24th+Learning+and+the+Brain+Conference,+November+2009

This conference had something to offer everyone: teachers, parents, therapists, or anyone interested in enhancing memory and academic performance. Six of us attended the workshop so if you have any questions or want some resources see Laura Morin and Guillermo Urbina at the upper school and Rachel Rodriguez, Grace Gonzalez, or Isis Perez Gonzalez at the middle school.


 * What was learned?**
 * The learning rate of a teenager is superior to the learning rate of an adult. Addiction is a form of learning so teens who use drugs or alcohol are much more likely to stay addicted.
 * Stress, sleep deprivation, and drugs inhibit learning in teenagers much more than adults (because of the learning rate issue).
 * Multi-tasking is a myth! The brain cannot simultaneously learn two things at a time. When you multi-task, learning is significantly reduced.
 * Girls peak in brain development 2-3 years earlier than boys (12-14 years for girls vs. 14-16 years for boys). As a result of this, all-girl schools with curriculums designed to take advantage of this earlier cognitive peak are popping up around the country. Much research remains to be done in the area of all-girl learning.
 * Attention is required for learning and better attention equals better learning. Teenagers constantly stimulated by the multimedia world have a hard time paying attention to and learning in traditional (straight lecture) educational settings.
 * Raising arousal is the best way to increase attention and produce quality learning. This can be done by using movement, music, allowing choice, and acknowledging effort.
 * Students cannot simultaneously make meaning (new learning) and pay attention. Optimum learning takes place when you allow students opportunities to make meaning often and require attention less than half of class time.
 * Using novel ways of presenting material creates arousal which increases attention and enhances learning.
 * Effective attention can only be maintained for 10-12 minutes for adults.
 * Music can be used to help students focus by covering up distracting sounds in the environment.
 * New learning happens more often if new material is linked to prior knowledge.
 * Modern life is defined in terms of speed, but when you go too fast it's hard to go deep. Do and learn what matters most and re-evaluate the rest.
 * You learn best when you are in a C-state (Dr. Edward Hallowell defines this as a calm, cool, collected state). Humor and a general sense of happiness greatly enhance learning.
 * Connectedness is the most important factor in determining happiness so it is critical that students feel connected to their teacher, classmates, school, and community to be happier and consequently learn more.
 * As many as 25% of students at college campuses and 5% of 6-11th grade students (in a small midwest sample) have used stimulants for academic performance enhancement.
 * Parental nurturance (especially from mothers) at an early age reduces stress in children and increases cognitive performance.
 * Learning happens best when you learn and then sleep for 6 hours after you learn, and a 15-30 min nap is as good a memory enhancer as a full nights' sleep.
 * A daily walk (of at least one mile) can reduce the risk of dementia by 50%.
 * Use different techniques to develop long time memory: Students can learn formulas, verb forms, and vocabulary, among other things, by relating topics, ideas, and recycling frequently.
 * Multitasking is not effective because tasks are not performed at a 100%.

Design lessons that have state changes every 10-12 minutes to maximize attention time.
 * What are the implications for the classroom?**
 * 1) Introduce novel activities more often to arouse students, increase attention, and enhance learning.
 * 2) Focus on one task at a time to maximize learning.
 * 3) Use movement & music, allow choice, and acknowledge effort.
 * 4) Eliminate non-essential curriculum and go deeper rather than faster.
 * 5) Demand less of students' attention and allow them more time to make meaning of new material.
 * 6) Encourage connectedness in class by promoting different pairings and listening to each other.
 * 7) Information should be meaninful: long time memory.
 * 8) Ask students about the best day of their lives before a quiz or a test. This will help them do much better.
 * 9) Humor is very important because it makes the students relax in class and by doing this, they are more receptive to the subject matter that is being taught.

There are about six main uses for music:
 * More on music in the classroom**
 * 1) Calming students down
 * 2) Pumping them up
 * 3) Background music behind academic tasks
 * 4) "Feel-good" music
 * 5) Music that matches the activity
 * 6) Music as carrier of information (content embedded in the lyrics)
 * Optimum beats per minute and volume: Background, reading and writing: 60-80 bpm and low volume. Background, discussions: 80-100 bpm and medium volume.
 * When students are engaged in group discussions, having a "pad" of sound in the environment allows them to hear the conversation within their groups, but masks the discussions of nearby groups.
 * The idea is to choose music that filters out small noises such as someone tapping a pencil against a desk.


