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Tracey Tokuhama-‐Espinosa, Ph.D. [email protected] October 2015
Background � Interdisciplinary researcher in neuroscience, cognitive
psychology and education (cultural anthropology and linguistics).
� Boston University: BA, BS, magna cum laude
� Harvard University: Master’s in International Educational Development
� Capella University: Ph.D. In Professional Studies in Education (Mind, Brain and Education Science)
� Professor, Harvard University Extension School: Psych 1609 “The Neurobiology of Learning and Sustained Change”
� OECD: Member of the expert panel on Teachers New Pedagogical Knowledge based on contributions from Technology and Neuroscience
� Former Director of the Teaching and Learning Institute at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito Ecuador
� Former Dean of Education at the Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
� Author of six books and dozens of peer review articles on Mind, Brain, and Education science, multilingualism, sense and meaning in classroom planning and design, standards and learning profiles.
� Teacher at all levels of education (K-‐University) with more than 26 years of experience in 28 countries.
M a k i n g
C l a s s r o o m s B e t t e r
L E S S O N S
from the
C O G N I T I V E
R E V O L U T I O N
that
T R A N S F O R M
our T E A C H I N G
Today’s Focus
1. Changes in 21st century educational expectations 2. Vocabulary: “Competencies” in Education and their Relationship to
Differentiation 3. Quick queries about 21st century learning 4. OECD study on Teachers’ New Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK)
� How has technology changed teaching? � How has information about the brain changed teaching?
5. Quiz! Truths and Myths about the brain and learning and how they can change our teaching practice.
6. Making Classrooms Better: 50 practical applications of Mind, Brain, and Education science
Change 1: Different expectaAons of school
Changes in EducaAonal Goals (OECD, 2014; Tokuhama-‐Espinosa, 2014)
� From equal access (everyone goes to school) to equal quality.
� From teaching in silos (one subject separate from another) to transdisciplinarity.
� From “passing a class” to life-‐long learning. � From traditional resources to technology integration. � Bettering “self” to enhance collaboration, cooperation, communication, cultural awareness, building communities, and wider contextual application (bettering “the group”).
Change 2: New expectaAons of both students and teachers
Change 3: Technology and beQer knowledge of the brain
BeQer knowledge about the brain and learning � Improvements in technology since The Decade of the Brain (1990s)
have yielded greater insights about healthy brain functioning. Early models promoted neuromyths.
Refined technology (healthy subjects)
Simple models Replicas of connections
Actual computer enhanced connections
Change 4: BeQer insight as to what really influences student learning
BeQer knowledge about what really influences teaching and learning outcomes
� Longitudinal studies (age comparative) � International comparative studies
(independent of cultural context=what is true for “all”)
� Methodologically comparative scale
John HaXe (2009; 2012; 2013; 2014) StarAng point: High quality educaAonal research
900 meta analyses; 50,000 studies; 2.4 million students
The enemy of correct teacher aXtudes: UnidenAfied prejudices
� Teacher prejudices about intelligence influence student learning (Hattie, 2009; 2012).
The enemy of correct teacher aXtudes: UnidenAfied prejudices � Teaching knowledge and skills is relatively easy. � “If you can Google it, don’t take too much time teaching it.”
� Teaching attitudes is more time-‐consuming.
� Teacher attitudes change learning outcomes (Hattie, 2009; 2012).
Fundamental 21st Century Teacher AXtudes
“One-‐minute paper” on Key Traits of Excellent 21st century Teachers
� Left side: Everything you KNOW about best practice teaching in the 21st century
� Right side: Everything you WISH you knew or that you need to know more about.
Angelo, T.A., and Cross, K.P. Classroom Assessment Techniques, 2nd ed., Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1993, pp. 148-153; Bressoud: http://www.maa.org/SAUM/maanotes49/87.html
A 21st century teacher professional development track?
The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How
of 21st Century Schools
WHO carries the burden of adap=ng to 21st
century demands?
