1 THE SCIENCE BEHIND BETTER LEARNING 9 ani old om to our youth, but wha we can hang on 0s the shing bee told lion tier Yor have to find he lig your ie yon iad when you ware litle gil or guy that made you happy Golde Hazon ‘This chapter explains how your childs brain turns information into lenowledge and transforms chor-cerm memory into long-term memory Youll earn whae you can do c help your child build snd strengthen these cial ski ‘THE KEYTO BUILDING BETTER BRAINS Everything we len comesto che brain through our senses. Butthebrain thas bullein obstacles to sensory information inpus. Ici aa amazing ‘organ bit isnot able o proces the bilions ofits ofinformon chat bombard i every second. To del wich che barage, iis equipped with fiers to proce itself from inpuc overload and focus on the data most cial for aurea. How your childs brsin responds to environmental sensory data deceumines what information gets his tention. Only elected informa- ‘ion pases through his lower brain Silke (called che revculracivasing system, oF RAS) to enter his thinking brain. The RAS is particlaly responsive co novel, surprise, color, and unexpecredcurious evens wea selecting which sensory input to allow ino he sinking bran,4 HOWYOUR CHILD LEARNS BEST ‘Once information makes ic chrough the Best fier, cere is a second fier ina pat of the bain called the amygdala. The amygdala is part, of che emotion-procesing limbic system network, How well your child Stores the sensory inp that makes it through the amygdala filer is realy influenced by her emotional stae at the time she receives the Informacion. When steis is high, the amygdala divers the informa- ‘ion the reflex auromatie system, where nnchinking actions, such 25 fghe!ight, dominate, When the amygdala isin a safe state and ‘emotions are postive, che information is passed on to the reflective, ‘memory-making, and thinking nerworks in the brain, “Theres something thathelp sensory input make ic eheough these wo fikers—a chemical neuroransmicter called dopamine, When learning is assocaed with pleasure, dopamine i released. This surge increases focus, helping the brain say atenive "Asxparent understanding how information enesthebrain become knowledge and long-term memory isa powerful tol for enticing you childs brainpower. Using brain-frendy sratgies empowers you child to respond tothe more useul sensory pur from her environment and turn char dara into retained knowedge. RAD Learning “There are ewo eset bran proeer and three main brain stems that ace keys to building better besins. The processes are parterning and Dreraplasii. The thece systems are what I cefer to as RAD, which i short for: Re Reiudar coring gue (RAS) A Affective fle jn be amygdala D: Dopamine IF you want to learn more about these systems, the informs tion in this chapter goes into detail about the neuroanatomy and, chemistry oflerning. Ifyou are ready to jump into the strategies, you can move on to Chapter 2, identify your childs best learning Strengths, and then proceed to the subject-based chapters to find the strategies best suited to his learaing needs ‘The Reticular Activating System (RAS)—The Brain’ Sensory Switchboard “The RAS is the attention-acvaion switching sytem located a the lower back ofthe brain (brainstem). Ie receives input from the nerves shat converge into the spinal cord from nerve endings in the arms, legs, ‘rank, neck, face, and interoal organs. The RAS set the sae of arowsl land vigilance ofthe est ofthe rain, Tes the RAS thar slecively alerts bins to changes in their environment that impact theiesurvval— sounds, sights and smells that may indicate danger or signal opporcuni- testo find food, ates, or sek Ta humans, the RAS has evolved to become responsive so more than jst the basic needs for survival in the wild, but ics sll a iter cha is most acentive co changes in ou envionment, The RAS is key co turning on” che brain’ lve of response and alertness. ‘The RAS’ response ro the sensory information ie receives determines the speed, content, and sype of information available ro che “highes” bain. Although millions of bit of sensory dita bombard the RAS very waking second, this Ger limie acces to about cwo thousand bits per secon. Tn successful learning, children are simulated co pay atencon «0 limpocane information by geting the arencion of cheir RAS, Listen, to lectures and doing dil and worksheets ae act novel or engaging experiences, 0 they de not conta she sensory stimulation sufficient co rough the RAS brain Ses power information ‘The Amygdala—Where Heart Meets Mind The sensory information that children reccive--the chings they se hea, el, smal, ortouch—timulaces the intake centers of thee brains beyond the RAS. "The areas mos active when new information first enters the bain ate the somory cortex aces in each lobe of the brain. Each