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Kenneth WessonEducational Consultant: Neuroscience
San Jose, CA [email protected]
The STEM Hologram: Several Disciplines – One Interdependent Picture
1. Why we need to change how we teach in the U.S.? (next-day implementation)
2. How can we use some of the latest research from the cognitive sciences in planning C & I?
3. What are the benefits of the S.T.2R.E.A.M. model, where we layer the curriculum to mimic a hologram rather than a quilted patchwork of unconnected learning?
The STEM Hologram: Several Disciplines – One Interdependent Picture
It is your job to prepare our students for
new occupations that
1. have yet to be created
2. for a future that we have neither
encountered nor envisioned in
detail
3. demanding the mastery of skills that
we cannot even imagine.
Hologram
Creative Thinkers-Learners
• Agricultural Age → Industrial Age
→ Information Age
• Moving from the Information Age
→ The Innovation Age
We
A student in New Hampshire dissects a pig on the Web. (Her school does not offer zoology→ an online course).
Students no longer need to go to school to “go to school.”
New Information:The Knowledge Explosion
“The sum total of humankind’s knowledge doubled between 1750 and 1900. It doubled again between 1900 and 1950, again from 1950 to 1960, again from 1960 to 1965. It’s been estimated that the sum total of humankind’s knowledge has doubled at least every five years since then.
It’s been further projected that by the year 2020, knowledge or information will double every 73 days.”
Dr. James Appleberry - President, American Association of State Colleges and Universities
We don't need more information; we
need more effective strategies for
1. retrieving just what we want
(memory or technology)
2. understanding it
3. managing information
S.T.2R.E.A.M. Schools
Science
Technology (and Thematic-interdisciplinary
instruction for student learning)
Reading and Language Arts
Engineering
Art
Mathematics
(One Goal: Maximizing connections)
Evolutionary biologists - the physiological transitions of a brain that has changed dramatically over the past 4 million years.
Developmental psychologists - the information-processing software (preloaded during the early stages of “brain building.”)
Experimental psychologists -dig deeper into “the roots” of human behavior.
Until the 1980s, brain research centered on diseases, abnormalities and dysfunction. Now neuroscientists are examining the brains of healthy individuals to understand average "normal" brains (cognitive enhancement).
• The human brain is the most sophisticated
information-processing system on earth
with over 40,000 miles of "wiring"
connecting over 100 billion neurons and
nearly 1 trillion other support cells.
• As brain cells develop into networks, the
brain does makes no distinction between
the academic discipline (there is no
evolutionary basis for this “need”.)
…a vast ensembles of neural circuits numbering in the hundred of millions, intricate wide-area networks crisscross the brain in search of connections…
We “see” with our eyes?
We see with our brain. Blind individuals read, learn, recognize objects, etc. without their eyes.
Math - tube
• Human beings were engaged in STEM
experiences before we called them STEM.
• Our human advances have nearly always been
dependent on an improved understanding
of science (“knowing”)
The STEM Initiative is not NEW
The Heritage of the Human Brain
• Human beings have always been naturally explorers/scientists and have been so inclined for the last 4.5 to 5M years.
• In their quest to respond to danger and opportunities, and the most important of all cognitive tasks -- survival.
1. Observing (identifying/describing attributes, characteristics, systems and “big ideas”)
2. Predicting (hypothesizing)
3. Classifying/categorizing (groups)
4. Reasoning (inductive and deductive)
5. Organizing information (order)
6. Comparing traits and systems (next-step decision-making) and quantifying (more, less, how many, difference/change, etc.)
7. Relating (examining relationships and connections)
Successful Adaptation Strategies: What Tools Do Scientists Use
When They Are Working?