Example (HaCe, 2009) Actors and seCngs
Place in rank order of influence on student learning outcomes: � School (i.e., class and school size) � Parents (i.e., genes versus environment) � Home (i.e., socio-‐economic status) � Teacher (as a personality) � Student (i.e., attitude) � Administration (i.e., leadership styles) � Curriculum i.e., (IB versus national) � Teaching (i.e., how information was taught; delivery)
Actors and seCngs � Hattie: Rank order of influence on student outcomes 1. Student 2. Teacher 3. Teaching 4. Parents (tie) 5. Home (tie) 6. School 7. Curriculum 8. Administration
2009
WHAT (SKILLS)
are the 21st century skills needed?
WHAT (TEACHING)
are the teaching methods we have yet to adapt?
Changes in teaching?
� What is more important? WHAT we teach or HOW we teach? � Filters for electing teaching activities in class:
� Socratic Method � Essential Questions � Hierarchy of Complexities � (project-‐based learning; inquiry-‐based; problem-‐based
learning) � Interactions
� Differentiation � Evaluation tools
WHEN should we change?
Rip van Winkle
Transporta=on
Banks
Government
Supermarkets
Schools….
Educa=on has to catch up with other aspects of society! But how?
� Baby steps è Bold measures
Teacher Education and 21st Century Skills http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eGHAuV5yLo
WHERE does learning take place in the 21st century?
Everywhere! (Or nowhere?)
� What are the new learning spaces?
� Ergonomics of classrooms
� Online museums, libraries, courses
WHY is it necessary to rethink 21st c. skills?
HOW should 21st century teachers be trained?
OECD study (2014) on Teachers’ New Pedagogical
Knowledge
From “Educa=on” to “Learning Sciences
n “Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) Science is the new and improved brain-‐based learning. It is the scientifically substantiated art of teaching. It is the intersection of neuroscience, education, and psychology. And it is a paradigm shift in formal education…”
TO
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MA
-ES
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AMIND, BRAIN,
and EDUCATION SCIENCE
Mind, Brain, and Education Science
Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa
A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO
THE NEW BRAIN-BASED TEACHING
N O R T O N
Tokuhama-Espinosa (2010a, p.22).
2010
2011
2014 April
2008
2014 June
“Teachers (New) Pedagogical Knowledge”
For more details on the birth of the Mind Brain, and Educa=on field, please watch the summary video (1h48) on: h`ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-‐emz2QM_Qk0
� “Designing educational experiences without an understanding of the brain is like designing a glove without an understanding of the human hand.”
-‐Leslie Hart (1983)
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
-‐William Bulter Yeates (1923)
“One-‐minute paper” on The Brain and Learning
� Left side: Everything you KNOW about the brain and learning
� Right side: Everything you WISH you knew or that you need to know more about.
Angelo, T.A., and Cross, K.P. Classroom Assessment Techniques, 2nd ed., Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1993, pp. 148-153; Bressoud: http://www.maa.org/SAUM/maanotes49/87.html
� Do teachers know enough about the brain?
“Mind, Brain, and Educa.on scien.st”: � In some instances this label
will mean teachers who are integrating cognitive neuroscience and psychological foundations into their practice.
� In other cases it will mean psychologists who seek to bridge the hard and soft sciences.
� In yet others it will mean neuroscientists who dare to bring laboratory findings into the classroom.
“Mind, Brain, and Educa.on scien.st”: � Work as a “purist” is not
any less valuable than work in the transdisciplinary discipline of MBE science; it does, however, acknowledge the need for new professionals who speak the language, walk the talk, and can work seamlessly as MBE specialists as well.
MBE: Balance between learning and teaching
� "We know a little of what goes on in the brain when we learn, but hardly anything about what goes on in the brain when we teach," (Blakemore & Frith, 2008, p.118).
Why is MBE needed now more than ever before? � Begin with the premise that solutions to problems in education today
require the more sophisticated and complex approach offered by MBE science.
� Despite more than 125 years of good intentions to resolve the question “How should we teach to best serve student learning?” we still don’t have the answer.
� The brain is the most complex organ on earth; solutions to educational difficulties are not easy.
