"Education is discovering the brain and that's about the best news there could be... Anyone who does not have a thorough, holistic grasp of the brain's architecture, purposes, and main ways of operating is as far behind the times as an automobile designer without a full understanding of engines."
Leslie Hart, "Human Brain, Human Learning"
As future teachers it is imperative that you learn about how learner's learn. To extend your learning beyond reading about Brain Development, and Memory Systems check out the Website links: Mind Matters and The Dana Alliance. Post on the blog something interesting you have discovered from these websites. Do an internet search and find a website on the brain/neuorscience that you discover as a good resource for educators and add the URL to your post.
When we meet on Tuesday, January 20th be prepared by doing the readings posted on the syllabus and focus in on Vygotsky and Piaget.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
20 comments:
Probably the most interesting thing that I discovered from this website is how the brain is effected and effects so many common diseases that everyday people face. I know I should not be surprised at something as obvious as my previous statement, but I never thought of the connection before. In the articles on the second website, there was information about how sleep apnea can cause people to have strokes. It is amazing how the body works and how something like sleep apnea can cause a stroke. Another interesting article that I read on that website was the one about dimesia and Alzheimers disease in people under 65. I know of a few people who are much older who suffer from these ailments, but I never would think that people less that ten years older than my parents could be suffering from such a disease. Another article I read in the immunology section talked about how if you are getting less than seven hours of sleep per night, your risk of getting a cold is much, much greater. This is because the lack of sleep impairs the immune system's ability to fight off infection. This seems like another relatively simple concept, but again, one that many may not consider. One final article that I read was about PKU. PKU is an inherited disorder affecting 1 of every 15,000 infants in the United States. In PKU, the essential amino acid phenylalanine accumulates in the brain, leading to early brain injury and eventually to severe seizures and mental retardation. And speaking of seizures, someone very close to me has epilepsy and I think it is so amazing that in many cases, doctors do not know what causes many people's epilepsy. The person that I know, fortunately knows what caused theirs (a stroke at age four, thought to be cause from a blood thinning disorder, left scar tissue on the brain) and has it under control with medication. The brain is such an amazing thing that I think in education, many people look past.
The website I chose to include is http://www.brains.org/ . This website is very educationally based and includes information about many different topics related to children and teens and their education.
From the "Mind Matters" website, I found it interesting that the behavior found in what is often called "the terrible twos" and all the confusion during adolescence is caused by changes in the brain. Previously I thought that these instances were caused by sociological factors and personality development, but the article really made sense to me. The article said that the brain grows by expanding and cutting off ties between certain cells. It keeps the connections most frequently used and gets rid of the least frequently used ones. So then, the strongest connections function better than the weaker connections. During “the terrible twos,” the ornery behavior is often characterized by the changes the brain undergoes. As for adolescence, the brain still undergoes changes and remains not fully developed until about age twenty. So, these changes in the brain are still occurring throughout the teen years.
From the “Dana Foundation” website, I found the study on learning troubles due to sleep disorders interesting. They did the study on rats to prove that lack of sleep and disorders of the like can cause troubles when it comes to learning. The scientists let the rats only get a few minutes of sleep at a time for a duration of twelve days. Two weeks later, these rats had more difficulty finding the exits of the mazes than the rats with normal sleep patterns, even though the sleep-deprived rats had the two-week span of normal sleep thereafter. Scientists also found that the formation of neurons in the hippocampus was disrupted due to the loss of sleep. These neurons took four weeks to regenerate, thus providing the idea that learning disruptions may be caused by a slowdown in neurogenesis.
The website I found was http://www.brainconnection.com/. It has many educational articles, including educational issues. This website would be good for teachers and students alike. It includes interactive games for students and an image gallery. It has an education connection link where you can choose from many different topics, including learning, motivation, reading, and stress (among many others). I think it is a really neat website with a lot of useful articles.
From the two post by Kristen and Lauren I noticed the pattern of discovering how important sleep is for learning. Isn't it interesting how many college students will pull all nighters to cram for test. If only they knew this goes against the way the brain naturally takes in information. Most likely they perform worse on an exam when they do this than if they would have gotten a good night's sleep. When experiences (education)such as this go against the way the brain naturally functions, we call this brain antagonistic. Many school activities are brain antagonistic such as timed test, sitting in desks all day, not talking, long lectures, etc.
