Brains at school - knowledge is power! Reference number: 2015-1-PL01-KA219-016735

NEWSLETTERNo. 2

Part 1 – Italy

HOW WE REMEMBER AND WHY WE FORGET

( by Ashish Ranpura) Teacher: M. Giuseppina Accoto

IC “Tito Schipa” Muro Leccese

Fundamentally, memory represents a change in who we are. Our habits, our ideologies, our hopes and fears are all influenced by what we remember of our past. At the most basic level, we rememberbecause the connections between our brains’ neurons change; each experience primes the brain for the next experience, so that the physical stuff we’re made of reflects our history like mountains reflect geologic eras. Memory also represents a change in who we are because it is predictive of who we will become. We remember things more easily if we have been exposed to similar things before, so what we remember from the past has a lot to do with what we can learn in the future. An understanding of memory is an understanding of the role of experience in shaping our lives, a critical tool for effective learning in the classroom and beyond. In this article we will explore how experiences become memories, and we’ll examine whether the way that we create and store memories can influence the way that we learn.

Immediate, Working, and Long-Term MemoryScientists divide memory into categories based on the amount of time the memory lasts: the shortestmemories lasting only milliseconds are called immediate memories, memories lasting about a minute are called working memories, and memories lasting anywhere from an hour to many years are called long-term memories. Each type of memory is tied to a particular type of brain function. Long-term memory, the class that we are most familiar with, is used to store facts, observations, andthe stories of our lives. Working memory is used to hold the same kind of information for a much shorter amount of time, often just long enough for the information to be useful; for instance, working memory might hold the page number of a magazine article just long enough for you to turn

to that page. Immediate memory is typically so short-lived that we don’t even think of it as memory; the brain uses immediate memory as a collecting bin, so that, for instance, when your eyesjump from point to point across a scene the individual snapshots are collected together into what seems like a smooth panorama.

Declarative and Nondeclarative MemoriesAnother way to categorize memory is to divide memories about what something is from memories about how something is done. Skills like catching a baseball or riding a bicycle are called nondeclarative memories because we perform those activities automatically, with no conscious recollection of how we learned the skills. Declarative memories, on the other hand, are memories offacts and events that we can consciously recall and describe verbally.Categorizing memory temporally and functionally makes sense from the clinical and biological perspective; patients with various amnesias may have difficulty with one particular type of memory and not with others. Moreover, scientists have discovered that different brain structures are specialized to process each category of memory, suggesting that these categories are not merely convenient for discussion, but are based in the biology of how we remember. Understanding how memories are formed in each category and how some memories move amongst categories can help to focus strategies for improving memory and learning.

How MemoriesAre MadeModern computers encode memory as a vast array of independent, digital bits of information that are “randomly accessible.” Functionally, this means that your computer can bring up your best friend’s phone number without accessing any information about what your best friend looks like or how you met. The human brain stores memory in a very different way; recalling your best friend’s phone number may very well bring to mind your friend’s face, a pleasant conversation that you had,and the title of the movie that the two of you are going to see. While computer memories are discrete and informationally simple, human memories are tangled together and informationally complex.Our memories are rich because they are formed through associations. When we experience an event, our brains tie the sights, smells, sounds, and our own impressions together into a relationship.That relationship itself is the memory of the event. Unlike computer memories, a human memory is not a discrete thing that exists at a particular location; instead, it is an abstract relationship amongst thoughts that arises out of neural activity spread over the whole brain.

But how is the memory relationship actually made? The process from both a biological and a behavioral perspective is critically dependent on reinforcement. Reinforcement can come in the

form of repetition or practice; we remember that two plus two equals four because we’ve heard it somany times. Reinforcement can also occur through emotional arousal; most people remember where they were when they heard that John F. Kennedy was shot because of the highly emotional content of that event. Arousal is also a product of attention, so memories can be reinforced independent of context by paying careful attention and consciously attempting to remember.

