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NEUROSCIENCE IN THE CLASSROOM Presentation created by Amelia Warshaw Big Ideas Automaticity (nonconscious vs. conscious processing) Multiple Platforms of Input (mixed-media, thematic, and interdisciplinary learning) Self-Deception (and better test results) A Little Basic Neuroscience Neural Connections and Memory Basic Science Neurons fired during recall = neurons fired during learning Repetition myelination (wrapping in fat cells) which strengthens pathway Allows for faster and more automatic recall Big Idea #1- Automaticity Automaticity: point at which something has been so ingrained in brain that recall is automatic and nonconscious. Automated behaviors are faster, require less work for brain Michael S. Gazzaniga: “conscious processes are expensive: they require not only a lot of time, but also a lot of memory. Nonconscious processes, on the other hand, are fast and rule-driven.” Creating Automaticity Requires repetition and “drilling” Creating nonconscious shortcuts through certain centers of the brain means that we can respond quickly to certain stimuli “Acquiring automaticity” helps us learn new skills and not require new deliberate integration and output every time Examples- Automaticity Automaticity in everyday life: playing piano, sports Commercials and marketing create automaticity Ever had the experience of trying to pick out cold medicine in the pharmacy? Having too many options can make a decision impossible. Commercials aid in this process because they make that choice automatic. Obviously you’re going to choose Nyquil because it’s the “Best Sleep You’ve Ever Had With a Cold… Medicine” Automaticity in the Classroom Drilling easier test experience Automatically go through the processes of the problem Eliminates the “freezing up” that can happen during a test when stress and anxiety block certain pathways Automaticity in the Classroom Choosing fewer points when teaching students learn more Giving students too many minute facts and accessory information decreases automaticity and retention Automaticity and the DM Allowing students to experience and exercise DM pathway strengthens it and makes its engagement more automatic and efficient Nonconcious and automatic toggling between DM and extrinsic mode Big Idea #2Multiple Platforms of Input Multiple platforms of input create multiple pathways for information recall Memories are stored in the form of synaptic connections between neurons The more pathways or triggers linking learned concepts easier to access information. Media Example of multiple platforms: different kinds of media Ipads Anti-war example Movies Songs Newspaper Textbook articles Thematic and Interdisciplinary Study Another example of multiple platforms: thematic and interdisciplinary study “Isolationism Coordination The vs. Interventionism” example History and English departments Great Gatsby While learning about the 1920s and prohibition Big Idea #3- Self-Deception Robert Trivers’ The Folly of Fools: a look at the evolution of human behavior The two main factors that determine our behavior are deception and self-deception Study: Self-Deception and “Saving Face” Human tendency to back up our choices and “save face” and justify first decisions Trivers presents a study about chimpanzees asked to choose between a yellow and blue m&m He found that if the monkeys first chose a blue m&m, if then asked to choose between a red and the rejected yellow m&m, then the chimps would choose the red Why Not Choose a Yellow M&M? Subjects felt compelled to justify their rejection of an arbitrary choice Adaptive value/relevance: Human beings feel compelled to back up their choices (and deny correction) to “save face” and protect their egos Self Deception in the Classroom Self-deception barrier to learning When looking at test results students often blame a “mean teacher” or an “unfair test” and don’t admit to difficulty with material Self-Deception in the Classroom Suggestion: Meta cognition: experience of self-awareness (DM engagement) Build in time for reflection after going over a test Go over tests as a class Have students mark mistakes as “silly” or a problem with comprehension Acknowledging mistakes helps student to avoid selfdeception through dismissing whole experience as “unfair” Bibliography http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/theneuron.html http://www.psypress.com/groome/figures/ http://www.brainwaves.com/brain_diagram.html Trivers, Robert. The Folly of Fools: The Logic of Deceit and Self-deception in Human Life. New York, NY: Basic, 2011. Print. Gazzaniga, Michael S. Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2011. Print.