Inside the Teacher’s Toolbox

By Ali Brown

Teacher’s Tool Box

Of Knowledge

Brain Break DownFrontal Cortex

• Long term memories made here

• Existing knowledge's home• Executive functions• Problem Solving• Maintains focus• Emotional impulses• Releases dopamine saying

“remember this”

Back Cortex• Past Oriented• Sensory input• Tactile• Auditory• Short term memory• Information comes in here

first• We tend to teach more

towards this part of the brain.

Hooks• According to John Medina students can only pay attention for

ten minutes before start to get bored.• By using “hooks” every ten minutes you can captivate

students attention and bring them back into the lesson.• At the end of each ten minute segment there should be a

short “gist” or summery before moving on.• Hooks are used at the start of a ten minute segment.• They should be short and attention capturing.• Hooks need to be relevant and relate each ten minute

segment together.

Motivation• Students need to be motivated in order to learn.• This needs to be done by more then just rewards and

punishments (Zull).• This means that we need to get students wanting to

learn, not just striving for good grades.• Letting students have more choices in their learning

can help achieve this (Kohn).• Relating what students are learning to their lives, can

help make them want to know more (Zull).

Emotions• A person who makes decisions from rational only, no emotions, would become

pathologically indecisive (Shiv).• Sometimes your “gut feeling” can be based off of prior knowledge and should

be listened to (Shiv).• We need emotions to a degree in order to make decisions. • Allowing students to use emotions to make decisions and assumptions helps

them to learn materials for themselves rather then just try to absorb what is needed (Sousa/Immortino-Yang/Faeth).

• Aiming for peoples emotional reactions can help get their attention and “hook” them into a lesson, emotions are the best type of external stimulus (Medina).

• Emotions can be a distraction, but they can also be the thing that captures our attention and helps us to learn (Zull, 2002).

• If you connect emotion with teaching, learning can be rewarding for students (Zull, 2011).

• According to Goleman, people have an emotional intelligence. This is what helps motivate ones self, persist in the face of frustration, control impulses, delay gratification, regulate moods, emphasize and hope.

Sleep• Students need sleep just as much as information in order to learn.• Experts suggest at least nine hours a night (Sousa).• During sleep we process through the information we’ve acquired

throughout the day (Medina).• As well as getting enough sleep, some people (10-20%) learn better at

night while others (10-20%) are more alert during the day (Medina).– This differentiation may actually be embedded in your DNA, so people can’t help

when they are alert and ready to learn.

• This is important to note so you don’t assume a student is just “lazy and unmotivated”.

• People should be able to work on their schedule not be forced to conform to others.– Giving homework and extra readings could allow students to pick and choose

when these activities are done, allowing some learning to be done at the times that works best for them.

Long-Term Memory• Consolidation: turning short term memory into long term. (Done by the

hippocampus)• On average, seven pieces of information can only be stored for thirty seconds,

without repetition (Medina).• Thinking and or talking about something immediately after it is learned helps

enhance memory (Medina).• Re-exposal to information in fixed intervals of times is best for remembering long

term (Medina).• Teachers who can connect units help students remember past information by

reiterating it again in present sections.– 90-120 minutes after an original lesson is learned is prime time to repeat

information learned (Medina). This will give students a 14% better chance to remember the information.

– Sometimes the brain needs a break to “connect the dots”, giving students discussion time can allow them to process through what you’ve just taught

– Giving meaning before details can help, big ideas lead us to remember the details.

Short-Term Memory• At birth you have all the wires to make memories, but no connections yet

(Medina).• Connections are made in your cortex, which is like a think blanket over

your brain.• Cells here process signals and grow complex root systems and neural

connections to store information.• The more elaborately we encode things the more likely we are to

remember them.• There are two types of memories; one involving conscience awareness

and one that doesn’t.– This relates to the fight or flight reaction (unconscious memories trigger

immediate responses to danger)

• You are more likely to remember something if the environment is the same for learning as it is for recollection.– When research suggest playing music while students read, and then the same

type of music while they take test I think this is what they are trying to do.

Movement

• BDNF : Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factors• These are released when exercising and act like

“miracle grow” for the brain (Medina).• People who exercise or get up and move

before, or during learning, actually do better (Ratey).

• Exercise boost brain power, helping your chances at remembering information given to you (Sousa).

Classroom Climate• Having a good classroom atmosphere helps students feel included and

accepted; which in turn helps encourage students to take chances and establish a desire to learn (Sousa/Immortino-Yang/Faeth).

• According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, if one need is not met then it may be hard for a student to focus and learn.

• Creating a classroom that can satisfy more needs then just cognitive or intellectual ones will foster a more rounded learning experience.

• Teaching to someone's episodic memory rather then just their semantic memory can help make learning fun and encouraging memory instead of memorization. This could mean using stories rather then dates and facts alone (Zull, 2002).

• Its important to have fun and create an intrinsic motivation for students to learn. You need to remember when doing this to make sure you keep your lessons revolving around learning, not competition or being right or wrong (Zull, 2002).

Differentiation in Learning• People learn in different ways, so we should teach to different aspects of

learning not just one (Zull, 2002).• Each student is unique, just because they don’t learn like you or others

doesn’t mean their “dumb”. There are multiple levels of intelligences (Gardner).

• Teaching directed at certain intelligences can help the class as a whole, for example helping visual learners will help everyone. People remember 10% of what they hear with text alone as an additive, but with pictures included it jumps to 65%. (Medina)

• Just like each student is different from one another, the brain itself is a complex creature, each part taking in information differently. We should try to teach to the whole thing, not just one area (Medina).

• There are many needs that have to be met before a student can learn, we need to design learning plans that hit all of these areas (Maslow).

• To do all of this, we as teachers need to see as our students do (Zull).

More on the Brain

Left Brain• Sees only right side of visual

field (Medina)• Small attention focus

(Medina)• Semantic Details (Zull, 2002)• Creative (Zull, 2002)

Right Brain• Big picture (Zull, 2002)• Faithful (Zull, 2002)• Realistic (Zull, 2002)• Factual (Zull, 2002)• Larger focus (Medina)

Why We Care About the Brain• If we have students with cognitive disorders we

can know how to help them.• Its important to know which part of the brain you

are teaching to when looking at differentiation in learning so you can hit multiple learning types.

• According to the science of neuroplasticity; brain systems are shaped by experience. Different parts of the brain develop at different times/rates and are more sensitive /receptive at certain times of a persons life (Begley).