Pat’s Wolfe article, from Mind Matters web, sheds some incites to how changes in the brain affects growing children. As teachers, such information is crucial, since many of us grew up hearing that unruly behavior could be controlled with a “discipline.” A while ago, no one was looking for the connection between the brain and the changes in adolescent children. While taking basic psychology class a few semesters ago, I came across this interesting information, but I am glad that students majoring in education will learn this important scientific fact as well. It is so easy to get frustrated and mad at the child, but with this very significant piece of information, it becomes much easier to become more understanding and patient (…I have a 15 year old, he he). According to Pat, young teenagers “have difficulty reading social signs such as facial expressions,” which can make it difficult for them to communicate with the adults. The study of teen’s prefrontal cortex development sheds some light on their occasional “irrational and overly emotional reactions.” This is yet another example of studies that reminds us the importance of withholding our own negative emotions when we don’t understand children’s behavior, regardless of their age. I found it also interesting that the scientist can explain the development of coordination in children. They point out the myelin surrounding the axons (the wires transporting the impulses) has a direct impact on the development of coordination. This can be helpful for us as teachers if we spot a child that is a little more “clumsy” than others are. It could be a significant indicator of possible problems in their brain development.
The link: http://www.patwolfe.com/index.php?pid=100
On her web, Dana created a link devoted for specifically for the children. She offers many activities helping children with a healthy brain development. On the link, they can learn through games, quizzes, and other activities about disease prevention, safety, and stress. They can learn about a brain with interactive games, explore biology, and play science-related games. Dana’s site also provides many resources for teachers, such as lesson plans.
The link: http://www.dana.org/resources/brainykids/detail.aspx?folder_id=104
Albert Einstein said, “Learning is experiencing. Everything else is just information.” This interesting thought was quoted by Kenneth A. Wesson , Education Consultant (neuroscience), in his article Early Brain Development and Learning. He points out the importance of our sensory systems in our learning process. “Human beings have an innate need to see, touch, taste, feel, and hear (experience) the feature of any new object in order to understand it better.” I couldn’t agree more. I think that as teachers we need to be aware of the crucial fact in order to be effective educators. Wesson claims that it is the connecting neurons with other neurons that help us learn. He says that more frequently neurons linked together fire together, they will fire in unison on a subsequent occasion—we call this process learning. This is where the idea of six exposures apparently comes from. We need to experience something about six times before the new information enters into permanent memory storage. With each game of chess, my seven-year-old’s brain stores some strategic moves she might remember the next match, but only after seeing it six times, it will actually becomes a “learned move.”
It is so crucial for us as teachers to provide our students with as many sensory experiences as we possibly can. Making a cake to teach fractions by cutting it in pieces can make it fun and also offers exposure to senses of taste, touch, sight, and smell. They will remember tasty fractions for a long time. It seems innocent and plain fun, but it is not. It is fun AND learning!
The link: http://www.sciencemaster.com/columns/wesson/wesson_early_02.php
I recommend http://www.sciencemaster.com
I found myself drawn to an article off of the Mind Matters website, which talked about serotonin levels and the relationship it has to behavior. Studies have found that a person suffering from having a low chemical activity of serotonin in the brain can lead to an underlying inability to handle powerful feelings, which can result in impulsive acts, aggressive behaviors and suicidal tendencies. In addition to that, it has also been linked to causing overeating due to depression.
With the way that obesity is on the rise amongst the younger generation, you have to almost wonder if this chemical is lacking in each of their brains. I am aware that certain illegal drugs can also "drain" your serotonin levels, causing permanent memory loss. It is scary to think of all the teenagers that are out there experimenting with illegal drugs, not knowing the permanent effects it can cause their brain. By those illegal drugs taking away their serotonin levels, it can lead to depression and ultimately end in suicide.
Scientists compared both a "healty" brain, and one that is lacking serotonin through a brain scan. Both patients were given a drug called fenfluramine that is known to increase the availability of serotonin in the brain. The scans demonstrate that only the healthy patient has an increase in serotonin activity, and not the brain who has suffered from severe depression and serotonin loss.
The website that I chose to include is www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/3d/index.html It is an interactive website for children that allows them to click on areas of the brain and learn what that specific area is in charge of. I think it is a great way for students to get more of a hands on learning approach.
I find it very exciting to first be learning about the brain, during block 1 at Westville at a teacher in-service day, our groups theme was the brain. We spent the entire morning listening to presentations on the brain, and all of the different types of learners and what not.
