Brain Health:Meeting the Needs of At-Risk

Students

Linda L. JordanContent Development Director

International Center for Leadership in Education

Session #53

Agenda

Brain Health:Meeting the

Needs ofAt-Risk

Students

Welcome

Closing

Brain Basics

Struggling Students

Strategies for Changing Brains

Resources

Resources

Holland Michigan

5

Linda’s Credentials

6

Director of Content Development

International Center for Leadership in

Education

Relationship Building1-2-3

Share with your elbow partner:One (1) thing you know about the human brainTwo (2) things you have learned at the conferenceThree (3) things about you

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Learning Outcomes

Give you an understanding of the human brain and how it can change.

Give you brain compatible strategies to impact student achievement.

The International Center for Leadership in Education

Brain Basics

The BrainSO WHY DOES INFORMATION FROM

THE NEUROSCIENCES MATTER?

IT HAS BEEN A CURIOSITY FOR MUCH OF HUMAN HISTORY!

Learning is the brain’s primary

function.

Yesterday’s thinking…..Phrenology – 1840s and 50s

An early practice at the end of the 19th century that claimed to be able to identify mental capacity and

character by feeling the bumps of the skull.

Today’s Science…

SPECT Scans

PET Scans

MRI and fMRI

It is possible to see the mind at work!

Lobes of the Brain

Communication of Neurons

Photograph of Neurons

Environmental Factors Affecting the Growing Brain

Rapidly changing input-MTV

Variation in family pattern

Diet, nutrition,and drugs

Less physical activity, more TV

Greater stress, threat, and violence

Emotion laden messages

•—David Sousa, 1998

Mirror Neurons in the Brain

A class of brain cells -- mirror neurons -- is active both when people perform an action and when they watch it being performed.

Amygdala

The psychological sentinel of the brain because it plays a major role in the control of emotion.

It is connected to many parts of the brain and plays a critical part in learning, cognition and emotional memories.

Amygdala-Almond

Hippocampus

It helps us remember events in recent past, as well as responsible for sending new information and experiences to be stored in the

cortex in long-term memory.

Critical to learning and memory formation.

Hippocampus-FEED THE HIPPO!

Corpus Callosum

200 million nerve fibers connecting the right and left hemispheres and providing instantaneous communication.

Not fully mature until adolescence – ages 16 to about 25.

Corpus CallosumDirt Road to Super Highway

Reticular Activating System

The RAS receives information from all over the body and acts as a central initial regulator for attention, arousal, sleep-wakefulness

and consciousness.

It filters out distractions or trivial sensory information.

Reticular Activating System

The Filter…The Senses

DISTRATCIONS

Strategies for the Structures

What lessons have you taught that activated these structures in your students’ brains?

Amygdala- Emotion

Hippocampus- Memory

Corpus Callosum- Movement

RAS- Attention

Neuroscience & Education

1.Who are today’s struggling students?

2.Can we change students brains?

3.What strategies can we use to make changes?

Who are today’s struggling students?

Struggling StudentsHigh School Dropout Rates

Annual Dropout Rate US 3,030,000

Daily Dropout Rate US 8,300

Drop out in 9th Grade 36%

Crimes committee in US by HS dropouts

75%

US jobs HS dropout is NOT eligible for

90%

Source: Education Week, Children Trends Database : 4.28.2013

For every 100 women enrolled in college, 77 men are enrolled.

For every 100 girls diagnosed with a special education disability, 217 boys are diagnosed with a special education disability.

For every 100 girls diagnosed with emotional disturbance, 324 boys are diagnosed with emotional disturbance

For every 100 females ages 15 to 19 that commit suicide, 549 males in the same range commit suicide.

For every 100 women ages 18 to 21 in correctional facilities, 1430 men are in correctional facilities . -The Boys Initiative, 2004

100 Girls Project

Characteristics of Struggling Students

• Lack of motivation• Social problems• Time management issues• Poor self-esteem• Poverty• Lack of organization• Poor study skills• Need to build cognitive skills of memory,

attention and processing speed

Meet “Eric”• Parents divorced at age 2• 3 stepmothers- violent, abusive, alcoholics• Cycle of violence in the house: moved in with

grandmother, aunt, uncle, on own, back home.• School- 9 schools, 153 teachers

– Sat in back of classroom– Acted out– Few friends– Homework not done- no home support– Truant– Arrested twice -Jensen, Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain,2013, p

40

Rest of the Story….Eric went to a local state college

Thanks to….…two caring committed HS teachers who refused to give up on him. They had:

