Teaching Teachers about the Brain — by Betsy Hill

Not everyone in education makes the connection between brain science and teaching/learning.  This is something we have observed personally and now it has been underscored by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in a report entitled “The Road Less Traveled.”

In the report, the expert panel assembled by NCATE says that the lack of exposure to developmental sciences knowledge in teacher education results not only in suboptimal outcomes in schools, but actually has a negative impact on students, leading to disengagement, alienation and dropping out.

The NCATE report points out some of the great challenges educators face today that make an understanding of developmental science essential.  Among these challenges are the fact that students arrive in classrooms with a wide variety of strengths and barriers to learning and the fact that skills required for academic success are missing in many students, particularly in at-risk students.  In this context, the report notes that “research from the cognitive area of the developmental sciences provides methods to guide and modify instruction based on student progress.”

The report concludes with a broad call for support for the needed changes and points out that deans of colleges of education, grant-making agencies at the state and federal levels, and others engaged in teacher education can and should begin to incorporate knowledge from the developmental sciences in their programs.  At the same time the panel recommends that NCATE itself establish standards for knowledge and performance assessments in the developmental sciences for teacher education programs.

Today, training teachers in neuroscience and other developmental sciences may be the “road less traveled.”  It is certainly time to open that road up to more traffic.

New Year’s Resolutions with Help from Horton — by Dr. Sara Sawtelle

It is the time of year when we start hearing, “There goes my New Year’s Resolution!”  Only a few weeks into the new year and we’ve already slipped up on our resolutions to lose weight, stop smoking or exercise 3 days a week.   Even the people who’ve resolved not to make a resolution are beginning to wonder if they can keep that resolution.  Thinking about resolutions from a brain perspective points out why resolutions are so hard to keep.

The biggest reason resolutions are so difficult is that we have forgotten the wisdom of Dr. Seuss.   In the Seuss classic Horton Hears a Who, Horton the elephant resolves to save Whoville, the village living on a dust speck.  “I’ve got to protect them.  I’m bigger than they,” he resolves.  Horton’s resolution, in contrast to many New Year’s resolutions, is about helping others.  If he didn’t keep his resolution, others would be harmed and so he went to great lengths to keep his promise and protect the Whos.

Finding a motivation that extends beyond oneself is one key to resolution keeping.  The other is remembering the value of trial and error in learning.  A resolution to change is about learning a new pattern of behavior.  Learning involves trial and error.   Inevitably, there will be a time when our desire to exercise three days a week, for example, and the immediate needs of family will conflict, or where the urge to smoke after a meal can’t be resisted.  If we consider the “slip-up” as just that, and as an opportunity to learn and get better at our desired behavior, then we don’t have to give up on the resolution just because we didn’t follow it one time.  After all, Horton didn’t give up when the flower with the dust spec was hidden from him.  He knew he had to find the Whos.

Lofty, all-or-nothing plans are not very brain friendly.  Giant changes in what we do rarely succeed without practice.  Better to make the resolutions but also give ourselves steps to accomplish along the way.  Celebrate the steps whether you succeed the first time you try them or the tenth.  Celebrate what you can learn from the times you don’t quite meet your own expectations.  Figure out why you failed, adjust, and plan to work up to the goal by the end of the year!

Our brains like routine and habits, and they also seek novelty and success.  So, remember … Just because you didn’t make it past the second week of trying to exercise three times a week doesn’t mean you can’t get there in 2012. Remember Horton.

I think I hear a speck of dust talking to me … time to get on my treadmill!

A Glimmer of Understanding: New Concept Formation — by Betsy Hill

When I was in college, I was fascinated with how humans learn and use language.  I took every course I could find related to language — The Philosophy of Language, The Psychology of Language, and Linguistics, in addition to double-majoring in French and Russian.  The explanations suggested by the different disciplines were divergent and none really seemed very satisfying.  I am still as fascinated by language and excited anew because some of the questions that none of my college courses were able to address are beginning to be answered.

I remember writing a major paper on Wittgenstein (not easy reading as I remember) and how he characterized meaning.  What was a concept and how did multiple instances of the same idea — like a dog or a chair or a table — cohere around a common meaning?  Do we store images of some “ideal” or do we memorize all instances of a concept and learn them each?  Do we isolate the individual characteristics of a table and compare new instances to the characteristics of “tableness”?

Modern neuroscience has now opened a window into understanding how concepts are developed.  Recent research reported in Science Daily (one of my favorite sources for what’s new in brain research) at University College London showed that a kind of circuit exists between the hippocampus and part of the prefrontal cortex that is activated when concepts are emerging and being applied.  It was activity in the hippocampus alone that was associated with the ability to develop and apply a concept; the prefrontal cortex, the research suggests, receives the information for decision-making purposes.

In this research, participants observed patterns in the night sky and used them to predict the following day’s weather, developing concepts with predictive value based on visual processing of information.

The research suggests that concept formation is a memory process, involving the unique ability of the hippocampus to network multiple memories.  Of course, the research raises many new questions — as all good research does — such as how these networks are activated when we put them into specific words in language.  Even so, the research underscores the powerful ways different parts of our brains work together and the importance of cognitive processes like memory and concept formation in our everyday lives.

