Leading Schools Toward Brain Compatible Learning--Dr. David Sousa
1
be a critical consumer of brain research
What do we know—
 the brains primary function is to keep the owner alive, become emotionally secure [37% of 1017 year olds wake up in an empty house], they have to fend for themselves & other siblings [no
sugar and inadequate food]then deal with data for learning—survival and emotional data have
priority over learning
 the brain uses oxygen, water and glucose for fuel, its 2% of body weight and uses 20% of the
caloric intake, even after a meal, remember its primary purpose is survival, so after a meal it still
receives continual blood, its what’s in the blood that makes one sleepy!!! Turkey and milk have
tryptophan (sleep)… If you want to lose weight, think more… the brain uses O2, glucose [sugar]
for fuel, its not eating that causes the post meal fatigue, its what’s in the food… the primary
function of the brain is survival.
 for the brain to learn the frontal lobe must be stimulated either physically (the nuns had it right
when they bopped you) or by personal talk….80% of secondary education is still teacher directed.
 reading requires a link with the visual and the auditory parts of the brain.
 ADHD and ADHD-like behavior---true test is whether it lasts until adulthood…ADHD has a
genetic link to smaller parts in the brain that connect to dopamine production (smooth motion and
helps focus learning)
 autism has organic causessmaller cerebellum  can be caused by mother’s diet, lack of Mg
 irreversible.
 possessing knowledge is one thing, knowing how to use it another
 nurture is more powerful than nature, some genes are turned on by nurture!!!!
 Bloom’s Taxonomy—you can’t come into creativity without knowledge, there is no side
door
 the instrument for change is the classroom, the unit of change is the school!
SLEEP AND KIDS
 The circadian rhythms of adults and teenagers are out of phase with each other.
 for preadolescent and adults to wake up take 30 minutes engagement with the
environment, for adolescents its 1-11/2 hours. Usually after lunch there is a dip or trough
in the circadian curve. Its reached first by the adult and later in the day by the adolescent.
Traditionally most discipline problems occurs during the ‘dark hole of learning.’
 teachers enter the dark hole first---teacher’s become more sensitive to misbehavior
and ,more likely to react---in that 25 or so minutes break the learning in 5 or 6 minute
clips and hold the learner accountable. Remember the brain that does the work, does the
learning.
 over 1/3 of the high school discipline problems are due to teacher overreaction.
 80% of secondary kids have delayed sleep phase disorder…their body clock is different
 they are staying up later ~12-1 AM, need 8 10 hrs sleep
 the chemical, melatonin, is still in the blood, long term memory storage occurs
during REM sleep, w/o adequate sleep (average 51/2 to 6 hrs) there is a loss of 2 REM
cycles…!!!
 strong light turns off the suprachromaitc nucleus (monitors light to the optic
nerve and pumps melatonin when dark)
 if there is still melatonin in the blood stream there are two ways to remove it--sleep and strong light
Leading Schools Toward Brain Compatible Learning--Dr. David Sousa
2
be a critical consumer of brain research
 why are adolescents messed up you ask? The limbic system (emotional) matures
~ 10-12 years; the frontal lobe (emotional override, personality, curiosity, problem solving,
higher order thinking system) matures ~23-25 years
STUDENT AND QUALITY TIME
 kids are asking for more quality time—average 46 minute per week,; 13.4 hours with
technology [computer & phone] 57% are asking for more QT, affluent areas are the worst
offenders….more technology
WHAT DO TEACHERS NEED?
 Teachers are bailing out because they [we] are not trained to deal with problems kids are
coming to school with, family, drug, life counseling—if the emotion needs are not met @ home
they will seek that need through peers! Teachers are NOT trained for that.
 We need
 stress reduction technique for self and students,
 how to control impulses
 delayed gratification
 expressing feelings
 What is different?
 think about 2 or 3 toys you had and used most often, next think about 2 or 3 our students
use most often…what are the differences?
 the students coming to us are different for the above reason…
 humor does four things to get kids attention---avoid sarcastic humor
 releases endorphins—hormone responsible for euphoria, raised pain threshold
and stimulator of the frontal lobe (where the learning has to go)
 laughing together enhances social bonding
 fosters a positive climate
 increases retention rates 15-50%
 parents should be concerned if the school is the same as when they attended something is
wrong?
