Brain Matters

Selasa, 11 Desember 2012



Septiyani Wafda                                109014000077                                                VB
Book Response Form
Book title        : Brain Matters
Author             : Patricia Wolfe
Publisher         : ASCD
Date Published: 2010                                                              Number of pages: 246
Genre              : Reference


CHAPTER
PART I: The Structure and Function of the Human Brain
1.      Opening the Black Box of the Brain
Probably this chapter will tell us something about the brain. It is tells us about our understanding of human brain functioning.

2.      Brain Anatomy---A Short Course: Neurons and Subcortical Structures
I think this chapter will tell us about the basic structural and functional unit of the brain that is cell. This chapter also helps us to think how we can remember the words, the number, etc.

3.      Brain Anatomy---A short Course: The Cortex
This chapter told about the part of the brain that allows us to be aware, to recognize, and to talk about how we’re feeling and what we’re thinking. This chapter told us about the conscious and unconscious of a small part of what is going on inside our brain.

4.      How Neurons Communicate
The chapter told about the majority of neurons in the mature of human brain, which do not communicate solely using electricity. The chapter also told about how neurons communicate and make us possible to read a words.

PART II: Brain Development from Birth through Adolescence
5.      The Early and Middle Years
This chapter told about the development of brain in the early and middle years. This chapter also told about the significant changes in young brain that are important for both parents and teachers to understand.

6.      The Adolescent Brain: A work in Progress
This chapter is the continuation from the previous chapter. If the previous chapter told about the development of the brain in the early and middle year, this chapter probably told about the development of the brain in the adolescent, because that are very complex changes in the brain throughout adolescence.

7.      The Role of Exercise, Sleep, Nutrition, and Technology
This chapter probably told about the neuroplasticity. This chapter also told about the brain’s ability to change based on environmental factors.

PART III: From Sensory Input to Information Storage
8.      Sensory Memory: Getting Information into the Brain
This chapter told about the distinction between the learning and memory. The chapter also told about why people lost their memories that makes them forget who they are.

9.      Working Memory: The Conscious Processing of Information
This chapter told about the working memory. This chapter informs us that working memory allows us to integrate current information with our background knowledge and to consciously manipulate information well enough to ensure its storage in long-term memory.

10.  Long-Term Memory: The Brain’s Storage System
This chapter told about how our memory can store the information to the long-term memory. The chapter also discussed about the factors that influence the strength of these memory.

PART IV: Matching Instruction to How the Brain Learns Best
11.  Making Curriculum Meaningful Through Problems, Projects, and Simulations
This chapter told about how to make the curriculum meaningful. This chapter also discussed how to include our experience into the curriculum.

12.  Using the Visual and Auditory Sense to Enhance Learning
This chapter informs us that sensory ability are powerful components of brain functioning. This chapter also teaches us how to use them in the classroom to enhance students’ understanding.



13.  A toolkit of Brain-Compatible Strategies
This chapter probably told about how the brain process information. The chapter also discuss about the strategies that elaborate on information to increase its meaning, as well as the probability of its retention.

14.  A Final Note on Brain-Compatible Teaching and Learning
This chapter gives us the brief summarize of the whole chapter. This last chapter also told about the brain-compatible instruction.

CONTENT
PART I: The Structure and Function of the Human Brain
1.        Opening the Black Box of the Brain (page 3)
1.1.                      Early Brain-Imaging Techniques
1.2.                      X-Rays
1.3.                      Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) Scans
1.4.                      Monitoring the Brain’s Energy Consumption
1.5.                      Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan
1.6.                      Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology
1.7.                      Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) Technology
1.8.                      Electroencephalography (EEG)
1.9.                      Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
1.10.                    Event-Related Potential (ERP)
1.11.                    Single –Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)
1.12.                    On the Horizon
1.13.                    Interpreting Brain Imaging for Educational Purposes

2.        Brain Anatomy---A Short Course: Neurons and Subcortical Structures (page16)
2.1.                      Starting at the Beginning: The Cells
2.2.                      Neurons
2.3.                      Glial Cells
2.4.                      Central Nervous System Structures that Operate at the Unconscious Level
2.5.                      Spinal Cord
2.6.                      Brainstem
2.7.                      Cerebellum
2.8.                      Thalamus
2.9.                      Hypothalamus
2.10.                  Amygdala
2.11.                  Hippocampus

3.        Brain Anatomy---A short Course: The Cortex (page 33)
3.1.                      The Cerebral Cortex
3.2.                      Occipital Lobes
3.3.                      Temporal Lobes
3.4.                      Parietal Lobes
3.5.                      Frontal Lobes
3.6.                      Teaching to Both Halves of the Brain

