Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2
Promuovere lo sviluppo cerebrale
durante l’Infanzia
Educare
Il Cervello continua ad essere un
Mistero
La crescita del Cervello
ETA’ PESO CERVELLO
(GRAMMI)
20a sett. Di Gestazione 100
Nascita 400
18 Mesi 800
3 anni 1100
Adulto 1300 ‐ 1400
The Neuron
Brain Growth
• At birth, most neurons the brain will have
are present
– approx. 100 billion neurons
• By age 2 years, brain is 80% of adult size
• What keeps growing?
– Other brain cells (glia)
– New neuron connections
• approx. 1000 trillion connections by age 3 yrs.
How Does the Developing Brain
Become Aware, Learn, Think,?
• Overproduction of neurons and
connections among neurons
• Selective reduction of neurons and
connections among neurons
• Waves of intense branching and connecting
followed by reduction in neurons
– Before birth through 3‐years‐old
– Again at 11‐ or 12‐years‐old
MRI PICTURE OF A HEALTHY 13‐YEAR‐OLD BOY
Major Areas of the Brain
over
Months
6 mm
4.5 mm
3 mm
1.5 mm
1 mm
under
Right lateral and top views of gray matter maturation over the cortical
surface.
Right View of Gray Matter Maturation Over Brain Surface
between Ages 4 to 21 Years
How Brain Areas are Developing
• Anatomical studies of brain development show
– Occipital lobes show earliest pruning
– Frontal and Temporal lobes show growth of
neural connections longer than other areas of the
brain…through 3 years old
– Frontal and Temporal lobes show pruning of
connections longer than other areas of the brain
• Greatest change between 2 years and 5 years
Synaptic production and pruning
correspond with overall brain activity
Young children’s brains work harder and less efficiently
than adults’
Myelinization
• Speed of connection
• Begins at birth, rapidly increases to 2‐years old
• Continues to increase more slowly through 30‐
years‐old
Myelinization
Young children’s brains have fewer neuron connections
and work slower than adults’
How Brain Function is Developing
• Brain areas with longest periods of organization related
to…
– self‐regulation,
– problem‐solving,
– language/communication
– Social bonding
• Most vigorous growth, pruning, connecting, and activity
occurs between 1‐1/2 years through 3 or 4 years old
• Neuroscience is telling us that this may be one of the
most important periods for developing self‐regulation,
problem‐solving, social‐emotional, and
language/communication behaviors
Nature and Nurture
• Genes and environment interact throughout
brain development
– Genes form neurons, connections among major
brain regions
– Environment and experience refines the
connections; enhancing some connections while
eliminating others
Experience Can Change the Actual
Structure of the Brain
• Brain development is “activity‐dependent”
• Every experience excites some neural
circuits and leaves others alone
• Neural circuits used over and over
strengthen, those that are not used are
dropped resulting in “pruning”
Differences in brain activity (colored areas) between a typical
child reader and a child with reading difficulties
Differences in brain activity in the same child before and after
specialized reading instruction
Experience Can Change Brain Development
• The brain is undergoing explosive growth in
the first years of life and needs organizing
experiences to facilitate development.
• Learning results in more consolidation of
neuronal activity—brain activity becomes
more efficient
Neglect Impedes Brain Development
• Limited exposure to language, touch or social
interactions
• Emotional or cognitive neglect
• Structural Changes
– Lack of brain growth beyond effects of poor
nutrition
– Neuronal death beyond “pruning”
Brain activity of a normal 5‐year‐old child (left) and a 5‐year‐old
institutionalized Romanian orphan who was neglected in infancy
(right).
What early experiences promote
healthy brain development?
• Important areas of brain development are
associated with…
– Self‐control or Self‐regulation
– Language/communication
– Learning
– Social emotional function
• Research shows that everyday experiences with
caregivers or other children can optimize the
development in these areas
Social Basis of Early Brain
Development
• Early experiences create brain neuron
connections
• Parent‐child interactions are key
• And when are they most effective?