I used the first website to catch my attention which happened to be Brains.org. On this website I selected an article, called the 'Caffeine Craze of the Youth', about the effects of caffeine on the brain. As adults most of us depend on getting that cup of coffee to get us going in the morning. This has essentially leaded to a caffeine addiction, which is trickling down into the younger generations. According to brains.org, kids are getting mass quantities of caffeine in the forms of soda and chocolate. Of the two parents said that they were more concerned about caffeine in the form of chocolate; however it was noted that one must consume about fourteen chocolate bars to equal one cup of coffee. Kids are getting their caffeine mainly from mass quantities of soda. The consumption of which has greatly increased in the past decade and a half. According to 'Caffeine Craze of the Youth', caffeine effects our bodies negatively because of the damage it causes our nervous systems. Caffeine enters the body in the form of a chemical that the body produces naturally, however caffeine tells our body that it no longer needs to produce this since it can get it from caffeine. In addition to soda and caffeine damaging our nervous systems, it is also being highly blamed for the obesity of our youth. Schools are not helping the matter by placing soda and candy machines in the schools. According to the article, over the past ten years more schools have been adding these machines as a main source of funding. Now caffeine is not 100% a monster the positive effects that do result from consuming caffeine are an improvement of long term memory and faster learning.
Given the summary of the article that I just gave, I was amazed by a few things. The first thing that took me off guard was the fact that caffeine, when taken in small spaced out doses, actually encourages long term memory and faster learning. However more then that, I was greatly surprised to not see caffeine being blamed for attention deficit disorders (ADD) in children. Given that it speeds up our systems and that kids are taking it in mass quantities, it seems only right that ADD and caffeine would go hand in hand. I also find it disturbing that schools are knowingly putting soda and candy machines in schools, regardless of their student’s health. Its almost like schools are selling a generations health for a few extra bucks to by new desks. I suppose it comes down to a question of morals but I personally greatly disagree with the fact that these machines are being put in more and more schools. Yet another point in the article that surprised me was the break down of caffeine content in various drinks.
One cup of coffee has 135 mgs. of caffeine.
One can of Mountain Dew - 56 mgs.
One cup of tea - 50 mgs.
One can of Diet Coke - 47 mgs.
One can of Sunkist Orange - 42 mgs.
One can of Dr. Pepper - 42 mgs.
One can of Pepsi - 38 mgs.
One can of Coke - 35 mgs.
One Excedrin pain reliever tablet - 65 mgs.
One cup Ben & Jerry's coffee yogurt - 85 mgs.
One Hershey Bar - 10 mgs.*
I found the caffeine content of coffee verse sodas very interesting; I would have thought that the two would have been much closer.
The website that I found was http://www.mentorfoundation.org/brain.php?nav=4-160. This website deals specifically with the effects of drugs on the brain. It comes complete with information on the homepage, and links to follow, as well as PowerPoint slides and work packets for downloading. I picked this site, because not only does it provide great information but helpful handouts as well, and all for free!
When reading Pat Wolfe’s article from the Mind Matters website, I learned a lot of stuff that I have never thought about before. I have had several psychology classes including a psychobiology class that dealt with the different parts of the brain and their function. When this article talks about myelination, I just found it fascinating! It absolutely makes sense. Of course adults have more coordination than adolescents, but I always thought of it as a part of growing up. I never learned before that it is a direct result to a process the brain is going through! I also found that the location of emotion differs between adults and adolescents. Adults can perceive different emotions more quickly than children because adults emotions are shown taking place in the frontal lobe, when children’s take place in the amygdala. This difference might mean that children do have a hard time reading expressions in school or at home. They might not take a teacher’s warning seriously because they do not know how to perceive the teacher’s emotion. It’s so strange how the brain works for different people. The brain is just amazing!
I think that the Dana Foundation is an amazing thing. Not only is it a resource on information about the brain and brain disorders, it also provides grants for research for these disorders. There are also tons of links to other sites for addictions, genetics, Alzheimer’s, etc. This is a really great site that holds so much information! If what you are looking for isn’t on the Dana site, chances are there is a link to what brain disorder or issue for some other website.
Chosen link: http://www.thebrainmatters.org/index.cfm?key=0.1.1
I chose this site because it contains information for educators as well as families. It takes you through the process if someone you know has been diagnosed with a brain disorder or something similar. There are also several links to other helpful sites!
haha, I just realized I'm a ding dong..I used the copied and pasted the wrong web address for the website that I found as the one I copied and pasted is one we viewed. So, the new website that I really found is http://www.neuroskills.com/children.shtml
This website is all about dealing with children who have suffered brain injuries. The best part is that it is not aimed only to one audience. There is information for parents, but also for teachers and people who are dealing with teaching and working with children with brain injuries.
