braincandy

Neuroscience for beginners Session B2

2010-11-09T00:33:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed Dr. Stevenson's short talk on neuoscience and its applications in everyday life.

Here are some of the links she mentioned:

Neuroscience for kids

Facts about the brain

The brain and illusions BBC programme (watch it now before it is removed from iplayer)

Thanks to Dr. Stevenson for giving up her time, and to you for your interest and your questions!

Neuroscience for beginners Session B1

2010-09-08T03:29:00.000-07:00

1. What do you know about your brain? How do you think it functions during sport?
2. It's a no-brainer! You might be surprised by how the brains of top sportsmen and women work. Look at the images and Johnny Wilkinson's description of how he focusses during a match.
3. Brain vs Computer. Is your brain really an amazing computer? What are the similarities adn differences (think about functions performed, energy, speed, evolution, memory, damage and repair)?
4. There is much we do not understand about the brain, and people compare the brain to many different things to try to communicate its characteristics. Choose some comparisons from the metaphors sheet and develop some ideas.
5. Next session we will have the chacne to ask a neuroscientist some questions. Brainstorm some questions - about what we have read today or anything about the brain.

More pics

2010-06-24T06:49:00.001-07:00

Brain Candy Evaluation

What do you think of it so far?

2010-06-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was the final braincandy session of the year and students filled in evaluation sheets for the sessions they had attended. Games had been popular, as well as the Multiple Intelligences quiz, learning a new language, and lateral thinking by asking questions. Students then attempted a more creative way of feeding back, by constructing a "straw statue" about something significant they learnt this year. Have a look at Laura and Jessica's model above, with their thought-provoking explanation below. Well done to everyone on participating with such enthusiasm and originality - and see you next year for more braincandy.

Thinking out of the box

"There is a square box, and within the box are lines running straight and hitting the sides. This represents thinking within the box; the lines run straight, and so are not very interesting, and hit walls, signifying restrictions which do not allow you to expand. There are also lines running outside the box, which go in different directions, and match up with more thoughts running off. These thoughts span a larger area. This signifies that thinking outside the box permits you to expand, and reach a higher level of explanation and understanding."

Eric Whitacre: A choir as big as the Internet | Video on TED.com

2010-04-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

Eric Whitacre: A choir as big as the Internet Video on TED.com

Blogs in Plain English

2010-03-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=12423&title=Blogs_in_Plain_English

Session Eight

2010-03-29T06:30:00.001-07:00

Today's session is all about the "support" part of our values, or we could call it the "network" part. You are going to create a blog on a topic of your choice and use it to bring together media related to your chosen interest as well as perhaps beginning to create a little learning network. I'll post the links when you have set them up so you can visit one another's. Meanwhile, have a look at the animation above to see what blogging is all about.

Session Seven

2010-03-12T03:22:00.000-08:00

As this is our last session before Easter we are playing a game today. Your teacher will explain the rules of "Thought Exchange".

Before you start, have a go at one example of each card to get used to the format.

Now divide into a maximum of six teams (preferably fewer, say four teams) and take a coloured person for each team. Draw a "Route Planner" card and put your person on the Start circle. Take three counters to hand in when you change lines. Remember to change lines you must stop at an interchange, even if that is fewer moves than the number you rolled. If you answer correctly within the time you may roll again, and then await your next turn.

After you have been playing for ten minutes, stop and discuss what techniques you are using to meet the different challenges: you may well learn something from another group.

And at the end, some more braincandy: is there a difference between playing and learning?

Brain Bits

2010-02-25T01:31:00.000-08:00

Filtered thinking

2010-02-25T00:52:00.000-08:00

1. Look through the colour filters. What do you notice? Can you explain it? Today we're going to look at how your brain filters information and how you can use that understanding to advantage.

2. How does your brain work? Which part of your brain deals with strong emotional reactions (fight or flight) and which with rational thinking? Do you know how your brain decides which of the almost infinite stimuli around you to notice? How could this filtering be a good thing? How could it be a bad thing?

3. Introducing De Bono's six thinking hats (image and mind-map).

4. Going back to our discussion last time - use the six hats to decide whether you would think it would be a good thing to be taught by a robot (take the hats in turn, everyone suggesting ideas).