Remembering a New Face

Reinforcement is important in forming memories because it moves the memory relationship from short-lived categories to longer-lasting ones. For example, if you met a man called John Byrd at a party, you’d see his face, hear his name, and you’d be aware of the social context of the event. At first this information is loosely held in immediate memory, just long enough for the event to play itself out. Immediate memories are held in various modality-specific regions of the brain, meaning that immediate visual memory is probably held in visual parts of the brain, immediate auditory memory in auditory parts of the brain, and so on.If you paid attention during the introduction, the relationship between sight, sound, and awareness is brought together into working memory, somewhere in the prefrontal lobe of the brain. When the event moves from immediate memory to working memory, certain features will be lost. You probably won’t remember background conversations from the party, and you may not remember thecolor of the Mr. Byrd’s shoes. The loss of distracting information is an important feature of human memory, and is critical for efficient storage and recollection of experiences.

At this point you might rehearse the event by saying the name to yourself, or by making up a mnemonic (John Byrd, who has a big hook nose like a bird). The mnemonic and the rehearsal causethe memory to move from working memory into long-term memory, a change that starts in the brain’s hippocampus. The process of converting working memory into long-term memory is called consolidation, and again, it is characterized by the loss of distracting information. Several days aftermeeting Mr. Byrd you may not be able to remember what color his tie was or whether he wore a wristwatch, but you will still remember his face, his name, and the person who introduced you to him. The consolidation phase of memory formation is sensitive to interruption; if you are distracted just after meeting Mr. Byrd, you may have trouble remembering his name later.

So to recap, the event of meeting John Byrd started out in immediate memory, spread out in various modality-specific regions of the brain. Reinforcement through attention caused the relationship between sight, sound, and context to consolidate into working memory in the prefrontal lobe. Further reinforcement through practice caused more consolidation, and the most critical relationships in the event (the name, the face, and the context) were tied together in the hippocampus. From there, the memory relationship is probably stored diffusely across the cerebral cortex, but research on the actual location of memory relationships is still inconclusive.

Can Memory Be Improved?The end result of all of this moving across categories is that humans are good at remembering a fewcomplex chunks of information while computers are good at remembering many simple chunks of information. It is a lot easier for a person to remember four photographs in great detail than it is to remember a list of forty two-digit numbers; quite the opposite for a computer. Also, because we form memories through consolidation, attention and emotional arousal work together to determine what features of an event are important, and therefore what features will be remembered.From a practical perspective, that means that we can remember something best if we learn it in a context that we understand, or if it is emotionally important to us. It is a lot easier to remember that the hypophysial stalk connects the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland if you already know a lot about neurobiology. But it’s also an easy fact to remember if you’ve ever had a loved one who suffered from a tumor near that part of the brain.

Mnemonic strategies, contextual learning, repetitive rehearsal, and emotional arousal are all good ways to ensure that we remember the things that are important to us. By focusing our learning strategies on the strengths of the brain’s memory systems, we may be able to learn more information in a shorter amount of time in a way that is useful to our lives. That focus requires understanding the limitations of our memories; the human brain is not good at remembering long lists of unrelated numbers, dozens of nonsense words, or lengthy grocery lists. While the brain has an extraordinary ability to remember many events in rich detail.

Source:Ashish Ranpura earned his bachelor’s degree in neuroscience at Yale University, where he studied the cellular basis of learning and memory. He began his career in science journalism at National Public Radio’s “Science Friday,” and continues to be deeply interested in promoting public understanding of science. He is currently conducting research on cognitive development underlying number perception and arithmetical skills.

Part 1 – RomaniaMULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Teachers: Georgeta Chiurtu Nadia erbanȘ

Mirela Dodenciu Simona Jianu

Liceul ”Matei Basarab” Craiova

If we refer to TMI (Theory of Multiple Intelligences), we can say that man is born with acertain "profile" or "start" of multiple intelligences which defines him - in other words, isborn with a certain level of development of these intelligences, and various life experiencesmay determine which of these intelligences develop and to what extent.

