Southern Nevada Regional
Professional Development Program
www.rpdp.net
The Impact of Environment on
Learning
“Nine tenths of education is
encouragement.”
~~Anatole Frache~~
Read, Reflect, Connect
• Read through the activities on pages 5155; 68-96 and 157-165
• Guiding questions:
– How do these activities connect to the 5
NEPF Teacher Standards?
– How can YOU use this activity in YOUR
classroom?
– Think lesson plan 
Brain Class Mantra
• There is no learning without memory.
• Students make meaning by connecting to
existing knowledge.
• Neurons that fire together,wire together.
Practice makes permanent!
5 Principles for Creating
Brain Compatible Classrooms
1. Environment—emotion, motivation,
collaboration--Pleasure
2. Coherence—connections, meaning,
patterns--Patterns
3. Time—reflection, error correction,
feedback
4. Novelty—Music, games, movement
5. Challenge—Questioning and choice
Think and Write….
Write about a time when you were
motivated to learn something.
What did you learn to do?
Why did you learn it?
What motivated you?
A Little Bit of Research
B.F. Skinner
• Traditionally schools operate on
reward/punishment
• Use stimulus-response, behavior
modification or assertive discipline
• Based on the belief that human behavior
results from environmental factors
• “If it weren’t for the reward, what we are
teaching you would not be worth learning.”
--Eric Jensen
Internal Control Theory
William Powers, 1990’s
• Young children don’t need to be rewarded
to learn
• At any age rewards are less effective than
intrinsic motivation for promoting learning
• Rewards for learning undermine intrinsic
motivation
• When we offer a reward, we are “killing off
the interest in the very thing we are bribing
them to do.”
“If the learner is doing the task to get the reward, it
will be understood, on some level, that the task is
inherently undesirable. Forget the use of
rewards…Make school meaningful, relevant, and fun.
Then you won’t have to bribe students.”
~~ Eric Jensen, 2001~~
“What happens outside of us has a lot to do with
what we choose to do, but the outside event does not
cause our behavior. What we get, and all we ever
get, from the outside is information; how we choose
to act on that information is up to us.”
~~ William Glasser, 1990~~
We have four basic
psychological needs:
•
•
•
•
Belonging and connecting
Power and competence
Freedom
Fun
“All behavior represents our best attempt at
any moment to satisfy our needs.”
William Glasser, 1998
…and 1 Physiological Need
•
•
•
•
Must feel safe
Energy is re-directed—fight or flight
Difficult to think or remember
Brain can not differentiate between
emotional and physical danger
“Trusting student-teacher relationships
are essential for learning.”
Bryk & Schneider
What Motivates Us?
• Examine the motivators you have listed
• Identify/classify based on the four needs:
– Belonging and connecting
– Power and competence
– Freedom
– Fun
• Are your needs being met externally or
internally? Why?
Remember:
Behavior is always purposeful
Internal control psychology asserts that all
humans are motivated from the inside out.
Therefore, the struggle is NOT how to
motivate students to learn; it is in creating a
classroom environment that focuses and
attracts students’ intrinsic motivation to learn.
“How a person ‘feels’ about a
learning situation determines the
amount of attention devoted to it.”
~~ Eric Jensen~~
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Amygdala
concept
Located in
the Limbic
System
Critical for
emotional
memory
Almond
shaped
Located
near the
Hippocampus
Reflective/expressive writing improves
leaning and memory
Writing about a problem helps rid our mind of
upsetting thoughts and thus improves our ability
to maintain and process information (Klein & Boals,
2001; Pennebaker & Seagal, 1999).
Causes of Stress in Schools
•
•
•
•
•
Peer relationships
Text-taking anxiety and oral presentations
Physical, clothing, language differences
No personal relevance
Frustration due to previous failure and
falling behind
• Sustained or frequent boredom
Repeated Failure Fixed
Mindset Beliefs
• My intelligence and skills are
predetermined, limited, unchangeable
• My efforts are fruitless
• Video games
– Goal buy-in
– Achievable challenge
– Acknowledgment of incremental goal
progress
The PULL is powered by Dopamine
No significant learning occurs
without a significant relationship
of mutual respect.