I lost my first posting so I will try it again. The brain is a very fascinating subject and very powerful. The topic I liked best was how we are born to learn any language and as the synapses aren't used they disconnect. I have this desire that second languages are tought at elementary levels of school and this supports that resoning to utilize those natural abilities we are born with.
Other topics I enjoyed in the reading was about the importance of sleep. I had heard over Thanksgiving that the difference between an A student and a C student is 45 minutes of sleep. It seems so simple yet our lifestyles sometimes don't allow it and also as teachers we don't have that control of the students.
Penn High in Granger, IN is a school where they begin school later than elementary and they are noted as one of the top schools in the area. It also seems if they start later they attend later and that means less time without adult supervision at home.
I found it interesting that different age groups are affected by different things. One that caffeine, drugs and alcohol have a greater effect on the brain on teenagers than adults. Also that saccharin has a greater effect on the memory of older people and almost no effect on younger people.
Finally, the idea of doctors working together to see the applications of their studies on the brain and the way it effects students learning instead of the doctors just teaching educators what they think. I think we will see more of this in order to strengthen the continual flow of new information on the brain.
This is the website I choice for further research http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v89/k0802jen.htm.
One interesting topic that I found while exploring the "Mind Matters" website was an article by Pat Wolfe about the effect that substance abuse has on the brain development in teenagers. As most parents notice, it seems to be a metamorphasis overnight and your little, well behaved child is suddenly trying to finding out who they are and what they want to do with their life. I found is shocking that it is estimated that about 50% of high school seniors consume alcohol at least once a month while 17% regularly smoke cigarettes and nearly 50% have smoked some marijuana. The frontal lobes of a teenagers brain are still being formed and by consuming alcohol and other substances they are only hurting themselves. Alcohol use effects the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning purposes. In Pat's article I read that 15 to 16 year olds who had gotten drunk over 100 times throughout their lifetime scored much lower on verbal and nonverbal testing, of course we all know that alcohol use effects people differently and that it is definatly not good for your brain but I never realized how much it truley effected the brain development in teenagers. Pat states that drinking at the age of 15 is much more dangerous than drinking at 20 because the finishing touches on your brain developing haven't developed yet and alcohol use may disrupt the development of the brain.
I found the "Dana Foundation" website also very interesting.
I found the article by Jim Schnabel about the effects that having stroke related insula effects has on addiction very shocking. He talks about how one guy went from smoking a pack of cigarettes a day before his stroke related insula to completely being able to stop smoking and suffering from no withdrawels once he had a stroke. Insula activity in the brain is what causes addiction and cravings in a healthy adult brain.
One website that I found very interesting is about the way that brain development effets childrens learning.
http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4356.htm
During Block I, I was in the same inservice meeting as Jacob. The information we were given about the brain was so interesting. The brain is such a powerful, complex, essential organ. It's interesting to learn more about the different roles of the brain, not only in everyday life, but especially in the learning process.
I read the article "Working with Styles". The article basically talked about how every child learns differently. The author of the article, Dr. Kathie F. Nunley, questioned whether we were helping students in fitting our curriculum to their specific style, or if it was actually holding them back from their ability to grow. Dr. Nunley believes that children should be encouraged to use many different styles when learning. In doing so, they will be comfortable when thrown into the "real world". I believe that Dr. Nunley is right in the sense that children must be pushed, to a certain extent. If we, as teachers, push them to want to be better, they will continue to have that determination once they enter into the work force. However, some children simply have to learn a certain way. If they are a visual learner, and they try to learn by simply being lectured to, it may not work. While it is our responsibility to introduce our students to new learning styles, we also have the main responsibility of helping our students to succeed.
The website I found to be very helpful, as well as interesting is http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/brain.html It contains a lot of awesome information.It even has a place where kids can find answers to some of their most embarrassing questions, like how a girl can talk to her dad about her period, or how a boy can talk to a woman doctor.
