how to implement brain- based education eric jensen eric@jlcbrain.com

How to Implement Brain-Based Education

Eric Jenseneric@jlcbrain.com

GoalDeepen our understanding about the implementation of brain-based research on our students’ lives.

Overview1) Buy-in

2) Tie-in

3) Foundation

4) Connections

5) Action Sets

Overview1) Buy-in (to believe it, care about it, and get vested

in the process, “reason to believe”)

2) Tie-in (to existing structures or processes already in place, “behavioral relevancy”)

3) Foundation (understand the brain-based principles, “competency”)

4) Connections (connect principles with classroom strategies, “practicality”)

5) Action Sets (teams, accountability, feedback and celebrations, “actionable”)

What Is “Buy-in?”

1) The brain is relevant to any discussion about education.

2) The brain can change.

3) I can do it.

4) It’s worth doing it.

5) I’m willing NOW.

Potential “Buy-in” Approach

The field of neuroscience is redefining our new understanding of the human brain. All aboard!

Neuroscience Is Exploding!

• We’ve learned more about the brain in the last 10 years than in the previous 100 years!

• More than 255 brain journals are now being published!

• 37,000 scientists from 62 countries produce countless studies daily.

• Have you noticed the news?

Potential “Buy-in” Approach

Administrators are more successful when they use Brain-Based Education. Listen to their

comments. All aboard!

“Brain-based” changed the way I approached our staff learning this year, and wow, what a difference. I do not have the same tired staff that I did last year, and we have accomplished great things with our own learning that has positively impacted our work with kids in the classroom.” —Cathy M., Principal

“It really helps me clarify the elements of effective educational practice that my staff need to understand and use as a basis for all of their teaching. I can't thank you enough for all that you are doing for me, for parents, teachers and most of all for kids.” —John H., Principal

Potential “Buy-in” Approach

The field of Brain-Based Education is so solid that Harvard University is behind it. All aboard!

• For a critic’s response, you’ll find a journal article at: http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v89/k0802jen.htm

• Harvard University offers advanced degree programs in mind, brain and education. For information go to:http://www.gse.harvard.edu/academics/masters/mbe/

• The official journal of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society provides scholarly articles which often have of practical significance. Locate at:http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117982931/home

Further Resources

NOTE: The posting of these resources does not imply any type of endorsement.

Potential “Buy-in” Approach

Keep it simple. Keep reinforcing the 3 qualities and connecting

them to practice. All aboard!

What Is Brain-Based Teaching?

It’s E-S-P!It’s the Purposeful

Engagement of effective

Strategies

derived from

Principles of neuroscience

Potential “Buy-in” Approach

Classroom teachers are succeeding dramatically by using

Brain-Based Education. All aboard!

“It's nice to be able to practice and put some strategies together before I start back to school for the coming year. I have totally adopted so much of ‘brain-based’ and my confidence has increased dramatically. My class has been much more fun, and I really feel they are getting so much more out of it, though I am still a novice.” —Bruce F., high school teacher

“The impact . . . is in many positive ways. I have successful classes and high achieving students. As a result, 89–96% of my students passed the state test in over the last 3 years in a high-poverty school. All my students make learning gains. I had one student begin my class at a kindergarten level and leave at a second-grade level. After only being at this school one year, I was the Teacher of the Year and one of five finalists for County Teacher of the Year.” —Dani O., 1st-grade teacher

For Some, “Buy-in” Consists of:

1. A “before” and “after” classroom, school, or region (reason to believe)

2. The neuroscience behind the field

3. A government mandate (keep the job)

4. Media (positive story on the topic)

5. Testimonials (staff, admin, outsiders)

6. Desperation (will try anything)

7. Choice (it was perceived as a staff choice)

8. Idea was tried and it worked (a success!)

The Best, Most Effective, Buy-in Strategy is . . . ?

Make a guess!

_____________________

HINT:Buy-in never ends. It’s all about altering values and beliefs for the long haul.

Overview1) Buy-in (to believe it, care about it, and get

vested in the process, “reason to believe”)

2) Tie-in (to existing structures or processes already in place, “behavioral relevancy”)

3) Foundation (understand the brain-based principles, “competency”)

4) Connections (connect principles with classroom strategies, “practicality”)

5) Action Sets (teams, accountability, feedback, and celebrations, “actionable”)

Examples of Tie-ins:

• “We’re already implementing a PLC program. Here’s how this ties in . . .”

• “Our school-wide discipline program can be far more effective. Here’s how we can enhance it with this new information . . .”

• “Differentiation is going to be around for a long time. This brain research ties in to what we are already doing . . .”

Here’s a Rule to Follow:If what you are doing is not working (student absences, inattention, lack of engagement,

discipline issues or low achievement):

You have got a mismatch!

