The Benefits of a Brain Compatible Education

Cathy Johnson
EDU 417 Cognitive Studies Capstone
Instructor: Ciara Smack
October 6,2014










Brain Compatible Education
Introduction

Hello, my name is Cathy Johnson and I live in Charlotte, North Carolina, and have been married for
over 25 years. I have been working as an intensive therapeutic foster parent for over 18 years; I work
with children with complex trauma and attachment issues. Working with these children on a day-to-
day basis has motivated, and driven me into pursuing a career in the mental health field. I am
attending Ashford University to obtain my degree in psychology and special education. This is my
very last Class. I believe I will enjoy this class as I love to learn about the brain.
I double majored in Psychology and Cognitive Studies and was on the deans list every quarter of my
degree. I found out that I absolutely love learning, I am not sure if teaching is for me, I am more
comfortable in counselling. Currently all I have learned from cognitive studies I have been able to
apply at my current job, and to help parents to get the best individual education plan (IEP) possible to
help them to become successful.
I work for the Mental Health Association at Parent Voice and I love my job. I started out
volunteering, then took these family partner classes for over a year and became state certified, and
then I was offered a job from Mental Health Association. I help families with children with mental
health diagnosis maneuvers their way through the mental health arena. We help them with guidance,
resources, IEPs, CFTs and give them moral support throughout the whole process to empower
them. We also have monthly support groups for the families, as well as a youth group. In our monthly
empowerment meeting we give parents information to better help them maneuver through the mental
health arena. It is parents coming together to empower each other and to share the knowledge that
they have about the system with each other.
So you have seen my ship up top. I am headed for a cruise (1
st
time) November 9
th
to Celebrate my
25
th
wedding anniversary on December 29
th
and my graduation from college on October 6
th
.I is so
excited. Upon my return I will decide where I will be attending graduate school as my focus in
wanting to counsel children with attachment issues and complex trauma. That is why learning and
understanding the brain is so important to me.
Goals of this Training
Purpose
Introduction
Overview of Brain Compatible Learning
Compare/Contrast traditional learning from brain
compatible learning activities.
Understanding the relationship between various
factors
How students learn by retaining and processing
information.
Example of a modified assignment
Why and how implementation of brain compatible
learning is beneficial to student, teachers, and the
future o education.
Brain Based Learning
What is Brain Based Education
Brain-based education emphasizes how the brain learns naturally and is
based on what we currently know about the actual structure and function
of the human brain at varying developmental stages.

Combining emotional, factual and skill knowledge into a cognitive tool.

Living an experience (digesting, thinking about, reflecting on, and
making sense of experience) is the best way for students to acquire
knowledge or to consolidate and internalize information in a way that is
both meaningful and conceptual coherent for them(Caine, & Caine,
1991)(Degen,2014,p.20).

What is the Purpose

Brain Compatible Education takes into consideration how the brain learns best.
Our brain operates on a natural selection principal.
Students can learn optimally through a conductive environment.
Understanding why one strategy works over the other

Why Brain Compatible Education
Educational Concepts in Brain Compatible
Learning
mastery learning,
experiential learning,
learning styles,
multiple intelligences,
cooperative learning,
practical simulations,
experiential learning,
problem-based learning,
movement education, also known
as embodied learning.
This form of learning also
encompasses such newer
educational concepts like
Overview of Brain Compatible Learning
Optimal State for Learning
brain compatible
education embraces the
concept that attention
follows emotions.
The active processing is
a great component if
student connect learning
to past experiences.
The Learning Brain
Brain Based Learning
The brain creates
associations when two
patterns of neural
activity occur
simultaneously and
repetitively.
The brain is designed
to search for and
integrate new
information into
existing structures and
actively resists
meaningless patterns
(Caine&Caine)(Rober
ts,2002,p.282).
The brain tries to
make sense of the
world by looking for
patterns.



Compare and Contrast
Traditional Learning

Receives Core Curriculum
Focuses on rote learning and
memorization
One Size does not fit all, not
every student has the same
pace of learning.
Too much focus on
presentation, little time left for
practice.
No flexibility

















Brain Based Learning
Receives Core Curriculum
Learning involves both
conscious and unconscious
processes.
Learning is enhanced by
challenge
Internal reflection
Novel learning
Positive emotional engagement
Reaching multiple goals
Moderate stress
Appreciating diversity
Compatible Strategies for Brain Based Learning
Understanding Relationships Between Various Factors
Chemical Factors on Learning
Glutamate is a neurotransmitter abundantly
present in the brain. This chemical messenger
serves in processing learning and memory
formation

Acetylcholine plays a role in short-term memory
and Learning. It is mainly a neuromodulator in
the central nervous system. As a
neuromodulator, acetylcholine helps sustain
attention by enhancing sensory perception while
we are awake(Chase,2014) .

Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter for
cognitive function; It provides a sense of
competence and power to achieve our goals.
Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that is
linked to memories associated with
stress(Jensen,2008,p.158).

Neurotransmitters
Chemical Factors
A wide variety of chemicals called neurotransmitters, are synthesized by
certain brain structures or by organs outside of the brain, are released into
the bloodstream, and travels to target neurons.