The article that I read was titled " The Adolescent Brain: A Work in Progress." I found this article very beneficial in understanding why teenagers act the way they do sometimes. While reading this article I kept reflecting on when I substitute taught for middle school. After that experience I never wanted to go back to that grade level. Their behaivor issues, their irrational decisions, their attitudes for school... I thought I would never make it through the day. The school district is definitely not one of the top schools around academically, and I thought that might be some of the issues. But, after reading this article I have a better understanding on why the students acted the way they did. Don't get me wrong, I also think it's the way the teenagers are brought up these days too. So, half has to do with the developing of the brain and the other half has to do with the home environment. When you put the two together you can have teenagers that really don't care about their education and future.
In this article it said that roughly 50 % of high school seniors consume alcohol at least once a month. How about also saying that middle school students do the exact same? I had boys in middle school (7th and 8th grade) coming up to me telling me that they were going out to a party that weekend and were going to get "wasted"! Having students that young drink can do a lot of damage to a students memory and learning capabilities.
Reading these articles actually made me more motivated to help students out. I learned a lot about the brain and how it is not fully developed until the age of 20 and how alcohol and drugs can have a huge effect on it. The thing that got to me the most is the fact that so many more students are drinking and doing drugs these days. A teacher is so much more than a teacher. They are the motivators and protectors of their students. I know that I am going to help my students out in every possible way when I begin to teach. A lot of students do not have the parental guidance at home like a lot of us probably had growing up. Times have changed and when you being to teach every moment really does count!
Oops, almost forget to include the website. http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/07/20/learning-the-brain-resources-for-educators/
This website has articles on sleep, nutrition, exercise, etc. and how they effect a student and their education.
I thought these articles were very interesting! It is amazing how the brain works and there are so many things that you never think about!
On the "Mind Matters" website under Pat's Articles I found a few things that were very interesting.
It is obvious that a toddler is less cordinated than a 10 year-old, but why is that? Its because myelin, which is a material that wraps around the axons of brain cells and allows electrical impulses to travel more effectively, is one of the final setps in the development in the adult brian. Before the neurons recieve this myelin sheath they are considered immature, which explains why toddlers are less cordinated. Frontal lobes in teens show less myelin that in young adults. Full myelin is not reached until the age of 20.
I've always wondered why the drinking age is 21 and this articles helps explain the reason. It is because alcohol disrupts the hippocampus, which is important for memory and learning. The hippocampus is much more vulnerable to alcohol learning impairments in adolescents than in adults. In a previous article it stated that 50%of high school seniors drink once a month. The more an adolscent abuses alcohol the smaller the hippocampus becomes, which can be crucial for memory and learning. I thought that was interesting its obvious that alcohol is not good for teenagers, but now I understand why.
I also found it importnat how information is stored! That is something that teachers should know about how students recall information.
When information enters the brain it is distrubited all over the cortex.
The emotional content is stored in the amygdala.
Visual images in the occipital lobes.
Source memory in the frontal lobes.
Where you were during the experience is stored in the parietal lobes.
When a student recalls information they have to reconstruct it so the more ways information is represented to the students they more ways they are able to reconstrcts the information.
The website I chose to include is http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/. This is a website that explains the teenage brain. There are many interesting articles on information such as: advice for parents, the amount of sleep a teenages should get, research and illustrations, etc. This is a very interesting website and contains a lot of useful information about the teenage brain.
I find this topic facinating! My husbands grandma is suffering from Alzheimers disease. It's difficult to deal with her lack of remembering things. Not only are we dealing with grandma but my sister-in-law is suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). This injury has affected her short term and long term memory. So we really don't know what she will remember or not. A couple of years ago I met a woman whose son was hit by a car and suffers from TBI. She said that her son's neurosurgeon explained that more people than we know suffer from TBI but they aren't diagosed. So that makes me wonder...those times that I forget what I'm doing or the times I forget what I'm saying; is that from interference/distraction or from something more?
I found the website http://www.livestrong.com/article/14717-classroom-strategies-for-inclusion-of-students-with-communication-and-learning-disorders/ very helpful for teachers.
I think from reading the articles that it is safe to say that we are still very limited to the amount of information we know about the brain and a great deal more research is needed.
I agree with some of the other bloggers that sleep is one thing that we have some control over and that when we don't get enough it definately effects our concentration and learning efforts.
Well, I started off visiting the Dana site first, and I found a very intresting article discussing life in the city, and it;s toll it takes on your brain. I found out that because of the business and rushed atmosphere sometimes caused by the city, the brain is less able to hold things in the memory area, and a person experiences less self control. Also, this research is also leading some scientists to explore in urban design, as they look for ways to make the metropolis less damaging to the brain. The good news is that even slight alterations, such as planting more trees in the inner city or creating urban parks with a greater variety of plants, can significantly reduce the negative side effects of city life. The mind needs nature, and even a little bit can be a big help. This makes me want to put flower pots and fake trees in my classroom. I do think it would have a claming effect, and could have a positive effect on the classroom.