The mismatch is between your policies and strategies and how our brain works!

Example of a “Mismatch”:Let’s say you use a school-wide or district-wide discipline policy. And let’s say that the students

are more “in line” with fewer incidents.

But . . .

Let’s also say that student classroom engagement is as bad or worse than before. It’s

possible that your discipline policy uses fear and threat as a coercive strategy when, in fact, savvy, brain-based teachers use relationships, affiliation, and management of student status to

discipline, not threaten.

Opportunities for “Tie-ins”Curriculum: Is it developmentally appropriate and behaviorally relevant?

Lunch: Is it nutritional for cognition and the body? Does it support good behaviors?

Discipline policies: Do they support attendance, love of learning, and better academic achievement? Or are they designed to punish without regard for consequences?

Instruction: Do students lose attention, forget what was taught, and fail to engage?

Overview1) Buy-in (to believe it, care about it, and get

vested in the process, “reason to believe”)

2) Tie-in (to existing structures or processes already in place, “behavioral relevancy”)

3) Foundation (understand the brain-based principles, “competency”)

4) Connections (connect principles with classroom strategies, “practicality”)

5) Action Sets (teams, accountability, feedback, and celebrations, “actionable”)

These 12 Principles Form the FOUNDATION for Teaching

Each principle is well supported by peer-reviewed studies. It is up to educators to discover and test the actual strategies that arise from these principles.

Example of Connection with Brain-Based Learning

1. Uniqueness Is the Rule

2. Emotional Dependency 3. Susceptibility &

Opportunity 4. Attentional & Input

Limitations 5. Adaptive & Changing

6. Rough Drafts

1. Uniqueness Is the Rule.

Students share 99.5% of the same DNA, but we have unique brains because of unique life

experiences.

Every Brain is Unique!

2. Emotional Dependency Emotions are not part of our

life. They run it. In most struggles between our feelings and logic, we usually (not always)

do what we feel like doing.

3. Susceptibility & Opportunity

Our brain has sensitive periods with enhanced

chances for risk and gain. These periods are from

ages 0–5 and 12–17.

Ages 0–5: The Risks and Rewards

GOOD NEWS:

The infant downloads culture without any question.

BAD NEWS:

The infant downloads culture without any question.

4. Attentional & Input Limitations

Our brain is designed to limit the quantity of new input per minute, hour,

and day.

Processes That Limit Our Input

5. Adaptive & Changing

Our brains are not static

or fixed. They are constantly changing in

more than a dozen ways.

Old (Outdated) Paradigm

““Our brains stay Our brains stay mostly the same; we just get mostly the same; we just get

older and slower.”older and slower.”

(This is old and mostly wrong.)(This is old and mostly wrong.)

Evidence That Teaching Evidence That Teaching Solid Reading Skills Solid Reading Skills Changes the BrainChanges the Brain

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Pre (left) and Post (right, 12 wks. later)

6. Rough Drafts

Our brain rarely gets it right the first time. Instead, we make

sketchy rough drafts of new learning.

Our rough drafts are expedient; there’s no reason to “flesh out” the details until we have a relevant reason to do so.

Our Brain as a “Gist” GathererWe rarely get new and complex explicit learning right the first time. Instead, we gather the “gist” and make “rough drafts.” This is not what most teachers hope to happen. Nor is it what we test for.

7. Meaning-Maker 8. Environments

9. Body-Mind Connection10. Malleable Memories

11. Perception, Not Reality, Matters12. Social Conditions Rule

What Makes Content Meaningful to Our Brain?

•Personal relevance•Context(serial/global content)

•Valence +/-•Circumstances(situation at the moment)

•Framing (alternative perspectives)

If We Really Wanted to Make School

More Meaningful, We Would . . .

Reorganize Curriculum into More Student-Oriented Goals

SOCIAL TRACK

Eliminate poverty, reduce crime,

improve education & medicine,

management, strengthen human

rights, reduce pollution

TECHNO PATHVirtual learning,

reduce cyber crime, better tools

for living, cut resource usage,

space exploration, wireless power,

geo survival, energy grids

AESTHETICS Planning, building,

dance, design, theater, electrical, music, forestry, ecology-related

work, sports, movies,

entertainment, architecture

8. Environments Matter

Strong scientific evidence suggests that environments not only directly influence our brain, but also can

trigger gene expression.

Every Environment Has the Capacity to Enhance or Impair Learning

9. Mind-Body Connection

Activity not only fosters the survival of our species, but it serves as a strategy for

learning, emotional regulation, affiliation, resource acquisition, and stress management.

Many educators are unaware that early physical activity supports later academic activity.

Maths Scores up after PE ClassS

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10. Malleable Memories

This principle reminds us that our memories are a process, not a fixed thing. Memories can be—and often are—altered

or lost.

