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Introductory
Facts About the Brain
by Maria Timberlake
Are students today having more difficulty learning than in previous
generations? We never had terms like ADHD, Sensory Integration Dysfunction,
Oppositional Defiant Disorder ...in our grandparents' day. Teachers pose
variations of this question often as we attempt to understand and work with
challenging student behavior. I was fortunate to attend a three-day
conference this month that provided some insight into this query. The
workshop was called The Fragile Brain and was presented by Eric Jensen. (www.thebrainstore.com)
Mr. Jensen stated that "the best teachers in the field are perpetual
students" as he introduced the agenda for the three day workshop. He went on
to synthesize brain research, show SPECT scans illustrating brain activity
of learners with various learning needs, and provide strategies for teams to
support students.
Our brains are not physiologically different than they were a generation ago
but the factors that can influence our brains' functioning are.
Susceptibility to conditions is genetic, but then the environment takes
over… In other words, our students may have a genetic disposition to ADD,
Depression, Conduct Disorder, but this can manifest differently depending
upon whether they are impacted by stress, trauma, and flexible learning
environments, among other factors. In certain environments a condition can
be a disability (i.e. a student with ADHD in a traditional classroom) or an
advantage (i.e. a physician with ADHD in a busy hospital emergency room).
The fact that conditions become disabilities through specific environmental
factors was a key message of the workshop. There are many things we can do
as educators to create environments for students to succeed. Here are a
couple of "fragile brain facts" from the workshop followed by sources for
more information:
Learned Helplessness is a condition present in anywhere from 5-20% of a
schools population, it is a chronic condition where students are convinced
that they have no control and nothing they do matters. It can be reversed,
but takes sustained positive effort (3 - 12 months) to re wire the brain to
respond in a new way. -
A SPECT scan of the brain of a learner with Attention Deficit Disorder
shows areas of lessened activity in the pre frontal area--this is the area
needed for focus. The concept of time is involved "students with ADD may
know what to do, but they are not always able to do it at the right time
because of an inability to manage responses" (Eric Jensen, 10-07-02
Sturbridge, MA). This can be accommodated through increased opportunities
for movement and helping students manage time (post its, schedules, timers,
highlighting time blocks during the day…)
For more information & ideas, consider these sources:
 Return to
FACTS Vol 6
This is an official publication of The University of
Maine
A member of the University of Maine System
Updated:
01/11/2007
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