How Schools Work with The

HOW SCHOOLS WORK WITH THE NEURON MODEL OF THE BRAIN [Why we need a new brain model]

SO WHAT ARE OUR BELIEFS ABOUT HOW CHILDREN LEARN?

1) We believe that everyone should love and respect their kids.

2) We expect and believe that children should be able to learn if the teaching is done right.

3) The scientifically based methods are the best way to teach.

For around 100 years we have been taught that learning happens in the brain, with nerves bringing the information in and sending their electrical charge to the brain with its neurons. Those electrical charges travel through pathways and synapses to store what needs to be known so it can be used. Somehow the connections between the neurons in the brain increase as learning happens. But to most of us, that brain image accepted more than understood.

Kind of like TV, that we turn on and expect to get a show without understanding the process and electronics that make it work, we open school books that tell our kids what they need to know, they practice what we tell them to do, we check to see if they are correct and reteach what they miss. We don’t give much of a thought to understand the process of learning and the functions in the brain that make it work. We just follow the rules, expect good results, and don’t understand what happens when things don’t work. We have been taught to think that learning happens in the brain and that the brain works kind of like a machine or a computer. With machines, you plug it in to the power, put information in and somehow it uses electricity to go through wires and circuits in pathways to get the information in and get the desired activity/answer out.

So teaching follows that same brain model.

A. For the kids, you as the teacher get the correct information and present it correctly to the student, the student takes in the information and it goes through neural pathways in the brain and it comes out to allow practice and provide the right answer so the kids can pass the tests. It’s pretty direct. What goes in, is processed and then is able to be used. B. We believe that the brain develops as we increase in age, and that children basically develop at the same pace. What is taught in school is designed to match the age of the child, so school is divided into grades based on the age. Public school is designed so the entire country’s children can be taught the same things in the same way at the same age. This way the school population can be accurately tested to see who is doing best at every grade level. C. Part of this scenario includes that teachers also have been taught to think that there is one best way to teach and one best way that children can learn. There are a lot of programs out there, and teachers believe that if we can just find the best one, that our students will learn what they need to know.

D. As far as what the children are taught …… We, the adults, have been taught to think that there is one best group of subjects that everyone needs to know. Reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies. Educational experts and testing professionals determine the level of competence expected in each subject for every grade level. E. And to check what students know, we have also been taught to think that testing is an accurate measure to track what the child has learned. If they pass a classroom test with 70% or more correct, that means they know it, and if they fail by missing more than 30%, that means they don’t know it. And it needs to be re-taught and learned all over again. For standardized tests that use stanines and other statistics to determine whether the score is above, at, or below average, the numbers are scientifically validated and are believed to accurately reflect the knowledge of the student. These numbers are so convincing that they are used to measure the relative ability of children as individuals as well as in groups. There are statistical reports that rate and track the progress of each child, and then compare their class rooms, subject areas, grades, schools, school districts, counties, states, regions, countries, and even track the educational progress of the world as a whole. But is this model right?

The neuron based brain model tells us that learning is the process of mastering skills and facts through practice. What goes in, must come out. This repetition is what increases and strengthens the connections between the neurons and is believed to be what makes us smarter. IS THIS REALLY RIGHT?

Schools have become the specialists in teaching. The new methods adopted by schools teach educational skills in new ways that parents don’t understand. As a result, most parents are not able to help their children with their studies. IS THIS REALLY RIGHT?

Learning skills through repetition and practice is effective, but it is not fun. This has made schools discipline the students to keep order and make them learn. Hundreds of years ago it was common to use beatings, hickory sticks, paddles, smacks with rulers, and insults. In the last hundred years, moderate corporal punishment, dunce caps and standing-in–the-corner became the norm. Most recently, testing with its threat of failing is the primary form of discipline. IS THIS REALLY RIGHT?

Overall, the world-wide education level has increased every decade since records have been kept. But in the United States increasing numbers of children are not doing well, as indicated by testing that shows the school students’ skill levels have been decreasing since the 1970s. IS THIS REALLY RIGHT? AND WHAT CAN A PARENT DO??? Is there a better way to teach and learn? Is there a different brain model that better explains how people learn and think? Recent discoveries in brain anatomy and biochemistry point to a new model for the brain that helps better describe how learning happens. It turns out that neurons do not control how the brain learns after all. It is a combination of many cells in the brain with glial cells actually regulating the neurons.

This is a new model for the brain and it adds new dimensions to teaching and learning that can revolutionize how we expect our children to learn. The GLIAL POOL Model for Learning. It’s new.

This GLIAL POOL Model for Learning suggests:

 The whole brain works together.

 Learning happens best when it is enjoyable.

 Everyone has different abilities that translate into the way things are learned and when they are most easily learned.

 There is not just one set of subjects that everyone should learn.

 Mistakes are insights into what is not understood. Mistakes are to be valued and corrected to increase understanding.

 Memorization and skill building are not the same as understanding.

 Understanding is the true measure of knowledge.

 Every experience in life contributes to the knowledge pool.

 Learning and knowledge growth take place throughout life.

What follows is a model of how the GLIAL POOL can be simply visualized. The GLIAL POOL Model for Learning

We still do not know how the brain works, but neurons by themselves have not provided adequate answers.

Glial cell research is providing new insights

that are changing our perceptions of learning and thinking.

From time to time I will be adding additional files that will further explain this revolution in thinking about how the brain works, how children learn, and how both parents and teachers can help.