NEW SKILLS AND LONG TERM MEMORY
 when a new skill is being practiced, the cerebrum is very involved---after 15-20 minutes the
cerebellum [long term muscle and sounds of speech] gets involved, new skills require 15-20
minutes before it enters long term memory (LTM), the memory is stores during sleep REM phases
but teenagers are deprived of REM?? If 6 hours, 2 cycles are missed!
 as the person continues to practice, the cerebellum remains active 5-70 minutes then
drops off  point of diminishing returns.
 once he person stops practicing the new skill, the cerebellum remains active for 6-8
hours afterward (downtime)
 if during the downtime phase a person is asked to practice a similar skill (mental
dissonance or physical---baseball and golf swing; supplementary and complementary angles;
Leading Schools Toward Brain Compatible Learning--Dr. David Sousa
be a critical consumer of brain research
latitude and longitude; their and there; writing p,d,q,b…) the person’s neural pathways
remember neither and its permanent…a dissimilar path is created.
 separate similar learning by time, at least 24 hours or insert something different
between the similarity and wait a little longer (48 hr.)
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 we store memory by similarity and retrieve by difference. Use old learning (scaffolding) only if
it helps the new for positive transfer
 the most powerful learning happens at the beginning of a new 15-20 cycle, teach differences at
the beginning
 kids should not practice at home w/o practicing in front of the teacher.
 kids playing sports, soccer where the ball is headed can lead to frontal lobe injury and damage
Hints
 for the brain to learn the frontal lobe must be stimulated physically or by talk
 the hippocampus and amygdala are the gatekeepers of cognition, located in the limbic area of the
brain they specialize in the emotions or affective portion.
 the climate of the classroom is important--the emotions connected to the learning are
important
 before a test have the kids do 2 minutes of exercise—5 trips around the room, jumping jacks
 when you sit for more than 15 minutes, blood pools in the feet and seat. Get up and walk 6 or 7
paces or do some calf raises and take some deep breaths. Within 15 seconds more blood is going to
the brain.
 kids learn better with talk and motion
 whoever explains –learns; at some point the Student should be teaching and the teacher
learning
 keep the light(s) on, even when using the overhead
 create novelty in the classroom, use humor, excitement, challenge with nurture
 our brain seeks patterns, the technology and toys our kids have and do play with increase that
rate  channel surfing---use graphic organizers for the kids…to make connections… use advanced
organizers to have kids seek patterns, the tek they play with assists their speed of finding patterns
use it to our advantage they have better pattern recognition but less recognition for isolated fact
acquisition and what is most testing???
 laugh more--do some action research for 2-3 weeks, the kids will start bringing in jokes…
 the brain loves to learn—the brain that does the work is the brain that learns [students]
 every teacher gets up in the morning wanting to succeed
BRAIN COMPATIBLE SCHOOLS
School starts the moment the student crosses the threshold. How are the brain’s primary
functions being met (safety and emotional stability)?
Our attitude will change the day--, the white stead and shining armor isn’t showing up….
schools have to save themselves…trust will push you as far as you can go…we should have teachers
sharing what works in their classroom.
If emotion drives attention how do you greet each child, everyday?
Leading Schools Toward Brain Compatible Learning--Dr. David Sousa
4
be a critical consumer of brain research
Is the room a safe and welcome place…immersed in what’s being studied. Look at what you
want kids to understand—what’s good for the classroom is good for the lounge. Teach what you
believe and model it everywhere.  color the bathrooms and café’s…remove threat and tie
surroundings to + emotions.
Agenda’s are important
BALANCE is the big arch over everything…
intelligence is a function of experience, get kids to experience, go behind their eyes and tie
the lesson to the standards.
Love like you’ve never been hurt
Work like you don’t need the money
Dance like no one is watching.
If we take a minute to think about the classroom as a thought experiment and how different
spaces capture our minds (novelty), how do we open the door and let new info in. cues toward the
space provide a map so the images can get consciously in.
cultural psychologists would have us provide and pay for a systemic series of relationships
where:
community and culture are honored
there are spaces for people to come together
multiple approaches to solve the same problems
see things from multiple perspectives.
TRIBES
we don’t use humiliation to change kids behavior for the long term.
The relationship is the most important piece of the puzzle.
Reflection on the learning can double the retention. Ask what did you see, feel, and learn.
The heart of resiliency is the relationship between us. People of influence have impact.
The components off resiliency are:
caring & support
meaningfulness
active participation
hi expectations of self and others
communal
participatory
collaborative
proactive
meaning
construction of meaning