The Brain and Its’Uses…
Becoming
Ignatian
Educators …
20th century tools…
The BRAIN

20 billion neurons

Each is connected to at least 10,000 other neurons

Research suggests that the way memory works is by the changes in
connections among neurons

Neurons that fire together, wire together
Biology of Emotion 101

Brain is an organ of emotion-evolution

Emotion are for survival- fight/flight, reproduction

Positive-give me more! Dopamine

Negative-give me less! Adrenaline and its’ relatives
Meaning-relevancy, emotion
and context
Activity
Relevancy and Emotion
Hooking students=engagement; How do
you know what students are really
engaged? What does that look like?
What does it feel like?
Emotions and learning are intertwined; what
might this look like? Examples
Amygdala-influences
cortex(emotion connected to
memory
Integrate emotion into learning process=engage meaning and memory
How does it work?

Example: use of music, games, choice in projects, use of self
assessment projects, storytelling, role –playing, songs,
poems=connect current events to curriculum and students lives and
experience

Remember: Connections made w/o relevancy=no long term
learning
What do you think? Starburst #1
 In
what areas of you discipline have you
seen students struggle for understanding?
 What
have you done to break through the
place of confusion or stuckness?
Context-processing info

The brain understands through patterns, not lists
(the cortex makes and detects patterns)

Brain makes connections between new info and
related fields

Where does this come from? Innate-infants
prefer patterns (neural pathways built)
CONTEXT PROCESSING CONTINUTED…

Relevance-first step for pattern making

Cross-disciplinary work-good for the brain, can
be a stretch; necessitates development of new
neural connections
Activity/Movement

Good for brain circulation and neuron health, improves
mood; physical activity uses 100% of the brain

Incorporate energizers every 20 minutes or so…

Students need to change postures/positions

PAUSE – Partner Activity –

How can you incorporate movement into your
classroom? Concerns? Benefits?
Activity…

DT should be limited to 15-20 minutes max (brain
needs time to process info, attention span shifts,
what is normal for teen age brain?)

Can alleviate stress (some stress is ok…too much
is like acid on memory)

Leads to increase dendrite activity
How to insert activity
Incorporate into content of lesson..review/reinforce/draw connections,
etc. What might that look like?
Cognitive Flexibility
Read
Brain
Games
Regular Aerobic Exercise
Listen to students, and their music
Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm

pedagogy: the art, science, or profession of teaching

Context

Experience

Reflection

Action

Evaluation
PERSPECTIVE
Lifelong Learning

Students provide us the FGO’s and FGE’s

When we feel challenged, often something left over from our own
childhood experience

High school education gives us the opportunity to continue to learn
as we reflect on our experiences from new and ever evolving points
of view

Iggy Loy=Major Role Model
Lifelong Learning II
The mind continues to develop throughout the lifespan
Recent research suggests
-the brain continues develop both new connections and perhaps new
neurons throughout a person’s life
Experience shapes neural connections in the brain; therefore,
experience shapes the mind
Mindsight

The ability to perceive our own minds and the minds of others

Depends on our ability to create mental symbols of the mind itself

Allows us to focus on thoughts, feelings, perceptions , sensations,
memories, beliefs, attitudes and intentions of others, as well as of
ourselves
Mindsight, cont’d.

We often look at the behavior of students focusing only on the
surface level of the experience

Focus on the deeper level=focus on the mind

Focus on the level of the mind nurtures development of
emotional understanding and compassion

Mindsight=cousin of Magis
Mindfulness
..is at the heart of nurturing relationships

Live in the present moment

Aware of thoughts and feelings

Open to the thoughts and feelings of our students

When we are fully present as teachers, students are enabled to fully
experience themselves in the moment
Response Flexibility
.. is the ability to the mind to sort through a variety of mental processes,
i.e. impulses, ideas and feelings, and come up with a thoughtful,
nonautomatic response.
-the ability to respond rather than react
(proactive vs. reactive)
-ability to delay gratification/inhibit impulsive behaviors
-hard to do when HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired)
-difficult to do when balance with student’s need for stucture and
predictability
ENVIRONMENT

Keep it fresh

Meet students where they are at

Multi-sensory

Refresh, refresh, refresh

Engage..engage…engage

Our ability to have sensitive, reciprocal communication nurtures a
child’s sense of security
Take aways…
Relevancy
Emotion
Context
Activity
Life
long learning
Starburst Revisited
What does that Starburst candy in your hand have to do with anything
that we have been talking about for the last 45 minutes?
Resource Websites

http://www.greenleaflearning.com/About_Us/About_Us.htm

http://drdansiegel.com/

http://www.funderstanding.com/brain/brain-based-learning/

http://www.learningandthebrain.com/

http://www.astd.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TDArchive/2013/04/Inside-the-Learning-Brain
And, if all else fails…
borrow a page from the Gospel according to Bill and
Ted, and…
BE EXCELLENT TO EACH
OTHER