Teachers, educators can play therefore a significant role in identifying, developing andexploiting these intelligences in formal, non-formal or informal contexts in order to streamlinethe process of teaching, learning and assessment.

The Theory of Multiple Intelligences is an alternative of differentiated work, moderninteractive training strategy that can help improve school performance. "Individualization"defines the action of adapting the teaching process to the individual characteristics ofstudents. Modern education takes into account the fact that each student is unique and has hisown individuality and wants to feel respected.

H. Gardner`s opinion is that intelligences represent the cognitive ability of theindividual, described by a set of skills, talents, mental skills, which are possessed by anynormally developed person and are grouped into eight categories.

1. Linguistic intelligence - ability to solve problems by using the lingvistic code,sensitivity to the meaning and order of words.

Kids who love to talk not to write have linguistc intelligence . They catch the nuances ofmeanings of words, order words correctly, identify sounds, rhythm and inflection of languageand understand the ability of the language to inform, to persuade, to express feelings.

A child with linguistic intelligence

To develop linguistic intelligence at school

learns by listening, writing, reading and discussion; imitates friends and

family voices;plays / experiments

with words; is better than his peers

in reading, writing and speaking; speaks from a young

age.

talk less and give more time vorbeascǎ sǎ children; formulated tasks that require focused verbal exchange,

structured; organize games "say-what-do" "do-tell"; use keywords and clustering techniques thematic vocabulary; ghidatǎ use writing (writing structure datǎ); explore various languages for different purposes utilizǎri of using

multiple means (sturdy hard, films, performances, radio).

2. Logical-mathematical intelligence - the ability to work with models, categories andrelations, to group, sort and interpret data, the ability to problematize.

Children with mathematical and logical intelligence are those who can solve problemsand give nonverbal solutions. They like logical ordering, clarity and very easily see patternsand connections around them.They sort the toys in the drawer.They try to explain cause andeffect.

A child with Logical-mathematicalintelligence

To develop logical-mathematical intelligence at school

knowns from a young age concepts such as time, space, quantity, cause and effect;

understands the meaning of symbols and is able to create symbols;

is fascinated by patterns around;

does activities of ordering ;

likes collect and classify;

arranges the surrounding objects.

draw attention to the rules and customs that you use and explain what purpose they use;

have activities with numbers from various disciplines ;

fiind connections between mathematical and day by day life ;

teach the children how to clasify, make priority lists and how to make predictions;

use patterns of problem solving in various disciplines.

stimulate the interest for logic, for example creating a "club of puzzle", or "scrabble" .

3. Visual-spatial intelligence - the ability to form a mental model space, solve problemsthrough spatial representation and image, sense of place, ability to read maps, charts, graphs.

Children with well developed visual and spatial intelligence will be able to create or torecreate with ease images or objects. They remember how objects looked and where they sawthem.They can imagine themselves or envision an object in a totally different context. Theyknow how to guide and understand directions and can follow a particular route. Theyremember where they put things.They can view objects in three dimensional space andthrough space and time.

A child with visual and spatialintelligence

To develop visual and spatial intelligence

learns by wathing and observing

remembers how objects look and where they are placed

can see very easily imaginary scenes

use learning and memory posters displayed in the classroom and make references to them;

change regularly exposed images;

add to the written and oral materials comprehension techniques such as maps, diagrams, schematic reprezentations, posters;

remembers how the words werewritten on the page

is able to see shapes look if they are rotated

to tell the letters of a word he remembers how it was written the word

bring boards and use them in the lesson

become through the movements you make a visual support that stimulates teaching by capturing attention through gestures, expressive moves.

4. Musical intelligence - the ability to solve problems and generate products through rhythmand melody, rhythm sensitivity, the ability to recognize various forms of musical expression.