From the Mind Matter web site, I found a cool little article talking about how children learn the alphabet by singing the letters to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and how the tune alnog the repitition helps chilren learn and memorize the alphabet.Rhythm, repetition, melody, and rhyme can all aid memory.Using this technique can be fun, particularly for children who like to create. Rhymes and songs draw on your auditory memory and may be particularly useful for those who can learn tunes, songs, or poems easily. You sing the letters to the song as if they were the words to the song. Do the whole song since it reinforces the word more often. Point to the word on a piece of paper or use flash cards.
The website that I found and think would be very usefull in the classroom for students and the teacher is nobelprize.org. The site has games and simulations, based on Nobel Prize-awarded achievements, and will teach and inspire you while you're having FUN! Students, teachers and non-professionals can use the site to test and build their knowledge in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace and economics.
From the "Mind Matters" website, I learned that during adolescence the limbic system, which includes the amygdala, is greatly active. The research team at Harvard conducted a test in which they used functional Magnectic Resonance Imaging to watch parts of adults' and teens' brains while they showed pictures of people's faces contorted with fear. When adults saw these pictures, they could correctly identify the emotion with no problem. But many of the teens could not do so. Also, the parts of the adults' brains that were shown to be active were both the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. However, in the teens during this test, the amygdala showed lots of activity but the prefrontal cortex showed almost not activity. The results of this test say a couple of things about adolescents. One is that they may not be as good as reading facial expressions as everyone thinks they are. The second thing is that in their brain, the emotion-based amygdala takes dominance over the rational prefrontal cortex. This explains why many teens seem to be so overly emotional and irrational. But as they grow older, there is a shift to the frontal lobes which results in more reasoning.
From the "Dana Foundation" website, I learned that city life can be harmful to the brain! The article I read said that cities dull our thinking. One of the reasons for this is the lack of nature. Our minds need nature. Studies have shown that hospital patients recover more quickly when they can see trees from their windows. City life makes it harder to focus because there are too many things to pay attention to. Research also says that it also interferes with our self-control because our minds are already worn down from paying attention to so many different things, that when we come across so many different temptations, our mind is too weak to resist and we give in. City life can also lead to a lack of emotional control. Research found less domestic violence is apartments with views of greenery.
The website that I found that I thought would be a great resource for educators is called "Learning about Learning." The URL is http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/learningaboutlearning/index.asp. This Scottish website is full of resources and is dedicated to learning, and I'm pretty sure it's free. What I really liked about it is how there's many different categories to click on the left-hand side (such as thinking, emotions, the brain, and colloboration) and within each category, there are 4 sub-categories (movies, further reading, staff development resources, and checklist). In the movie sub-category, they offer clips about the topic itself, how Scottish schools are working with/using/teaching the topic, and clips about what researchers and educationalists have to say. In the further reading sub-category, they provide articles on the topic. In every staff development resources, they have a Word document and a Powerpoint for you to use. The checklist is printable and it's like a survey for you to see how you think you're doing in the given category.
I found the "Mind Matters" website to be the most intersting to me. I agree that we start out as one person and change into another. Some people return to their original self and some stay as a new person. Like the article says, students go to school wearing what they picked out with their parents, then all of a suddent they want to do things more independtly. I can honestly say that for myself, I remember my mom making me wear a dress to school at least once a week, and I hated it so much. I was such a tomboy, and I remember wearing snowpants in the winter and running into the bathroom right when I got to school to change into jeans and a t-shirt. I never thought of myself as chaning personalities, just wanting to be comfortable and ready to play. I also was taken back by the statistics about substance abuse. I always remeber my friends talking about those type of things, but I never realized until later how many of them were doing them. I am glad now that I never got myself involved with any of those things, not a once! I have seen how much it can mess people up, and I wish students would become more aware of that. I also liked where it talks about storing information. I feel that it helps teachers understand how to teach their students so they will learn to their greatest potential. These sites were very interesting, informative, and helpful for us future teachers!
I found the site http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSD/is_/ai_n27095632 to be very helpful. I like where it talks about cognitive development and how natural art forms are how young children play.
Post a Comment