The most mature person in any social
setting is the one who is most
adaptable to other people’s needs.
—John Dewey
How students says they know a
teacher respects them…Ruby Payne
• The teacher
you.”
• The teacher
• The teacher
• The teacher
• The teacher
• The teacher
calls me by name, not “Hey
answers my questions.
cares about me.
talks to me respectfully.
notices me and says, hi.
helps me when I need help.
Belonging and Connecting
• Create a positive climate “attitudes are
caught, not taught”
• Positive feedback/recognition
• Celebrate diversity
• Display student work
• Establish a relationship with parents
• Cooperative learning
The key process to educate now is autonomous and
competitive. It needs to change to be relational
learning.” Ruby Payne“
Light Bulb!
Take a minute to jot down an idea, a thought
or a connection…
Now, share your thoughts with a partner….
Environment and Learning
1. Does social interaction affect learning in
mice?
2. Does an enriched environment affect
learning in mice?
3. Does exercise affect learning in mice?
How much…..?
A student’s brain physically changes every day and
their environment either enhances or impairs it.
Rat studies have shown:
• Greatest gains—3 rats in an enriched cage-- social
interaction, play, exploration, physical and mental
challenges
• Medium gains—3 rats in a small cage, no toys-social
• Low gains—1 rat in an enriched cage
• No gains—1 rat, no toys--isolated, inactive
• No gains—1 rat in isolated cage watching those
in the enriched cage—passive learning
• When cage conditions were changed, it took only
four days for the rats’ brains to change.
Enriched Learning
Environments will grow new
dendrites & strengthen
synapses
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Emotion
Movement
Peer interaction
Reflection/Feedback
Meaningful learning
Connections
Challenge
The Brain Can Be Rewired
• Until recently, experts have maintained the adult
brain was immutable, hardwired. Research in the
past few years has come to realize that adult brains
retain impressive powers of “neuroplasticity”—the
ability to change its structure and function in
response to experience.
• When no transmissions arrive from the eyes in
someone who has been blind from a young age,
the visual cortex can learn to hear or feel or even
support verbal memory.
• Phantom limb experiences happen when nearby
parts of the brain take over the areas of the brain
originally assigned to the missing body part.
• A young man with his left arm severed just below
the elbow could feel sensations in his missing
fingers when stroked on parts of his face.
• V.S. Ramachandran (neuroscientist from Univ. of
California at San Diego) concluded that the brain
reorganizes: the strip of cortex that processes input
from the face takes over the area that
originally received input from the now
missing hand.
Metacognition
• In a series of experiments Schwartz at Univ. of CA
found that cognitive behavior therapy can quiet
activity in the circuit that underlies obsessivecompulsive disorder, just as much as drugs do.
• When OCD patients were plagued by an obsessive
thought, Schwartz instructed them to practice
mindfulness meditation, the Buddhist practice of
observing one’s inner experiences as if they were
happening to someone else. Same thing happened
at Univ. of Toronto with patients who suffered from
depression.
• Meditation had the same effects on their
brains as the antidepressant Paxil.
• The conscious act of thinking about our
thoughts in a particular way rearranges
our brain.
Cerebellum
concept
An exterior
lobe
Means “little
brain” in
Greek
Located in
back of
brain
Coordinates
movement &
balance
The Neurobiology of Stress
• Psychological stress is not always bad.
• When we are under-aroused, we usually lack the
stimulation to perform optimally and boredom sets in.
• A chronically high level of stress damages brain cells.
• Moderate stress—the kind produced by reasonable
assignment deadlines, accountability expectation,
and healthy competition—is just what the brain needs
for optimal learning
(Borell, et al, 1999; Clement & Chapouthier, 1998;
Sheline, et al. 1999)
Competence & Challenge
It’s a balancing act!
