Hidden before our very eyes, clues to understanding the human brain and learning have been overlooked for centuries. Michaelangelo's painting above is an example. As many as 10,000 visitors a day miss the human brain he painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Adam, God (with Eve in his left arm), and the human brain, it's all there, larger than life! Children similarly show us the hidden clues to understanding the unique ways their brain's learn. Come along on this voyage into the mind of a child as we employ strategies to optimize their learning based on recent developments in brain research.

Friday, August 20, 2010

1. A CHILD STRUGGLING TO LEARN IN AN ALIEN WORLD. . . 2. YOUR BRAIN ON MUSIC 3. WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL: NOTES AND NEURONS 4. HOW TO BUILD A BIGGER BRAIN (UCLA study)

1. Imagine, you're in a nightmare on a planet where no one understands you, where people speak words you recognize, but don't make sense, a tossed verbal salad. Now imagine a teacher coming into view with a funny hat in her hands and a question no one has ever asked. Her name: Aditi Shankardass.

Dr Shankardass specializes in a groundbreaking EEG diagnostic technology developed by Harvard University. This technology records and analyses the EEG (brain electrical activity) in real time, allowing them to watch the child's brain as it performs various functions, detect even the slightest abnormalities in these functions, and provide a more accurate and comprehensive clinical, picture of the child's abnormalities. Click HERE for her website and Ted Talk.


2. Your Brain On Music with Bobbie McFerrin. My classroom felt like this. Mr. McFerrin uses music the way we can use brain compatible techniques to maximize learning. Observe the clip then play it back and participate. See him as a teacher, feel your response as a student. Then we'll talk about how to make this happen in the classroom. Clip 3 illuminates how this connects to brain research.



3. Imagine Bobbi's brain as he describes how his brain composes music and how he communicates the composition on the fly.


"I like to start someplace that's unfamiliar to me and see where it goes."



4. HOW TO BUILD A BETTER BRAIN. May, 2009. People hire personal trainers to build better bodies, but how do we go about building a better brain? Published in the journal NeuroImage, researchers report that specific regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger than in a similar control group of people who did not meditate. Click here for the article:  http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/how-to-build-a-bigger-brain-91273.aspx

Shown above, the right orbito-frontal cortex, is one of the brain areas that researchers reveal are enlarged due to meditation.  While it takes years accomplish this, there are everyday strategies we can employ to optimize learning.  Scroll down this blog for examples of what you can do.


Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)