Learning Theory News

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1 Learning Theory News [ When educators learn about how the brain appears to process, recognize, remember, and transfer information at the level of neural circuits, synapses, and neurotransmitters, and then share that knowledge with students, the empowerment of both enriches motivation, resilience, memory, and the joy of learning (Willis, 2010, p.47).] Duluth s Educational Newsletter February 2016 The three E s that Every Teacher Should Know Written By: Courtney Salmela We may know that there are many methods to develop the learning brain, but we should also be asking, What insights into the science of learning should teachers bring to class to make learning relevant and real. This newsletter will inform you of some of the most recent findings and discoveries when looking at how the adolescent brain develops and learns through exercise, emotion, and elaborative encoding. There are other important components of the learning process that this newsletter will also touch base with including long-term memory, the transformation of an experience, and the connection between feelings, consciousness, and reasoning. Research displays and illustrates remarkable evidence for what exercise does for thinking and learning. More than that, scientists have been finding more evidence that the human brain is not only capable of renewing itself but that exercise speeds the process (Reynolds, 2012, p. 190). Continue to the next page for more information... We are searching for environments, activities, and techniques that naturally generate positive feelings and that automatically lead students to say, I have to learn. - J. Zull (2011, p. 55) In This Issue How exercise enables and energizes executive function Emotions have an impact on the mind as they occur in the here and now How elaborative encoding requires substantial attention and is influenced by memory and much more!

2 EXERCISE Some things to note about aerobic exercise 1. The effects of aerobic exercise peak after 12 weeks of a consistent routine. It boosts executive function, where toning and weight lifting showed little benefit in this area (Medina, 2015). 2. Most researchers encourage endurance workouts such as walking, running, cycling, or swimming. Various growth factors must be carried from the periphery of the body into the brain to start a molecular cascade, and this requires a significant change in blood flow (Reynolds, 2012, p.200). 3. The Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a protein that is released during Heart Zone 3 exercise. BDNF is a protein produced in the brain and elsewhere in the body. Pumped out in greater profusion during and after exercise, its known to help neurons develop and thrive. It allows the brain to consolidate short-term memories into long term ones ( Reynolds, 2012, p.193). 4. Exercise is important at any age, and the cool thing is it doesn t an enormous amount to reap the benefits. Reynolds suggests that the benefits received from exercise occurs within the first 20 minutes. Exercise and Neuroplasticity The brain fires and wires based on an individual s experience and knowledge. The pre-frontal cortex (PFC) is the center for critical thinking and executive decision making; exercise improves the blood flow to the brain, creating new blood vessels and an increased flow of oxygen that allows an enhanced performance of the PFC and neuronal connections. A study performed in Naperville had students participate in an hour of PE before school and the results showed that these students had an increased attention span, working memory, and processing speed (Ratey, 2008). Exercise stimulates the blood vessels to create a powerful, flow regulating molecule called nitric oxide. As the flow improves, the body makes new blood vessels, which penetrate deeper and deeper into the tissues of the body. The more you exercise the more tissues you can feed and the more toxic waste you can remove (Ratey, 2008, p ). Memory The hippocampus plays a huge role in how we create and process memories. While exercise can increase blood flow and neurogenesis, neurologists believe that the loss of neurons in the hippocampus may be a primary cause of cognitive decay (Reynolds, 2012, p. 187). However, much of what we remember and how it is processed has to do with our emotional response and experience. We have somatic markers that are low intensity feelings in the body that accompany particular experiences, with these emotions also have an effect on the mind as they occur in the here and now (Zull, 2011, p ). Somatic markers can tag a specific memory when the environment does not interfere and they amygdala is in a positive state; the body s emotional state makes the brain more engaged. When looking at what experiences make it into higher cognitive thinking, we need to consider the amygdala. Joy can contribute to an outcome where we engage the cerebral cortex that provides the power to provide more accurate and deeper understandings of experience (Zull, 2011, p. 60). Read on for more about emotion, memory and cognition...

