What We Know About
Learning & The Brain:
The Foundation for
Differentiation for
Gifted Children
Richard Cash, Ed.D.
www.nrichconsulting.com
952-447-7668
“We are now at a point
where we must educate our
children in what no one
knew yesterday, and
prepare our schools for
what no one knows yet.”
Margaret Mead
Learning and G/T
R.Cash, Ed.D.
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“The educator’s job is not to
prepare kids to do well in
school but to do well in life.”
Elliot Eisner
Learning and G/T
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Objectives:

Gain a better understanding of the basic
structure of the brain and processing modes.
 Develop strategies that apply the Four Principles
of Brain-Based Learning to improve educational
experiences for gifted, talented and creative
children.
 Share effective learning experiences to enhance
cognitive and meta-cognitive growth of gifted,
talented and creative children.
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We are all natural-born
learners

The brain knows how to learn
 Most learning occurs in 4-6 stages

Motivation

Beginning practice

Advanced practice

Skillfulness

Refinement

Mastery
 For learning to be successful, “natural-learning” opportunities need to be
provided/expected
 Getting from beginner to advanced stages= practice, effort, time, support,
perseverance…
Adapted from: We’re Born to Learn, by R. Smilkstein. Corwin Press, 2003
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How Do People Learn?
 Think
of one thing you are good at that
you learned outside of school (hobby,
sport, art, skill…).
 Write



down how you:
started learning it
then knowing it,
then “mastering” it.
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3 Findings of Learning
Research

Students come to the classroom with
preconceptions about how the world works.
 To develop competence in an area of learning,
students must have both a deep foundation of
factual knowledge and a strong conceptual
framework. Experts are more than just “smart.”
 Strategies can be taught that allow students to
monitor their understanding and progress in
problem solving.

From: How people learn: Bridging research and
practice by the National Research Council, 2003.
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Four Principles of Brainbased Learning
 Safe
and non-threatening
environment
 Stimulating and varied input
 Active, meaningful learning
 Accurate feedback
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The Basics of Brain-Based Learning
EMOTION
DRIVES
ATTENTION
DRIVES
LEARNING
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The Three Levels of the Brain

Brain Stem= Reptilian Brain




Mid Brain= Emotional Center




Controls the body’s involuntary system
All information pass through initially
Fight or flight
Applies emotional attention for long-term storage
“Relay” station
Under GREAT development during adolescents
Neocortex= Cognitive Processor


Higher order thinking
Only conscious portion--2% (98% of brain is unconscious)
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The Mid-Brain

Cerebellum: Motor movement, basic procedural memory and rote
memory.

Thalamus: Receptacle--collects the information and sends it out to
the proper area.

Amygdala (almond): The emotional gate--Emotions are the
unconscious series of events regulated by body and brain. Feelings
occur when the cortex is aware of a bodily state and the brains
reaction/read-out.

Hippocampus (seahorse): Switch board between short and long
term memory--isn’t completely formed until age 2 or 3.
Learning and G/T
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The Prefrontal Cortex

The association cortex: information is synthesized from
inner and outer sensory worlds.

Critical for emotional self-regulation: evaluate and
regulate the emotional impulses emanating from the
lower centers of the brain.

“…the most common determiner of failure to selfregulate emotional responses is the lack of emotionally
consistent parenting in the early years” (Siegle, 2000, as
quoted in Wolfe, 2001).
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Two Types of Cells
 Neurons
(string): Make up 10% of brain
cells. They are the basic functional unit of
the nervous system. These cells do not
regenerate--you are born with the full
compliment.
 Glial
(glue): Makes up the other 90% of
brain cells. These cells DO reproduce.
Learning and G/T
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Neural Efficiency

Repeated firings of neurons makes successive firing easier
and, eventually, automatic=>memory is formed!

