Assignment
The first three steps are to help you and me develop a picture of what you already know
or believe about the brain and its relationship to learning. You aren’t being tested about
your current knowledge. Rather, you are establishing for yourself a starting point for the
work we’ll be doing in the first few classes and you are helping me know areas I need to
focus on in class. Please also know that the time suggestions for each step are just that
– suggestions. They aren’t intended to evoke memories of timed tests but are provided
as supports so that you don’t spend too much time on these initial steps.
Step 1: Please spend no more than 30 minutes on this step but please do give it your
careful attention. Have at hand paper and markers OR paper and pen/pencil, OR your
computer’s word-processing tools, OR some combination of these tools. Please do NOT
use any reference materials, including the text for this class.
a) Consider the words “the brain.” What are the first thoughts that come to mind? You
might think of a class you took, you might recall a story you’ve heard, you might
recall one or two words or facts, or your mind might be filled with ideas or images.
Write down WHATEVER came to mind first. Then use those thoughts to write a
paragraph or two, create a word web, or draw and label a diagram that represents
your current knowledge about the brain.
b) Now consider what you know about the brain and its relationship to learning. You
might want to consider how the brain gets information; how the brain makes sense of
information; how teachers or others contribute to what the brain knows; what
memory is; what learning is, etc. Show your conclusions in some way – narrative,
illustrations, a chart, a poem – whatever helps you communicate to yourself and to
me what you currently understand about the brain and learning.
Step 2: I think 30 minutes more or less should be enough time to complete this step.
PLEASE DO THIS EXERCISE BEFORE READING YOUR TEXT, THE ART OF
CHANGING THE BRAIN.
The context for this section is the focus of this class: the nature of learning and working
with diverse learners. Most of you are teachers. Teachers are concerned with helping
students learn – certainly, the M.Ed. program and the endorsement classes are about
improving student learning. But who is responsible for student learning? Please read
the following quote and write a response. Do you agree? Disagree? Why?
At a conference on teaching, the facilitator said, “You can teach well, do all the
right things, without any learning [on the part of students]. Learning is up to the
student. If I am teaching right, I am doing my part.”
Step 3: Spend no more than 20 or 30 minutes on this section. Consider your response
to the quote in Step 2. First, re-state, in writing, what you believe the teacher’s
responsibility is in relationship to student learning. Then choose ONE of the following
questions to answer that most closely aligns with your ideas about teaching and
learning. PLEASE DO THIS EXERCISE BEFORE READING YOUR TEXT, THE ART
OF CHANGING THE BRAIN
a) What would it mean if we viewed learning primarily as students receiving sensory
(information) input? What might assignments and assessments look like? Provide a
couple of examples.
b) What if learning depended on helping students integrate new experiences with their
prior memories? What might assignments and assessments look like? Provide a
couple of examples.
c) What if learning required that students develop their own abstract ideas and
hypotheses about the ideas explored in class? What might assignments and
assessments look like? Provide a couple of examples.
d) What if learning required that students test and act on their hypotheses and
questions about the subject or ideas explored in class? What might assignments and
assessments look like? Provide a couple of examples.
e) What if all these actions are necessary for lasting earning to occur? What might
assignments and assessments look like? Provide a couple of examples.
Step 4: This step will probably take about 2-3 hours depending on how quickly you read
and process information. Read and take notes about the Introduction (pages xiii – xvi)
and Chapters 2-4 of Zull’s, The Art of Changing the Brain. After reading, complete the
following:
a) Create a diagram, flow-chart, or other visual organizer that helps you explain Zull’s
major ideas about how the structure and functions of the brain define learning.
b) Re-visit the question you answered in Step 3. Using a different font or color, make
any additions or revisions to your answer you think are important based on the
information in these chapters.
c) In what ways did this assignment (Steps 1 through 4) reflect Zull’s arguments
(thesis) about learning? Feel free to respond to this question in narrative form, in an
outline, or through a chart or visual organizer.
d) Write down questions you have that you would like to discuss in class.