Brain+Development+and+Learning+Environments+-+Devon+and+Melissa


 * Brain Development and Learning Environments

By Devon and Melissa

The Issue:** How do we create learning environments that are substantiated by recent research on brain development?


 * The Problems:** How do we account for individual learning and gender differences? How do we encourage positive risk taking, engagement, and motivation?


 * Individual Learning:**

"Students need to experience for themselves the value of the intellectual activities they engage in and the intellectual tools they acquire."

All children have the ability to learn and can develop the capacity for sense-making on their own. Each individual should be held accountable for their own learning and in order for that to happen we need to make school make sense! In order for students to make sense of their own learning they must "stay close to the raw image of concrete experience whenever possible." This means that students learn best in environments that include hands-on experience, collaboration with their peers and teachers, and other active learning methods. It is important to note that learning should not reside solely within the confines of the classroom. Field trips, internships, research projects, and service learning opportunities all provide students with educational activities that provide a greater context and value that creates meaning. This in turn helps strengthen the relationships between school and the adult life we are preparing our students for.


 * Gender Differences:**

"Most psychologists agree that gender differences may be a function of biological forces, but they are also shaped by the environments in which our children grow up."

"In addition to having slightly different chemistry the structure of the male and female brain is actually different."

It is widely recognized that boys and girls are hardwired differently, so it is only logical that we should account for this biological fact when structuring our learning environments. Learning occurs differently for each gender so we can't promote equality because they are fundamentally different but we need to promote equity. It is our responsibility to teach students about the unique strengths and differences of each gender in order to promote respect for how boys and girls learn. In doing so we need to maintain a balance between competitive and cooperative activities. We need to consider gender when creating groups, calling on students to share, providing movement and energy release activities and analyzing typical gender roles.


 * Risk Taking:**

" In many respects risk taking is the product of the competition between the socioemotional and cognitive-control networks. Adolescence is a period in which the former abruptly becomes more assertive, while the later gains strength over a longer period of time."

Recent evidence from developmental neuroscience suggests that adolescent decision making is the product of two factors. The first is a socioemotional network particularly sensitive to social and emotional stimuli. The second is a cognitive-control network that subserves executive functions such as planning, thinking ahead and self-regulation. In plain English this means that adolescents cognitive-control network is overruled by their social and emotional feelings in heightened states of arousal.

Acknowledging that this is how students are wired is the first step towards creating and nurturing an open relationship with your students that will put them at ease. Creating a safe and open learning environment will also encourage discussion centered around risky behavior and safe practice.


 * Engagement:**

"Psychologically engaged learners are intrinsically motivated by curiosity, interest, and enjoyment and are likely to want to achieve their own intellectual or personal goals."

Research cautions us that disengagement increases as students progress from elementary to middle and on to high school. This is a direct result of systems that do not use strategies that promote and increase engagement.

Engagement strategies that have proven to be effective include:


 * KWL - Connects with individual students prior knowledge and interests (existing neuronal networks)
 * How many ways can you do this? - Incorporates choice and play when answering
 * Think Pair Share - Each student has the opportunity to respond
 * Dramatic Touch - Enhances student interest
 * See what you can find out - Experiential learning

Characteristics of Engaging Experiences:


 * Activate prior knowledge
 * Foster active investigation
 * Promote group interaction
 * Encourage collaboration
 * Allow for choice
 * Include games and humor
 * Support mastery
 * Nurture independent thinking
 * Do not make children wait.


 * Motivation:**

"In the end it is students themselves that select what and when they want to learn."

Much like what Zull has previously mentioned, if we want to help students learn we must uncover what it is that already motivates them. In addition to their intrinsic motivation we must incorporate the outside world if we are to make learning make sense. We must provide the opportunity for students to find a purpose and identify goals that will help them make meaning in their own life. Problem based learning is a fabulous example of how to motivate students.


 * Our Two cents:**

After reading the articles in the Educational Psychology book, and conducting our own research on the web it became apparent to us that the way in which the brain works has implications for the way we arrange our learning environments. According to Martha Kaufeldt "Brain compatible learning environments are places where students' curiosities are piqued and potential anxiety, frustration, or confusion is diminished." Below are some current suggestions to keep in mind when creating a learning environment.


 * Have students create rich colorful and tactile displays
 * Create varied spaces - Play around with color, shape, light and furniture
 * Create space that promotes social learning
 * Celebrate the school and community symbolically
 * Promote safety
 * Change the displays in attempt to re-stimulate the brain
 * Change the environment in in effort to influence interaction
 * Arrange a multi-functional space (wet areas, reading areas, dry areas)
 * Be flexible
 * Create active and passive places in the room that provide opportunities for action and reflection
 * Acknowledge the need for personal space
 * Incorporate the community at large - go beyond the four walls of the classroom!

In short, learning environments are needed not classrooms. Many of the above suggestions might seem rather obvious but the reality is that schools keep on building the same classrooms - classrooms that promote fear and anxiety instead of piquing curiosity and motivation.


 * Article Based References:**

Steinberg, Lauren. Risk Taking in Adolescence: New perspectives from Brain and Behavioral Science __Educational Psychology 09/10__. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2010

Kommer, David. Boys and Girls Together: A Case for Creating Gender-Friendly Middle School Classrooms. __Educational Psychology 09/10__. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2010

Strahan, David.Successful Teachers Develop Academic Momentum with Reluctant Students __Educational Psychology 09/10__. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2010

Jablon, R. Judy, and Wilkinson, Michael. Using Engagement Strategies to Facilitate Children's Learning and Success __Educational Psychology 09/10__. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2010

Kuhn, Deanna. How to Produce a High Achieving Child. __Educational Psychology 09/10__. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2010

[|Brain PDF] Brain compatible learning environments! [|Brain Article One] [|Design Principles Based on Brain Research]
 * Web Based References:**