4.        How Neurons Communicate (page 51)
4.1.                      The Action Potential: The Brain’s Electrical Signal
4.2.                      The Synapse
4.3.                      More About Neurotransmitters
4.4.                      Types of Neurotransmitters
4.4.1.      Amino Acids
4.4.2.      Amines
4.5.                      Peptides
4.6.                      The Mind-Body Connection
4.7.                      Understanding Addiction
PART II: Brain Development from Birth through Adolescence
5.      The Early and Middle Years (page 74)
5.1.                      Brain Growth and Development: Birth to Five
5.2.                      Brain Growth and Development: Six to Twelve

6.      The Adolescent Brain: A work in Progress (page 82)
6.1.                      Changes in the Adolescent Brain
6.2.                      Substance Abuse During Adolescence
6.3.                      Adolescent Sleep Patterns
6.4.                      Teaching the Adolescent

7.      The Role of Exercise, Sleep, Nutrition, and Technology (page 93)
7.1.                      Moving to Learn
7.2.                      Sleep on It
7.3.                      Nutrition’s Role in Brain Development and Function
7.4.                      Technology and the Brain

PART III: From Sensory Input to Information Storage
8.      Sensory Memory: Getting Information into the Brain (page 107)
8.1.                      Metaphors for Memory
8.2.                      An Introduction to the Model
8.3.                      Sensory Memory
8.4.                      From Sensory Signals to Perceptions
8.5.                      From perception to Attention
8.6.                      Meaning and Attention
8.7.                      Emotion and Attention

9.      Working Memory: The Conscious Processing of Information (page 122)
9.1.                      Characteristics of Working Memory
9.2.                      Overcoming the Limits of Working Memory
9.2.1.      Chunking
9.2.2.      Rote Rehearsal
9.2.3.      Elaborative Rehearsal
9.3.                      Meaning and Retention
9.4.                      Emotion and Retention
9.4.1.      The Stress (“Fight or Flight”) Response
9.4.2.      The Stress Response and Memory
9.4.3.      Adding an Emotional Hook to Learning
9.4.4.      The Flip Side of Emotion

10.  Long-Term Memory: The Brain’s Storage System (page 143)
10.1.                  Types of Memory Storage
10.1.1.  Declarative Memory
10.1.2.  Procedural Memory
10.2.                  The Cellular Basis of Memory
10.2.1.  Long-term Potentiation (LTP)
10.3.                  Growth of Synapses
10.4.                  Pathways to Long-Term Storage
10.4.1.  The Procedural Pathway
10.4.2.  The Declarative Pathway
10.4.3.  Consolidation
10.5.                  Educational Implications
PART IV: Matching Instruction to How the Brain Learns Best
11.  Making Curriculum Meaningful Through Problems, Projects, and Simulations (page 166)
11.1.                  Three Levels of Learning
11.1.1.  Concrete Experience
11.1.2.  Symbolic or Representational Learning
11.1.3.  Abstract Learning
11.2.                  Involving Students in Real-Life Problem Solving
11.2.1.  Lower Elementary School
11.2.2.  Upper Elementary School
11.2.3.  Middle School
11.2.4.  Secondary School
11.2.5.  All Levels
11.3.                  Using Projects to Increase Meaning and Motivation
11.3.1.  Lower Elementary School
11.3.2.  Upper Elementary School
11.3.3.  Middle School
11.3.4.  Secondary School
11.3.5.  All Levels
11.4.                  Using Simulations and Role-Plays to Make Meaning
11.4.1.  Lower Elementary School
11.4.2.  Upper Elementary School
11.4.3.  Middle School
11.4.4.  Secondary School
11.4.5.  All Levels

12.  Using the Visual and Auditory Sense to Enhance Learning (page 182)
12.1.                  A Picture Is Worth at Least 10,000 Words
12.1.1.  “I Never Forget a Face”
12.1.2.  Thinking in Pictures
12.2.                  Classroom Strategies Using Visual Processing
12.2.1.  Elementary School
12.2.2.  Middle School
12.2.3.  Secondary School
12.2.4.  All Levels
12.3.                  Music (Rhyme and Rhythm) Hath Many Charms
12.3.1.  Music and Emotion
12.3.2.  Music, Mozart, and Math
12.3.3.  Using Music, Rhyme, and Rhythm in the Classroom
12.3.4.  Piggyback Songs
12.3.5.  Rhythm, Rhyme, and Rap
12.3.6.  Commercial Songs