Even Our Memories Are Malleable

The old paradigm is that our memory works like a still photograph or an audio recording.

But memory is not a “thing;” it is an ongoing process.

This discovery means that memory is neither fixed nor permanent. Using smarter memory

strategies means far less re-teaching.

11. Perception, Not Reality, Matters

Our brain only knows what it takes in perceptually, and it is easily fooled.

Our prior knowledge is a huge factor in determining what we see, hear,

feel, taste, and touch.

What your staff BELIEVES to be true is held as a a fact. It may, in fact, be dogma. What your staff BELIEVES will work in the classroom may or may not be true. It is the PERCEPTION of your staff that matters most.

“Hey, is your class as much a problem as mine is this year?

OR . . .

12. Social Conditions Matter

We exist not in a vacuum, but in a culture shaped by

relationships, status, rules, and customs.

Two Brain-Based, Hard-Wired, Social Ongoing Student Quests

1. The quest for acceptance and affiliation (“How can I become part of a group?”)

2. The quest for social status (“How can I feel special?”)

HINT: DO NOT get in the way of these; simply anticipate and facilitate the inevitable process in productive ways!

Overview1) Buy-in (to believe it, care about it and get

vested in the process, “reason to believe”)

2) Tie-in (to existing structures or processes already in place, “behavioral relevancy”)

3) Foundation (understand the brain-based principles, “competency”)

4) Connections (connect principles with classroom strategies, “practicality”)

5) Action Sets (teams, accountability, feedback, and celebrations, “actionable”)

How Do These Play a Role?B=behavior, classroom discipline C=attention, learning, cognition

Nutrition - B,CPhysical Activity - B,CCurriculum - B,CSocial Climate - B,C Instruction - B,C Academic Climate - B,C Physical Building - B,C Time/Schedules/Calendar - B,C Assessment - B,CEngagement - B,C

Connections such as principles 2, 9, and 12

1) Improve social conditions

2) Engage students more

3) Discipline problems drop by 90%

Overview1) Buy-in (to believe it, care about it and get

vested in the process, “reason to believe”)

2) Tie-in (to existing structures or processes already in place, “behavioral relevancy”)

3) Foundation (understand the brain-based principles, “competency”)

4) Connections (connect principles with classroom strategies, “practicality”)

5) Action Sets (teams, accountability, feedback, and celebrations, “actionable”)

Essentials1. Shared agendas (build common interests, goals,

and purpose)

2. Collaboration is appreciated (sharing of ideas and social contact)

3. Accountability is essential (as an individual AND as a team or group)

4. Trust-building through predictability and frequency of contact (weekly e-contact, twice monthly contact in person)

5. Feedback must be public (shared in meetings, school PDs, or posted with celebrations)

Shared Agendas ThatStay Focused on the Target

Use goal setting. Ask each teacher to set and post goals. List them in the faculty lounge by grade level. Check in monthly and give out munchies, treats, or silly novelty items as a fun reward. Celebrate.

Collaboration (Teams and Professional Learning Communities)

Create stronger ties than just “grade-level” or “subject-level” groupings. You’ll want high-performance teams that will work as hard for the team as for themselves.

Accountability: Make It Public

Hold short monthly staff meetings. Ask staff to bring a success story. Talk to a couple of staff members in advance to ensure that they can go first to “get things going” in a positive, sharing atmosphere. Acknowledge and celebrate. Give standing ovations to staff members who share their successes.

Trust-Building with a Book Study

Entire staff does a book study using one of Eric’s books. The teachers can read a chapter, discuss, and make one change per month.

Log the change online. Share results. Hold monthly meetings for feedback and celebrations.

Trust-Building with Non-School-Related Activities

Staff appreciate seeing others outside of the work context, such as student events, class socials, fundraisers, sports, etc.

Feedback with Peer Coaching

Ask staff to commit to one change per month. Use mentors, administrators, or coaches to make announced classroom visits where teachers can “show off” their new strategy.

Action Sets: The Art of the Peer-Assisted Nudge

That’s what it takes to make change happen. Without nudges, change is not very likely. Give the staff an email, a partner, a note, or an announcement twice a month to remind them to use one of the strategies they picked up and promised to use.

What Is Brain-Based Teaching?

It’s E-S-P!It’s the Purposeful

Engagement of effective

Strategies

derived from

Principles of neuroscience

Remember, it is more important that you have SOME kind of follow-up than it is WHICH kind of follow-up you use.

Keep in Action: Doing Something Is Better Than Nothing

K-I-S-S!

The more complicated your process, the less likely it will succeed. Focus on what matters, measure it, and encourage it.

Review1)Buy-in

2)Tie-in

3)Foundation

4)Connections

5)Action Sets