•High expectations•Positive Relationships•Total belief in him

-Jensen, Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain,2013, p 44

Eric JensenEducation•1957-67 California Public Schools, graduate, San Clemente High, CA (1967) •1967-1972 San Diego State University B.A. English (with distinction) •2004- Present… Fielding Graduate Univ. (PhD. candidate, Human Development) Journal Publications•Jensen, E. (1996) "Brain-Compatible Learning” International Alliance for Learning, Summer 1996, Vol. 3 #2. IAL, Encinitas, CA. •Jensen, E. (1998) “How Julie's Brain Learns” Educational Leadership, Vol. 56, No.3, Pgs. 41-45, November, ASCD. Alexandria, VA.•Jensen, E. (2000) “Brain-Based Learning—A Reality Check” Educational Leadership April, Vol.57, No.7, Pgs. 76-79, ASCD. Alexandria, VA•Jensen, E. (2000) “Moving with the Brain in Mind” Educational Leadership November, Vol. 58, No.3, Pgs. 34-38, ASCD. Alexandria, VA•Jensen, E. (2001)"Fragile Brains" Educational Leadership, November 2001, Vol. 59, No. 3, Pgs. 32-36 ASCD. Alexandria, VA•Jensen, E. (2001) “The Science of Arts” Principal Leadership, November, Vol. 2, No. 3, pgs. 10-16. NASSP, Reston, VA•Jensen, E. (2003) “How Julie’s Brain Learns” Cable in the Classroom, March. Pgs. 14-17.•Jensen, E. (2006) “The Social Context of Learning” (2006) In: The Praeger Handbook of Learning and the Brain, Sheryl Feinstein, ed. pgs. 452-456. Praeger, Westport, CN.•Jensen, E. (2006) “Do Anything Better” (2006) O (Oprah) Magazine. Nov. Pg.117-118. New York, NY.•Jensen, E. (2008) “A Fresh Look at Brain-Based Education” Phi Delta Kappan Magazine, February, Volume 89 • Number 6, pgs. 408-417.•2008 “Exploring Exceptional Brains” in: The Brain and Learning (intro by Kurt Fischer). Pgs 385-404. Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint. San Francisco, CA•Jensen, E. (2008) "The Effects of Poverty on the Brain." Paper submitted for: Brains R Us: The Science of Educating, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA. March 3, 2008 Publications (books)•1979 You Can Succeed. Barron's Educational Series, Inc., NY.•1988, 1995, 1998, 2008 SuperTeaching. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•1991, 1996 Student Success Secrets Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., NY. •1994 The Little Book of Big Motivation Ballantine/Fawcett Books, NY •1994 The Learning Brain Turning Point Publishing, Del Mar, CA•1995, 2007 2nd ed. Brain-Based Learning & Teaching (Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•1996 Completing the Puzzle Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•1996 Bs and As in 30 Days Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., NY.•1996 Bright Brain (Video Enrichment Program) Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•1997, 2007 (2nd ed.) Introduction to Brain-Compatible Learning Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•1997 , 2004, 2nd ed., Brain-compatible Strategies Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•1998 Trainer’s Bonanza Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•1998 Sizzle & Substance Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•1998 (revised, 2005) Teaching With The Brain in Mind Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA•1999 The Great Memory Book (with Karen Markowitz) Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2000 Music with the Brain in Mind, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2000 Learning with the Body in Mind, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2000 Different Brains, Different Learners, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2001 Learning Smarter (with Mike Dabney) Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2001 Arts with the Brain in Mind, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA•2002 A New View of AD/HD. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2002 Environments for Learning. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2003 Tools for Engagement. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2005 Top Tunes. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2006 “7 Discoveries from Brain Research” (DVD) Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2006 Enriching the Brain. Jossey-Bass/Wiley, San Francisco, CA•2008 Fierce Teaching. Corwin Press. Thousand Oaks, CA•2008 SuperTeaching Corwin Press. Thousand Oaks, CA •2008 Deeper Learning (w/ LeAnn Nickelsen) Corwin Press. Thousand Oaks, CA•2009 Enriching the Brains of Poverty DVD: Jensen Learning, San Diego, CA•2009 Different Brains, Different Learners (revised ed.) Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA•2009 Teaching with Poverty in Mind, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA

“90% of my teachers treated me as an annoyance in their lives.”

-Jensen, Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain,2013,

Can Brains Change?

YES!!!

“Average teaching does not change brains- it’s just

babysitting. Kids could learn content from the

Internet at home. But strong, high-quality teachings changes

brains every day.”

-Jensen, Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain, 2013, p. 89

Changing Brains• Physical activity• Playing challenging board games• The arts• Experiences that are….

– Persistent– Contrasting– Meaningful– Positive– Consistent

-Jensen, Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain, 2013

Changing Brains• Relationships• Attention and buy-in• Mastery and autonomy• Brain health• Coherence and sense-making• Mistakes and error correction• Challenge• Time on Task

-Jensen, Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain, 2013

Optimum Success for Every Student

1.Attitude2.Cognitive Capacity3.Effort4.Focused Strategy

-Jensen, Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain, 2013

Attitude

Attitude• Attitude influences every thought and

action• Students with negative attitude tend

to view life through a negative lens• Originate: family• Telling a student to change their

attitude has NO impact

Strategies For Changing Students Attitude

•Teach coping skills•Discuss the advantages of positive attitude

•Model a positive attitude

Cognitive Capacity

Cognitive Capacity

“Students are not stuck with the intelligence they have, however some teachers are stuck in their

thinking in regard to their students intelligence.”

Intelligence is not fixed

Cognitive Capacity

You have the opportunity to alter your students’ ability to:

•think- their processing speed•do sequencing•pay attention•have self-control•increase working memory•increase vocabulary

Cognitive Capacity

Time Matters

More hours of training the greater the IQ

IQ raised with PURPOSEFUL PRACTICE

Strategies for Changing Cognitive Capacity

• What do your students pay attention to and show interest in?

• How long can they hold information?

• What do they do when work is assigned?

Effort

Effort

•Persistent effort•Focused effort•Purposeful effort

Strategies for Changing Effort

•Relevance•Setbacks are short term and

beneficial•Share personal successes

through your sustained effort

Focused Strategies

Focused Strategies

“For a student to become a true lifelong learner,

implementation of success strategies will always

be crucial.”

Focused Strategies• Students acknowledge need for success

strategies.• Student evaluates old strategies, and selects

new ones as needed.• Student implements the strategies for a

sustained amount of time.• The student evaluates the effectiveness of the

strategies.• The student makes adjustments as needed.

For change to happen…

…your strategies need to be: consistent

purposefulfocused

relentless

Rigor/Relevance Framework®

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Linda L. Jordan

ljordan@leadered.com518-703-0114

ICLE 518-399-2776http://www.leadered.com