Mind, Brain, and Educa.on science combined with Visible Learning in a professional development format
The New Model:
� The categorization of concepts (neuromyths to the well-established beliefs) agreed upon by the Delphi expert panel pointed to the main tenets and principles of Mind, Brain, and Education science.
� Tenets are relative to each individual learner while the principles are important in the same way for all learners.
� The tenets and principles define the instructional guidelines of the field.
Beliefs and Myths
Principles Tenets
Instructional Guidelines
The Foundations of Instructional Guidelines in the New Model
• "Truths" in MBE
Beliefs and Neuromyths
• Universals and • Individualized aspects of learning
Principles and Tenets
• What should occur in the classroom
Instructional Guidelines
Categoriza.on criteria
In Understanding the brain: The birth of a learning science, (OECD, 2002)* the authors propose a continuum of four categories of information quality.
*OECD= 30 countries (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxemburg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
Criteria used to categorize concepts Categories: A. What is well-established (i.e. plasticity, which now has hundreds of credible human studies behind it);
B. What is probably so (i.e., sensitive periods, which has hundreds of studies behind it, though not all conducted on humans);
C. What is intelligent speculation (i.e., gender differences, which has thousands of studies behind it, albeit of mixed quality and sometimes with contradictory findings); and
D. What is popular misconception or a neuromyth (i.e., "right brain" and "left brain" discussion, which has been the target of thousands of books and articles, some of which promote the term, but most of which criticize the lack of factual accuracy of the claim).
WHAT IS WELL-ESTABLISHED
Educa.onal Concepts in the Literature (n=76)
5 19 24 28
concepts concepts concepts concepts
Well-established Probably so Intelligent speculation Neuromyth
“universals” “individual”
Quiz! 1. Review questions and
the evidence: Is the statement “well-‐established”; “probably so”; “intelligent speculation”; or a “neuromyth”.
2. Consider how the answers to the questions point to useable knowledge in the classroom.
“Human brains are as unique as human faces.”
True or false?
TRUE! Human brains are as unique as faces
n While the basic structure of all human brains is the same, there are no two that are identical.
n While there are general patterns of organization in how different people learn and which brain areas are involved, each brain is unique and uniquely organized (…but why?)
Principle
How does this informa.on impact teaching? � Differentiation? � “Disability learning” (Swedish example); � UDL model � The flipped classroom works because it takes into
account the fact that each brain is unique and uniquely organized and thus it needs differentiation. The structure of the Flipped Classroom permits the possibility of meeting each students needs in an individual way.
True or false?
� “All brains are equally prepared for all tasks.”
FALSE! Brains are not equal in their ability to solve all problems
§ Brains are not equal in their ability to solve all problems. Context as well as ability influence learning. Context includes the learning environment, motivation for the topic of new learning, and prior knowledge.
§ Different people are born with different abilities, which they can improve upon or lose depending on the stimuli. The stimulus one receives is impacted by what the learner brings to the context, including past experience and prior knowledge.
Principle
How does this informa.on impact teaching? � Testing requirements?
� In a related principle, the flipped classroom addresses the fact that not all brains are equally good at all things, and therefore some will need more rehearsal on certain concepts, while others will need more attention to different points.
“Past information influences how we learn something new.”
True or false?
TRUE! Prior knowledge influences new learning
n Connecting new information to prior knowledge facilitates learning.
n We learn better and faster when we relate new information to things that we already know.
Principle
How does this informa.on impact teaching?
� Do you know your students well enough to capitalize on their past experiences and make the teaching moment authentic in their lives?
� Flipping the classroom?
“The brain changes constantly with experience.”
True or false?
TRUE! The brain changes constantly due to new experiences
n The brain is a complex, dynamic, and integrated system that is constantly changed by experience, though most of this change is only evident at a microscopic level.
n In fact, the brain often changes before behavior does.
How does this informa.on impact teaching?
“The brain is highly plastic (flexible).”
True or false?
TRUE! Plas?city is the essence of learning itself
n Human brains have a high degree of plasticity.
n The brain can often “fix itself” with practice.
