Building a Reading Brain: I

This is the first of many posts on the brain and reading. There is so much information out there it's overwhelming! Here's what I've learned so far reading Brain Literacy for Educators and Psychologists by Virginia W. Berninger and Todd L. Richards.

First of all, lets start off with why we need to know about the brain. This book brings up an interesting point by saying that teachers educate minds EVERY DAY yet learn nothing about the brain. The viewpoint of the authors is that "educational practice might also become more effective if grounded in a scientifically supported conceptual framework integrating neural, cognitive, linguistic, and developmental science rather than atheoretical pedagogical procedures."

I'd have to agree with them and express my frustration at the fact that the only place in the US to study more on this issue is Harvard which is very expensive and not accessible to all teachers. I feel that at least a very basic overview of cognitive neuroscience should be taught in every teacher prep program throughout the US. I guess the only option for those not able to go to Harvard is to teach themselves which brings me to this blog entry...

Reading and the Brain
With experience, dendrites grow and branch off forming new connections and creating a web of communication in the brain. Early intervention for reading is needed because 1) there is less emotional interference due to repeated failure and 2) it's easier to create new connections in younger children.

Different brain structures are specialized for different tasks however they all interact and have more than one job. When we teach students to read we are using brain structures that already have a purpose and training them for another job. This is great, but students must have the structures already developed and working properly at the first job before they can be cross-trained for another task. Another way to look at this is that teachers "remodel" the brains of their students.

As stated above, different brain structures are specialized for various tasks. During reading the auditory, visual, and vestibular senses interact and are re-trained for reading. Take vision for example; most children are adept at extracting visual features from things they see but when they learn to read they are taking this and creating a new job description- Written Word Visual Extracting Specialist. They now must use their visual skills for a new purpose.

Large print is often used for beginning readers not just to prevent them from being overwhelmed but physically, it helps eyes better track the words on the paper. Blue transparent overlays may also help in this area.

Finally, the most interesting thing I've read so far was the possibility that the vestibular sense may be frequently impaired in students with dyslexia. It was suggested by the book's authors that possibly pairing motion sickness medication with intense reading intervention may help a student's eye movements across a page of print and help with their reading difficulties. How fascinating!

Check back later for more information on reading and the brain. I'm trying to keep myself from being overwhelmed by the amount of information out there!

Relaxed Alertness

Currently Reading: 12 Brain/Mind Principles in Action: Developing Executive Functions of the Human Brain.

Why is relaxed alertness important?

Relaxed alertness is the brain's optimum state for learning. Children learn best when in a state of relaxed alertness.

What is relaxed alertness?

Relaxed alertness is when a learner is put into a state of being where they feel comfortable yet experience a high level of challenge. Experiencing relaxed alertness often starts out with students experiencing small successes, but after multiple successes- it becomes a way of thinking and learning that seems natural for the student. When relaxed alertness becomes a way of life for a student, it's actually easier for them to learn new things.

Students who experience relaxed alertness believe in themselves and always want to challenge themselves to be better than the day before. They also bounce back easily from failures; possibly because of their confidence based on previous successes. Finally, they take charge of their learning by setting goals for themselves and using strategies they've learned to help them be good problem solvers.

How can I help my students achieve relaxed alertness?

1. Give them frequent, specific, positive feedback on what they are doing well on in class. 5 positives to 1 corrective!

2. Help students set goals within your class and reward their progress towards a goal. For example, students practice fluency daily in our classroom. Once weekly they DIBEL'd and are shown their score and how it relates to the aim line drawn on their book. They know how they are progressing towards their goal. However I thought it would help them on their daily fluency reads to draw an aim line on the graphs they were using to record their daily scores. They are more motivated and are becoming very confident each time they exceed their goal!

3. Make your classroom a low-threat environment. Encourage students to take risks and let them know that it's OK to make mistakes- that's how we learn!

Differentiated Instruction

Adapted from Fair Isn't Always Equal by Rick Wormeli

Chapter 1: The Differentiated Instruction Mind-set: Rationale and Definition
Using what we know about how the brain learns best is actually the best way to differentiate. YEAH- brain based research!

Classroom management gets easier in differentiated classrooms as students are all appropriately challenged and learning is maximized.

When we don’t differentiate we actually make things EASIER for students who struggle. It’s a lot easier for them to give up and not try because the task is so challenging for them. When work is differentiated they are challenged and must work much harder.

If we are testing students on material that was not differentiated, then the test is not even accurate of what they are able to do. They don’t have the tools to learn well.



Chapter 2: Mastery
Students who thought teachers and peers were focused on mastery and independent thinking scored higher on a district-wide curriculum-based test than students who thought their classroom was based on ability.

Evidence of mastery should include 1) multiple assessments and/or 2) tracking the progress of a few important works over time.



Chapter 3: Principles of Successful Assessment in the Differentiated Classroom
Teachers should always be concerned about where their students are at right now in their learning and how to get them to where they need to be.

Informal and formal assessment should be taking place 24/7.

Assessment should focus not on documenting deficiencies but on shaping instructional decisions.

A short pre-test should be given at the start of each unit before planning for the unit begins.

Nothing in adult life is kept a secret so don’t keep what’s on the test a secret either.

Prioritize unit objectives by categorizing them as essential, highly desirable, and desirable.

It’s ok to remove or change an essential objective for students who struggle but make sure they have a plan to get back on track and achieve that objective.

For students who are advanced, make sure they achieve the essential objective but don’t require them to put in the time practicing it if it’s already mastered.

To stay focused on the overall goals of a unit, write the test out before you even start teaching.

A unit should include a pre-tests, mini assessments throughout the unit, and a final assessment.

Providing students with specific, frequent feedback on their progress towards a goal increases their achievement by 37 percentile points!

More focus should be on the mini assessments in the middle of a unit than the beginning and end tests.

Assessments should 1) be similar to how students will apply their learning in the real world and 2) be similar to how they are learning in class.

Assessments should never be saved for the end of a unit.

Don’t give students “fluff” assignments unless they are for extra credit. Make learning fun, but take out the fluff assignments.

Steps for a Differentiated Lesson
1. Identify essential knowledge.
2. Identify students with unique needs (high/low, attention, modalities, multiple intelligences, etc.)
3. Design formative and summative assessments.
4. Design and deliver pre-assessments.
5. Adjust assessments if needed.
6. Design learning experiences for students based on what you found out on pre-assessments.
7. Check to make sure your lessons will help all students learn the material.
8. Review your plan with another professional.
9. Create materials for the lesson.
10. Conduct the lesson.
11. Evaluate the success of the lesson.
12. Record advice for yourself to use in the future.

Keep a folder for each student. Record information from observations and other methods on sticky notes. At the end of each day put the sticky notes into each of the student’s folders who you wrote notes on. If you need the notes for the next day’s lesson then put them by your lesson plans. Once a week copy the sticky notes onto a running record in each student’s folder.