Week 1

Week 2

Week 1 Wrap Up - Welcome to Week 2

Dear ALL,

Are you aware that as you complete the tasks in this EVO Session your brains are literally changing? That’s what happens when we learn. Your neurons are making new connections and neuronal pathways are being formed and strengthened. For us, that’s magical! 

Before we move on to Week 2, it’s important to note that, even though some neuromyths we've discussed in our Brain Test activity might seem, at first glance, to contradict what we do in our classes or what we know about the brain, they actually do not.

The myth about enriched environments does NOT mean that rich input brings no benefits.

The myth about learning styles does NOT mean that we should not vary the means through which we present information to our students.

The myth about omega 3 and omega 6 does NOT mean that eating food that is rich in them does not bring benefits to the brain. 

If you still haven’t read all the explanations about the neuromyths on the Brain Test page, we invite you to go back and read them (http://hottopicselt.pbworks.com/w/page/61381366/Brain%20Test?show_all_comments=1). There, we tried to clarify some doubts.

Below are two simple and brief explanations about the learning style myth and the left/right brain myth (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2010/11/learning-and-the-brain):


 

LEARNING STYLES — You may have read recently that there’s no scientific evidence for the concept of learning styles. While it’s important to teach using different methods and a variety of media, we need to stop basing decisions on the neuromyth of learning styles.

RIGHT AND LEFT BRAIN — The brain is one highly interconnected, complex organism. It is one system with constant communication between the left and right hemispheres. Unless an individual has had brain surgery severing connections between the two hemispheres, there’s no such thing as left brain or right brain thinkers.

If you’d like to read further about the learning styles myth, you can go to

1) http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/08/29/139973743/think-youre-an-auditory-or-visual-learner-scientists-say-its-unlikely

2) Article - free access to PDF http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2012.04273.x/abstract

3) http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/neuromyth3.htm

We are just about to start Week 2 of our EVO Neuroscience in Education - Braining up Your English Lessons.

How did you feel as you progressed through Week 1?

Excited? Skeptical? Lost? Disappointed? Bored? Engaged? Happy? Inspired? Connected? Motivated? Feelings!

Learning is all about feelings and emotions - both teachers’ and students’. That’s no news for us teachers; we all know that pretty well from experience, right?

But what happens in the brain? The brain, where learning takes place, is an organ of emotion.

As we go through Week 2, we will see that emotion, motivation, cognition and memory are all linked together and we will understand better what happens inside our brains that causes emotion to be such an important element in our classes.

We hope you enjoy doing the tasks in Week 2 as much as we enjoyed planning for it! 

Week 1 Highlights

To check if you've finished the tasks for week 1, access our Week 1 Benchmarks.

Our participants showed all the community's uniqueness through their introductions, check them out at Week1_Participants Intros. 

Participants have been going through an amazing reflective journey in their digital portfolios. We've compiled here our community reflections at Week 1_Participants Reflections . 

One of the most exciting, enlightening discussions was about the neuromyths. To read the whole thread, access the Brain Test comment area space. 

>>Make sure you click on "view all comments" to check the whole thread 

Thanks for being there with us for Week 1 and let's keep the ball rolling in Week 2. 

The Neuroscience in Education EVO Team