13.  A toolkit of Brain-Compatible Strategies (page 200)
13.1.                  Enhancing Understanding Through Writing Activities
13.1.1.  Writing Strategies for Mathematics
13.1.2.  Writing Strategies for History and Social Studies
13.1.3.  Writing Strategies for Science
13.1.4.  Writing Strategies Across All Curriculum Areas
13.2.                  Mnemonics as Tools to Aid Memory
13.2.1.  Why Mnemonics Work
13.2.2.  Types of Mnemonic Strategies
13.2.3.  Teaching Mnemonic Strategies
13.3.                  Active Rehearsal Strategies for Long-Term retention
13.3.1.  Peer Teaching
13.3.2.  Active Review
13.3.3.  Hands-On Learning Activities

14.  A Final Note on Brain-Compatible Teaching and Learning (page 221)

QUESTION AND ANSWER
PART I: The Structure and Function of the Human Brain
1.      Opening the Black Box of the Brain (page 3)
1.1.                      Early Brain-Imaging Techniques
What are early Brain-Imaging Techniques?
                        The first of brain imaging techniques was developed in 1800s, but the past 20 years have seen an amazing advance in the sophistication of ways to image the inner functioning of the human brain.

1.2.                      X-Rays
What are X-Rays?
                        X-Rays are high-frequency electromagnetic waves that easily penetrate nonmetallic object.

1.3.                      Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) Scans
What is Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) scans?
                        In the early 1970s, a technique was developed to increase the gradations in shades of gray from the approximately 25 of the normal X-ray to more than 200.

1.4.                      Monitoring the Brain’s Energy Consumption
How to monitoring the Brain’s Energy Consumption?
                        The major source of energy for the brain is oxygen and glucose, which is a simple carbohydrate. When certain areas of the brain are active, cells in those areas have a greater need for glucose and oxygen.

1.5.                      Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan
What is Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan?
                        PET is one of the most exciting advances in brain imaging. This technique allows scientist to picture the general anatomical areas that become active while a person performs various mental tasks.

1.6.                      Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology
What is Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology?
                        MRI is a scanner that will make the water molecules in the brain resonate and give off radio signals of their own.

1.7.                      Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) Technology
What is the functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) technology?
                        fMRI is one of the newest brain-imaging techniques to address some of the shortcomings of PET and MRI scans. The primary goal of fMRI is to show not only structures of the brain but also neural activity.

1.8.                      Electroencephalography (EEG)
What is Electroencephalography (EEG)?
                        EEG is an imaging tool that has been in use for more than half a century. It measures electrical patterns created by the oscillations of neurons.

1.9.                      Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
What is Magnetoencephalography (MEG)?
                        MEG is a scanner that tracks the magnetic signals that neurons emit as they communicate. (Neurons produce a magnetic field every time they are active.) MEG scanners work in “real time” with no delay, contrary to PET scans, which take a second or two for blood flow to move in the brain.

1.10.                    Event-Related Potential (ERP)
What is Event-Related Potential (ERP)?
            ERP the signals that are obtained by time-locking the recording of an EEG to a specific event, such as a subject reading a word, listening to a musical note, or viewing a photograph.

1.11.                    Single –Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)
What is Single –Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)?
            SPECT is a brain-imaging technique similar to a PET scan. Both use radioactive tracers; however, in a PET scan the tracer is absorbed into the tissues, while SPECT tracers stay in the blood stream, limiting the images to the areas where blood flows.

1.12.                    On the Horizon
What is On the Horizon?
            Early studies support the idea that an underlying neurological dysfunction is linked to the behaviors of children and adults with this disorder.

1.13.                    Interpreting Brain Imaging for Educational Purposes
How to interpret brain imaging for educational purposes?
            One way to interpret these is that comprehension is greater when one reads silently.


2.        Brain Anatomy---A Short Course: Neurons and Subcortical Structures (page16)
2.1.                      Starting at the Beginning: The Cells
What are the Cells?
                        The entire body is composed of cells. The muscles, lining of the intestines, bones skin, and brain are all made up of billions of these basic units. Each cell or group of cells has a specific job to perform.

2.2.                      Neurons
What is Neurons?
Neurons, found primarily in the brain and in the spinal cord (the central nervous system), number approximately 100 billion. They differ from most of the other cells in the body in two major ways. First, with some exceptions, they do not appear to regenerate on a regular, programmed basis, as do most other cells. The second major way that neurons differ from other types of cells is in their ability to transmit information.

2.3.                      Glial Cells
What is Glial Cells?
                        The glial cells, also known as neuroglia, derived from the Greek word meaning “glue,” which reflects a mistaken assumption that these cells in some way hold the neurons together.

2.4.                      Central Nervous System Structures that Operate at the Unconscious Level
What are central nervous system structures that operate at the unconscious level?
                        A simplified look at the brain would reveal two major divisions: (1) a relatively small subcortical system that operates at an unconscious level, processing basic survival tasks; and (2) a much larger cortex that process the conscious decisions and responses we make to novel situations not covered by subcortical systems.