Over time-larger associations are created

Neural circuits associations to other circuits and speed of
building new circuits= Neural Efficiency

“If an important aspect of intelligence is speed of learning,
then it is likely that individuals born with a predisposition for
developing neural circuitry rapidly are destined to be gifted
in some way. (Sousa, 2003)
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Important Facts

During the 9 months of fetal development there is a
massive proliferation of neurons. They develop at the
average rate of 250,000 per MINUTE!

In the cerebral cortex, the brain has its full complement
of neurons at birth…approximately 100 billion.

At birth the brain weighs about one pound. By one year
it has doubled in size and reaches 90% of adult size by
age four.

In the adult brain there are at least one million billion
connections between neurons…that’s one quadrillion!
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Brain research and the young
adolescent

Adolescent brains go through a period of circuit refinement, pruning
unused connections and strengthening more heavily used
synapses--predominant in the prefrontal cortex (critical to
information synthesis)

Early adolescents’ brains are undergoing profound changes that are
not only a necessary part of growing up, but also signal a shift in
how children approach learning

Hippocampal volume increases with age for females while amygdala
volume increases with age for males

Whatever connections are made during the teen years will hard wire
the brain (i.e. music, sports, academics, laying on the couch)
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Gender, competition, and
stress: A caution!

Exposure to stress seems to have opposite effects on
males and females:


Females: stress inhibits learning
Males: stress facilitates learning

For all students a physically and safe environment is
essential: free from belittling and humiliation

Students must find it acceptable to make mistakes or
take risks: teachers should not judge students by
their mistakes-but by their successes
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Rehearsal for long-term
memory
 Rote
Rehearsal= remembering and storing
information exactly as it is entered into
working memory (factual)
 Elaborative
Rehearsal= remembering and
storing information to associate new
learning and to detect relationships
(contextual)
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SURVIVAL: Will
this kill
me?
THE AFFECTIVE SIDE OF LEARNING
EMOTIONAL ATTENTION:
How a person ŅfeelsÓ about a learning situation
determines the amount of attention devoted to it.
Emotions interact with reason to support or inhibit
le arning.
Is Meaning
Present?
Past
experiences,
memorization
Learning and G/T
YES
Moderate to High
Very High
NO
Very Low
Moderate to High
NO
R.Cash, Ed.D.
Is Sense Present? TriviaŃthings you just know (comprehension)
YES
LONG
TERM
MEMORY
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STAGES OF MEMORY
E
N
V
I
R
O
N
M
E
N
T
TYPES:
Past Experience



----- -------------STAGES-------------------

Immediate
 Working  Long-Term

Memory
Memory
Memory









Stages at which emotion has an affect on the

learning proces s
Source: Sousa, D.A. (2001). How the brain learns; A classroom teacher’s guide.
Learning and G/T
R.Cash, Ed.D.
Nondeclarative
* Procedural
*Motor Skills
*Emotion



Declarative
*Semantic
(words , facts , faces)
*Episodic
(Autobiographical)
Corwin Press, Inc. Thousand Oaks, Ca.
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Four Principles of Brainbased Learning
 Safe
and non-threatening
environment
 Stimulating and varied input
 Active, meaningful learning
 Accurate feedback
Learning and G/T
R.Cash, Ed.D.
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Implications for the
classroom

Hold student attention through sensorimotor
experiences--teachers need to engage the senses and
emotion throughout the entire unit of study

Use inquiry and problem based learning--encourage
students to ask questions that interest them

Develop curriculum around essential questions
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Implications for the
classroom

Design project based units of study where
students ask critical questions, and develop
their own projects to answer those questions
 Use simulations to involve students in
understanding various points of view--court,
legislatures, debate
 Play music that links memory to specific
learning tasks
 Have students write reflectively every day to
reiterate and consolidate learning
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Implications for the
classroom





Pose visual and work problems or puzzles to
challenge thinking so that students learn there
are many ways to solve a problem
Use physical challenges to solve problems and
build collaboration
Involve students in real-life apprenticeships
Use peer collaboration or cooperative learning
Develop integrated curriculum that encourages
students to raise issues and concerns and then
weave those thematically into all disciplines
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Implications for the
classroom






