EDUC 553: Souza Chapter Two

1. Rose M. Figueroa Ares
EDUC 553
Dr. Philip R. Murray
Date: Thursday, November 15, 2018.

2.  “There are probably more differences in human brains than in any other
animal partly because the human brain does most of its developing in the
outside world.”
Robert Ornstein and Richard Thompson
The Amazing Brain

3.  Scientists are slowly understanding more how the brain processes
information with the help of scanning technologies.
 The brain calls selected areas into play depending on what the
individual is doing at the moment.
 This information allows us to construct models that can explain the
data and behavior.

4.  This model was developed by Robert Stahl of Arizona State University
in the early 1980s.
 Stahl designed a learning taxonomy to promote higher-order thinking
skills.
 It focuses on the major cerebral operations that deal with the collecting,
evaluating, storing, and retrieving of information.

5.  The rapid proliferation of computers has encourage the use of the computer
model to explain brain functions.
 This model uses the analogy of input, processing, and output.
Brain Computer
Performs slower than a computer Cannot emit a judgment easily
Limited capacity Larger storage capacity
Open, parallel-processing system Closed linear system
Displays emotions Do not display emotions

6. Short Term MemoryFive Senses Working Memory Long Term Memory

7.  The Senses
 The brain obtains information from the environment through the five senses
(external stimuli).
 All sensory stimuli enters the brain as a stream of electrical impulses.
 Not all senses contribute equally to our learning.
 Sensory Register
 This system includes the thalamus and the reticular activating system (RAS).
 Function: Filters incoming information to determine how important it is.

8.  Short-Term Memory
 It is the storage of information for a limited time.
 Immediate Memory
 Sensory data that is not lost moves from the thalamus to the immediate
memory.
 It is a place where we put information briefly until we decide how to dispose
it.
 What is taken into consideration to store or get rid of the information?
1. Personal experiences
2. Threats and emotions
3. Feelings of the learner

9.  Working Memory
 Most of the working memory’s activity occurs in the frontal lobes.
 It is a temporary memory and it is the place where conscious processing
occurs.
 It is seen as a work table: Build, Take Apart and Rework ideas
 The working memory can handle only a few items at once.
 This functional capacity changes with age and the type of input.
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10.  Working Memory
 Implications for Teaching
 Keep the number of items in a lesson objective within the age appropriate capacity limit.
 Time limits of Working Memory
 Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909): We can process items carefully in the working memory
for up to 45 minutes before becoming fatigued.
 Peter Russel (1979): Believes this time span is much shorter.
Age Attention Span
Preadolescents 5 to 10 minutes
Adolescents and Adults 10 to 20 minutes

11.  Criteria for Long-Term Storage
 Information that has survival value is quickly stored.
 Strong emotional experiences have a high probability of being permanently
stored.
 Learners ask themselves two questions to determine whether an item is
saved or rejected:
 Does this make sense?
 Does this have meaning?
 Sense and meaning are independent of each other.
 Meaning is more significant.

12.  Long-Term Storage
 Storing occurs when the hippocampus encodes information and sends it to one
or more long-term storage areas.
 The encoding process takes times and usually occurs during deep sleep.
 In the classroom, if the student can accurately recall the learning after
approximately 24 hours has passed, we say that learning has been retained.

13.  The total construct of what is in our long-term memory form the basis of how we see
the world.
 The human brain has the ability to combine individual items in many different ways.
 Self-Concept: Describes the way we view ourselves in the world.
 Mindsets
 Fixed: Success comes from one’s innate ability.
 Growth: Success comes from one’s efforts and persistence.

14.  Children in preschool and the primary grades have had relatively few experiences that
could cause their emerging self-concept to block learning.
 Adolescence is a busy time for the brain.
 Learning Profiles: Includes four elements of how individuals process, remember, and
use what they learned: learning styles, intelligence preferences, culture, and gender.
 Sensory or modality preferences

15.  Scientists and educators are still investigating how the brain processes
information.
 There are many factors that influence how an individual processes information in
the brain.
 Teachers should deliver meaningful and logical lessons and integrate the students’
experiences in the teaching and learning process.

16. Sousa, D. A. (2017). How the Brain Processes Information. In D. A. Sousa, How the Brain Learns (Fifth ed.,
pp. 43-64). Thousand Oaks,CA: Corwin Press.