Below is a video from John Cleese’s very “informative” brain podcast (actual content begins around 35 seconds). You’ll notice, of course, that nearly every sentence is almost entirely gibberish. It is humorous to us in large part because . . . John Cleese is a masterful humorist who can make gobbledygook sound sensical, and . . . It is a low stakes … Read More
Dyslexia doesn’t define me
Video source missing
One Story About Embracing Diversity and Empowering Students
In this powerful and inspiring TEDxManhattan talk, teacher Stephen Ritz shares a program he started with his students called Green Bronx Machine. More important than the program itself, though, is how the experiences have transformed and empowered his students — their present and their future. Jackie Gerstein describes his work in her post “Learners as Entrepreneurs,” Stephen Ritz’s Bronx classroom features … Read More
Resources for Improving Your Long Term Memory
The following is a guest post by Dr. Craig Pohlman, Director of Mind Matters at Southeast Psych. You can view the original post here. These days, it seems like there are no limits to what our genius gadgets (like computers, iPhones, tablets, calculators, etc.) can do. So, is human memory even as important anymore? The short answer to this is yes. … Read More
Oh, The Places You’ll Find Yourself — Spatially Speaking
Below is a TED Talk by Neil Burgess, a neuroscientist at the University College in London, who researches, as described on the TED website, “how patterns of electrical activity in brain cells guide us through space.” [ted id=1349] Supplemental to the grid cells Dr. Burgess discusses are additional neurological systems that give us a sense of our surroundings. Dan Peterson, … Read More
15 Things About the (Human) Brain
As we get excited for Brain Awareness Week next week, we thought it might be fun to take a quick look at our amazing brain. Below is an info-graphic from onlineschools with 15 facts you may or may not have known. Number 9 is a great reminder for parents, educators, and health conscious people — we think what we eat.
7 C’s of Resilience
A recent piece at KQED’s MindShift blog titled, “How Free Play Can Define Kids’ Success,” explores some of the ideas from Kenneth Ginsburg book Building Resilience in Children and Teens. It is part of a growing trend of research and theories related to student efficacy, tenacity, and persistence. These are important ideas for anyone working with students and kids in today’s … Read More
Walking the (Learning) Walk
We find ourselves in something of a paradoxical education landscape. On the one hand we are learning more and more about the science of learning. Neuroscience is pushing the boundaries of the known world on a near daily basis. As a result, our knowledge about working with a variety of minds continues to grow at a phenomenal rate. Yet, numerous policy … Read More
12 Brain Rules
Below are the 12 Brain Rules developed by John Medina. Each link will take you to his site and to more information about each of the rules. You can find the original list in his book “Brain Rules” and on his Brain Rules website. Enjoy. EXERCISE | Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power. SURVIVAL | Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too. WIRING … Read More
Words that Ignite Learning
Below is a guest post by Kevin Washburn, Ed.D., author of “Architecture of Learning” and Executive Director of Clerestory Learning. His most recent recording at a Learning and Brain Conference can be found here. It seems like a ridiculous question: Can a teacher’s words influence student learning? Of course, we’d respond, how well a teacher explains new ideas naturally influences … Read More