Establish curriculum themes
Connect complex/challenging, REAL-world
projects to students’ personal interests
Provide for choices
Use stories, myths, and metaphors (the brain
loves patterns)
Provide multi-sensory representations (use of
multiple learning styles)
Consider the physical surroundings
Learning and G/T
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Implications for the
classroom
 Provide
for social relationships and
community to develop
 Know where students are (ability,
interests, life background, learning styles)
and plan accordingly to take them to the
next step
 Provide water (the brain is 78% water!)
 Limit processed sugar!
Learning and G/T
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Implications for the
classroom
 Use elaborative
rehearsal--the more senses
used the more reliable the associations.
These strategies include:







Paraphrasing--restating ideas
Selecting and note taking--deciding what is
critical and noting
Predicting--predict what’s to come
Questioning--students generate questions
Summarizing--making connections to other areas
Creative thinking strategies--develops mental
imagery & decision making
Higher level thinking--develops in-depth problem
solving skills
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
Implications for the
classroom
Assist learners in recognizing strengths and making the most of
them, while at the same time recognizing weaknesses and finding
ways to correct or compensate for them (Successful Intelligence).

Assist learners in adapting to, shaping, and selecting
environments where they can achieve success (Practical
Intelligence).

Allow students to encounter challenges and appropriate amounts
of stress, to encourage divergent ways of knowing (too much/too
little is NOT good).

Provide enriched environments to develop creative and critical
thinking skills.
Learning and G/T
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Implications for the
classroom
 Praise
children on effort and hard work
->focus will be on learning goals and
strategies for achievement and not on
intelligence as a fixed trait that can not be
developed or improved.
Learning and G/T
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Reflection
 What
 How
 What
 What
do you do to
teach for learning?
will you
change?
Learning and G/T
is/are your
classroom/ lessons
designed to teach
learning?
R.Cash, Ed.D.
will change?
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Resources
Costa, A.L. (Ed.) 2001. Developing minds: A resource book for teaching thinking. ASCD,
www.ascd.org

Givens, B.K. 2001. Teaching to the brains natural learning systems. ASCD, www.ascd.org

Jensen, E. (2001). Arts with the brain in mind. ASCD, www.ascd.org

Jensen, E. (1997). Brain compatible strategies. The Brain Store, Inc. San Diego, CA. 800325-4769

Jensen, E. (2000). Brain-based learning. The Brain Store, Inc. San Diego, CA. 800-3254769

Jensen, E. (1998). Introduction to brain-compatible learning. The Brain Store, Inc. San
Diego, CA. 800-325-4769

Jensen, E. (1998). Teaching with the brain in mind. ASCD, www.ascd.org

Jensen, E. (1995). The learning brain. The Brain Store, Inc. San Diego, CA. 800-325-4769

Mamchur, C. (1996). Cognitive type theory & learning style. ASCD, www.ascd.org

Marzano, R.J., Pickering, D.J. & Pollock, J.E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works.
ASCD, www.ascd.org

The National Research Council, (2003). How people learn: Bridging research and practice.
The National Academy Press.

Silver, H.F., Strong, R.W., Perini, M.J. (2000). So each may learn; Integrating learning styles
and multiple intelligences. ASCD, www.ascd.org

Sousa, D.A. (2003). How the gifted brain learns. Corwin Press, Inc. Thousand Oaks, CA.
800-499-9774

Sprenger,M. (1999). Learning & memory; The brain in action. ASCD, www.ascd.org

Sylwester, R.(2000). A biological brain in a cultural classroom. Corwin Press, Inc. Thousand
Oaks, CA. 800-499-9774
 and
Wolfe,
into classroom practice. ASCD,
Learning
G/T P. (2001). Brain matters: Translating
R.Cash,research
Ed.D.
www.ascd.org

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