c.+Chapter+2+-+Recent+Research

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 * __Recent Research on the Brain: We Need Low Tech, Too__**
 * The more you challenge your brain by learning new things, the better off your brain with be.
 * Mirror Neurons**
 * Mirror neuron system is a network of neurons in our brain that begin to wire together when we watch someone do something. Ou brains are set up so that we do the exact same thing.
 * Our students watch what we are doing, their brains mirror the action.
 * Current research on use of gestures and their connection to learning communication is only 7% words, 35% is the tonality of speech, and 58% is body language.
 * It's not what we say, it's how we say it and what we're doing when we say it.
 * Gestures help students learn.
 * Students who learn with gestures remembered 90% of what was taught, only 33% remembered with speech only.


 * Educators as Neuroplasticians**
 * The brain is the only organ that sculpts itself, and it does so through experiences.
 * At birth, the 100 billion neurons do not have many connections. By age 2, the brain has more connections than needed.
 * At age 10 or 12, the frontal lobe experiences a growth spurt with many new connections.
 * Students will decide to sculpt a brain that excels at music and sports or sculpt a brain that will be changed by alcohol and drugs.
 * As students learn and make new networks of neurons, their brains will change to support new learning.


 * Exercise and the Brain**
 * Exercise increases brain power. It increases blood flow and destroys "free radicals" that cause your brain to deteriorate.
 * Exercise improves attention and motivation, decreases impulsivity, creates positive moods, lowers anxiety, and raises self-esteem.
 * Exercise improves self-confidence, helps deal with stress and frustration, and causes stem cells in the brain to divide, creating the possibility of making new brain cells.
 * Studies show that ADD may be better controlled through exercise than medication. The same may be true of anxiety and depression.


 * Does Art Make You Smart**
 * There is new support that children who participate in the arts also do well academically with changes in attention networks in the brain.
 * Music training aides in mathematics reasoning, improves reading fluency, reading attainment, and sequence learning.
 * Music training and acting shows improvements in working memory.


 * Trial and Error: Who Learns from Mistakes?**
 * Younger students (before age 12) do not benefit from negative feedback. These students may give up when they receive negative feedback or carry on incorrectly.
 * By age 12 the brain responds differently to negative feedback.
 * Give younger students more information with negative feedback ie. "That's not working well; why don't you try th