LATEST ARTICLES
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Brain Science to help teachers improve teaching methods
Article in New Scientist, Sept. 16, 2009:
Brain science to help teachers get into kids' heads
- By Nora Schultz, Berlin
- New Scientist, 16 September 2009
- For similar stories, visit the Teenagers and
- The Human Brain Topic Guides
NEUROSCIENCE could do for schools what biomedical research has done for healthcare. That's the conclusion of the Decade of the Mind (DOM) symposium last week in Berlin, Germany, to discuss how the latest findings could be used to improve education.
"In medicine, we have an excellent system in place to go from basic research to clinical practice, while in neuroscience we have the basic understanding of how the brain learns but still need to figure out how to translate this into the classroom," says Manfred Spitzer of the University of Ulm in Germany, one of the conference organisers. With brain imaging and, increasingly, genetic studies now complementing psychology research, a host of new findings could inform teachers about the conditions in which our brains can be primed to learn best.
One of the main themes emerging at the DOM meeting was that the foundation of successful learning is improving executive function - a collection of cognitive processes important for self-control and focusing on the task at hand. Brain-imaging studies have mapped executive function to several regions, including the anterior cingulate gyrus, which also lights up during error detection and when children learn numeracy and literacy.
Various studies presented at the meeting showed that improving a child's executive function could be achieved with relatively small changes, for example, by altering the timetabling of exercise sessions or encouraging the learning of a musical instrument (see "Stretch and learn" and "The Stephen King effect")
Click here: To read the entire article.
www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327265.800-brain-science-to-help-teachers-get-into-kids-heads.html
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Friday, September 11, 2009
Pink Brain, Blue Brain
A BOOK REVIEW OF
Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps—And What We Can Do About It by Lise Eliot
In the Sept. 14, 2009 issue of Newsweek, under the title "Pink Brain, Blue Brain: Claims of sex differences fall apart," Sharon Begley reviews Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps—And What We Can Do About It by Lise Eliot, a neuroscientist at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.
Although there is no specific mention of the current buzz word "tomboy" — which is circling about the the BBC's coverage of the of sex-orientation testing case of South African sprinter Caster Semanya — Begley's review explains how Eliot can make the broad claim that there is "little solid evidence of sex differences in children's brains."
Perhaps — perhaps — it's true, if we use Eliot's argument, that tomboy behavior derives more from the expectations of parents than it does from the dispositions of the kid. But I'm thinking that if a girl-kid waxes tomboy, she hadda be a curious wannabe in the first place! Either way, lets beat the tom-toms — o-boy-o-boy-o-boy! — for all of the tomboys of this Earth ever: then, now, and hereafter!
KEY IDEAS IN BEGLEY'S REVIEW:
• Marching through [her] claims like Sherman through Georgia, [Lise Eliot] explains that assertions of innate sex differences in the brain are either "blatantly false," "cherry-picked from single studies," or "extrapolated from rodent research" without being confirmed in people.
• Other baseless claims: that women are hard-wired to read faces and tone of voice, to defuse conflict, and to form deep friendships; and that "girls' brains are wired for communication and boys' for aggression." Eliot's inescapable conclusion: there is "little solid evidence of sex differences in children's brains."
• How we perceive children—sociable or remote, physically bold or reticent—shapes how we treat them and therefore what experiences we give them.
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To read Begley's entire review of Pink Brain, Blue Brain, click here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/214834.
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Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Rollins Reservoire Outing
Exclusive Pictures
The August 27, 2009, Outing of Cindy's TBI "Pontoonaquaphilia" Society at Rollins Lake
With special thanks to Skipper Lane Rollins.
Photos and Apple iPhoto development by John Horlivy.
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The Mystery of Anne Green's Savory Coleslaw:
Q. What seasonings did she use?
A. Dillweed & celery seed.
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