3 Positive Risk Taking and Long Term Memory Memories don t seem to be located in any particular place in the brain, but the recall and formation of memories have been localized to specific parts of the cerebral cortex, and explicit memories require the hippocampus (Zull, 2002, p. 80). Putting students emotions at the front of their learning will allow them to take interest in the lesson. Each individual has a different emotional need, teachers need to consider the concrete-abstract and the reflective/active spectrums to identify with student needs. Not only is knowing a feeling, getting to knowing is full of feeling (Zull, 2002, p.73). There are existing connections between our reasoning centers and the emotion centers of our brain. Feelings are also essential for rationality. We want to encourage students with positive reinforcement and encourage them to take risks that put them out of their comfort zone just enough. Positive risk taking can have a substantial influence on student learning, where feeling can help keep them engaged and motivated. What is the relationship between emotion and cognition? Emotional processes related to the body and its relationship to higher reasoning/ rational thought can be though of as a combined experience of emotional thought. Rational thought can inform emotional thought, which is the pathway for social and moral emotions. Thoughts trigger emotions which play out in the mind and body; the platform for learning, memory, decision making, and creativity, exist in both social and nonsocial situations (Immordino-Yang, 2012, p. 74). Teachers must actively manage the social and emotional climate of the classroom, where task irrelevant emotions play an important role, and too much irrelevant emotion can undermine student ability to balance academic learning. Emotion and Exercise: partners that release neurotransmitters Exercise can powerfully affect our body, exercise regulates the release of the three neurotransmitters most commonly associated with the maintenance of mental health: serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine (Medina, 2008, p.17). Serotonin aids in the balancing emotions, norepinephrine is the release of commitment, and dopamine is the feel good (confident > scared) chemical; keep in mind that the hypothalamus is responsible for chemical signals. When looking at how our body responds to emotion with the release of dopamine, the increased dopamine release in response to the satisfaction of a correct response reinforces the memory of the information used to answer the question, make a prediction, or solve the problem (Sousa, 2010, p.55). An emotionally charged event (ECS) is the best-processed kind of external stimulus that persist much longer in our memories (Medina, 2008, p. 80). Read more about the ECS...

4 ECS to the PFC Emotionally charged events can be divided into two categories: those that no two people experience identically, and those that everybody experiences identically (Medina, 2008, p. 81). How the emotionally competent stimuli (ECS) can engage prefrontal cortex rationality can be explained through our experiences. Exercise and emotion change the way we see the world; emotion is central to cognition where learning can be conscious or unconscious (competent learning). Emotiton is the most effective at facilitating the development of knowledge when it is relevant to the task at hand, and without emotion learning is impaired (Glisczinski, 2016). When an emotional experience triggers the amygdala it chooses fight, flight, or freeze. When the amygdala the PFC is shut down until further processing. Teachers should strive to create a space for emotional reactions; where students can make mistakes and develop fail forward learning. If curriculum does not support the development of emotional reactions and accommodate the reactions when they occur and allow them to influence decisions and behavior in the classroom, then the effective integration of emotion and cognition in learning will be compromised (Sousa, 2012, p.78). For effective cognition to manifest itself in the classroom and beyond, emotions need to be a part of the learning experience all along (Sousa, 2012, p.78). This leads to the mindful journey to Transformative Learning Experiences (TLEs) Elaborative Encoding Achievable challenges in the classroom, at the appropriate level for students abilities, are motivating and build mastery by lowering the barrier, not the bar (Willis/Sousa, 2012, p. 48). The brain s first sensory intake filter, the reticular activating system (RAS), is a primitive network of cells in the lower brain stem through which all sensory input must pass if it is to be received by the higher brain (Willis/ Sousa, 2012, p.48). Teachers can gain access through the RAS once a threat is removed and build novelty into learning new information by: Modulating your voice when presenting information. Vary font size on printed material Add photos to bulletin boards Mark key points on a chart in color (Willis, 2012, p.51)

5 Transformation Experience There is a transformation of experience that occurs when changing data into knowing occurs. We use our experiences to produce new thoughts and actions and ultimately create a future (Zull, 2002, p. 33). The transformation of the source knowledge from outside ourselves to inside is created from the brain s ability to create our experiences into knowledge and understanding. If we bring our entire brain into learning, we will find control passing from others to ourselves. We will know what we need for further learning and we will take charge of getting it rather than remaining dependent on others (Zull, 2002, p. 33). The structure of our brains tells us about specific areas for receiving, remembering, and integrating information from outside sources. And in addition, there is a second part of the brain for acting, modifying, creating, and controlling and when it comes to transforming an experience, we must use both parts of the brain to learn.

