Group items tagged

You've surely heard the slogans: "Our educational games will give your brain a workout!" Or how about, "Give your students the cognitive muscles they need to build brain fitness." And then there's the program that "builds, enhances, and restores natural neural pathways to assist natural learning."

Fischer's ideas are really interesting. I was most confused about his idea of left-right brained.

As far as I see, this link was shared in this group a long time ago, but I've wanted to make it visible again so that you don't miss it. This is the last post coming from me for this week :).

I am really effected by the construct neuroplasticity as I read. I had read it as neuro-elasticity before but now I believe they are different terminologies or I am not sure:) So this article is about new emerging themes on neuroplasticity and its relation with education and culture. The figure showing the variables influencing brain plasticity is really good I think.

Canan, I was questioning the role of culture in neurosceience when I saw the article you shared, many thanks:) In the figure presenting the variables affecting the brain plasticity, education and culture intersects. For me, culture shapes education in a society (both formal and informal education). It determines people's identity, behaviors, attitudes and thinking patterns. So, it is for sure that it has an influence on brain plasticity.

Yes I agree with you culture is in relation with lots of different elements that can be important for brain development or plasticity, the fact that cognitive structure Of the brain changes with culture seems important to keep in mind.

The human brain learns two ways - either through avoidance learning, which trains the brain to avoid committing a mistake, or through reward-based learning, a reinforcing process that occurs when someone gets the right answer. Scientists have found that making a mistake can feel rewarding, though, if the brain is given the opportunity to learn from its mistakes and assess its options.

"Scientists have long understood that the brain has two ways of learning. One is avoidance learning, which is a punishing, negative experience that trains the brain to avoid repeating mistakes. The other is reward-based learning, a positive, reinforcing experience in which the brain feels rewarded for reaching the right answer." The "avoidance learning" is which I have learned from my father thanks to his raising children technique. He always wanted that we, as his children, should be faultless. And that understanding (of course he is not a pedagog :)) affected me negatively in my subsequent years. In fact, the second one, reward-based learning, is essential if someone wants to apply discussion and peer learning in his/her classroom as students who avoid making mistakes will avoid having communication with others, generating assertive questions, defend his/her arguments, asking help even if s/he struck at a ridiculous point, etc. Making mistakes is a part of learning. We need to emphasize this in our classrooms.

Famous article by Nicolas Carr. What do you think?

I like these sentences from the text: "Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.". Because the way we read has changed with new strategies(scanning and scimming quickly) and a great deal of information. That's why we rather google it then reading hundreds of pages.(Or ctrl-f works pretty good in some cases:)) However, I do not think that we are getting more stupid. Our brain has been evolving with new technologies and habits and probably will keep doing that. So we are not so much eager to keep some information in our minds since we are sure that we can reach them anywhere anytime. For instance, children no longer memorize multiplying tables but it does not tell us that they can not solve multiplication problems.They have another instruments to save time and energy :)

I agree with the ideas of Afra and Sinem. Sometimes I experience this while reading articles for my thesis and I have to write the key points for myself. However, I believe that we are not getting stupid, because we are now in technology era. We cannot abstain from appyling google for any information. It is really cost-effective in terms of time and money. I think that we will have to face with more new technologies in future, but this cannot mean that we will get more stupid. It is the requirement of our era we live in and we have to adapt ourselves.

This study conducted in Standford University School of Medicine reveals that brain scans from 8-year-old children can predict gains in their mathematical ability over the next six years. That is a great development to learn students' math ability and provide proper type and level of education accordingly.

Through this link you can find some intriguing answers to the question "How can you employ Brain-Targeted Teaching methods in your classroom right now?"

Brain scientists to work with schools on how to learn

The part of the teacher brain that detects student confusion was identified by fMRI

This paper is about functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a groundbreaking research for learning sciences. It allows learning scientists to understand which brain parts are activated during learning. For example "lateralization of brain" hypothesis (it was saying that one hemisphere is responsible for wholistic-creative learning one is for analytical) is refuted using fMRI. Because both hemispheres were active no matter when people engaged in creative thinking or analytical thinking.

Action sports superstars including Robbie Maddison (moto daredevil), Jimmy Chin(photographer), Travis Rice (snowboarder), Dean Potter (climber), Mike Horn (adventurer) and Danny Way (skateboarder) join author Steven Kotler to go deeper into the science and neurochemistry of how flow states are triggered, and their effects on your brain.