ofthese rezons is specie to analyze data from juse one sense (hearing, touch, tase, vision, and sme) This inp is Wendie and casi by matching it ‘with previously stoned similar data. The sight ofa lemon, for example, ‘onnecs with the visual cortexin te occipital lobes. The fel ofthe lemon is recognized by the somatoeensory (couch) ceters in the pase lobes.6 HOW YOUR CHILD LEARNS BEST “This sensory dasa must then pass through the brains emotional core, the limbic ptem, especialy the amppdala and hippcampas, where ‘emotional significance i linked ro information (our tac is yummy in lemon sherber but yucky in unsweetened leon juice). On receiving sensory deta, these emotional Fikersevaluae its pleasure value. That decision determines i che information is given further acces <0 the higher brainy and if, where che data wil go. ‘When the brain perceives creator che child fels stressed, ehese bra Ber centers go inc survival mode and divere the sensory dara away from the thinking brain and ingo the automatic centers (Fh! igh) Because there are usally no tigers in our homes, chldce realy don ned the sane theater sponse cher prehistri predecessors id. Ye thos filters sl exit in human beans and can be activated by the type of suestes children experience in some castooms Bullying, Irteation difficulties, confusion, or boredom may crigge these filers blocking the sbsorpion of sensory input related to learning. The fie! Bight response is engaged becavse che stimu are perceived as negative experiences and leering becomes dificul. yout chillis rustated, bored or confused because she aleeady knows how 29 multiply fractions but is doing yer another worksheet mult- pling factions ord confused bythe dificle vocabulary words in ‘he story the elas is reading, her amygdala responds ro those stesses by faking up much ofthe brains avaiable mucients and oxygen. The brain ‘hen goes into survival mode. The high acviey inthe amygela blocks fnery of information c the thinking brain and memory, This is why fearing seategies that reduce children’ anseey are imporant: They Tomer the affective (emotional) filter in the amyuala and allow infor- mation to reach the thinking ceners. When your child is stresed, the Egil directs information tothe rezrve, nonthinking brain. When your chil is relaxed, comfortable, and interested, the amygdala directs the information to the reflective, thinking brain ‘When you understand the functions of these ies, you can also wse themin positive way. [Fearing experiences are associated with pleasure ‘connected t copies oF interes, orate co sacitying gol achievement tad other postive exptiences, sensory daca will be considered valuable and pesmisted enty into the higher thinking bain. Wich well-planned learning scivites that sustain attention and interest without producing feasteation, confusion, or boredom, thes ltrs can be recruited ro help the brie focus on the sensory information ofthe learning activity "Next to che ama in ee limbic system i the hippocampus. I is snes comalidtion center thar new sensory input is inked eo previous Knowledge and to memories of pest experiences retrieved from memory storage Poszon emision tomography (PET) sans show char when hildies aze given new information, cheir brains activate thei stored tnemory banks. Their brtns are seeking relationships of connestions benveen the new information and sored memories of past knowledge or experience. When new information is consolidated with rir know cig, the newly coded relational memory now ready for rocesing ia the frontal lobes and long-term memory sorage ‘Dopamine—Working to Prime Your Child’s Brain ‘Dopamine sone of the brins mostimporantneerotanomiten Some ofthe other neurotransmicers in the bran inelude serotonin, teypeo™ phan, aceycholine, and norepinephrine) These neurocansmiters Ere brain chemicals that cate information arose spaces (omaps) ‘hac Form when one nerve ending connects with another. Ducing the fase cimester of feral development, the brain creates chirty thousand synapics per second fo every squatecenimerer of cortical surface “The bran releases dopamine when an experience is pleasurable, As 4 pleasuresecking organ, the brain aso releases dopamine in expecta tion af rewarding, pleasurable experiences. Tis has several advancages, Dopamine release inctetsesaxtenive focus and mesnory formation. “When dopamine sreleased during enjoyable learning activites, atu ally increases childrens capacities to contol attencon and store long earning activities cht can induce che elease of dopamine and create pleasurable sates in the brsin include physical movement, personal Tarerest connections, socal contacts, music, noel sense of achieve ment, inetinsie reward, choice, play, and humor. The dopamine released ‘Gasng these acvtes is then available eo increase attention and focus