Learning

=Process of Learning (Memory, etc....)= Programs mentioned in the article to help cognitive improvement: Mental skills, intensive sound-to-code reading, auditory processing, cognitive. I would like to see a correlation between cognitive training and academic improvement before I invest a lot of time in this. I've heard (but don't remember where) that focusing on this kind of improvement outside of any academic context doesn't actually do anything to improve academics. =Thinking=
 * Learning Discussion on NSTA Pedagogy Listserve
 * Marzano-Pickering handout on reasoning (still to read)
 * Having conversations with young children had six times the effect on their language and speech development than adult speech input alone and TV had no effect (see [|Yahoo!/HealthDay News] (6/29)).
 * [|Andrew Meltzoff] of the University of Washington in Seattle calls for new field of learning by combining what psychologists, neuroscientists, roboticists and teaches know. This has been summarized in [|Science], [|USA Today]. Here are my notes on Metlzoff's findings.
 * Learning Capacity ([|Cognitive First]) train the brain/individual student's ability to think for the following (for more details, see their document, [|Assessing Mental Skills]).
 * [|See a picture of the following]. This was in the [|Cognitive First Prospectus]
 * 1) Attention (Focus)
 * 2) Sustained - stay on task
 * 3) Selective - ignoring distractions
 * 4) Divided - attending to more than one task at a time
 * Weaknesses - Listening; following a conversation in a crowd; distractability mindwandering; hear/see important information; keeping things tidy; impulsive; getting started; and focusing on instructions the first time
 * What works -
 * 1) Processing Speed (Fast or slow at thinking about simple concepts)
 * Weaknesses - Basic reading skills, written expression, and math calculation; handle complex problems; performance speed; and understanding instructions the first time
 * 1) Working Memory (Hold facts, language, pictures in memory while thinking and then responding)
 * Weaknesses - Remembering names and telephone numbers; completing problem solving operations; remembering instructions the first time
 * 1) Long-term Memory (Ability to put an item in long-term memory storage and then retrieve it)
 * Weaknesses - Retrieving content for tests; need more practice and repetition than most; recalling math facts and blending sounds in reading; recalling names and facts; specific descriptors/words in written language (use general); inconsistent performance (A's and F's); "It's on the tip of my tongue but I can't quite remember it"
 * 1) Logic and Reasoning (Reason, draw conclusions, solve problems, and see patterns from new information)
 * Weaknesses - Math including algebra, statistics, and geometry; transfer and generalization of learning; rule-bound systems of reading; coping with a new situation; and creative writing
 * 1) Auditory Processing (Understand and manipulate spoken sounds)
 * Weaknesses - Phonetic reading activities and beginning spelling skills development; listening and reading comprehension/language and vocabulary acquisition; and understanding instructions the first time
 * What works - Auditory processing training (implied in article).
 * 1) Visual Processing (Ability to recognize and manipulate visual images and patterns)
 * Weakness = Rapid sound/symbol processing and copying tasks; recognizing "whole" words; reading speed; creativity; understanding information from graphics
 * [|Blooms Taxonomy updated with Technological verbs]
 * Depth of Knowledge
 * [[file:DOK_Chart.pdf]]
 * [[file:All content areas DOK levels 32802.doc]]Description of the 4 levels in reading, writing, math

=All Kinds of Minds []= =Brain preparation for learning=
 * LearningBase Web site (see especially []) Understanding the mind and learning. This looks like a great Web site with how learning happens as well as tips on helping struggling students (use in Parent-Teacher conferences). In fact, I think this is so valuable that I need to include this in my own professional development.
 * [|See article for high school] - uses mixture of calisthenics, yoga, music, but is there a video somewhere - especially for elementary?
 * Go to You Tube and search for "brain rules john medina".

=Brain chemicals=
 * Exercise (from Wikipedia) increases chemicals in the brain that help [|cognition], such as [|dopamine], [|glutamate], [|norepinephrine], and [|serotonin.]
 * Hippocampus (brain's primary learning and memory center) - Acute stress (short-term) activates selective molecules called corticotropin releasing hormones (CRH), - this disrupts the process by which the brain collects and stores memories - in other words, students that have recently undergone stress may have more difficulty learning when memorization is important (see [|acute stress article on Psych Central]).
 * Oxytocin ("moral molecule") - Brain chemical that inclines us to care about the effect of our actions on others. Negatively impacted by stress. Source NPR SOF Paul Zak, editor of [|//Moral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the Economy//]. Article on Wikipedia: social recognition, [|pair bonding], anxiety, trust, [|love], and maternal behaviors.
 * Vasopressin - Wikipedia - pair bonding.

=Time as a Resource=

Summer
Notes from Strauss, Valerie, __Washington__ __Post__, //Active Summer, Active Minds, Educators Seek Ways to Prevent Learning Losses During Vacation//, June 15, 2009. =Miscellaneous=
 * Average students loose 2 to 2 1/2 months of math computation skills (but don't need 2 months to relearn).
 * Middle-class students slight gains in reading. Daniel T. Willingham - life experiences/background knowledge.
 * Poor students loose 2 to 2 1/2 months of reading skills.
 * Willingham: 2/3 of achievement gap occurs during the summer.
 * [|Visualization] - Periodic table
 * [|Differentiated Instruction resources].
 * [|GEMS Kit on Learning about Learning] (6-8th grade)
 * [|New Horizons for Learning] (Web site -- inactive but to be relaunched about learning, a lot of good articles and resources on the brain and learning)
 * Grit/perseverance and impact on student success
 * Gardner - [|Multiple Intelligences Inventory]