Children with musical intelligence notice sounds patterns and understand thedifferences from a young age . Tonalities, rhythms and melodies remain in their mind. Theywill be attracted by any activity related to musicality, will have talent at musical instruments.They would listen to music in any circumstance.

Children with musical intelligence To develop musical intelligence

improvise and experiment with pleasure sounds ;

notice and react to states of spirit shown by music;

feel the rhythm and react artistic to music;

are interested in learning about music, and create their preferences and categories;

remember melodies and songs.

Use music to delineate the time to fulfill a task, marking the beginning and end, choose a musical theme to change the state - dynamic, reflexive, relaxing, energizing;

use music to help memorizing the content;

stimulate interest in different ways of producing music and tasting music;

create opportunities for experiencing music as participatory activities in the classroom

5. Body-kinesthetic intelligence - the ability to solve problems and generate products withmovement of the body, skill in manipulating objects.

Children having kinestethic intelligence give proof of dexterity from an early age .They easily move their own body and other objects using complicated maneuvers. They startwalking very early and have dexterity in handling toys. They coordinate simultaneous themoves on the right and left part of the body.They can be restless in the classroom.Thephysical appearance can be robust – they run, climb, hit the ball. The memory will be helpedwith activities which imply movement.

A child with kinesthetic Intelligence To develop kinesthetic Intelligence

learns by doinghas dexterity in activities involving

movementbetter remembers what was done than

what was said or seen is interested in improving physical

performance is creativitive in building, motion and

physical expressionhas good coordination, sense of

movement, rhythm, balance anddexterity.

include daily practice activities; stimulate learning through movement, role play

activities;practice the abilities that involve biological and

physical dexterity and relax the brain; include physical activities as short breaks from

the intellectual effort; teach children outdoor games and play with

them.

6. Interpersonal intelligence - ability to solve problems by interracting with others, theability to discriminate and respond appropriately to events and desires of others.

Children who have the ability to play together, to empathize, who like to be in a teamand want to help those in the team have interpersonal intelligence.

The child with interpersonal intelligence To develop interpersonal intelligence at school

knows how the others feel; understands the views of others; initiates, develops and maintains the

social relationships; plays with others; feels comfortable in the depiction of

collaboration and competition.

organize groups or other ways of encouraging cooperation; present the criteria of group formation; teach students games; together with them establishe the rules of the group; set the target of the group and how to achieve it.

7. Intrapersonal intelligence - the ability to solve problems and generate products throughself-knowledge, the ability to access own experiences and the ability to discriminate and expressawareness of their knowledge, skills, desires.

Children with intrapersonal intelligence understand their own feelings and emotions.They can isolate and explore their feelings and emotions.They can be stubborn when areasked to act in conflict with their own feelings. They can be more open than their peers whenare asked to express their feelings. Sometimes they talk to an imaginary friend telling himhow they feel.They can ask philosophical questions.

A child with intrapersonal intelligence

To develop intrapersonal intelligence at school

is aware of his own thoughts,feelings and emotions; finds ways of expressing thoughts,

feelings and his emotions;has inner conversations; tries to understand the others

motivations and behaviors; is independent and motivated; is concerned on questions of

philosophical questions.

leave time for thought and reflection;have patience and give open answers and of

philosophical nature; fiind philosophical books for children and use them in

the classroom;use feelings and desires of the children in activities;create the panel of wishes;use the map of memories;use cards of appreciation.

8. Naturalistic intelligence - the ability to solve problems and develop products usingtaxonomies and representations of environment.

Children who like staying outside and are curious to find models and connections in thenature have naturalist intelligence. These children are amazed by the environment. Thismanifestation may be tied to the immediate environment - the park, river, school yard or tiedto the broader open spaces. This type of intelligence is manifested by observing details,curiosity toward the species observed, speculation about the existence of different species.

