Allison Girouard, Monique Terracina, and Leslie Willis
The Brain
 We teach one organ in the body: the brain! Learn
about it!
 You can change the brain! With the right intervention
you can improve brain function, with the wrong
intervention you can decrease brain function!
 Healthy Brain + Healthy Body = Optimal Learning
 Dr. Daniel Amen, M.D. Change Your Brain, Change Your
Body
 Website: http://www.amenclinics.com/
Brain Function Tips for Students
and Teachers
 The more teachers and students learn about the brain, the
more effective the learning process will be.
 Brain health: diet, exercise, injury prevention
 Movement
 Offer choices to increase students’ attention and
motivation for learning
 General awareness of your students’ brain types, optimal
learning styles, and attention to their particular needs
(focus / attention span)
Brain Health
Use Your Brain to Get
and Keep the Body
You Have Always
Wanted
Boost your brain to
improve your
weight, skin, heart,
energy, and focus!
Choices for Learning
 Along with verbal cues, provide space, movement,
objects/objects in motion, and graphics to include all
brain types.
 Encourage drawing before writing. Allow students to
write about topics that interest them without setting
too many limits.
 Optional Brain Break
Brain Breaks / Brain Boosters
Movement=Increased Blood Flow
 Before introducing a new concept, increase blood flow to the brain. Providing
movement in the classroom is critical for preparing the brain for learning. It
can easily be integrated into daily routines.
 Brain Dance by Ann Green Gilbert
http://www.creativedance.org
 Brain Gym by Paul and Gail Dennison
http://www.braingym.com
Brain Gym : Edu – K (short for Educational Kinesiology)
is an innovative approach that uses movements to enhance learning. The
basic movements are called Brain Gym.
The benefits of using this program include improvements in learning,
vision, memory, expression, and movement abilities in teachers and
students. In the classroom, teachers typically report improvements in
attitude, attention, homework, behavior, and academic performance for
the entire class.
General Awareness
 Brain Types
 Boy brain
 Girl brain
 Bridge brain : 20% of the population
 Optimize Learning Styles
 See hand-out
 Attention to Particular Needs
 Scents and learning
 Rosemary strengthens a weak memory / restores mental alertness.
Peppermint boosts energy, creativity, and learning skills.
 Lemon and jasmine enhance cognitive performance.
 Colors and learning
Human Learning Response with Colors
http://www.excellence.dgs.ca.gov/MaxStPerformance/S4_4-2.htm
 Specific colors have particular connections within the brain. Bright
colors spark energy and creativity, while dark colors lower stress.
 Red and orange = increases IQ as much as 12 points
 Useful for alerting children to specific points of knowledge or new
concepts
 Green = associated with fertility including “fertile thinking” as in
creativity
 White & black = makes children more “dull “and lowers IQ
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Interesting Tidbits
 Doodling increases auditory learning by 29%.
 When we learn with pleasure, we never forget, so MAKE LEARNING
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FUN and relevant!
Keep the brain hydrated- water at room temperature decreases the
need for bathroom breaks.
I won’t = I can’t
I can’t = I don’t want to
Increased exposure to natural light increases test scores.
Use Velcro under a desktop, pipe cleaners or sponge rollers on pens or
pencils, carpet squares on desks, elastic bands on chair legs, stand-up
desks, T-stools, etc.
Kill the ANTs! (Automatic Negative Thoughts) Teach kids that it’s OK
not to believe every ridiculous thing that they hear. They have control
over what they choose to believe.
Arts develop the brain! (drawing, music, performing, etc.) -vocabulary activity, name recognition, writing topics, etc.
Brain Spects
 Girl
 Boy
Lighthouse and Ship
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQm5P2KypeE
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http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/people-places-and-things/
200912/the-smell-is-right-using-scents-enhance-life
http://www.beautymakeuptips.org/aromatherapy/Scent.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/margaret-hyde/parenting-advicetapping_b_446059.html
http://www.witchhazel.it/braingym.htm
http://www.applestar.org/brain%20learning/environment.html
http://www.acceleratedlearningmethods.com/smell-sense.html
http://www.amenclinics.com
http://www.braingym.com
Works
Cited
 http://www.excellence.dgs.ca.gov/MaxStPerformance/S4_4-
2.htm
 http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/making_scents_of_feng_sh
ui