8. Testing hypotheses (experimentation) – Applying knowledge
9. Communicating information/interacting (Talking/interacting with “knowledgeable others” are essentials to learning; Open discourse; Accountable talk; expressive language -
drawing)
10. Recording data information (“When found, make note of.” – Dickens)
11. Sharing and evaluating data (community of learners; examining/ analyzing for error)
12. Utilizing multi-sensory methods (and sensory extensions, e.g., telescopes, microscopes, etc.)
13. Summarizing and revising one’s own thinking
14. Arriving at and sharing conclusions (as well as interpreting data; modifications to the original experiment possibly leading
to cycles of investigation) and inferring
15. Writing (preparing arguments that support one’s conclusions) and learning from reading without “the experience”
Meaning Is Derived From Connections
Our academic curriculum should reflect the beauty of patterns that blend together, rather than resembling a patchwork of unrelated content and experiences. Patterns are easy to process, comprehend, and remember because of the blended relationships.
Our ancestors’ survival was determined by…
•Discovering patterns to understand/predict the ever-
changing world around them
• We became the planet’s only animal that looks for
problems/invents problems to solve. We even
practice solving imaginary problems in places
called “school” -- preparation for adulthood.
• Scientists estimate that 99.99% of all species that
have ever lived on earth are extinct today.
Practicing for real and imagined problems has
played a vital role in our long term survival
What does a scientist look like when he is working?
Relevant questions, imagination, predictions, inferences, patterns, hunches, experimenting (trial/error) skepticism, thinking, memory, curiosity, minimize errors, sense-making, a quest for knowledge →
Survival
Testing testing
Non-educators Consumed byLegislation and Bureaucracy
No Considerations for human Learning and Behavior
Neuroscience, Cognition, Learning and the human Brain
N.C.L.B.
Kenneth Wesson, a founding member of the Association of Black Psychologists wrote brilliantly,
“Let’s be honest. If inner-city children consistently outscored children from wealthy suburban homes on standardized tests, is anyone naïve enough to believe that we would still insist on using these tests as indicators of success?”
“The Big Picture” by Dennis Littky
…more High-stakes Testing?
Good spreadsheets do not make us immune to bad decisions
Where Did the Idea That “We Need More Tests” Come From?
1.No high-achieving nation spends as much time, money or organized efforts on standardized testing as we do. 2.If excessive testing → ↑ scores in math and science, why aren’t the leading nations (whose scores we are trying to emulate) testing more?
3.Why are we alone in advocating a “test-and-they-will-learn-more” strategy, which has not been proven successful anywhere in the entire world?
Instead….
• Finland, Singapore and South Korea
• Teaching is the most popular career choice for HS
graduates in Finland (choose just 1/10 applicants from
the top quarter of their classes).
The ↑ performing countries have rigorous recruitment for
teachers with strong academic qualifications and
they are paid well for their important contribution to their
countries’ long-term economic security.
High-achieving Nations:Highly Respected Professionals (“Experts”)
• Economists recognize the correlation between a strongly supported ed.’l system and a strong economy.
• KW proposal – “No state should be allowed to pay an actor or professional athlete $1 more than the lowest paid teacher in the state.” - AD directors
• The NY-based McKinsey & Co. report: teachers’ salaries should begin at $65,000 (↑$150,000) annually. (↑
ROI on teachers not tests)
• Chile raised teacher salaries by more than 150% in a decade → one of the fastest growing economies in the OECD countries/fastest improving countries participating in the PISA exam.
High-achieving Nations:Highly Respected Professionals (“Experts”)
• Educators and South Korea and Finland spend
600 hours a year engaged in face-to-face instruction
with their students.
• Many school days are spent in PD, planning and refining
lessons with colleagues (“STREAM-posium”).
• Contrast: Teachers in the US average 1100 hours/yr.
face-to-face with students and with annually
decreasing numbers of hours set aside for PD.
High-achieving Nations:Highly Respected Professionals (“Experts”)
Obstacles to Successful S.T2.R.E.A.M. Learning
1.A weak foundation in concrete learning and working memory formation – prerequisites for complex and abstract thinking
2.Reading, writing, discourse, argumentation and mathematics are taught as subjects rather than as tools we use in the pursuit of knowledge (in science).
