Welcome to Your Child s Brain. Lilja School Faculty & Family Book Discussion 8 April 2014

Transcription

1 Welcome to Your Child s Brain Lilja School Faculty & Family Book Discussion 8 April 2014

2 How do your child s genes and his environment interact during development?

3 Which of the following increases a baby s intelligence?

4 Which of the following activities is likely to improve a child s school performance?

5 Which of these activities reduces a child s risk of nearsightedness?

6 Which of these experiences is most associated with future reading difficulties?

7 Why we no longer entertain the Nature Vs. Nurture debate Culture drives evolution (Aamodt & Wang, 2011) Gene-environment interactions Epigenetic modifications

8 Born Linguists: Your Child s Developing Speech 2 months: cooing vowels 5 months: babbling 6 months: they know their names & will turn to mommy when prompted 9 months: familiar and unfamiliar words have event-related potentials 14 months: direct their gaze towards an object 24 months: distinguish between familiar words & nonsense words

9 What s so fascinating about your child s brain? It s plastic It changes over time (so even when dominant speech regions, for example, are damaged in early childhood, children learn how to compensate). It changes over time Intelligence is not fixed...remember last year s discussion about growth mindsets and effective effort?

10 PLAY is Serious Business! Synchrony in infancy: predicts secure attachments at 1-year, better self-control at 2-6 years, and more empathy by 16 Social competence: self-control, emotional maturity, and theory of mind (Aamodt & Wang) Imaginative play and games with rules support children s executive skills Social interaction between boys and girls drops off around age 7 and resumes in adolescence (Aamodt & Wang) Children generally have around 3-9 children with whom they play Concepts of friendship become more sophisticated, moving from shared activities in preschool to shared values, self-disclosure, and loyalty by adolescence (Aamodt & Wang)

11 Social & Emotional Development Why focus on social & emotional development in early childhood? InBrief (Video): Social & Emotional Development in Early Childhood

12 21st Century Competencies

13 21st Century Competencies

14 Self Regulation, Executive Function & Lilja School The Amazing Brain! InBRIEF (Video): Self Regulation & Executive Functioning in Children Anterior Cingulate Cortex: Respiration Amygdala: Fight/Flight Hippocampus: Learning & Memory Prefrontal Cortex: Social, Emotional, Behavioral Functioning, Executive Functions, Decision-Making

15 Mindfulness Awareness Practices in NPS Metacognition Index: Initiating Working Memory Planning/Organizing Self Monitoring Behavioral Regulation Index: Inhibition Shifting Emotional Control Tang et al., 2012; Teper & Inzlicht, 2013: Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) cognitive functions such as empathy, regulating emotions Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) Tang et al., 2012: Less variability in mood Positive modifications in brain states Increased prefrontal cortex Less variability in heart rate

16 Welcome To Your Child s Brain Part Part Part Part Part Part Part 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: Meet Your Child s Brain Growing Through a Stage Start Making Sense The Serious Business of Play Your Child As An Individual Your Child s Brain At School Bumps in the Road 4 CHIPS: Everyone speaks!

17 Resources for Families Welcome to Your Brain (Aamodt & Wang s Blog) Learning Works for Kids (Site for gaming; skill-based)

18 References Brennan Smith, H. (2014). 21 st Century Learning & Technology Survey. Bruning, R. H., Schraw, G. J., & Norby, M. M. (2011). Cognitive Psychology and Instruction (Fifth ed., pp. 1-12). Boston, MA: Pearson. Demetriou, A., Spanoudis, G., & Mouyi, A. (2011). Educating the Developing Mind: Towards an Overarching Paradigm. Educational Psychology Review, 23, Flook, Lisa, Smalley, Susan L., Kitil, M. Jennifer, Galla, Brain M., Kaiser-Greenland, Susan, Locke, Jill, Ishijima, Eric and Kasari, Connie (2010). Effects of Mindful Awareness Practices on Executive Functions in Elementary School Children. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 26: 1, Kabat-Zinn, J. (2012). Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment And Your Life. Boulder, CO: Sounds True. Mahani, S. (2012). Promoting Mindfulness Through Contemplative Education. Journal of International Education Research,8(3), Moore, A., & Malinowski, P. (2009). Meditation, Mindfulness and Cognitive Flexibility. Consciousness and Cognition, 18, Pellegrino, J. W., & Hilton, M. L. (Eds.). (2012). Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Sawyer, R. (2006). The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Tang, Y., Yang, L., Leve, L. D., & Harold, G. T. (2012). Improving Executive Function and Its Neurobiological Mechanisms Through a Mindfulness-Based Intervention: Advances Within the Field of Developmental Neuroscience. Child Development Perspectives, 6(4), Teper, R., Inzlicht, M. (2013). Meditation, Mindfulness and Executive Control: The Importance of Emotional Acceptance and Brain-Based Performance Monitoring. Scan, 8,

19 What stood out to you? Choose one passage. Read the quote and explain why it stood out to you.

20 What neuromyths did you previously believe? What have you learned about them? Refer to the text.

21 How have Aadmodt & Wang changed your perspective(s) as a parent or teacher? What will you do differently?

22 Summarize the most influential chapter you read from Aamodt & Wang.