2.5.                      Spinal Cord
What is Spinal Cord?
                        Spinal cord is a large bundle of nerve fibers attached to the brainstem that runs from the base of the brain down to the middle of the back and is about 18 inches long (in an adult) and slightly thinner than an index finger.

2.6.                      Brainstem
What is Brainstem?
                        The brainstem, located at the base of the brain where the spinal cord begins, is one of the oldest parts of the brain in terms of evaluation. It is made up of three main parts: the midbrain ( upper end), the pons (center area), and the medulla oblongata (lower end).

2.7.                      Cerebellum
What is Cerebellum?
                        Cerebellum is derived from Latin and means “little brain.” It is a two-lobed, deeply folded structure overlaying the top of the brain stem, just under the occipital lobes, in the posterior portion of the brain.


2.8.                      Thalamus
What is Thalamus?
                        Thalamus is named for the Greek word for “chamber” or “inner room,” this brain structure is in a strategic position to act as a relay station to direct the flow of information between the sense organs and the cortex.

2.9.                      Hypothalamus
What is Hypothalamus?
                        Hypothalamus is a critical part of the autonomic system, and, along with the pituitary gland, it controls functions necessary for homeostasis, maintaining the normal state of the body.

2.10.                  Amygdala
What is Amygdala?
            Amygdala is another brain structure highly involved in the fight-or-flight response, and located near thalamus and hypothalamus.

2.11.                  Hippocampus
What is Hippocampus?
            Although hippocampus name is derived from Latin word for seahorse, the hippocampus look more like two paws curving toward each other. Without it, you would not be able to remember where you parked your car, or anything else in your immediate past, as soon as you stopped giving it your attention.


3.        Brain Anatomy---A short Course: The Cortex (page 33)
3.1.                      The Cerebral Cortex
What is the Cerebral Cortex?
                        Covering the cerebrum (the Latin word for “brain”) is a thin layer known as the cerebral cortex, or neocortex—the “new cortex.” The word cortex is derived from the Latin word for “bark”; to a degree, the cortex resembles the bark of a tree.

3.2.                      Occipital Lobes
What are Occipital Lobes?
                        Located at the lower central back of the brain are the occipital lobes, the primary brain centers for processing visual stimuli. Covered by cortical tissue, this area of the brain is also called the visual cortex.

3.3.                      Temporal Lobes
What are Temporal Lobes?
                        Temporal lobes are located on either side of the brain, just above the ears, are two lobes that curve forward from the occipital lobes to below the frontal lobes. The main function is to process auditory stimuli.

3.4.                      Parietal Lobes
What are Parietal Lobes?
                        Parietal lobes located at the top of the brain are flat, plate-like areas in each hemisphere. These lobes consist of two major subdivisions—the anterior and posterior parts—that play different, but complementary, roles.

3.5.                      Frontal Lobes
What are Frontal Lobes?
                        The frontal lobes occupy the largest part of the cortex and perform the most complex functions. Located in the front of the brain and extending back to the top of the head, the frontal lobe has expanded rapidly over the past 20,000 generations and is what most clearly distinguishes us from our ancestors.

3.6.                      Teaching to Both Halves of the Brain
How to teach to both halves of the brain?
                        We need to teach content within the context that is meaningful to students and that connects to their own lives and experiences.

4.        How Neurons Communicate (page 51)
4.1.                      The Action Potential: The Brain’s Electrical Signal
What is the Brain’s Electrical Signal?
                        Most neurons communicate with one another by means of both electrical and chemical signals. We have known for many years that the brain produces some type of electricity. As early as 1875, English psychologist Richard Caton recorded weak electrical currents in the brain of monkeys. It wasn’t until 1929, however, that German Hans Berger first recorded electrical signals in the human brain (Greenfield, 1997).
                       
4.2.                      The Synapse
What is the Synapse?
                        The next step in understanding neural communication is to look at how the electrical and chemical components come together to allow information to be passed from cell to cell within the central nervous system. This all-important action takes place at the junction of an axon terminal of one neuron and a dendrite on the cell body of a second neuron. This junction is known as synapse.

4.3.                      More About Neurotransmitters
What more about Neurotransmitters?
                        To be classified as neurotransmitters, a chemical compound in the brain must meet six criteria. It must (1) be created in the neuron, (2) be stored in the neuron, (3) be released by the neuron in sufficient quantity to bring about some physical effect, (4) demonstrate the same effect experimentally that it does in living tissue, (5) have receptor sites on receiving neuron specific for this compound, and (6) have means for shutting off its effect (Ackerman, 1992).

4.4.                      Types of Neurotransmitters
What are the types of Neurotransmitters?
The types of neurotransmitters are: amino acid, and amines.

