UTA New Teacher Webinar “Brain-Based Learning: Focus on Exceptionalities”, September 20, 2014 w/ Dr. Denise Collins, Dr. Amber Brown, and Dr. Peggy Semingson The University of Texas of Arlington presents the Fall, 2014 New Teacher Webinar Series as part of our Teacher Induction Project. The purpose of the Teacher Induction Project is to build "digital community" for current students and alumni of the department as well as new teachers beyond UT Arlington in the global community. Link to the recording: https://elearn.uta.edu/webapps/bb-collaborate-bb_bb60/recording/launchGuest?uid=a773d149-8967-4d27-8a4a-f5c27513c011\ Link to YouTube recording (Mp4): http://youtu.be/85drmbm4IBs Recordings available in archives YouTube Channel (UTA New Teachers) https://www.youtube.com/user/UTANewTeachers slideshare (UTA New Teachers): http://www.slideshare.net/utanewteachers Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/UTANewTeachers/ Master’s degree at UT Arlington in Mind, Brain and Education: http://www.uta.edu/coehp/gradadvising/programs/curricandinstruct/mind-brain-and-education.php Email: schwarma@uta.edu Dr. Marc Schwartz General Links Mentioned in the Webinar: Books: The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin Link to video: •Mindfulness and Neural Integration: Daniel Siegel, MD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiyaSr5aeho Other resources: http://www.brainbasedlearning.net http://www.brainbasedlearning.net

1. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2014
1:00-2:00 PM, CST
Brain-Based Learning: Focus on
Exceptionalities
Hosted by:
Denise Collins, Ph.D.
Peggy Semingson, Ph.D.
Amber L. Brown, Ed.D.
University of Texas at ARLINGTON
Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction
New teacher WEBINAR: Fall ‘14
Recordings will be available of webinars.
No names will be visible in the
recordings.
The recording will be available on our
YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/utanewteachers

2. These are our opinions and suggestions!
The opinions of each the presenters in the series are their
own individual viewpoints and do not necessarily reflect the
views of UT Arlington.
Our goal is for you to hear a variety of viewpoints to help
support you in your first years of teaching! We have been
down the road you are going!
• Support
• Respect
• Dialogue
• Sharing

3. MISSION STATEMENT:
Teacher Induction Project: Building Digital
Community:
The purpose of the Teacher Induction Project is to build
"digital community" for current students and alumni of the
department as well as new teachers beyond UT Arlington
in the global community.
• Open-access/mobile access
• Web 2.0
• “Real-world” topics and advice for teachers

4. Recordings are accessible via the blog and
Facebook page
Archive/Social Media:
YouTube [video]:
http://www.youtube.com/utanewteachers
Slideshare [PowerPoints]
http://www.slideshare.net/utanewteachers
Facebook Page [interaction/updates]:
https://www.facebook.com/UTANewTeacherProject

5. Upcoming Events
SUMMER 2014!
• November 1, 2014 Webinar
JOIN US!
• Topic: Understanding Autism. Speaker to be announced.
•
• November 22, 2014 Webinar
• Topic: Demonstration of Zeno, the robot intervention for autistic
children.
• Book Club discussion on "The Autistic Brian" by Temple Grandin. Read
the book prior to the webinar.

6. Tips: Logistics/Technical
To maximize learning & dialogue
• Ask questions along the way.
• Main Q/A at the end.
• Make a list of “Things to Google” later.
• Use chat window often.
•We will check it throughout it and respond
in “real time” as we can.

7. WHERE WE ARE NOW:
Use the pen tool to mark your location
• Thanks for joining us! Please use the marker/pen tool to mark a small x
below where you are at. You can also type it in the chat window

8. Poll question:
• Where are you in your teaching career?
• Select A-E Voting is optional! We will display the results!
• The drop down polling area is in the participants window
next to the “hand” tool.
I am currently a:
• A. Pre-service teacher
• B. 1st-3rd year teacher & UTA graduate
• C. 1st-3rd year teacher & non-UTA graduate
• D. 4th year+ teacher
• E. Faculty or none of the above

9. Overview of the text tool: type a sentence
about teaching and learning in the box below
using the text tool.

10. Getting ready to learn: What do you know
about the brain and learning?

11. Bio: Denise Collins, Ph.D.
• Texas Woman's University,
PhD, Child Development
• Director, Office of
Professional Development,
The University of Texas at
Arlington

12. Our Brains
• Understanding exceptionalities requires a basic
understanding of how the brain works.
• We will focus on exceptionalities in future webinars.
• This webinar is designed to better understand the
developing brain.

13. Why learn about brains?
• Type at least one
response to the
following question in
the chat window:
• Why do you think it is
important for
teachers to
understand how the
brain works?