• Neuroscience and other research says
between birth and 3 to 4‐years old
Self‐Regulation
Emotion Regulation
Capacity to identify feelings
Empathy
Management of strong emotions
Behavioral Inhibition
Delay gratification
Control impulses
Self‐Regulation
Attention and Thinking Regulation (Executive
Function)
Directing attention
Mental representation
Planning
Focus on goal
Monitor actions; information
Correct actions
Identify and use strategies
Self‐Regulation
Early parent‐child interactions lay basis of
self‐regulation skills that become internalized
by the child
Directing attention
Identifying goals
Monitoring Child’s actions
Correcting Child’s actions
Modeling strategies
Parent‐child Interaction with Infant or Toddler
• Parent who supports optimal development
– Is sensitive to child’s cues
– Responds to child’s distress
– Takes advantage of simple, everyday activities
to stimulate learning
Parent‐child Interaction with Infant or Toddler
• The child can influence interaction through
– Clarity of his or her cues
– Responsiveness to parent
– Activity level
Parent‐child Interaction with 3‐ to 5‐year‐old
• With 3‐ to 5‐year‐old
– Directing attention
– Suggesting strategies
– Monitoring, evaluating actions
– Staying directed toward goal
– Feedback is less directive
Reading Comprehension
Scaffolding
Research has Shown that Successful
Scaffolding Results in Healthy Brains Ready
to Learn
• Faster rates of language learning
• Increased task persistence
• Increased self‐control
• More appropriate requests for help
• Increased self‐monitoring during tasks
• Increased ability to learn
• Moderates risk factors
Implications for Early Education
We Know that….
• Children show improved school achievement
– With planned, intentional instruction in the
preschool years.
– When the literacy environment at home and in
school can engage the child.
– With consistent reading aloud
– When preschool teachers receive high quality
training.
We know that…
• Just as parents who provide scaffolding
promote healthy development, so can pre‐
school teachers provide scaffolding in the
classroom
Classroom Scaffolding
• What types of teacher scaffolding can result in
optimal outcomes for children?
– Providing print and materials that foster their
understanding of concepts
– Responding to children’s requests and signals
promptly and sensitively
– Maintaining and expanding on children’s
interests in meaningful learning activities
– Providing children with choices and prompting
children to make thoughtful decisions
To Promote the Foundations for Reading
• Phonological awareness ‐‐ability to notice and
work with the sounds in language.
• How quickly children learn to read depends on
how much phonological awareness has
developed during toddler and preschool years.
To Promote Phonological Awareness
• Teachers and Parents can…
• Chose books to read aloud that focus on sounds,
rhyming, and alliteration
• Invite children to make up new verses of familiar
words or songs by changing the beginning sounds
of words
• Play games where children isolate the beginning
sound in familiar words, and generate rhyming
words
Promote Knowledge of Letters
• Research shows it is important for young children
to be able to:
– Recognize and name letters
– Recognize beginning letters in familiar words
(especially their own name)
– Recognize both capital and lowercase letters
– Relate some letters to the specific sounds they
represent
Teachers and parents can reinforce learning about
letters by providing letters in a form children can
touch, by playing games with letters, and by
helping children write letters.
Read Aloud To Promote Interest in Reading
• Establish a pattern of reading aloud frequently
to children.
• Ask children questions as you read.
• Encourage children to talk about the book.
• Read aloud many kinds of books.
• Reread aloud favorite books.
Teachers and Parents
• Research has shown
– preschools that support the parent in promoting
the child’s cognitive development and learning
show greatest child achievement in elementary
school and beyond
Domande
1 Che cosa è un neurone?
2 Che cosa è una sinapsi?
3 Quali sono le funzioni del cervello che
richiedono un periodo più lungo di maturazione
strutturale del cervello stesso?
4 Quali sono i compiti e le funzioni della natura e
della cultura e dell’educazione nello sviluppo del
cervello?
5 Quali sono alcune strategie per migliorare
l’apprendimento a scuola?
Strategie utili per favorire lo sviluppo mentale
del bambino
Integrazione tra Emisfero dx e sx
Dx + Sx = comprensione e chiarezza
Aiutare a usare insieme emisfero sx razionale ed emisfero dx emozionale
Strategie