Engaging the Brain….Without

Going Insane

Using the Strategy Ring to engage students’ brains.

GAME Plan

Goal - Participants will learn about the importance of engaging students’ brains and will participate in strategies designed to encourage active engagement.

Activities –10+2, ABA, Numbered Heads Together

Measure – Participation, Notes Evaluation – Compass points

•14 years sp ed resource room teacher•3 years intervention specialist, inclusion•12 years teacher trainer for co-teaching, inclusion strategies•21 years high school math teacher•23 years district administrator•5 years as educational consultant

Over 75 years!

Bonny Buffington

Note to Self:

Get a timekeeper!

The Brain Stem

The Brain Stem

Involuntary actions – blinking, breathing, heartbeat

Also called “reptilian brain” Collects and delivers

sensory information

to higher brain

The Limbic System

Cerrebellum

Hippocampus

Amygdala

Amygdala

Gatekeeper Three levels of attention The need to BELONG The need to be SAFE

The Hippocampus

Transferring memories Making new memories Inhibition Smell Location

The Cerebellum

Movement Balance

“It's like a math co-processor. It's not essential for any activity ... but it makes any activity better. Anything we can think of as higher thought, mathematics, music, philosophy, decision-making, social skill, draws upon the cerebellum....” Dr. Jay Giedd, National Institute of Mental Health

The Cerebellum

STOP! 10 + 2 Activity

On a piece of paper, write down as much as you remember about the 2 parts of the brain that we have discussed. Try not to peek!

Share what you remembered with a partner

Look at your notes and add whatever you forgot to include

Frontallobe

Temporallobe

Parietal lobe

Occipitallobe

Cerebellum

The Cerebrum

The Frontal Lobe

• How we interact with our surroundings. • Our judgments on daily routines. • Our expressive language. • Assigns meaning to words we choose. • Involves word association. • Memory for habits and motor activities

The Parietal Lobe

• Location for visual attention. • Location for touch perception. • Goal directed voluntary movements. • Manipulation of objects. • Integration of different senses that allows for

understanding a single concept.

The Occipital Lobe

Vision

The Temporal Lobe

• Hearing • Memory • Visual perceptions. • Categorizing of objects. T

Higher Level Thinking

Can actually generate NEW neurons (neurogenesis)

Adds dendrites Increases the thickness of the myelin

sheath

Using the Gray Matter!

Stimulating Environment Affects Learning

A child's ability to learn can increase or decrease by 25 percent or more, depending on whether he or she grows up in a stimulating environment.

www.brainconnection.com

Two times of ENORMOUS brain growth and pruning:

During the first month of life, the number of connections or synapses increases from 50 trillion to 1 quadrillion.

If an infant's body grew at a comparable rate, his weight would increase from 8.5 pounds at birth to 170 pounds at one month old.

Overproduction ends, pruning begins until about age 3

Second cycle of growth and pruning Dendritic growth spurt at age 11 in girls,

12 in boys Pruning phase during adolescence Age 13 – 18 lose 1% of gray matter per

year If you don’t use it, you lose it!

The Teacher Effect Quality of classroom instruction is most

significant factor in students’ brain development.

Didactic instruction – teacher directed Interactive instruction – student actively

engaged

Which type do you think grows dendrites?

Sad Fact:

Failing to engage students actively can actually make students dumber.

Use it or lose it: If dendrites are not being used, they will be pruned.

Stop! ABA activity

Stand up for REVIEW! Grab a partner Decide who will be A and who will be B A speaks for 60 seconds, nonstop B speaks for 90 seconds, nonstop A speaks for 30 seconds, nonstop

Implications for the classroom…

Students interacting to increase emotional level Students talking, explaining to increase meaning Students using various modalities

Question: (Traditional)

Do not use your notes. Do not discuss your response with anyone else.

What is the chemical symbol for Lead?

Stop! Numbered Heads Together

In groups of 4, number each person 1, 2, 3, and 4

Come to consensus on a response for the question. I will draw a number and call on the person with that number to give the group’s response.

Question: (Strategic)

Who is the current secretary of Homeland Security?

E - what Excites me about today’s learning? Things I will use?

N – what else do I Need to know to be able to continue the learning? What other information should I seek?

W – what Worries me about this process? Obstacles I may encounter? Concerns?

S – what are the next Steps we should take as an organization? What do I need to do next to be able to continue the learning?

Strategies of the Day

Game Plan 10+2 Teach ABA Numbered Heads Together Compass Points

Using the Strategy Ring:

Bonny Buffingtonwww.Bonnybuffington.wikispaces.comKnox ESC740-393-6767Bonny_b@treca.org

Q and A