Nicole L. McIntyre
EDU 417
Dr. Maureen Lienau
May 19, 2014
Neurotransmitters are what stimulate our brain to learn new
information and store it in our memory to recall at a later time.
The most common of these are dopamine, serotonin, and
acetycholine.
Dopamine controls our motor activity along with enhancing our
feelings of enjoyment. (Wolfe, 2010).
If in class teachers use a reward system it assist the students learning
due to them feeling enjoyment from doing good work.
Serotonin is our “feel good” transmitter and it is what keeps our
moods balanced out.
If serotonin levels are low then the students behavior and
understanding of what is being taught can be negatively affected.
Acetylcholine is what influences our thoughts, memory, and learning.
It also heightens how we focus and see things.
It is needed for students to be able to concentrate in class and process
what is being taught.
Our brains are constantly
learning and taking in
information to store in our
memory from the influence
of the environment.
“Neural plasticity is the process
of the brain growing and changing because of new
learning opportunities” (Gregory & Chapman,
2013).
Environmental factors that affect our learning and
neuroplasticity: movement, sleep, nutrition, and
technology.
Students should be active in order to stimulate their
brain and learning.
It gets their blood pumping which means more blood
flowing to the brain to be alert to learn more.
“Studies have shown that
exercise enhances student
learning and positively impacts
students’ emotional and physical wellbeing” (Wolfe, 2010).
New cells grow within the brain from
being active and stimulating the body.
Sleep is important to learning because it helps
with memory development.
While we are asleep short-term memory is
transferred to long-term memory, information we
learn takes time to be stored. (Wolfe, 2010)
Students need enough sleep to also help them
concentrate and be ready to learn at school.
Children that are between 5-10
years old need 12 hours of sleep,
pre-teens/teenagers need about
9 ½ hours of sleep in order to
ensure their brain is healthy and
can store memories. (Wolfe, 2010)
“Malnutrition during rapid periods of growth apparently
damages the brain, affecting a child’s abilities to pay
attention and learn (Benton, 2010; Morgane et al., 1993)”
(as cited by Kail & Cavanaugh, 2013).
Breakfast is the most important meal
of the day and students should be sure
to either eat at home or school. It will
provide them with increased energy
and preparedness to have a successful
day at school.
A healthy diet will keep students fit and
increase their energy to get the oxygen
flowing in their brain.
Various foods that we consume affect
how efficient our neurotransmitters form and
work in our brains. (Wolfe, 2010)
Technology is everywhere these
days and our children enjoy it all
the time wherever they go.
Parents should monitor or restrict
how much time is spent playing
video games or watching television.
Too much television can lead to
children becoming inactive and childhood obesity.
There are positives that do come out of television and
video games though. If they are
information/educational to students and assist students
to think about things more in depth then they are
learning from it.
Video games could have negative effects especially if
they are violent. It could lead students to become
violent and aggressive with their peers.
Movement-Teachers should off students to take breaks,
dance to various songs that promote learning, and even
offer aerobics/yoga to the students.
Sleep-Teachers could inform students the importance of
sleep and show them the effects of not getting enough
sleep. They could also send home fact sheets with
information for parents on it.
Nutrition-Teachers should encourage students to eat before
school starts, tell them the benefits of why eating breakfast
is important, and allow only healthy snacks at school.
Technology-Teachers utilize technology within the classroom
to promote learning by using Ticket to Read, ST Math, Raz
kids, Moby Max, etc. Many of these programs are accessible
at home also and reward the students for achieving levels.
Some teachers even use iPads for research and instruction
and have Appletv hooked up in the classroom to show
educational videos.
Movement-Parents could encourage children to
workout with them, go on a bike ride, run, etc.
Sleep-Parents should set a bedtime that allows students
to get the adequate amount of sleep and be consistent
with it.
Nutrition-Parents should be sure students are eating
breakfast at home or at school before school. Provide
students with healthy snack choices and a healthy
balanced diet at home.
Technology-Parents should monitor how much time is
spent playing video games and watching television.
They could also encourage students to get on one of the
programs that teachers also use within in the classroom
and set a specific amount of time they play that. If the
student spends 20 minutes on ST math then they are
allowed to play a game of their choice for 30 minutes
afterwards.
Gregory, G. & Chapman, C. (2013). Differentiated
instructional strategies: One size doesn’t fit all (3rd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Ltd./Corwin
Press.
Kail, R. V. & Cavanaugh, J. C. (2013). Human
development: A life-span view (6th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Cengage/Wadsworth.
Wolfe, P. (2010). Brain matters: Translating research
into classroom practice. (2nd ed.). Alexandria,VA:
Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.