Week 2

Part of my assignment in week 2 required locating at least two resources dealing with our topic of the week:  the brain and learning, information processing theory, and problem-solving methods during the learning process.  First of all, there is a ton of information out there to sift through!   Here are two sites that I chose to feature this week:

Website #1:

After Google searching and reading for awhile, I ran across the website Reading Rockets.  I chose this site because as an elementary teacher, I find the study of the brain and its impact on learning fascinating.  Why do some children come to third grade with below grade reading levels?  Why do some children struggle to learn to read?  Reading Rockets, which is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, highlights some brain imaging research that may indicate why some children struggle to read.  To learn more about the brain and learning research, I watched the four short video segments included on the Reading Rockets website.  Research is being done on babies as young as one day old to predict later struggles with reading.  In the video segment Reading and the Brain, doctors use MRIs to diagnose dyslexia in children.  They hope that one day MRIs will be used more commonly to offer early diagnosis in order to provide appropriate interventions.  By the time students get to third grade, if they are a struggling reader they often develop a low self-image, begin to hate school, and struggles begin to also show up in math, science, and social studies due to their lower reading abilities.  With early interventions, we can help many of these students become stronger readers before they begin to hate school and think of themselves as stupid or dumb.

http://www.readingrockets.org/atoz/brain_and_learning/

Website #2:
Another source of interesting information I came across was on the ASDC website.  The website featured chapter 4, Movement and Learning, from Eric Jensen’s book Teaching with the Brain in Mind, 2^nd edition.  At my current school, our administration emphasizes shorter lessons, keeping students active, and creating hands-on math learning activities to help students learn.  Well, this chapter discusses the brain research behind this.  The chapter begins with a great quote:

             “It’s truly astonishing that the dominate model for formal learning is still “sit and git.” 

            It’s not just astonishing; it’s embarrassing.  Why do we persist when the evidence that

lecture alone does not cut it so strong (Dolcourt, 2000; Slavin, 1994)?

Jensen’s chapter 4 goes on to discuss that exercise increases oxygen to the brain, and also feeds it neurotropins that “increase the number of connections between neurons”.  Further, exercise increases the baseline of new neuron growth.  I’m not a brain expert and I don’t claim to understand all of the science, but what I do understand are the results of exercise; exercise can have the capacity to improve cognition according to Jensen.  Some of the examples that Jensen gives include what you might typically think of as exercise, such as running, soccer, and dance.  However, there are indoor exercise/play activities that are also beneficial to improved cognition:  building models, stretching, solving puzzles, scavenger hunts, or playing make believe.

When teaching younger children, we try to keep them moving.  But, when I think of my own sons in middle and high school, they spend most of their day sitting and listening.  There is no recess break.  My middle school son attends P.E. one quarter each school year.  My high school son took P.E. online over the summer to fulfill that four year requirement.  Further, as an adult learning, when I attend professional development we sit and listen, sometimes for hours.  Why do we require learners past 5^th grade to sit all day when learning?

I know that when I go back to my classroom next week, I’ll work to incorporate more of Jensen’s suggested exercise into my daily teaching routine.  However, after reading this chapter, I’m left wondering how this research impacts adult learners.  Has similar research been completed showing that teens and adults have improved cognition and learning benefits from exercise?  Intuitively, I believe that the research holds true for older learners as well.  I know that hours of sitting and learning is not effective for me.  As someone who may be training or instructing adults in the future, I would like to delve into this area further. 

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104013/chapters/Movement-and-Learning.aspx