The Economic Value of Cognitive Skills Development — by Betsy Hill

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published a report on the economic value of improved educational outcomes, entitled The High Cost of Low Educational Performance, which describe its conclusion as follows:

“The report uses recent economic modeling to relate cognitive skills — as measured by PISA and other international instruments — to economic growth.  The relationship indicates that relatively small improvements in the skills of a nation’s labour force can have very large impacts on future well-being.”   (PISA refers to the Programme for International Student Assessment.)

How large is the impact on future well-being?  Well, the value of improving student performance by25 points on the PISA scale (a relatively modest goal) translates into $40 trillion of GDP in the U.S.  If the U.S. were able to reach the same levels of performance routinely achieved by students in Finland, the value of the difference is over $100 trillion.  The value of getting every student in the U.S. to minimum proficiency on the PISA would have a GDP impact of over $70 trillion in the U.S. 

Skeptics might argue about the ability of economic models to project into the future.  If the impact of cognitive skills becomes more or less important as technology and economic demands continue to evolve, then the economic impact will be correspondingly more or less.  And, as the report points out, the value of cognitive skills is very likely to increase, making the value of improvements even greater, and the cost of improvements truly insignificant in light of the broad impact on our nation’s, and other nations’, well-being.

The experience of nations like Finland and Poland, the latter of which has seen rapid increases in the quality of schooling, suggests that improvement is possible.  The potential payoff suggests that improvement is an absolute necessity.

New Research on MultiTasking — by Betsy Hill

Holidays seem to be times when multi-tasking is the order of the day — preparing holiday meals while keeping a mental list of what I need to get at the store later, trying to listen to my daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law-to-be’s conversation and track my son’s exchanges on the meaning of life in the next room, all while planning a blog and periodically checking email.  This is the time of year when we tend to push the limits of our ability to focus attention and keep track of lots of things.  Fortunately, according to researchers at McGill University, we have some pretty significant capacity for splitting our attention.

This new research suggests that we can, at least to some degree, pay attention to more than one object simultaneously, as if we had two spotlights, rather than just one to focus our attention.  That’s exciting news for those of us who keep multi-tasking, of necessity or otherwise, even when we’ve been told how limited our abilities to focus and screen out distractions are.  But there are limits, too.  The researchers found that our ability to pay attention to two different things depends on how different they are from the distractors that might interfere. 

Of course, it also helps if some of the “tasking” going on is at the automatic level.  Tasks that are encoded in procedural memory can go on without conscious thought, leaving more room for our conscious efforts to pay attention to the important things going on around us (did I actually hear my daughters-in-law, current and to-be, talking about babies?).  The new research also suggests that training our visual and auditory discrimination skills could make multi-tasking more efficient. 

The holidays aren’t over yet, so it looks like we’ll all  have more time to experiment with the implications of this new research …  Let me know how it goes … once you have time to focus.

BrainWare Safari Named to Top 100 Products — by Betsy Hill

BrainWare Safari has been honored by an impressive series of awards over the years, being recognized by education industry leaders and associations, by the software industry (our peers), and by parents and teachers.  The latest recognition — being named one of the Top 100 Products of 2011 by District Administration Magazine, has a special meaning for us — because it comes as a direct result of what we have helped our customers accomplish.

Nominations for the award are submitted by customers who describe, often in substantial detail, to District Administration what the nominated products have helped them accomplish.  Given the busy schedules of the superintendents, principals, teachers, and other school staff who nominated the program, simply taking the time to do so is a testament to the importance and power of the changes they have seen in students’ minds and academic achievement from BrainWare Safari. 

This is especially gratifying because it validates the very hard work we put into every customer’s implementation and the emphasis we place on helping ensure that the schools who implement BrainWare Safari can measure the impact of the program on student outcomes.  These days, we hear a lot about evidence-based products, one of the important criteria in today’s world of accountability in education, and we know how hard it is to adhere to the realities of evidence-based decision-making in the real-world environment of schools.

So, with appreciation to all of BrainWare Safari’s users around the country (and the world), and especially for those who took the time to share the remarkable results they’ve seen with their students … and with a strengthened commitment from the entire BrainWare Safari team to help many more students in the coming years … thank you and happy holidays!

Spider Webs: A Halloween Reminder of How Our Brains Work – by Dr. Sara Sawtelle

It is that time of year, the time when you see spider webs everywhere you look — real ones and fake ones.  And they all make me smile.  Why?  Because spider webs are a model for how our brains work and how we can strengthen them.  A spider web is my favorite way to describe something that is so hard to understand and at this time of year the imagery is everywhere!

A spider web … how does that help understand our brains?  Think of it this way … a spider web is very connected and complex. All those interconnected threads are necessary and support each other in doing the web’s job.  That is exactly the way our brains work.  The parts of our brain do not operate in isolation.  At the same time that we are using working memory, we are also using visual processing, and auditory processing. Our brains are deciding what to pay attention to, what to just handle subconsciously and what you to need to be consciously working with (Wait a minute, did I turn off the coffee pot?).  Just like a well-connected, beautifully constructed spider web.

