What every teenager should know about his or her own brain(tracey tokuhama espinosa)

What Every Teenager Should Know About His or Her Own Brain Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D Insituto de Enseñanza y Aprendizaje (IDEA) Universidad San Francisco de Quito Tri Association, Panamá Octubre 2011

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Background  Master’s from Harvard University in International

Education and Development and doctorate (Ph.D.) from Capella University (cross-disciplinary approach comparing findings in neuroscience, psychology, pedagogy, cultural anthropology and linguistics).

Bachelor’s of Arts (International Relations) and Bachelor’s of Science (Communications) from Boston University, magna cum laude.

• Director of the Institute for Research and

Educational Development (IDEA), Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador and professor of Education and Neuropsychology.

• Teacher (pre-kindergarten through university) with

22 years of comparative research experience and support to hundreds of schools in 20 countries.

• Three teenagers : )

There is an

explosion in research about the brain that is changing how we think about learning and education.

Today’s Objectives

Recognize that: 

Many factors that in=luence student learning are outside of the realm of in=luence of teachers.

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By helping students know more about their own brains, we can maximize their learning potential.

Factors outside of the classroom that influence learning?  (One minute paper)  Social Economic Status  Nutrition  Sleep patterns  Physical exercise  Relationships with peers and family  …?

“Teenagers are different”

 Excuse or explanation?

Reasons for changes?

 Brain changes during adolescence (see Giedd 2000; 2004;

2009)

 “The teen brain is not broken or defective. Rather, it is

wonderfully optimized to promote our success as a species.Giedd, 2009)

 “Maturing connections pave the way for increased

communication among brain regions, enabling greater integration and complexity of thought.”

Cerebrum, http://www.dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=1

Reasons for change?  “Carskadon and colleagues have reported maturational changes in

the biology of sleep-wake and circadian regulation during puberty that may provide impetus for a sleep phase delay” (2006)  “The two-process model of sleep regulation posits a fundamental

sleep-wake homeostatic process (process S) working in concert with the circadian biological timing system (process C) as the primary intrinsic regulatory factors. How do these systems change during adolescence?”  Melatonin secretory pattern Jennis, O.G., Acebo, C., Achermann, P., & Carskadon, M.A. (2006). Regulation of Adolescent Sleep: Implications for Behavior

Equal in “weight”?

Example: Risky behavior  Nature  Physical changes in the brain architecture?  Genetic predisposition to certain types of behavior?

 Nurture  Poor parenting  Peer groups  Independence (late-night parties)  Social structures (Schools? Scheduling  lack of sleep 

behavior)

There are many ways to study the brain….

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Neuroimaging Neurotransmitters and brain cheistry Neurogenisis and Plasticity Theories about Consciousness Beliefs about Intelligence Learning theories Neuroethics Learning differences Connection between Mind and Brain Sleep b. Exercise c. Nutrition a.

¡Quiz!

Multiple Choice Questions True or False Read the statement and decide whether you think it is a true or a false statement AND EXPLAIN WHY

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Question: ď “â€Ż Teenagers sometimes act out because their

brains are not yet fully formed.

TRUE AND FALSE Adolescents sometimes act out, but…  There are many reasons:  Parents?  Hormones?  Friends?  Late development of frontal lobes (related to executive functions).

Questions: True or false?

“The brain changes daily with experience.”

TRUE The brain changes constantly due to new experiences.

 A3. “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.”

Question:

True or false?

“The brain is highly plastic and =lexible.”

TRUE Plasticidad  A4. “Human brains have a

high degree of plasticity.

 The brain can “=ix itself”

with practice.

Question:

Attention + Memory = Learning?

TRUE Attention + Memory = Learning

 B6. “To learn

something new means you have to pay attention to it, and to remember it.

Question: The brain works without rest, even when we are sleeping.

TRUE Sleep and Dreaming  Your brain never rests!  Memory consolidation depends on REM sleep

(dreaming)  Sleep deprivation also has a negative impact on memory.

Question:  To really learn

something, information needs to get to long‐term memory. To get to long‐term memory, what do you need?

Rest and eat Review and sleep Sleep and eat Do exercise and sleep e. Do exercise and eat. a. b. c. d.