4.4.1.      Amino Acids
What are Amino Acids?
          Amino acids are derived from protein foods and are found throughout the brain and the body.

4.4.2.      Amines
What is Amines?
          Amines (also called monoamines) are chemically modified amino acids that act more slowly than other amino acids. Rather than act directly at the synapse, they generally modulate the actions of the amino acid neurotransmitters and, for this reason, are often called neuromodulators.

4.5.                      Peptides
What is Peptides?
                        Peptides are either digestive products or hormones. those are composed of amino acids joined together to form a chain.

4.6.                      The Mind-Body Connection
What is The Mind-Body Connection?
                        In Receptors, Richard Restak states, “our ‘gut feelings’ are more than mere metaphor . . . . The mental and the psychal, the mind, the brain, and the body, are intrinsically linked by means of these chemicals” (1994, p. 206).

4.7.                      Understanding Addiction
How to understand Addiction?
                        If a chemical substance is synthesized in our brain, we call it a neurotransmitter. If it is sythesized in a laboratory, it’s called a drug.

PART II: Brain Development from Birth through Adolescence
5.      The Early and Middle Years (page 74)
5.1.                      Brain Growth and Development: Birth to Five
What is brain growth and development: birth to five?
                        The explosion of new connections that begins during fatal development continues in the months following birth.  Milestone in brain growth, from birth to the beginning of school, involve several processes. While a child’s body grows at a steady pace, the brain develops in fits and starts through several overlapping phases.

5.2.                      Brain Growth and Development: Six to Twelve
What is brain growth and development: six to twelve?
                        What Chunagi has found is a tremendous increase of synapses from birth to age four. This represents the amazing amount of learning that takes place during the first four years of life. After this period, growth plateaus and remains fairly constant for the next six years or so until age 10.

6.      The Adolescent Brain: A work in Progress (page 82)
6.1.                      Changes in the Adolescent Brain
What are changes in the adolescent brain?
            A long-range study by Jay Giedd and his colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health involved the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of nearly 1,000 healthy children and adolescent aged 3 to 18. Giedd discovered that just prior to puberty (between ages 9 and 10), the frontal lobes undergo a second wave of reorganization and growth, representing million of new synapses (2007). Then, around age 11, a massive pruning of these connections begins and continues into early adulthood.

6.2.                      Substance Abuse During Adolescence
How to substance abuse during adolescence?
            Teenagers who drink may be exposing their brains to the toxic effects of alcohol during a critical time in brain development.

6.3.                      Adolescent Sleep Patterns
What is Adolescent Sleep Patterns?
            A common complaint voiced by parents of teenagers is that their kids insist that they can’t fall asleep until midnight, but they require shouts and coercion to get out of bed in the morning and make it to school on time. Our sleep cycles are determined by circadian rhythms a sort of internal biological clock that determines how much sleep we need, when we become sleepy at night, and when we awaken in the morning.

6.4.                      Teaching the Adolescent
How to teach the adolescent?
            Adolescents are not adults, and they need to be taught in a manner that both enables their brains to make sense of information and helps them recognize how this new information is relevant to their lives.

7.      The Role of Exercise, Sleep, Nutrition, and Technology (page 93)
7.1.                      Moving to Learn
What is Moving to Learn?
                        Exercise plays a very important role in the learning process in several ways. Studies have shown that exercise enhances student learning and positively impacts student’s emotional and physical well-being. Movement activities can serve as quick “brain breaks” when students have been sitting idle for a prolonged period of time.

7.2.                      Sleep on It
What is Sleep on It?
                        There are periods during the sleep cycle when the brain is as active as when you are awake and solving a problem. Behavioral and molecular studies suggest that the “off-line” processing of information that occurs during asleep strongly contributes to memory formation.

7.3.                      Nutrition’s Role in Brain Development and Function
What is nutrition’s role in brain development and function?
                        Recent studies have demonstrated the important connections between nutrition and brain development and function. When students regularly eat a nutrious breakfast, they exhibit significant gains on standardized test scores and in the classes.

7.4.                      Technology and the Brain
What are technology and the brain?
                        Some technologies have a big effect to the brain. The example is television and video game. Studies of video games that include situations where players work together in a team to help one another have shown that children are able to transfer these skills to other situations.

PART III: From Sensory Input to Information Storage
8.      Sensory Memory: Getting Information into the Brain (page 107)
8.1.                      Metaphors for Memory
What is Metaphors for Memory?
                        Some popular metaphor for memory has its origin in the writings of Plato, who likened the human mind to a tablet of wax on which impressions are made. In this view, rehearsing experiences or information strengthens or deepens the impressions, resulting in information that is more easily remembered.