I've watched the video twice and in the end I've felt some concerns about the results of the studies. In the "how people learn" part, researchers were testing the storage and connection system of the brain through some high-tech tools. However, does neuropsychology provide enough evidence on the functioning of the brains? Can we generalize the results to all people from all cultures? I am not the one who is against neuropsychology, but for me one discipline may not give an appropriate answer to such a deep question. My second concern is about the integration of computer programs into the curriculum as a major learning tool. We see a program where "Betty" is speaking and giving feedback on the video. The program seems user friendly, but what about the negative aspects and limitations of the integration of technology into learning? Ok, I agree that we have to adapt to the rapid technological changes in the society. However, is technology the key to all learning processes? Plus, the program is designed on the mapping of the concepts. Does concept mapping make a curriculum compelling all the time? I am not sure about all characteristics of the program, but if it hasn't been designed in a challenging style and if all students come up with the same products, then how will they develop their knowledge and reasoning abilities? I couldn't find an answer to that. As for the part "effective teaching", I am in the same opinion with the researchers that there should be a connection between the real world and the subject taught. Moreover, I think the integration of the disciplines is difficult but a very good way of giving meaning to life. Besides, in the video we see teachers as a guide, as a facilitator and there is no doubt that providing individual support to the students helps students feel more involved.

Firstly, even if it is designed by utilizing modern technology and different understanding, which makes it a more developed and complicated one, the program used in the video reminded me the teaching machines of old times. It gives the priority to the cognitive aspect of learning. This seems to be a one-dimensional approach which underestimates the social aspect of learning. I think the value of classroom interaction for effective learning cannot be replaced by any kind of computer programs. Research on brain is really important and it provides very useful insights for learning and instructional activities. However, it should be supported by the findings of research by social psychologists as well. The very same individual may perform at varying levels when he is taught with the same methods in different environments. I personally experienced many times that even the absence of one individual in my classes affected the teaching an learning processes in a negative or positive way depending upon the classroom dinamics.

It is the most fascinating metaphor for learning according to neuroscientific view. Actually I do not have some much information about how learning takes place in our brains but this video made some parts clear for me. I do not whether it can be an appropriate conslusion from this video or not, but I think that learning without assistance of someone more competent than us could be very difficult, as the older man in the video helped the younger one. so that is why we, teachers are priceless ;)

What a good way of showing an unknown concept through known ways..Thank you, The bridge is a very well-selected metaphor:-) When we think about our own way of learning, isn't it the same? It's always difficult to make the first link but then everything becomes easier...step by step...

In the video, there exists a really interesting metaphor about how we learn. Through this video some neurological concepts and comments about learning became concrete in my mind. I think there is a smooth transition from difficulty to easiness in our brains during the learning process.

Neuroscientist Richard Davidson presents his research on how social and emotional learning can affect the brain.

In this short paper, Caine&Caine present principles of brain that will help teachers reconceptualize their teaching.

Yelda I really like this article and also it says that eachc brain is unique so iI think this is similar with educators thoughts, every child is unique..:)

"Will the day come when educators have ready access to brain-imaging machines to assist them in diagnosing reading or attention problems?" This question is important to answer, as many groups of students experience attention disorders.

Hi all, "Genes to Cognition (G2C) Online is about modern neuroscience. It focuses on cognitive disorders, cognitive processes, and research approaches." What makes this website interesting is its dynamic networks that teach a lot about brain and neuroscience. What is more interesting about the website is 3-D Brain at the top right corner of the site. You can explore every single part of brain via that interactive model. Moreover, you can download it as a free application to your mobile phone through Google Play or App Store. Have fun with it! :)

Yasin, I liked to much this application, it is too enjoyable, thank you :)

As you've learned from the article by Goswami, there are some pervasive 'neuromyths' around. This TedEd video explains one of them besides providing some key points about brain. By the way, it is being a very 'brainy' week for me. :)

Bruce McCandliss, professor in Stanford's Graduate School of Education and the director of the Stanford Center for Mind, Brain and Computation, speaks about brain-imaging technology that is revolutionizing the study of educational experiences and their effect on the brain.