Working memory receives new information and is capable of remembering 7 chunks.
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

37. Karen Gazith Ph.D.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=working+memory&espv=2&biw

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David Hattie, Visible Learning
Practice makes
Permanent

39. Very effective because the brain learns how to make good choices based on data – what worked and what didn’t!
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

40. The key points I am taking from this are
›1.
›2.
›3.
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

41. Curriculum
›Teachers must design learning around student interests and make learning contextual.
Instruction
›Teachers structure learning around real problems, encouraging students to also learn in settings outside the classroom. Create learning environments that fully immerse students in an educational experience. Allow the learner to consolidate and internalize information by actively processing it.
Assessment
› Often and immediate so bad habits don’t stick. Assess in student’s preferred style and make it authentic – real life.
Environment
›Relaxed alertness–Trying to eliminate fear in learners, while maintaining a highly challenging environment
Karen Gazith Ph.D.

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Or else
10/20 minutes of new information – 1 min gist – then details
10/20 minutes of recoding
10/20 minutes of summary or applying new learning

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44. What do you want your students to know, understand and be able to do by the end of the session?
›Initial sharing prior to learning is problematic
Karen Gazith Ph.D.
New Learning
Recoding
Summary