8.2.                      An Introduction to the Model
What is an Introduction to the Model?
                        For the past several decades, the predominant model of memory has been an information-processing model. Growing out of information-processing theory, it became popular at the same time as, or perhaps as a result of, the invention of the computer. Many variation on this model are the result of new understanding gained from many fields, including neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and developmental psychology.

8.3.                      Sensory Memory
What is Sensory Memory?
                        Sensory memory is everything in our memory begins as a sensory input from the environment. The role of sensory memory is to take the information coming into the brain through sensory receptors and hold it for a fraction of a second until a decision is made about what to do with it.

8.4.                      From Sensory Signals to Perceptions
What is from Sensory Signals to Perceptions?
                        All information received by sensory receptors needs to be sent to the appropriate sensory cortex to be processed. All sensory data, except smells, trevel to the thalamust first. From there, the data are relayed to the specific portion of the cortex designated to process sight, sound, taste, or touch. It changes from a photon of light or a sound wave into a percept.

8.5.                      From Perception to Attention
What is from Perception to Attention?
                        It is impossible to “not pay attention”; the brain is always pay attention to something.

8.6.                      Meaning and Attention
What is the relation between the meaning and attention?
                        We can now begin to understand the concept of meaning and the important role it plays in attention. If the brain can find no previously activated networks into which the new information fits, it is much less likely to attend to this information. Our species has not survived by attending to and storing meaningless information.

8.7.                      Emotion and Attention
What is the relation between the emotion and attention?
                        In his talks to educators, Robert Sylmester often states, “Emotion drives attention, and attention drives learning” (1995). To a large degree, this appears to be true. Understanding why will require us to look more carefully at several subcortical structures that control emotional responses.

9.      Working Memory: The Conscious Processing of Information (page 122)
9.1.                      Characteristics of Working Memory
What are the characteristics of working memory?
                        The characteristics are the 18-second holding pattern, the cocktail party effect, and the magical number seven (plus or minus two).

9.2.                      Overcoming the Limits of Working Memory
9.2.1.      Chunking
What is Chunking?
          The limitations of working memory can be circumvented somewhat by the ability to “chunk” information.

9.2.2.      Rote Rehearsal
What is Rote Rehearsal?
          Rote rehearsal consists of repeating the information or action over and over. It’s what we generally use when we need to remember a phone number, from the time we look it up until we dial the phone.

9.2.3.      Elaborative Rehearsal
What is Elaborative Rehearsal?
          Elaborative rehearsal is a broad category encompassing a variety of strategies. These strategies encourage learners to elaborate on information in a manner that enhances understanding and retention of that information.

9.3.                      Meaning and Retention
What is the relation between Meaning and Retention?
                        The brain’s determination of what is meaningful and what is not is reflected in the initial perceptual processes and in the conscious processing of information.

9.4.                      Emotion and Retention
What is the relation between Emotion and Retention?
                        The short pathway between the thalamus and the amygdala ensures that we react quickly to emotionally relevant information. This is not the only result of facing emotional and potentially dangerous situations. In addition to a behavioral reaction, the event is nearly always stamped with extra vividness, which results in enhanced memories.

9.4.1.      The Stress (“Fight or Flight”) Response
What is the Stress (“Fight or Flight”) Response?
          During the stress response, heart rate increase, blood pressure goes up, senses become more alert, muscles tense, palms become sweaty, blood-clotting elements increase in the bloodstream, and all movement centers become mobilized.

9.4.2.      The Stress Response and Memory
What is the Stress Response and Memory?
          The neurochemical system that primes the body for an emergency also stamps that moment in memory with extra vividness.

9.4.3.      Adding an Emotional Hook to Learning
How to add an Emotional Hook to learning?
          Simulation and role-plays often are highly engaging and enhance not only the meaning of the material but the emotional connection as well. Solving real-life problem is another way to raise the emotional and motivational stakes.

9.4.4.      The Flip Side of Emotion
What is the Flip Side of Emotion?
          The ability to experience and talk about our emotions is a singularly wonderful human quality, but it has its downside.

10.  Long-Term Memory: The Brain’s Storage System (page 143)
10.1.                  Types of Memory Storage
What are the Types of Memory Storage?
            The types of memory storage are: declarative memory and procedural memory.

10.1.1.  Declarative Memory
What is Declarative Memory?
          Declarative memory is our ability to store and recall information that we can declare (speak or write). Unlike procedural memory, declarative memory requires conscious processing; it is reflective rather than reflexive.

10.1.2.  Procedural Memory
What is Procedural Memory?
          Procedural memory is best described as knowing how versus knowing what. It is sometimes called nondeclarative; in other words, you do not need to “declare” anything—and you may not be able to say much about what you are doing—for the information to be stored.

