Learning and the Brain Conference
By Chia-wa Yeh, Head Teacher and Research Coordinator
What skills are needed to become productive citizens as advances in technology and globalization continue in the 21st century? What does research on the brain tell us about how neural networks affect learning? How can technology better facilitate learning for individuals with different learning needs? These are some of the topics discussed at the Learning and the Brain conference held February 17-19 in San Francisco. Approxi-mately 2,000 educators, psychologists and clinicians attended the conference, including Bing teachers Parul Chandra, Nancy Howe and myself. The conference, which examined the effect of technology on students, is one of several organized annually by Public Information Resources, Inc. to connect educators to neuroscientists and researchers.
One of the conference’s keynote speakers was Tony Wagner, PhD, professor of education at Harvard University and author of The Global Achievement Gap, who highlighted the following survival skills for careers, college and citizenship:
• Critical thinking and problem-solving
• Collaboration across networks and leading by influence
• Agility and adaptability
• Initiative and entrepreneurship
• Effective oral and written communication
• Accessing and analyzing information
• Curiosity and imagination
Wagner, a former high school English teacher, visited many schools while researching his book. He observed they were failing to prepare students for college and work. Central to what plagues K-12 schools, said Wagner, is the pressure on educators to teach to the test. Rather than actively engaging in the learning process, students learn to “do school,” by rote memorization, for instance.
Yet, the 21st century workplace is characterized by perpetual change, restructuring and teamwork across the country, and even the world. The ability to learn continuously, think critically and collaborate with people of different backgrounds in terms of culture, race and religion is therefore essential, he said.
Wagner is familiar with Bing, having visited last fall, and has said that in some ways it can serve as an exemplar for schools of many kinds. During a talk for the Common Ground Speaker Series while he was in the area, he proposed modeling high schools after elementary schools—or even nursery schools like Bing—to promote collaborative and project-based learning.
Another Learning and the Brain talk relevant to early childhood educators addressed how different parts of the brain impact learning. David Rose, EdD, lecturer in education at Harvard University and chief education officer of the Center for Applied Special Technology, gave an update on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which uses technology to assist learners with different learning styles. Though Rose focused on reading as an example, the UDL approach can be applied to all areas concerning learning. For example, visual learners are drawn to graphic presentations whereas auditory learners benefit from hearing a text read aloud. Technology can make it easy for users to access multiple modes of representation.
Rose outlined three neural networks in different areas of the brain that relate to learning: recognition networks, which take in information through sight, auditory input and other sensory systems; strategic networks, which plan, organize and initiate purposeful actions on the environment; and affective networks, which monitor internal and external environment and set priorities and motivate learning and behavior. It affirms Bing’s approach of providing an intellectually stimulating and emotionally supportive environment.
Rose described one of his own experiences—taking a dance class at his wife’s suggestion—to show the impact of affective networks. He lagged behind in class, which led the teacher to treat him differently, including speaking to him in a louder voice and moving him into a small remedial group. Rose became withdrawn and started making excuses to avoid attending the class. The experience underlined the importance of positively activating the affective network, which motivates one for learning.
Providing multiple means of representation, multiple means of action and expression as well as multiple means of engagement are important for creating learning experiences that address the needs of individuals with different learning styles, said Rose. His attention to the varying needs of different types of learners echoed Wagner’s call to model high schools after elementary and nursery schools. It also supported Bing’s use of basic materials—blocks, clay, paint, sand and water—and its play-based curriculum, which provides an environment rich in multiple mediums of expression. A child who is interested in studying worms, for example, can learn about them in many ways: digging for them, drawing pictures of them, making clay sculptures of them and listening to stories about them, to name just a few.
The Bing teachers learned a great deal from these and other presentations at the conference. We left reinvigorated and ready to apply what we learned to our work with children.