Neurotransmitters are important for memory, learning, and behavior.

Brain chemistry or neurochemistry is the complex system which allows
the brain to function with the use of chemicals known as neurotransmitters
which move information around in the brain.

Every person's brain chemistry is slightly different, and a number of things
can play a role in the levels of various neurotransmitters in the brain, and
how those chemicals affect the brain's function
Environmental Factors
To shape an empathetic and inclusive environmental ethic, students need opportunities to
explore their relationship with the natural world experientially so they can reevaluate it and their
environmental values in context where they matter(Goralnik, L., Millenbah, K. F., Nelson, M.
P., & Thorp,2012, p412).


How we Learn by Processing and Retaining Information
Memory is the capacity to carry
forward in time some element of
experience

There are 3 stages involved in
memory functioning: the making
of the memory or encoding, the
creation of long-term memory
from the new memory or
consolidation and the recall of
the memory or retrieval.

The brain creates associations
when two patterns of neural
activity occur simultaneously
and repetitively.
The brain tries to make sense of
the world by looking for patterns.

Role of Emotion and Retention and Meaningful Learning Experiences
Factors involved in meaning making are relevance, emotions, and context.

Emotional events are surrounded with a special subjective vividness
and are thought to persist in memory unlike more mundane events(Stadl,
Razik, & Anderson 2011,p.12).

Cognizance of the roles that both meaning and emotion play is critical to
understanding why the brain pays attention to some stimuli and not to
others(Wolf,2012,p.121).
Modified Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan: Rhyming word wall
Level Grade: preK-K
Lesson Objective: Children will create a rhyming word wall to develop language and literacy skills
including phonological awareness.
Suggested Time: 45 min
Resources: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/activity-plan-4-5-rhyming-word-wall
Materials:
index cards
pocket chart
markers
chart paper,
several books with rhyming text
Lesson:
1. Begin with a shared reading piece, a rhyme, poem, chart, song or big book. Choose key words to be
added to the word wall from those used in the shared reading text; Students may illustrate pictures to go
with the words. They may place words and pictures in the center to manipulate, or hunt for words around the
room in books, poems, and charts.
2. Throughout the week use the key words in some type of activity. On Monday we will introduce five new
words selected from our reading section. We will show the word configuration and we will clap and chant as
we write each word. On the back of the new word list we will have activities that students can choose to do
in the learning center. Alphabetical order, words that rhyme, listening for work in context, fills in the blank,
adding word endings, creating word ladders or creating a silly sentence.
3. On Tuesday through Thursday we will clap/chant/ and write words that can do be done a different way
each day. Then go to the activity sheet in the back and choose an activity to reinforce spelling patterns or
context for new words.
4. On Friday we will test on the new five words and five of our known words from the wall from prior weeks.
Once the testing is over these words officially go onto the word wall and the children should be held
accountable for correct spelling and usage from this point on.
Conclusion: Why implementation Techniques are Beneficial
Benefits for Students
Prepares students to manage their
own emotions.
Gives students an opportunity to
design, build, and demonstrate
their learning with physical
representation.
Moderate stress
Encourages healthy levels of
affiliation among students.
Emphasizes Mastery
Hope of success
Benefits for Teachers
Understanding how the brain
works when it comes to learning
can help us better use our time
with students in the classroom.

When educators learn about how
the brain appears to process,
recognize, remember and transfer
information at the level of neural
circuits, synapses and
neurotransmitters, and when they
share that knowledge with
students, they share
empowerment with their students
Benefits for the Future
Make learning fun Success is the key
A person who thinks critically
can ask appropriate questions,
gather relevant information,
efficiently and creatively sort
through information, reason
logically, from this information,
and come to reliable and
trustworthy conclusions about
the world that enables one to
live and act successfully in it
(Jensen, 2008,p.142).
References

Chase, B.(2014) , Memory and Acetylcholine. Retrieved from
http:www.progresssive health.com/cognitiveFunction-acetylcholine.html


Degen, R. (2014). Brain-Based Learning: The Neurological Findings About the Human
Brain that Every Teacher should Know to be Effective. Amity Global Business
Review, 915-23.

Fischer , K. W., Immordino-Yang, M. H., & , (2008). The J ossey-Bass reader on the brain and learning.
(1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Goralnik, L., Millenbah, K. F., Nelson, M. P., & Thorp, L. (2012). An Environmental Pedagogy of Care:
Emotion, Relationships, and Experience in Higher Education Ethics Learning. J ournal Of
Experiential Education, 35(3), 412-428.

Jensen., E., (2008) Brain Based Learning: A New Paradigm of Teaching. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press

Roberts, J. W. (2002). Beyond Learning By Doing: The Brain Compatible Approach. J ournal Of
Experiential Education, 25(2), 281.

Steidl, S., Razik, F., & Anderson, A. K. (2011). Emotion enhanced retention of cognitive skill learning.
Emotion, 11(1), 12-19. doi:10.1037/a0020288

Wolf, P., (2010), Brain Matters: Translating Research into Classroom Practice (2
nd
Ed.), Alexandria,VA:
Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.