10.2.                  The Cellular Basis of Memory
What is the Cellular Basis of Memory?
            It is important to remember, however, that underlying our memory (regardless of type) are neural changes that form the psychological basis of information storage and retrieval.

10.2.1.  Long-term Potentiation (LTP)
What is Long-term Potentiation (LTP)?
          Long-term potentiation is a memory appears to entail a similar firing of neurons, but the pattern of firing remains encoded in a neural circuit or network after the stimulation that originally caused the neurons to fire has ceased.

10.2.2.  Growth of Synapses
What is Growth of Synapses?
          Increases of up to 20 percent more synapses per neuron were found in the visual cortex of some of the animals.

10.3.                  Pathways to Long-Term Storage
What is Pathways to Long-Term Storage?
            There are three pathways to long-term storage: the procedural pathway, the declarative pathway, and the consolidation.

10.3.1.  The Procedural Pathway
What is the Procedural Pathway?
          The motor skills, habits, and perceptual skills are all examples of procedural or nondeclarative.

10.3.2.  The Declarative Pathway
What is the Declarative Pathway?
          Declarative pathway is the journey from perception to storage of both semantic and episodic memory begins when sensory receptors receive stimuli.

10.3.3.  Consolidation
What is Consolidation?
          Consolidation is undoubtedly enhanced by rehearsal. When we “replay” our experience (i.e., when we talk and think about them), we provide more opportunities for consolidation.

10.4.                  Educational Implications
What are Educational Implications?
            The educational implication is building elaborative rehearsal strategies into our instruction—allowing students time to process information in depth—will likely increase the strength of students’ learning because these strategies allow consolidation to take place.




PART IV: Matching Instruction to How the Brain Learns Best
11.  Making Curriculum Meaningful Through Problems, Projects, and Simulations (page 166)
11.1.                  Three Levels of Learning
What are the Three Levels of Learning?
            The three levels of learning are: concrete experience, symbolic or representational learning, and abstract learning.

11.1.1.  Concrete Experience
What is Concrete Experience?
          Concrete experience is the experience that will be stored in your brain as an actual physiological connection between neurons.

11.1.2.  Symbolic or Representational Learning
What is Symbolic or Representational Learning?
          Symbolic or representational learning is using symbols or representations of real objects are a second level of learning that is directly related to concrete experiences.

11.1.3.  Abstract Learning
What is Abstract Learning?
          Abstract learning is a learning that uses only abstract information, primarily words and numbers.

11.2.                  Involving Students in Real-Life Problem Solving
How to involve students in real-life problem solving?
            The real problems may not be easy to solve because of time constraints or insufficient information, but it is through struggling with these issues that students learn both content and critical thinking.

11.3.                  Using Projects to Increase Meaning and Motivation
How to use projects to increase meaning and motivation?
            Projects and activities have rich potential as a means of engaging students and increasing understanding. However, caution is warranted when deciding when and how to use them.

11.4.                  Using Simulations and Role-Plays to Make Meaning
How to use simulations and role-plays to make meaning?
            To use simulation and role-plays to make meaning are first, make certain that you have a specific object or concept in mind to be addressed by the activity. Second, spend sufficient time debriefing the simulation with students.

12.  Using the Visual and Auditory Sense to Enhance Learning (page 182)
12.1.                  A Picture Is Worth at Least 10,000 Words
12.1.1.  “I Never Forget a Face”
What the sentence “I Never Forget a Face” means?
          Investigators showed subjects photographs of classmates two months after graduation. Not surprisingly, the subjects were able to recognize 90 percent of those who had been in their class. The amazing fact is that the recognition rate was still close to 90 percent when they were tested 15 years later. The capacity for long-term memory of visual information seems almost unlimited (Bahrick, Bahrick, & Wittlinger, 1976).

12.1.2.  Thinking in Pictures
How to think in pictures?
          The ability to transform thoughts into images is often viewed as a test of true understanding, but some people appear to process information the other way around, literally seeming to comprehend information by visualizing it.

12.2.                  Classroom Strategies Using Visual Processing
How to use visual processing in classroom strategies?
            Using visuals in the classroom can greatly increase students’ understanding and retention of the curriculum. However, a word of caution is merited when designing visuals at different grade levels.

12.3.                  Music (Rhyme and Rhythm) Hath Many Charms
What is Music (Rhyme and Rhythm) Hath Many Charms?
            Scientist has found that music is a highly complex neural activity. Sound waves enter our ears and are converted into nerve impulses by the organ of Corti n the cochlea. From there, the impulses are transmitted to specialized regions in our left and right temporal lobes for processing.