A child with naturalistic intelligence To develop naturalistic intelligence at school

is sensitive to the harmony and disharmony of local geography;

see patterns and relationships between the species;

notices the connection between environmental change and time (season);

feels good in any natural environment;

likes all sorts of creatures ;

is preocupied by effects of human actions on the environment.

children visit places of local geography;

make them responsable toward environment by creating aplace in the classroom or in the school they can take care of;

study human impact on the environment in terms of causeand effect;

have activities of counting and observing species;

be a model of responsible behavior in social and natural environment in and outside school.

Existential intelligence - H. Gardner identified it as responsible for knowledge of theworld, (specific to philosophers), but failed to activate a brain area location.

Part 1 – PolandHow to take good photos?

Golden rules of photo composition. Cropping.

Don't spend time in Photoshop! Create perfect photos with your camera!

When the days are getting longer, the photography ‘season’ is just about upon us. Sonow’s the time to dust off your camera and start taking great pictures! Do you think it'sdifficult? So, you're wrong! In this tutorial we’ll show you some golden rules that will helpyou to learn how to take good photos instinctively and... easily:)

1. First think about your shots

Photography doesn’t start when you get your camera out of your kit bag or look throughthe viewfinder: The process begins when you ‘see’ a potential shot. Look carefully at allobjects/views you want to photograph. Control both the foreground and the background.

Remove unnecessary elements....

fot. Erasmus+ PL Team

… or add new elemnts that can make yourphoto more atractive.

fot. Yaro/www.shutterstock.com

2. Rule of ThirdsPerhaps the most widely used rule in photography. Divide your frame into 9 equal sectionswith 4 lines. Think about what elements of the photo are the most important and try toposition them at or near the lines and intersections of the grid. They don't have to beperfectly lined up as long as they're close.

http://euphoria.xlightcomplex.net/article/rules-of-photography-composition-simplified

3. Straighten the Horizon

fot. T. Kaczor

Correct - the horizon is straight

fot.T. Kaczor

Wrong - a slanted horizon

The best way to eliminate a slanted horizon is to remember to hold your camera in thecorrect straight position level in the first place.

4. FramingFraming is the technique of drawing attention to the subject of your image by blockingother parts of the image with something in the scene. That is one of the most interestingways to compose a good photo.

http://euphoria.xlightcomplex.net/article/rules-of-photography-composition-simplified

fot. A. Walter

http://www.witajwpodrozy.pl/newsy/tablice-informacyjne-na-tatrzanskich-szlakach.html

5. Horizontal or Vertical?The general rule says that we should choose a horizontal orientation for scenes orsubjects which are horizontal and expansive in nature (such as city scenes, sweepinglandscapes and sport activities) and it is better to use a vertical orientation for subjects thatare tall and thin in nature (for example objects like trees or buildings). But...

The vertical orientation ofthe photo on left seemsappropriate for the imageof this young girl. http://better-photography.com/digital-

photography-tips-horizontal-vs-vertical-compositions/

But also the horizontalorientation of this shot seemsgood, especially if we cropclose and employ the rule ofthirds to emphasize her

beautiful eyes.http://better-photography.com/digital-photography-tips-horizontal-vs-vertical-compositions/

So what to do when it comes to orientation? When you're in doubt shoot both and decidelater which you like best.

6. Photography of a personIn general don't cut off hands, feet, and foreheads!

fot. Erasmus+ PL Team

Wrong – elbowand foot cut-off

Fot. A. Walter

Correct – all the profile in the picture

But if you want to cut-off a part of body you can also do it but remember: crop in the middleof limbs, not at joints (ankles, knees, wrists, loins).

fot. T. Kaczor

Correct – American shot

fot. T. Kaczor

Wrong – cut-off at knees

Correct - morenatural effect:the frame cuts offthe legs at somepoint below mid-thigh.

fot. T. Kaczor

How to crope face? Where to cut-off?

fot. Michael Zhang

‘Yes’ areas are marked in green,while ‘bad’ locations are marked inred.

fot. T. Kaczor

You can cut-off a part offorehead but....

fot. T. Kaczor

….do not exaggerate!