RAS: “Toggle Switch”
High
Middle
Low
Hot (EEG)
Mild (EEG)
Cold (EEG-sleeplike)
Limbic aroused
Cortical aroused
Sleep (depression)
Flight/fight
Problem solving
Relaxation
Out of control
In control
Off duty
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Carbs/dairy
Burnout!
Achievement
Depression
Extreme challenge
Moderate challenge
No challenge
Learning only happens when the toggle switch
is in the middle position.
Math Anxiety
• When people worry about math, the brain
feels the pain
• Brain scans show that in those with high
levels of math anxiety, the same areas of
the brain that react when we feel pain,
react in anticipation of doing math
• Activity is reduced in the cerebral cortex
and increased in the amygdala
• The buzz in the fear center interferes with
problem solving and critical thinking
So, what can we do?
• Spend 10 minutes writing about their fears
before working math
• Have students reaffirm their self-worth by
listing values like relationships with friends
and family
• Have students list why they might do well
rather than poorly
• By deliberately shifting their frame of mind,
students can rise above their fears
RAS
concept
Receives all
stimuli
Control
arousal
Located at
the base of
the brain
Decides
what to let in
and what to
block
Examining your practice….
• In one week, how often do you use
collaborative/cooperative learning?
• What is the upside?
• What is the downside?
• How do you address the problems?
Why Cooperative Learning?
•
•
•
•
•
Stimulates higher levels of thinking
Develops social skills
Develops listening skills
Encourages articulation of thinking
Honors all learners
“Alone we can do so little; together we
can do so much.” Helen Keller
Cooperative Learning
continued….
•
•
•
•
•
Holds students accountable
Helps students remember
Allows students to make connections
Allows student to see other perspectives
Promotes deeper understanding
“It is social support from and
accountability peers that motivates
committed efforts to succeed.”
~~David & Roger Johnson~~
Experts point to 5 characteristics
that differentiate group work and
cooperative learning
•
•
•
•
Interdependence among members
Holds students individually accountable
Promotes positive face-to-face interaction
Builds communication and conflict
resolution
• Encourages group processing; use
reflections to become better team
members
Preparing your students and
your classroom
•
•
•
•
Pairs and triads are easier than larger groups
Group high/medium; medium/low
1 high learner to 2 low is best ratio
Set up and discuss behavior guidelines and
procedures/use a rubric/model/practice
• Self and group reflections: What contributions did I
make? What could I have better? What worked well?
What didn’t? Why?
• Use a timer and develop a signal for quiet
• Have a signal for your availability during group time
Temporal Lobes
concept
Located on
both sides
of brain
In the left side
resides
Wernicke’s
area
Important
for speech
& sound
Is one of
the 4 lobes
Brain Interrupted
• The brain does NOT multitask—it parallel
processes
• If you we do two things at once, both
efforts suffer.
• Research has shown that the average
office worker gets only 11 minutes
between each interruption, while it takes
an average of 25 minutes to
return to the original task.
• Recent research has focused on the quality
of work done during toggling
• 136 subjects asked to read a short passage
and answer questions
• 3 groups: one with no interruptions, other 2
told they “might be contacted for further
instructions”
• During the first test, group 2 and 3 were
interrupted twice.
• During the second test, only group 2 was
interrupted
• Group 3 waited but no interruption came
Predict the outcome…
• During the 1st test groups 2 and 3 answered
20% less correct than group 1
• During the 2nd test, the interrupted group
performed under group 1, but this time only
by14%
• During the 2nd test, Group 3 improved by
43% and outperformed group 1.
• So, it is possible to train yourself for
interruptions, but trying to do more than one
thing at a time will always decrease
productively and brain power.
Exercise Boosts Brain Power
• Cognitive scientists found that the fittest kids in
high school also scored higher on tests, even
when factors such as socio-economic status were
taken into account.
• Research suggests that exercise spurs growth in
the hippocampus, leading to improved function.
When new nerve cells form in the brain, their
growth is accompanied by the creation of blood
vessels. Researchers found that physical
exercise increased blood volume in the
hippocampus, implying new cells were forming in
this area.
• Studies with 3rd and 4th graders have
shown that exercise also increases
executive brain functions, and a variety of
skills ranging from math to logic to
reading.
