The Game of Life:
Assisting Students in Becoming Strategic Players
Robin Harmon
robin.harmon@netxv.net
DID YOU KNOW
• Teens brains are not an empty house
needing furnishing, but are more like
houses that need framing, walls, wiring
and a roof.
• They are like blueprints
• The BRAIN, not hormones, is to blame
for the inexplicable behavior of teens.
• Short- term memory increases by about
30% during adolescence.
• The activities teens invest their time and
energy in influence the activities they’ll
invest in as adults.
• Teens are ruled far more by their
emotions and logic.
Terms to Know
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Neurogenesis – the production of brand new brain cells…it is the raw
material for learning.
Neuroplasticity- the capacity of the brain to make physical changes
as a response to environmental input
Dopamine -controls the flow of information to other parts of the brain
and is connected with the pleasure system of the brain. This means
that it provides feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement which
motivates us to do or to continue doing certain activities.
Cortisol- TOXIC to the BRAIN and BODY – higher levels of chemical
produced when body is stressed.
Allostasis -occurs when we reset our brain’s thermostat (our “set
point” ) for metabolic functions (brains are not fixed)
Hippocampus – seahorse shaped and controls memory; highly
influenced by stress chemical cortisol
Myelin-fatty substance made of Glial that insulates neurons and
speeds the travel of information between cells.
Glial cells are the glue that binds cells together (90% of brain)
Neurons – learning cells work together with Glial cells (other 10%)
What is Stress?
STRESS
Is a physiological response
to a PERCEPTION
of a Lack of Control Over an
Aversive situation or Person
• Transition stage between childhood and adulthood
• Researchers use the age span of 10-24 years
• It is not Puberty – puberty refers to the hormonal changes
that occur in youth.
• Period of rapid and intense brain growth – the largest growth
since infancy and is followed by a period of Pruning lasting
until mid-late twenties!
Adolescent Tasks
Often accomplished sub-consciously:
• Developing an identity independent from their parents in
order to break away from them and then to re-establish
themselves as their parents’ peers.
• Coming to terms with emerging sexuality
• Coming to terms with the NEED to work
• Developing a philosophy of life and a value system upon
which to make decisions.
Bethany,18
“Knows”
Everything
Matt, 16,
can’t
remember
anything
Chronic
or Acute
Stress
Yikes!
Cuts neuron
production by
50%
USE IT OR LOSE IT!
Pruning Process
• Time of great vulnerability
• Brain goes through the process of
pruning to rid itself of synapses that
go unused and strengthening the
ones that are used!
• CRITICAL TIME FOR
ADOLESCENTS 11-14
Pruning Process
• During this overproduction dendrites
and synapses (gray matter)
multiplying like crazy.
• Synapses continually used will
flourish; those that are not used will
wither away. It’s “Use it or Lose It” in
action.
• The choices teens make are critical
and they need support and guidance!
Teens Brains Aren’t Broke
…They’re still under construction!
• Critical time for the Adolescent Brain
• If they have trouble sitting still and
concentrating in school it’s because their
brains aren’t finished.
• They can’t act like adults because they can’t
think like adults.
• They NEED ADULT Interaction
Teens Brains Aren’t Broke
…They’re still under construction!
• When Synapses are generated through
experiences and learning, Myelin, a fatty
substance made of glial, is produced to
insulate neurons.
A Secret Revealed….
Any information teens use and learn in school will be
hardwired in to the brain’s structure (good or bad) and
anything they ignore will lose its priority! (Sheryl G Feinstein
Secrets of the Teenage Brain, 2009)
You have a choice… Which will it be???
This is a
Guarantee:
Smart Purposeful and
Targeted Instruction
Will Change the
Student’s Brain. This
makes your students
Appear “Smart”
What were you thinking……?
OLD WAY: Same
content and more
repetition…
or…?
SMARTER WAY:
Buy-in,
engagement and
feedback
Student Achievement with Low
vs. Highly Effective Teachers
53pts
14pts
With
Least
Effective
Teachers
With
Most
Effective
Teachers
Source: William L. Sanders, Senior Research Fellow,
University of North Carolina (Sanders and Rivers 1996)
Low-achieving
students gain an
average of 14
percentile points with
the least effective
teachers. By contrast,
the most effective
teachers produce
average gains of 53
percentile points with
low-achieving students
Brush Off Old Classroom FAV’s
Robert Marzano, 2001
• Have students write a summary of lesson- requires them to
delete, substitute, and retain knowledge as the analyze
information.
• Identify similarities and differences: brain stores by similarity and
retrieves by differences.
• Write metaphors and analogies
• Present material non-linguistically – knowledge
stored 2 ways (visually or non linguistic)
• Create and Test Hypothesis
• Reinforce Effort
• Provide Practice
• Facilitate Cooperative Learning
• Provide Feedback
• Start and reinforce lesson with cues, questions,
and organizers.
What Drives Positive
Changes in the BRAIN?
Experiences that are:
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Persistent
Contrasting
Meaningful
Positive
Consistent
A Secret Revealed….
TEENS need to move! Sedentary classrooms are not
the way to improve academic programs at schools. The
cerebellum plays a crucial role in coordinating thought
processes and making decisions. It is the “motor center”
of the brain.(Adapted from Sheryl G Feinstein Secrets of the Teenage
Brain, 2009)
“Brains are changed by
experience. If kids are
not improving at school,
WE have to change their
every day experiences
until they do change.
Maybe we can work
together to better target
the changes we need to
see.”
Seed the work environment
with small tweaks and “nudges”
that will prompt the desired
behaviors. Build new habits
with action triggers, pictures,
signs, and postures.
You have much
more to do with how
your students turn
out than you
previously thought
More Energizers
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Stretching
Celebrations
Review using memory strategies
Partner walk
Switch sides of room/change
groups
URGENT
• One immediate
clear step in the
right direction is
worth more than all
the grand planning.
START NOW and
start with
something!