3.↑ time memorizing facts (and testing) instead of on viable curricular connections - S.T2.R.E.A.M.
Good thinking is a matter of making connections, and knowing what kinds of connections to make.
---David Perkins
• If thinking engages multiple areas of the
cerebral cortex simultaneously, why
shouldn’t classroom instruction?
• Our academic silos impose a structure
that often becomes an obstruction to
learning and creative thinking.
Critical Cognitive Connections
• Real world problem solving requires integrated solutions, where language, mathematics, logic, visualization, physics/engineering, scientific reasoning, technology, may come into play
o in varying combinationso in different proportionso where each is used in a different sequence
depending upon the nature of the problemo to a different degree of usageo in varying durationso at varying times and possibly multiple times
Critical Cognitive Connections
The brain naturally organizes information
based on complex connections that are
established over time, not based on the
subject heading that the initialinstruction
took place.
Learners Create Meaning via Connections
We “hook” students on learning by “hooking” together our curriculum (PBL) and by integrating ideas across the disciplines (ideas, concepts and content are seen as relevant in multiple contexts).
Doing so prepares students for 1. The real-world (relevant to my life beyond the
lesson, the classroom, and the school)2. Increasingly complex and abstract concepts that
require background knowledge from multiple fields of study (relevant and connected to each other)
3. Higher education, graduate work, and careers in the 21st century workplace
Obstacle:
Conceptual “holes” in a student’s thinking
caused by a lack of connections and
reinforcement (practice and extensions) →
robust neural networks → knowing what the
connection is and where other connections are
likely to be found.
The Hole Illusion
• Roll a sheet of paper lengthwise into a tube shapeapproximately 2 inches in diameter. • Hold the tube up to your left eye with your left hand.• Focus on an object 12-15 feet away with both eyes,
with the left eye still looking through the tube. • Hold right hand 8-10 inches in front of right eye -- with right hand open/palm facing towards you.• Move your right hand towards side of the paper tube
until your little finger touches the edge • With both eyes open you should see a strange sight. • What happened?
A Hole in Your Hand Illusion
Both of your eyes see the same thing, but from two slightly different visual fields. Your brain must combine two slightly different viewpoints in order to see depth, 3 dimensions and to judge distances. We have interfered with that process.
X
“A Hole in the Concept” - Instructions
1.Read the excerpt on the next slide at normal speed.
2. Do not skim or give up halfway (read through to the end.)
3. Once you've finished, ask yourself how do you feel about reading the paragraph.
“A Hole in the Concept”
A newspaper is better than a magazine. A seashore is better place
than the street. At first it is better to run than to walk. You may have
to try several times. It takes some skill, but it is easy to learn. Even
young children can enjoy it. Once successful, complications are
minimal. Birds seldom get too close. Rain, however soaks in very
fast. Too many people doing the same thing can also cause
problems. One needs lots of room. If there are no complications, it
can be very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things
break loose from it, however, you will not get a second chance.
On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're NotRobert A. Burton, M.D.
Note what happens in your mind when a
title is added.
• Re-read the excerpt (knowing the title,
now with no change to the contents)
Was this paragraph comprehensible or
is it meaningless to you?
Making Connections
A newspaper is better than a magazine. A seashore is better
place than the street. At first it is better to run than to walk.
You may have to try several times. It takes some skill, but it is
easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Once
successful, complications are minimal. Birds seldom get too
close. Rain, however soaks in very fast. Too many people
doing the same thing can also cause problems. One needs
lots of room. If there are no complications, it can be very
peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things break loose
from it, however, you will not get a second chance.
Flying a Kite
Now can you make meaningful
connections?