• Once exercise stops, however, these
effects decrease and eventually
disappear.
A Brainy Environment
The brain constantly scans the environment to make
sense out of the world. Peripheral stimuli include
everything from body language, to classroom climate,
to physical environment, including décor and
orderliness. Charts, pictures, posters, word walls to
smiling and nodding all contribute to learning.
Self Reflection: Think of one way you can address
peripheral learning. Share your thoughts with your
group.
The Brain’s Error Correction
Process
• When we make a mistake, two executive systems
in the brain’s frontal region, the frontal eye field
and the cingulated cortex, react, thereby helping us
to correct the mistake.
• When we see and correct our own errors, we learn.
• Rather than simply pointing our mistakes, help
learners identify where and how their logic became
faulty.
• This is why self-assessment and reflection are
powerful learning tools
Balanced Feedback
• Verbal feedback during and after a learning task
are key elements in the error-correction process.
• However, feedback given continuously and
concurrently during learning can impeded the
process.
• Intervening too soon or too often in the learning
process can undermine information acquisition and
retention.
How does this relate to your classroom?
Frequent Feedback of
Incremental Progress
• Show achievable segments on route to
final goal
• Students see the connection between
practice and goal progress
• Students who recognize that their effort
influences their success apply greater
effort-growth mindset
• Analytic Rubrics-provide feedback about
incremental progress-RubiStar
• Progress graphs-www.onlinecharttool.com
Can Optimism Change Reality?
• Study manipulated positive (smart and
clever) and negative (stupid and ignorant)
expectations of students while their brains
were scanned and tested performance on
cognitive tasks
• Responded differently to their mistakes
• Mistake followed positive words, saw
activity in the Error Correction part of brain
• Brains that didn’t expect good results just
gave up
What is a sleeping brain’s favorite
musical group (rock band)?
REM
What kind of fish performs brain
operations?
A neurosturgeon
Cubing
• #1-Describe it: What does it look like?
• #2-Compare it: What is it similar to or different
from?
• #3-Associate it: What does it make you think
of?
• #4-Analyze it: How is it made or what is it
composed of?
• #5-Apply it: What can you do with it? How is it
used?
• #6-Argue for or against it: Take a stand and
list your reasons.
Learning is Connecting
• Brain seeks meaning by connecting to
existing knowledge—interprets new info
based on existing patterns
• If there is no pattern waiting, new input is
misinterpreted, rejected or disappears!
• Use multiple pathways-there is no all-purpose
memory path
• Provide reflection and discussion
Prime the brain prior to asking students
to do any learning experience.
Priming means we show students:
1) What they will get out of the
experience (the objectives)
2) What they will encounter as
they go through the experience
(itinerary, structure)
The Power of Patterns
• Experts think in relationships, patterns,
chunks…
• Novices keep individual pieces
• Solid learning comes from when students
make the connections, not when we tell
them about them.
Patterning Stages
• Short-term memory connects new to existing
memory—pattern matching (analogies)
• Long-term memory connections are
strengthened when new information is
activated with stored information-(graphic
organizers/compare & contrast)
• New applications of memory circuits extends
isolated memory circuits into expanded
patterns of concept networks (transfer)
What happened?
• Your brain frequently activates the words,
cow, milk and white
• The frequent activation of those bits of
information in a relationship (pattern)
connected them into a strong memory
circuit—fastest retrieval
• Frequently experienced patterns trump
new patterns
What fires together wires together!
What do You See?
What do You See?
Optical illusions work because our brains
use strong patterns to interpret input
We perceive what the brain expects based
on past experiences
Brain Fact: Drill and Kill
• Isolated skill practice is contrary to brain’s
instinct to preserve its energy
• No expectation of pleasure or purpose
• When students know information will be
used to create solutions to problems that
interest them or create products they want,
the brain predicts pleasure and applies
itself to achieve the desirable goal.