6 SO WHAT? Exercise Exercise acts directly on the molecular machinery of the brain itself. It increases neurons creation, survival, and resistance to damage and stress (Medina, 2016). Emotion Emotion is probably the most important factor for learning. Our feelings determine the energy with which we begin new challenges and where we will direct that energy (Zull, 2011, 77).

7 Elaborative Encoding Transforming data into knowledge requires balance in the brain, and it is a three-step-process: 1) we transform our past (experiences, data, etc.) into the future (action, creation, etc.); 2) transformation of the source of knowledge from the outside to within ourselves. This is when we turn our experience into understanding a knowledge, a change from receiver to producer; and 3) transformation of power. We control our own learning and what we do with it (Zull, 2002, 32-33).

8 Works Cited Immordino-Yang, Mary Helen. (2010). Mind, brain, and education: Neuroscience implications for the classroom. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. p Glisczinski, Dan J. (2016). Lecture. Medina, J. (2015). Exercise Brain Rules. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2016, from exercise?scene= Medina, J. (2008). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. Seattle, WA: Pear Press. Ratey, J. J., & Hagerman, E. (2008). Spark: The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. New York: Lit tle, Brown. Reynolds, G. (2012). The first 20 minutes: Surprising science reveals how we can exercise better, train smarter, live longer. New York: Hudson Street Press. Sousa, D. A. (2010). Mind, brain, and education: Neuroscience implications for the classroom. Bloomington, IN: So lution Tree Press. Willis, Judy. (2010). Mind, brain, and education: Neuroscience implications for the classroom. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. p Zull, J. E. (2011). From brain to mind: Using neuroscience to guide change in education. Sterling, VA: Stylus Pub. Zull, J. E. (2002). The art of changing the brain: Enriching teaching by exploring the biology of learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Pub. Photos: Brain Photo on Page 1: q=brain+photo&view=detailv2&&id=08c36e290373f7d6ea8dee0cd791dcbd7fb14489&selectedindex=0&ccid=lz5x% 2bYnF&simid= &thid=OIP.M2f3e71f989c52ca6501eeebf25baf18ao0&ajaxhist=0 Kids with ipads on Page 1: q=student+learning+&view=detailv2&&id=9ed1d8d5bda4c69c3ca0c825623dade7137a9c5e&selectedindex=54&ccid=dkspblii&s imid= &thid=oip.m764b e397e2e567c7fff072f3o0&ajaxhist=0 Brain on Treadmill Page 2: q=exercise+brain&view=detailv2&&id=24062a9fea361916b5869cb9575d8f3da058df1e&selectedindex=16&ccid=jfla7l8x&simid = &thid=OIP.M8c52c0ecbf ee430f743beca41o0&ajaxhist=0 Neurotransmitters Page 3: q=emotion+and+brain+chemistry&view=detailv2&&id=7af d9582f5ef26328af277c23d58cb6a3&selectedindex=9&ccid=xp LSxlLZ&simid= &thid=OIP.M5e92d2c652d93b18bd7cef4bef30c899o0&ajaxhist=0 Encoding: q=elaborative+encoding&view=detailv2&&id=4d9d2c89f4dbfce0c4e5645c28c7516c0c52dcf2&selectedindex=2&ccid =XNjTnQLT&simid= &thid=OIP.M5cd8d39d02d3c24e adc1d319o0&ajaxhist=0 Brain Page 5: q=labeled+brain+cortex+hippo&view=detailv2&&id=69ee291f74278ed10a728f bfb223d65d&selectedindex=1& ccid=b1u%2bvzid&simid= &thid=oip.m6f5bbebf32039f32f70ff440defd545ch0&ajaxhist=0

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