Welcome To Your Brain

Learning and the BrainSeminar 2

Goals for This Seminar What can learning about learning networks teach us about how we learn?

How can we connect our learning about learning networks to our experiences to gain a better understanding of ourselves as learners?

Based on our understanding of learning networks and ourselves as learners, what strategies can we adopt to help us with the process of learning?THINK-PUZZLE-EXPLOREWhat do you think you know about learning and the brain?

What questions or puzzles do you have?

What does the topic make you want to explore?

3The Learning NetworksRecent neurological findings confirm three interconnected systems in the learning brain:

Recognition networks know what and where an object is.

Strategic networks know how to do things.

Affective networks know which objects and actions are important.

While we still have much to learn about learning, there are helpful metaphors for what is going on in the brain.

These three neural networks work together to coordinate even simple acts like signing a birthday card for a friend. Through recognition networks, we understand the concept of a birthday and identify the card, the pen, our hands as we write, and our signature. Through strategic networks, we set our goal of signing the card, form a plan for picking up the pen and moving it to produce our signature, monitor our progress, and make small course corrections, such as reducing the size of the letters if we begin to run out of space. Affective networks connect us to our feelings for our friend, motivate us to sign the card, and keep us on task. 4The Science Behind LearningAre specialized to sense and assign meaning to patterns we observe.

Enable us to identify and understand information, ideas, and concepts.

Recognition Networks

http://www.oln.org/teaching_and_learning/ada/Fame/udl/v2_18_173_79.html5

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/Take a look at the picture. Instantly, you probably recognize many of the objects depicted-people, furniture, doorways. If asked, you could identify parts of these objects, such as eyes, table legs, or doorknobs. Some of these objects are partially hidden; others are at odd angles or clustered in poor light, yet your recognition networks are so powerful that you have no difficulty determining what these objects are.

Recognition, which seems simple, is actually an incredibly complex feat. As scientists identify the salient characteristics of recognition networks, we understand more clearly how recognition actually works. 6Patterns of Brain ActivityThe positron emission tomography (PET) scan shows typical patterns of brain activity associated with:Reading words

Hearing Words

Thinking words

Saying wordsActivity is highest in red areas and then decreases through the other colors of the rainbow from yellow to blue-violet.David Rose UDL Lectures HT1004 different language tasks engage different processes!The general task of recognition is distributed across different areas, each specialized to handle a different component of recognition. (From this point on, we will refer to these specialized areas of the brain as "modules.") Distributed processing is not limited to differences between distinct sensory modalities, such as vision and hearing. The subprocesses within each sense modality are also distributed. For example, visual recognition is distributed across at least 30 different modules, so that elements like vertical lines, diagonal lines, color, and motion are all processed in physically discrete areas of the brain (Gazzaniga, 1995; Mountcastle, 1998; Roland & Zilles, 1998; Zeki, 1999). 7The Science Behind Learninghttp://www.oln.org/teaching_and_learning/ada/Fame/udl/v2_18_173_80.htmlAre specialized to generate and oversee mental and motor patterns.

Enable us to plan, execute, and monitor actions and skills.

Strategic networks

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/The anterior part of the brain (the frontal lobes) comprises the networks responsible for knowing how to do things - holding and moving a pencil, riding a bicycle, speaking, reading a book, planning a trip, writing a narrative. Actions, skills, and plans are highly patterned activities, requiring the strategic brain systems responsible for generating patterns. Strategic systems are critical for all learning tasks, working in tandem with recognition systems to learn to read, compute, write, solve problems, plan and execute compositions and complete projects. Like the posterior brain systems, frontal systems are essential for generating basic patterns such as forming a letter, and complex patterns such as drawing or writing a composition.8What type of room is this?

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/Activity: Try to identify the type of room in which the scene is set. Post Activity Discussion: Most likely you glanced at the image and had no trouble determining that it shows a living room or a parlor. Without being aware of it, you relied on your strategic networks to figure this out. You identified the goal of the task, came up with a plan to achieve it, executed that plan, and evaluated its outcome, all the while avoiding distractions that might carry you off track.

9

10http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/The front part of the brain the sensory areas in the cortex are goal oriented.

Notice the three eye movement maps. Each reflects the same individual looking at the same image, yet the patterns of movement are different. Why? The answer is different goals. First, the viewer was told to look at the image, but was given no specific instructions about what to look for (map 1, at the top of the figure). Second, he was instructed to identify the ages of the people in the picture (map 2, at the lower left). Third, he was asked to determine what the people in the picture were doing before the visitor arrived so unexpectedly (map 3, at the lower right). Each instruction required a different viewing strategy, and each new strategy resulted in a different pattern of eye movement. As this example shows, even a simple action like searching a picture involves a multi-step strategic process: Identify a goal. Design a suitable plan. Execute the plan. Self-monitor. Correct or adjust actions.

Affective networksThe Science Behind Learninghttp://www.oln.org/teaching_and_learning/ada/Fame/udl/v2_18_173_81.html Are specialized to evaluate patterns and assign them emotional significance.

Enable us to engage with tasks and learning and with the world around us. 1111http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/At the core of the brain (the limbic system) lie the networks responsible for emotion. Neither recognizing nor generating patterns, these networks determine whether the patterns we perceive matter to us and help us decide which actions and strategies to pursue. With the affective systems, we pursue goals, develop preferences, build confidence, persist in the face of difficulty, establish priorities, and care about learning. Recent neurological work shows that the capacity to determine which patterns count is critical to human intelligence and to all learning.SEE-THINK-WONDER

Ask students what they see12Can we trust our brain?Discuss your reactions with a partner!

Illusions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Wx4yi5m8IfI#

14Illusions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDoAnDxoHTU15So what is your reaction?What can we deduce from these experiences?

Discuss with a partner some of your thoughts.HomeworkWatch Brain Works (30 minutes)http://www.uwtv.org/programs/displayevent.aspx?rID=4909

Play Brain Gameshttp://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chgames.html

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