To Solve New Problems the Brain
Must Recognize the Relationships
• Relying on memorized procedures/facts
without understanding meaning won’t work
• Must link through relationships or is not
constructed into a concept network
• Input (questions, decisions) that do NOT
match the way the input was
taught/memorized, does not activate the
memory
• Give students time to discover the
connections among isolated information
Graphic Organizers Promote
Connections
• Graphic organizers coincide with the brain’s
style of patterning
• They consolidate and store information to help
create meaningful and relevant connections to
previously stored memories
• They allow students to make associations,
discover patterns, sort information, and store the
new data as relational memories and long-term
memories
“We file by similarities and we retrieve by
differences”
Graphic Organizers…
• Are intrinsically engaging, as they require
students to interpret and interact with
material
• Build patterning skills for short-term
working memory efficiency
• When students create their own categories
the connection is increased due to
personal relevance
“ That is what learning is. You suddenly
understand something you’ve understood all
your life, but in a new way.”
Practice Makes Efficient
• fMRI studies during the learning of a motor movement
(learning to play the piano) revealed that during these
initial learning stages, a large portion of the brain’s motor
control region is activated.
• With practice and improved skill levels, smaller and
smaller regions of the brain are activated during the
piano playing. In professional musicians, only very tiny
regions of the motor cortex are involved in their playing.
• Practice makes the neural networks more efficient; it
takes less brain metabolism to carry out the same
activity. Takes less brain energy and space
Two Brains Playing a
Computer Game
The Power of Prep-tests
• Students who take practice exams, pre-tests, or
structured preparation courses significantly
increase their actual test scores. Positive results
are even more significant when students are
motivated and experience success.
• Practice with format
• Converts information from short to long-term
memory
• Lessens the brain’s fear or anxiety response
• Strengthens the neural connections that are
formed while learning and receiving feedback
(provide immediate feedback on practice tests)
• A positive attitude alters the brains chemistry
fostering the production of dopamine—propels
optimism and noradrenaline, which provide
physical energy and ultimately influences the
activation of the frontal lobes.
Hippocampus
concept
Greek for
seahorse
Does not
develop
until age 3
Files
semantic
memories
Used in long
term
memory
Novelty excites the brain!
• Ask students to think divergently:
– With a partner, work for 10 minutes and give
me all the arguments against what I just
taught you.
– Describe the object in 5 – 8 sentences without
using a single adverb or adjective
– How are math operation signs like music?
• Use props/drama/skits
• Add music
• Teach backwards one day
Using Humor to Enhance
Learning
“A good laugh is sunshine in a house.”
• Physiological Benefits
– More oxygen
– Endorphin surge
• Sociological and Educational Benefits
– Gets students attention
– Creates a positive climate
– Increases retention
– Improves everyone’s mental health
– Helps with management issues
Making Learning Fun
“Make it fun and learning happens.”
•
•
•
•
•
•
Integrate elements of curiosity and novelty
Use movement
Use learning games
Be enthusiastic
Appeal to their interests
Although structure and routine are critical
parts of a successful classroom, students
thrive off of variety
We tend to focus on “knowing what”.
We need to focus on “knowing how”.
Learning follows the 70/20/10 formula:
• 70% of learning is doing, making and
correcting mistakes, problem solving & inquiry
• 20% of learning comes from feedback,
reflection and observation
• 10% of learning comes from formal training
How does instruction look in your
classroom?
Too often in education we focus on the
WHAT of learning rather than the HOW.
Teach a student HOW TO learn and
they can learn for a lifetime!
“If we are intent on covering
everything, we can be certain
that most kids won’t learn. We
have to get them involved with
learning; not just in the
classroom, but in their homes
and on their streets.”
~~Howard Gardner~~
Processing Activity
I used to think….,
But now I know…..
Ticket Out the Door
Ideas that “struck” you
Questions you still have
Thoughts, connections or suggestions
Reflect on what we have discussed
today and…
Write about HOW you will use what
you’ve learned.
Brain Class Mantra
• There is no learning without memory.
• Students make meaning by connecting to
existing knowledge.
• Neurons that fire together,wire together.
Practice makes permanent!