ALL! BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING, Review and sleep well (Practice)

 While some memories

can be created without sleep, long‐term memory depends on sleep.

Question:

 Nutrition in=luences

learning.

a. True or False?

Nutrition: Twenty percent (20%) of the body’s energy is used by the brain  B7. “Nutrition impacts learning

(good eating habits contribute to learning and poor eating habits detract from the brain’s ability to maximize its learning potential).” ”  The body and the brain impact each

other.

Question:  Of all the organs

in your body, the brain is the only that does NOT…

a. have blood. b. have oxygen. c. have pain

receptors. d. change in size.

c. Pain receptors (your brain doesn’t feel pain.

Question: True or false?

“Making decisions with ‘a cool head’ and without emotions helps you think better.”

FALSE It is impossible to separate emotions 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.

Question: True or false?

“Today there is technology (imaging machines) that allow us to see inside the working human brain.”

TRUE!

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Phrenology

Brain Autopsy

Neuro-x-rays

Radiology

EEG (Electroencephalography)

Electrical

CAT Scan (computed axil tomography)

Radiology (x-ray), but in 3D

PET/SPEC Scans (single photon/ positron emission computed tomography)

Chemical (radiotracers)

(f)MRI Scans (Functional Magnetic resonance imaging)

Electro-Magnetic energy, when (f) then also chemical

3D Scanner

Computer

fMRI 3D Scanner

Optical Tomography

Question: True or false?

“Human brains are as similar as faces.”

TRUE

Human brains are as unique as faces  A1: “Human brains are as

unique as faces; while the basic structure is the same, there are no two that are identical. 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 .”

Question: Albert Einstein’s brain was: the same size b. smaller c. bigger a.

than the average man’s brain.

b. smaller however…..  differences in gray and white matter

Question: True or False?

“Past information in=luences how we learn something new.”

TRUE The influence of prior learning  A5. “Connecting new

information to prior knowledge facilitates learning.

 We learn better and faster

when we relate new information to things that we already know.

Question:  The bran continues

to be a mystery.

Ninety percent (90% ) of what we know about this amazing organ has been discovered or proven in just the past XX years.

a. 5 b. 10 c. 20 d. 30 e. 50

Question:  The bran continues

to be a mystery.

Ninety percent (90% ) of what we know about this amazing organ has been discovered or proven in just the past 10 years.

a. 5 b. 10 c. 20 d. 30 e. 50

Question:

True or false?

“Brain parts work in isolation.”

FALSE Brain areas do NOT act in isolation  Most brain functions

involve complicated systems that involve both right and left hemispheres.  (against localizationism)

Question:

 The number of

neuroconnections in the brain is about the same number as…

a. =ish in the ocean (18,000 species times the number of each species) b. stars in the Milky Way (100 billion)” c. people in the world (6,804,800,000) e. words in Spanish (400,000 total; 100,000 used daily) f. words in English (1,000,000 total; 200,000 used daily)

b. Stars in the Milky Way (est. 100 billion)

b. In just the past 10 years we have learned 90% of what we know about the human brain.

Question:

How big is your brain?

a. Weighs 1.300 – 1.400 grams and is the size of a pomegranate. b. Weighs 1.300 – 1.400 grams and is the size of a grapefruit. c. Weighs 3.300 – 4.400 grams and is the size of a coconut. d. Weighs 3.300 – 4.400 grams and is the size of a watermelon.

Final Thoughts and Questions  You are unique…  You have control over

your brain and can help it learn better by … …eating well, sleeping well, studying…

References

 For a list of the more than 2000 books used in this

study, please log on to: http://www.proquest.com/enUS/products/dissertations/pqdt.shtml and add the name “Tokuhama-Espinosa” (free service).

 You can find this presnetation on:

www.educacionparatodos.com

For more information: Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D. Universidad San Francisco de Quito Casa Corona, primer piso Campus Cumbayá Diego de Robles y vía Interoceánica ECUADOR desarrolloprofesional@usfq.edu.ec Tel.: (593)-2-297-1700; (593)-2-297-1937 Fax: (593)-2-289-0070.

P.O.BOX 17-1200-841, Quito - Ecuador Telf: 297-1700 x1338 www.educacionparatodos.com