 * What did we learn about helicopter parents?** Wendy Gronlick, PhD, discussed the issue of of helicopter parents and the way that they influence student's autonomy.
 * The stress of parenting (stress has the potential to alter the brain) leads some parents to attempt to control their child and/or their environment.
 * The research indicates that parents become controlling because of: pressure from without; pressure from within; motivational effects on performance; and ego-involvement.
 * Pressure from without deals with parents who lacked, as a result of socio-economic or environmental experiences, the ability to attain material items or particular success. Thus, these parents push and control their children so that the children have the ability to purchase items or become accomplished in areas (such as in athletics) that their parents were not able to.
 * Pressure from within deals with parents who have had great success, and lack trust in their children, that they, too, will attain success. Therefore, these parents find that if they control their child's needs and environment, then the child will eventually achieve success and the parent will feel fulfilled.
 * Dr. Gronlick discussed the issue of motivational effects upon performance. She noted that when parents give motivation for a child to achieve (ie: paying for grades) then the child lacks the ability to control his/her environment and does not realize the feeling of accomplishment for the sake of the task, but always expects external motivation.
 * According to Dr. Gronlick, the last reason that parents, in particular mothers, act as a "helicopter parent" is simply due to the ego involved in the parent child relationship. Although it seems to be only negative, it can have positive effects. It is clearly the ego in the parent child relationship that promotes human nurturing for so many years.
 * Interesting to note-children who were in high pressured conditions performed poorer on tasks then children who were in less pressured conditions. Children who were in high pressured conditions could not internalize their performance as students who were in less pressured conditions.

Below are the highlights for the presentation by Peg Dawson, Ed.D and Richard Guare, Ph.D - **Response Inhibition** – The capacity to think before you act. This ability to resist the urge to say or do something allows us the time to evaluate a situation and how our behavior might impact it.
 * Executive Skills Presentation **
 * Definition of Executive Skills: **
 * Working Memory** – The ability to hold information in memory while performing complex tasks. It incorporates the ability to draw on past learning or experiences to apply to the situation at hand or to project into the future.
 * Emotional Control** – The ability to manage emotions in order to achieve goals, complete tasks, or control direct behavior.
 * Sustained Attention** – The capacity to maintain attention to a situation or task in spite of distractibility, fatigue, or boredom.
 * Task Initiation** – The ability to begin projects without undue procrastination in an efficient or timely fashion.
 * Planning Prioritization** – the ability to create a roadmap to reach a goal or to complete a task. It also involves being able to make decisions about what’s important to focus on and what’s not important.
 * Organization** – The ability to create and maintain systems to keep track of information or materials.
 * Time Management** – The capacity to estimate how much time one has and how to allocate it. It allows you to stay within time limits and deadlines. It also involves a sense that time is important.
 * Flexibility** – The ability to revise plans in the face of obstacles, setbacks, new information or mistakes. It relates to an adaptability to changing conditions.
 * Goal-Directed Persistence-** The capacity to have a goal, follow through to the completion or the goal and not be put off or distracted by competing interests.
 * Metacognition** – The ability to stand back and take a bird’s eye view of oneself in a situation. It is an ability to observe how you problem solve. It also includes self-monitoring and self- evaluative skills.

By looking at the above you will see even in yourself that you are better at some of these skills and others are not quite as strong. Students with ADD or ADHD have difficulty with most if not all of these. When dealing with a student with ADD or ADHD it is important to engage them contextually. Goal direction will not work because they will not relate a present action to a future consequence. · Grabbing the student’s attention – fun and dynamic lesson, novelty · Developing a rapport with the student – praising student when he/she does well. Let them know you care about them as a person. · Have the student track his or her progress – average sheets, progress reports. · Help student establish positive self talk – “I can do this.” I cannot ignore this because it will cost me…. (cost must be in the immediate present) · Does not bother to write down assignments · Forgets directions · Forgets to bring materials home · Runs out of steam before finishing work · Passive study methods or does not study at all · Cannot break down long term assignments · Sloppy work · Misplaces things · Acts without thinking · Interrupts others · Overreacts to small problems · Easily overwhelmed <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Talks or plays to loudly <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Resists change <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Does not notice impact of behavior on others <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Easily over stimulated <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Low tolerance to frustration <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msobidithemefont: minor-latin; msolist: Ignore;"> 1. Identify specific problem behavior <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msobidithemefont: minor-latin; msolist: Ignore;"> 2. Set a goal <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msobidithemefont: minor-latin; msolist: Ignore;"> 3. Outline the steps that need to be followed in order for the child to achieve the goal <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msobidithemefont: minor-latin; msolist: Ignore;"> 4. Whenever possible, turn the steps into a list, checklist or shot list of rules to be followed. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msobidithemefont: minor-latin; msolist: Ignore;"> 5. Supervise the child following the steps by: <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Prompt the child to each step <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Observe, if possible, while the steps are being performed <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Praise the child when steps are completed. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msobidithemefont: minor-latin; msolist: Ignore;"> 6. Evaluate the program’s success <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msobidithemefont: minor-latin; msolist: Ignore;"> 7. Fade the supervision
 * Manage the context by: **
 * Any student can exhibit a weakness in executive skills. The following is a list of behaviors to look for: **
 * This is what you would see in class from a student who has a weakness in executive skills **
 * Seven Steps to teaching executive skills **

Those of us who attended the workshop have a book of great articles and links to lots of resources. If you are interested in any of them you can see one of us (above). Probably one of the best keynotes we all attended was by Dr. Edward Hallowell, who has a free newletter you can get at [|www.drhallowell.com] His lecture was about coping in a world gone ADD and ways to be more focused, successful, and happy (and therefore be better educators, parents, therapists, etc).
 * Resources**