(Neuro) plas.city:
� The ability of the brain to re-‐wire itself using non-‐traditional pathways if a “normal” route is damaged or blocked.
Plas.city We now know that…. � “we see with our brains, not with our eyes.”*
Example: Seeing with tongue (Bach-‐y-‐Rita). � “Children are not always stuck with the
mental abilities they are born with; that the damaged brain can often reorganize itself so that when one part fails, another can often substitute; that is brain cells die, they can at times be replaced; that many ‘circuits’ and even basic reflexes that we think are hardwired are not.”**
� Michel Merzenich; Norman Doidge; Paul Bach-‐y-‐Rita
*Doidge (2007, p.14).;** Doidge (2007, p.xv).
Neuromyth: “Plas?city is due to good pedagogy”
� This is a myth because plasticity is a natural neural process and occurs with or without good pedagogy.
� Examples: addiction, racism.
Are these five “truths” enough to improve our teaching?
� Think about how you might apply these five principles in your own practice.
� Examples?
“Attention + Memory = Learning?”
True or false?
(Oversimplified, but…) TRUE! Without A)en,on and Memory there is no Learning
� To learn something new means you have to pay attention to it as well as remember it.
“Sleep is important for learning (why?).”
True or false?
TRUE! Your brain works while you are asleep. Both Sleep as well as Dreaming impact learning n Sleep: Sleep deprivation also has a negative impact on
attention spans. n Dreaming: Memory consolidation depends on REM sleep
(dreaming)
Why only “probably so”? Do you need the same amount of sleep as your neighbor? Not yet well-established because there are only a few studies available on school-age populations. Carskadon
How does this informaAon impact teaching?
� Are students and parents aware of this information? Do schools (teachers) work close enough with the home (parents) to encourage good sleep habits?
� Are course offerings made at chrono-‐biologically appropriate times for all students?
“Making decisions with ‘a cool head’ and without emotions helps you think better.”
True or false?
FALSE! It is impossible to separate emo,ons and reasoning in the brain
� Emotions are critical in decision-‐making.
� Even though emotions and reasoning seem like opposites, they are actually complimentary processes.
� There are no decisions without emotions.
Tenet: True for all but with significant individual variances
How does this informaAon impact teaching?
� Are you creating the appropriate learning environment in class to ensure that positive emotions rein and that negative ones are reduced to a minimum?
“People judge each other’s faces and tones of voice immediately and almost unconsciously.”
True or false?
TRUE! Faces and Voices
� The human brain judges others’ faces and tones of voices for threat levels in a rapid and often unconscious way, influencing the way information from these sources is perceived (i.e., valid, invalid, trustworthy, untrustworthy, etc.)
� Students determine the level of teacher self-efficacy (and their confidence in their abilities) in part through their facial expressions and their voices.
� According to researchers, when a student feels that her teacher doesn’t believe in her abilities to learn—because the teacher “looked at her funny” or his voice seemed condescending—then the student’s actual performance is impaired.
� Even if the student misinterprets facial expressions, what students think their teacher thinks about her influences her performance.
Tenet: While proven in psychology, not yet well-established because documentation in school contexts is sparse.
How does this informaAon impact teaching? � Are teachers explicitly taught how to manage their body and voices? Should they be?
Human brains seek out novelty as well as patterns. A. True. B. False. C. I don’t know. D. It doesn’t matter.
True or false?
True: Novelty
� “Human brains seek and often quickly detect novelty, (which is individually defined).”
� We are quick to notice things that are out of place or different, and we actually unconsciously look for things that don’t belong.
(e.g., “2+3=5” and “5-‐3=2”) Not yet well-‐established because the
individual nature of “novelty” makes it hard to study.
True: Pa)ern recogni,on � B2. “Human brains seek patterns upon which they
predict outcomes, and neural systems form responses to repeated patterns of activation (patterns being individually defined).”
� We categorize our world in ways that help us understand information. Part of how we do this relates to designing patterns for the things we find. These patterns are like a road map that tells us where to go next. This road map is the neural system for that group of like experiences.