14. Why learn about brains?
• If we understand the
needs of the child, and
how the brain
develops, we will know
how to create a
respectful, nurturing,
environment.
• The child stays attuned
and learns, the teacher
can focus on increasing
learning rather than
guidance issues.

15. Brain Integration:
the Ultimate Goal
• Children need to gain
the ability to:
• stop and start
themselves
• stay attuned to their
emotions
• focus on learning
= Self Regulation

16. The brain is always looking for
answers.
• What is this?
• Type your responses in the chat window.

17. Answer:
• Two children, wearing party hats, walking behind a wall.
• If you weren’t told the answer you brains may continue
to think about the question.
Wolff, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia

18. All Brains have:
• Prefrontal Cortex
• An Amygdala
• A Hippocampus
• Yet all of our brains perceive things differently.

19. What is their basic role?
Amygdala = the security guard
Hippocampus = the memory keeper
•
Prefrontal Cortex = leader

20. The Brain Develops:
From the base to the top.

21. The Brain Develops:
From the back to the front.

22. The Brain Develops:
From the Right to the Left.

23. Some Brain Facts
• The Right Hemisphere is the emotional tsunami.
• The Left Hemisphere is the emotional desert. It
focuses on logic.
• The Hippocampus forms around 18 mos. It takes
the emotional data and combines it with
experiences for explicit memories.
• The Prefrontal Cortex is still developing at age
25-27 (remember it is the leader)

24. The Brain Needs
Integration through experiences

25. Let’s watch Dan Siegel
• Mindfulness and Neural Integration:
Daniel Siegel, MD
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiyaSr5aeho
• As you watch this video, be prepared to share
one new thing you learned AND one way you can
apply the things he says to your teaching.

26. References
• How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the
Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough
• The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies
to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Daniel
Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
• The MindUP Curriculum: Grades PreK-2: Brain-
Focused Strategies for Learning-and Living by The
Hawn Foundation

27. UTA New Teacher Book Club
• The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin
• When Temple Grandin was born in 1947, autism had only just been
named. Today it is more prevalent than ever, with one in 88 children
diagnosed on the spectrum. And our thinking about it has undergone a
transformation in her lifetime: Autism studies have moved from the
realm of psychology to neurology and genetics, and there is far more
hope today than ever before thanks to groundbreaking new research
into causes and treatments. Now Temple Grandin reports from the
forefront of autism science, bringing her singular perspective to a
thrilling journey into the heart of the autism revolution. – Publisher’s
Summary
• Link to TED Talk by Temple Grandin
http://videosift.com/video/Temple-Grandin-TED-Talk-The-World-Needs-
All-Kinds-of-Minds

28. Goodreads
You can join the conversation on Goodreads by joining the UTA
New Teachers group at the following link.
• http://tinyurl.com/UTANewTeachersBookClub
• We will post questions, ideas, and ah-ah moments to the
group discussion board as we read the book.
• Be sure to do the same!
• November 22nd Webinar will wrap up the book club
discussion.

29. A Round of Applause for our
Presenters!
• Questions?

30. What do you think?
type in the chat window!
• What information stood out to you from
The presentation?
• What questions do you have?
• “I hope to explore.…”
• “I learned….”
• “I want to know….”

31. UT Arlington
Master’s in Mind, Brain, and Education
Our work at the SW Center for Mind, Brain and Education seeks to advance the quality of teaching based upon
insights gained from the cognitive and neural sciences as well as contribute to research in this new and
evolving field.
We build collaborative research relationships with schools, develop research trajectories that profit from the
strengths of our faculty and students and maintain a working and teaching laboratory for researchers and
graduate students.
1. Courses include:
Neuroscience of typical and atypical language development
Neuroscience of typical and atypical mathematical reasoning
Complex dynamic systems
Research design
EEG research methodology
2. Individual work:
Research-based capstone project
encouraged - Conference presentations
encouraged - Publishing in peer-reviewed journals

32. For more information on the
Mind, Brain, and Education
Master’s degree, please
contact Dr. Marc Schwartz
schwarma@uta.edu

33. Thanks to everyone for attending!
Have a great weekend!

34. Be part of the knowledge network!
We hope to see you again on the New
Teacher Webinar series!
• Learn more!
• Become a better teacher.
• Stay encouraged.
• Connect with other educators and UTA Faculty in an
informal, low key online setting!
• Please let others know about our webinar series and
blog!
For questions or comments, email:
Dr. Brown amber.brown@uta.edu or
Dr. Semingson peggys@uta.edu

35. Webinar Survey
• To help us improve the webinars and learn more
about your thoughts, we ask that you take a few
minutes to complete a short survey about this
webinar.
• Please go to the following link:
http://tinyurl.com/UTAWebinarSurvey