12.3.1.  Music and Emotion
What is the relation between Music and Emotion?
          Robert Zatorre, a neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, used PET scans to examine cerebral blood flow changes related to affective responses to music. He found that the parts of the brain involved in processing emotion “light up” with activity when a subject hears music (Blood Aztorre, Bermudez, & Evans, 1999).

12.3.2.  Music, Mozart, and Math
What is the relation between Music, Mozart, and Math?
          In 1993, physicist Gordon Shaw and his colleagues at the University of California, Irvene reported that collage students who listened to Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major performed better on reasoning tasks than they did after listening to a relaxation tape or silence (Shaw, 2000).

12.3.3.  Using Music, Rhyme, and Rhythm in the Classroom
How to use Music, Rhyme, and Rhythm in the classroom?
          Music can be powerful and affective method to integrate various curricular areas. Musical patterns and symbols are underlying concepts that help to make math more understandable.

12.3.4.  Piggyback Songs
What is Piggyback Songs?
          Piggyback song is a song in which new words or concepts are set to a familiar melody.

12.3.5.  Rhythm, Rhyme, and Rap
What are Rhythm, Rhyme, and Rap?
          Learning content by embedding in it in music or rhyme is generally more effective if students are involved in creating the product, rather than simply using one composed by someone else.

12.3.6.  Commercial Songs
What is Commercial Songs?
          a commercial songs is a purchase tapes and CDs to teach nouns and verbs, countries of the world, the order of the planets from the sun, the freedom listed in the Constitution, and addition and subtraction facts.

13.  A toolkit of Brain-Compatible Strategies (page 200)
13.1.                  Enhancing Understanding Through Writing Activities
How to enhance understanding through writing activities?
            Writing activities fit in the category of elaborative rehearsal because they challenge students to clarify, organize, and express what they learn.

13.1.1.  Writing Strategies for Mathematics
What are the writing strategies for mathematics?
          At every grade level, students’ understanding of mathematical concepts can be enhanced by writing about what they are studying.

13.1.2.  Writing Strategies for History and Social Studies
What are the writing strategies for history and social studies?
          Writing can be a motivating learning experience if students have something memorable to write about it.

13.1.3.  Writing Strategies for Science
What are the writing strategies for science?
          Writing plays an important role in the life of scientist because they must describe their hypotheses and experimental designs in a precise manner, carefully document each step of their studies, and accurately communicate their findings and conclusions to readers.

13.1.4.  Writing Strategies Across All Curriculum Areas
What are writing strategies across all curriculum areas?
          Opportunities for writing exist in all classes and at every grade level. Student journals are a rich source of information for the teacher, and they serve as efficient vehicles for reflections as students refine their thinking.

13.2.                  Mnemonics as Tools to Aid Memory
How to use Mnemonics as tools to aid memory?
            Mnemonics have a long, rich history; people in ancient Greece used them extensively and considered mnemonics a rigorous art requiring imagination, effort, and a good mind.

13.2.1.  Why Mnemonics Work
Why Mnemonics Work?
          Mnemonics are based on the principle that the brain is a pattern seeking device, always looking for associations between the information it receives and the information it has already stored.

13.2.2.  Types of Mnemonic Strategies
What are the types of Mnemonic Strategies?
          The types of mnemonic strategies are: keyword mnemonics, loci mnemonics, and narrative chaining.

13.2.3.  Teaching Mnemonic Strategies
What is teaching Mnemonic strategies?
          Teachers can help students understand how their memories work, demonstrate various mnemonic device, and provide prompts for when to use these strategies.

13.3.                  Active Rehearsal Strategies for Long-Term retention
What are active rehearsal strategies for long-term retention?
            The strategies are peer teaching, active review, and hands-on learning activities.

13.3.1.  Peer Teaching
What is Peer Teaching?
          Peer teaching can be structured in various ways. Students can write a short summary or sketch a quick web what they’ve learned before teaching each other; the tacher can instruct students to reflect on what they’ve learned for one minute before engaging in teaching; or student pairs can teach other pairs.

13.3.2.  Active Review
What is Active Review?
          Active review is a review of previously material.

13.3.3.  Hands-On Learning Activities
What is Hands-On Learning Activities?
          Hands-on activities are extremely valuable as long as they are also “minds-on.”

14.  A Final Note on Brain-Compatible Teaching and Learning (page 221)
What is a final note on brain-compatible teaching and learning?
      Brain-compatible instruction:
a.       Provides as much experiential learning as possible.
b.      Builds on prior knowledge.
c.       Requires the use of appropriate rehearsal strategies.
d.      Needs to provide many opportunities for students to revisit information over time.
e.       Emphasizes concepts over individual facts.
f.       Assists students in understanding information and when and how that information is used in the “real world.”
g.      Takes place in a safe psychological environment.
h.      Takes advantage of the fact that emotional events are remembered longer.

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