A little something from the Brain Conference

I'm still trying to process everything that I learned at the Brain Conference. Here is just one reflective sample.

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend "The Learning and The Brain Conference" held in San Francisco. This conference is put on twice a year, bringing together teachers, administrators, and leading neuroscientists from all around the country. This year the conference focused on using brain research to enhance learning, attention, and memory.

One recurring theme that seemed to permeate throughout the conference was the impact of stress on brain function and learning. Many researchers spoke about the physiological responses to an over-activation of the fight or flight response. For some of our students, just the very act of being in school leads to a chronic activation of their stress response. The article "On the minds of middle schoolers" by Erika Daniels serves as yet another validation of the impact of stress on adolescents. In the article, Daniels (2005) points out the many students continually struggle with heavier workloads, societal pressures, family and academic responsibilities, and hormonal changes. In addition, Daniels suggests that teachers "can address the issue of stress by teaching students specific coping skills that they have learned through the years." While teaching coping skills, such as tackling an assignment, organization, and time management, is beneficial, most research would suggest that it is not enough. Students would benefit more from a combination of coping skills training and brain-based teaching.

Teaching students about their brain, specifically the fight and flight response, and the body (physiological response to flight or fight response) and how it works when under stress is empowering. First, students learn that they have the power to control their stress from a physiological perspective. Just by practicing breathing techniques, they can lower their heart rate, loosen their muscles, and empty their mind. By just being conscious of their breath, students can improve their attention and focus. Second, they can learn quick fixes for stress, such as listening to music, reading, relaxing, etc. Third, by identifying fears and threats that trigger stress, along with identifying relaxation techniques, students are better equipped at facing and challenging those fears, as they know how to manage them when they surface.
When I returned from the conference, I went back into the classroom and team-taught two brain-based lessons. One was about long-term memory/low and high plasticity learning and the second was about mindsets. I was truly amazed at how engaged the students were in learning about their mind and how it impacts learning. It was like we were letting them in on secrets. They were enthralled, and in those moments I realized that if we do not let students think and learn about their main thinking/learning organ we are doing them an incredible disservice.