Have you ever seen a hole or gap in a beautifully complex spider web? Just recently, I did. In my back yard.  As I watched, the hole in the web made sense in the model – it represents a weakness in the brain, where something should be connected but isn’t.  What happens when there is a hole?  Does the spider walk away, give up and just start over? NO. If you sit and watch long enough, the spider starts fixing the hole.  Standing on the stronger strands and weaving the repair. 

We can strengthen and build new connections in our brains as well, just like the spider does with its web.  We can use our strengths to build our weaknesses.  We can make that spider web of connections in our heads have fewer or smaller gaps. 

So next time you see a spider web, stop and imagine it falling over the top of your head.  Instead of shuddering, smile because… Spider webs, like our brains, are beautiful things!

Six New Things in Education — by Betsy Hill

Usually I’m happy when I learn one new thing in a day and most days I am able to point to some new learning or insight.  Some days are rich beyond measure with learning and new ideas.  Today, listening to the six elementary school finalists for the Intel Schools of Distinction Awards, has been such a day.  I will admit that the ideas they shared are not all completely “new” but what is new is how practicing them with conviction and passion is succeeding.

One school talked about how a consultant showed them how to stop “enabling” students by helping them get the right answer.  Getting the right answer is really irrelevant if students don’t know how or why they got there.  If we help your students get the right answer, the message we are delivering to them is that they are not capable of getting it on their own. 

Another school explained that all students do three engineering projects a year.  These are not high school students — they do this from Kindergarten through 6th grade in this elementary school.  Engineering is needed to solve real-life problems at every stage!

A third school talked about using a program intended for gifted students but using it with all students.  There is no program in this school that some students can’t use because the educators there believe (and are proving) that all students are gifted.

A fourth school talked about working with ELL students in small groups to help them become experts on a specific topic (focused on STEM) and then letting them be ambassadors to teach other students about that topic.

A fifth school described their multi-age (almost grade-less) structure, with kindergarteners and 2nd graders and fifth graders all working together.  Younger students hear the vocabulary of math (mean, median, mode, for example) so they are primed with the information, and older students get to teach the vocabulary, ensuring that they have mastered the concepts.

The last school boasted of trying to educate “skeptical thinkers” and to nurture “generators” rather than “duplicators.” 

All six of the schools are designed around authentic problem-based learning, draw heavily on community experts and resources and, despite the lack of focus on “basics”, they ensure that the basics are not only learned but applied – and their standardized test scores demonstrate that. 

So six “new” things (or at least six practical ways of talking about a STEM-focused and highly engaging approach to learning) that add up to a recipe for high levels of achievement and students who know why they need to learning math and science.

Why Grade Point Averages Should Fall in College — by Betsy Hill

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune presented grade point averages for graduates of area high schools and then bemoaned the fact that these students earned lower grades on average when they arrived in college.  The paper’s conclusion seemed to be that the high schools weren’t preparing their students well for college academics.

It would have been surprising to me had this phenomenon not been observed.  Consider two scenarios.  A straight-A student from a good high school is admitted to one of the nation’s leading universities.  Not all students get As at this university and this straight-A student is now competing with students who are all bright and well-prepared and hard working.  Straight As may not be in the cards at least for a freshman.  This student is likely to adapt to higher expectations and to find the areas of study that best match his or her abilities and inclinations.  Will we be surprised then to see his or her grade point average go up?

Now consider a well-performing student who graduated from a not-so-good high school who enrolls at a state university.  This student is likely to need remediation and support even to reach college-level academic work.  Might not this student’s grade point average also decrease initially?

As an educator and university trustee, I certainly hope that academic standards increase from high school to college.  I hear many colleagues lamenting that the true tragedy in education today is the tolerance for low standards.  As a business person, I know that however I performed yesterday is not going to be good enough today if I want to stay competitive and successful.

Rather than deploring the drop in grade point average from high school to college, we should celebrate it.  It means that our college students are learning something new and working to raise their performance and their expectations.

Teacher Effectiveness and Student Ability – by Betsy Hill

An op-ed in this morning’s Chicago Tribune holds that the way student learning is measured is flawed because it assumes that all students come with the same cognitive ability to learn.  That is, indeed, a fundamental problem with most education today.   In fact, we know that students come to classrooms with widely varying cognitive abilities.

The writer of the op-ed then advocates for universal cognitive testing so that student ability to learn can be taken into consideration when evaluating teacher effectiveness.  This becomes especially important when student achievement scores are used for teacher evaluations, and possibly for teacher compensation.

Unfortunately, the op-ed writer leaves the story there.  She seems to imply that teachers who instruct slow students and help them make slow progress should be rewarded just as teacher who instruct “bright” students and help them make exemplary progress should be rewarded.

What this ignores is that cognitive ability is not fixed.  Students are not just slow or bright.  All the mental processes that make up intelligence can be developed.  What teachers really should be demanding is that schools ensure that every student who comes to their classrooms has the capacity to learn at the level that we expect.  When all students can learn, then effective teachers can all deliver great student results.