• Does every sentence support what you
now know? (Sense-making: meaning
derived from making neural connections)
Making Connections
About Learning
• Learning is a complex multi-directional process of (1) interpretation, (2) thinking, and (3) revision - not a linear process
• Knowledge is socially constructed (importance of peer-to-peer interaction)
• Learners create meaning
National Research Council. Knowing What Students Know, 2001.
Science
Technology
Engineering
Mathematics
Reading/Language Arts (Standards)
Art
Drawing/diagramming, visual spatial thinking, imagery, inferential
thinking, 2/3-dimensional modeling, symbolic models, interpreting visual evidence, visual representations -
illustrations, charts, etc.
Visual Literacy
S.T2.R.E.A.M.
Reading, writing, discourse, argumentation, vocabulary development, comprehension, journals, note-booking,
lab reports, summaries, oral presentations, recording interpreting and
critiquing data and information
Reading/Language arts
or
Math or Science?
Binary arguments that limit the scope and quality of our subsequent discussions.
Education: Caught in a Web of False Choices
The Achievement Gap
• Vocabulary = proxy for knowledge. Achievement gaps are knowledge gaps primarily sponsored by ever-expanding vocabulary gaps.
• A highly developed vocabulary facilitates precision, not just in speaking, but in thinking.
• Lack of vocabulary can be a crucial factor underlying the school failure of disadvantaged students (Becker, 1977; Biemiller, 1999).
Of the most common language interactions used, 400 to 600 high frequency words are used most
out of the 86,741 most widely-used English words:
1. children's books → 627 of the ↑ utility words2. primetime children's TV shows → 543 words3. Conversations among non-college graduates
→ 496 of the ↑ utility words4. Scientific articles → 4389 of the ↑ utility words
making science the richest academic source for vocabulary development
Science Should be at the Center of Language Development
Question:
How do you teach vocabulary best?
Answer: In context
Full answer: In the context of doing
(not in the context of reading).
Instead of saying: Use MINDFUL LANGUAGE by saying:
“Let’s look at these two pictures.” “Let’s COMPARE these two pictures.”
“What do you think will happen when…?” “What do you PREDICT will happen when…?”
“How can you put those into groups?” “How can you CLASSIFY…?”
“Let’s work this problem.” “Let’s ANALYZE this problem.”
“What do you think would have happened “What do you SPECULATE would have happened if…?” if…?
“What did you think of this story?” “What CONCLUSIONS can you draw about this story?”
“How can you explain……?” “What HYPOTHESES do you have that might explain...?”
“How do you know that’s true?” “What EVIDENCE do you have to support…….?”
“How else could you use this…..? “How could you APPLY this ……..?”
The Language of Science?
Cognitive Rehearsals
When playing with objects, learners are simultaneously manipulating and playing with ideas (using internal dialogues to attach words and meaning to actions)
Exploring and experimenting involve examining relationships, interactions and systems, where learners formulate their own personal “theories” (mental constructs)
Thinking is a rehearsal for discourse
Discourse is a rehearsal for writing
Cognitive Rehearsals
“You can't make the words or ideas
come out of your pencil,
until you can get them
to come out of your mouth.”
-- CO Master Teacher Eileen Patrick
Cognitive Rehearsals
Playing with objects and ideas, exploring and experimenting, thinking, talking, and writing become rehearsals (background knowledge) for reading.
Writing and reading clarify one’s thoughts, generate coherent thinking, and cultivate precision in expressing one’s inner thoughts
Discourse and writing become rehearsals for assessment
Source: Kenneth Wesson (2011). Education for the Real World: six great ideas for parents and teachers.Brain World, Issue 2, Volume 2.
“STREAM-posium” (PLC): Share Interdisciplinary Vocabulary Lists
• Prepare a list of the key vocabulary words for the
week/month from each subject area/discipline
• Exchange those lists with colleagues and look for
polysemous words that also are germane to
your discipline, your lessons plans for the year.