(e.g., math, writing genres, social interactions, etc.)
While proven in neuroscience and psychology, not yet well-‐established because of the limited number of classroom studies.
“Nutrition impacts learning.”
True or false?
TRUE! Approximately twenty percent (20%) of the body’s energy is used by the brain
n Nutrition impacts learning. n Good eating habits contribute to learning and poor eating habits detract from the brain’s ability to maximize its learning potential.
n The body and the brain impact each other.
n Not all calories are created equal.
“Stress impacts learning.”
True or false?
TRUE: Stress impacts learning both posi,vely and nega,vely � Stress impacts learning: ‘good’ stress (eustress)
heightens attention and helps learning, while ‘bad’ stress detracts from learning potential.
� When students feel negative stress, parts of their brain actually block the uptake of new information and new learning. However, a certain level of stress is needed to help focus and pay attention.
� This is equivalent to the sprinter at the starting line who needs a certain level of stress (adrenaline) to start on time; too much stress, however, and he will either jump the gun or waste his energy.
� Eustress involves keeping students “on their toes” without creating panic.
While proven in education, neuroscience and psychology, not yet well-established because documentation in school contexts is missing.
How does this informaAon impact teaching?
� Are teachers taught how to create the “good” stress” and avoid the “bad” (or do we presume they will “pick it up with experience”?)
� Is the classroom environment conducive to the right kind of stress level for optimal learning?
“Humans only use about 10% of their brain potential.”
True or false?
UNKNOWN, however…
� No exact percentage can be assigned to brain usage; the more we learn about the brain, the less it appears we are using!
� However, it is now known that not all areas of the brain are meant to be linked to one another in the first place; so suggesting that lack of use is a reflection of potential is unreasonable.
� This percentage is based on the estimated number of synapses in the brain and instances of brain imaging during a specific activity.
� “Some people are more right-‐brained and others more left-‐brained.”
� “Brain parts work in isolation.”
True or false?
FALSE! Brain areas do NOT act in isola1on
� Most brain functions involve complicated systems that involve both right and left hemispheres.
� (against localizationism)
NEUROMYTH “Language is located in the ‘le8 brain’ and spa1al abili1es are in the ‘right brain.’”
� Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas tend to be located in the left hemisphere of the brain.
� However, five percent of right-‐handed people and thirty percent of left-‐handed people either have these two language systems in the right hemisphere, or language is divided amongst the hemispheres.
� To complicate matters, some aspects of language, such as comprehension of metaphors, analogies, some aspects of humor and some aspects of intonation are typically found in the right hemisphere.
� The “language system” in the brain is in both hemispheres.
“Students can pay attention for a full class period (40-‐90 minutes).”
True or false?
FALSE! The human a?en1on span is limited
Attention spans
� Recognize that students have an average 10-‐20 minute maximum attention span.
In prac1ce:
� This means that teachers need to change the person, place or activity every 10-‐20 minutes to maintain a high level of attention.
“Primacy-‐Recency”
The Primacy-‐Recency Effect
� People remember best what happens first, second best what happens last, and least what happens in the middle.
In prac1ce:
� This means that moments in the “middle” should be dedicated to student-‐centered practice.
In prac1ce:
� The last part of the class should be dedicated to summarizing important concepts and bridging to next class.
Challenges to Teachers:
� Much of what we hold to be “truths” in our practices is without scientific foundation.
� Examples…(neuromyths)
Summary informaMon: Neuromyths
Challenge: 3-‐2-‐1
� 3 things that impacted you today � 2 two things so interesting you will share them with someone else
� 1 thing you will change about your practice based on the information shared today
In summary… 1. We reviewed recent new discoveries about the brain thanks to
Technology
2. Considered most recent educational research
3. Asked you to consider the move from “Education” to “Learning Sciences”
4. Reviewed the new model of teaching: “Visible Learning” (Hattie) + Mind, Brain, and Education Science (Tokuhama-‐Espinosa)
5. Considered 50 Best Classroom Practices (Tokuhama-‐Espinosa, 2014)