• Word appearing in multiple academic areas, warrant
attention
• Weave these interdisciplinary (bonus) words into
your lectures, discussions, writing assignments,
and assessments (bonus for multiple meanings).
“STREAM-posium” (PLC): Sharing Your Interdisciplinary Vocabulary Lists
• Introduce words along with their (1) associated definitions in
context, and (2) connections to contexts in other
subject areas. (Use Word webs and Venn diagrams)
• “Last year, you heard this word used when you learned about
______ in your ______ class”
• “In your social studies class this year, you will see this word
again. However, its alternative meaning of ______
will be emphasized.”
• “What do you think this word mean, when you hear it used in
mathematics?”
• “In 6th grade literature, you will hear more about this word,
but guess what? In literature, this word is used to describe…
However, in science it means…”
“STREAM-posium” (PLC): Content Knowledge: “Resident Expert”
• Have the Science teacher “guest lecture” in the
Reading/LA class on how we read differently in
science than we do in literature. How is it different
and why?
• Have the Art teacher “guest lecture” in the
Engineering and English class to show how we take
visual images in the mind → paper
• Have the Science teacher “guest lecture” in P.E.
(games, baseball, amusement rides, etc., all depend
on principles from physical science)
When planning your instruction,
be sure to use the appropriate
context for teaching the target
concept.
The problem is not always just what
we teach, but it is
how, when and where (context)
we teach important content.
Shared Learning Experiences: Time, Earth, and Space
At this time of day, I…
Wake up ______ a.m. leave home ______ a.m.
eat lunch______ leave school ______p.m.
eat dinner ______ p.m. do homework ______ p.m.
go to bed ______ p.m.
The sun rises in the East at ______ a.m.
Measure and Insert Data Points (Graph) of Changes in the Position of the Sun Throughout the Day:
Data from your own “obelisk”
Making connections
Time is most effectively taught in aScience context, not as a Math skill
Time reflects the regular degrees of consistent changes in the earth-sun relationship. We calibrate those degrees of change in “seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc.,”-- applying math to the science content.
1. Science2. Math3. Art4. Social studies5. History6. Vocabulary/L.A.7. Critical thinking8. Spatial relations9. Home-school
connection
S.T2.R.E.A.M. : Multiple Contexts For Connected Learning
Transfer
• Transfer is facilitated by knowing the multiple contexts under which an idea applies
(i.e., effective transfer is inextricably linked to the conditions for applicability; rote
learning rarely transfers.)
• New learning depends on prior learning and previous learning can often interfere with new content that is being taught.
Balance and Engineering: The Cantilever Bridge Challenge
Table2 inches
1 inch
= 12 inch ruler
How far?
Balance
History of toys; different toys used by children around the world = S.S.
Bridges
Toys, playground equipment, amusement parks = balance and motion (physical science)
Physics/systems
The geometric shape used most in construction?
9 Most Effective Strategies for AchievementMarzano, et. al.
"CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION THAT WORKS“
PERCENTILE NUMBERCATEGORY GAIN of STUDIES
Identifying Similarities and Differences 45% 31
Summarizing and Note-taking 34% 21
Reinforcing Effort/Providing Recognition 29% 21
Homework and Practice 28% 134
Nonlinguistic Representation 27% 246
Cooperative Learning 27% 122
Setting Objectives/Providing Feedback 23% 63
Generating and Testing Hypotheses 23% 63
Questions/Cues/Advance Organizers 22% 1,251
We incorporate each of these in S.T2.R.E.A.M.
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)
"Since the beginning of the 20th century, the
average per capita income in the United
States has grown more than sevenfold,
and science and technology account for
more than half of this growth."
Reflect and Connect At some point within the next 24 hours, write:
• What did you learn today?
• How did our conversation change your thinking?
• Write down two “I will” statements from today’s experience.
Contact information:
Kenneth Wesson
Educational Consultant: Neuroscience
San Jose, CA
(408) 323-1498 (office)