5. What are the advantages of using the six hats technique, and why have we compared them to filters?

6. Now choose one of these questions and put on a hat. Have a discussion!

a) we should change assembly time to the end of the day
b) I should learn a new musical instrument
c) the government should impose a 1% charity tax

7. Can you think of lessons or study tasks where the six hats could be useful?

Robot teacher

2010-02-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_8040000/newsid_8044700/8044745.stm

Robotic toys

2010-02-04T09:22:00.001-08:00

http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=unveiling-the-toys-of-tomorrow&photo_id=43832FCE-ACC4-4E6D-FB9B5A0EC267217F

Session Five: Will robots take over the world?

2010-02-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

1. Look at the slideshow of robotic toys. Which would be your preferred gift and why?
2. In groups draw three large circles on a sheet of A3. You have 5 minutes to write down firstly: possible uses of robots, secondly: possible drawbacks, and thirdly: questions it would be useful to answer about robots.
3. Read the extract about robots as carers. Does this answer any questions? Does it raise any additional questions?
4. Do you agree with this statement: "I would be happy to be cared for by a robot"? Take a sticky badge and indicate how you feel about the statement by writing ++ (if you completely agree) + (if you are fairly happy with it) ? (if you really don't know) - (disagree) or -- (disagree strongly).
5. Now find someone with views different to your own and try to persuade them of your view. You must also listen to theirs. If one of you changes their view, take a new badge, label it, and swap partners.
6. Plenary: what types of arguments made you listen most? Is it possible to make ethical judgements without discussion? Who is responsible for establishing ethics on an issue such as this?
7. Watch the clip: Robot Teacher. Will machines ever replace teachers?

Language laboratory

2010-01-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

Today we had a taster Japanese lesson and discussed similarities and differences between languages. We saw some languages lay more emphasis on precision, some on clarity, some on elegance, still others on issues of respect and social hierarchy. Not only is the vocabulary different, but the way each language is put together is unique. So as a language experiment we worked in small groups and chose our language priorities. We then communicated the following message in a language invented to reflect those priorities:

My name is .....
I am ... years old
My school is Woldingham

Listen to the recordings above and see what you think. Can you hear similarities to languages you know? Can you spot patterns? Are they pleasing to the ear? Obviously languages evolve over centuries, even millenia, but speeding the process up a bit was an interesting experience.

What's Important?

2009-12-11T01:49:00.000-08:00

Click here for full screen version

Session Four

2009-12-11T01:28:00.000-08:00

1. Language taster lesson (Japanese or Russian)
2. Brief discussion: describe your feelings when learning something completely new. What is it like to learn alongside staff learners? What thinking skills are required when learning another language? What similarities/differences are there between the new language and your mother tongue?
3. Languages evolve alongside and intertwined with the culture/s within which they are spoken. It is therefore natural for the languages themselves to reflect different values and priorities. Look at "What's Important" above, and move the priorities around to show the strengths and shortcomings of languages you know about.
4. Now pick a priority and invent the beginnings of your own language in a small group. Give it a name, and then prepare the following message:

I'm called ........... I'm ........ years old. Woldingham is my school. Happy New Year!

You will need to make decisions about grammar (how the meaning fits together) as well as vocabulary. Remember it doesn't need to work in the same way as any language you know - and don't forget your chosen priorities!
5. Plenary: Read and record the messages, with a brief explanation of what decisions you made.

Einstein's problem

2009-12-03T07:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a problem set by Einstein. He estimated that only 2 % of the general population would be able to work this out, but actually it is more a matter of persistence than great genius. Give your brain some candy this Christmas and have a go!

5 men of different nationalities live in 5 houses of different colours. They smoke 5 different brands of cigarettes, drink 5 different drinks and keep 5 different types of animals. The question is: who keeps fish?

Here are the clues:

1. The Norwegian lives in the first house
2. The Englishman lives in the red house
3. The green house is to the left of the white house
4. The Dane drinks tea
5. The man who smokes Rothmans lives next to the one who keeps cats
6. The man in the yellow house smokes Dunhills
7. The German smokes Marlboroughs
8. The man in the middle house drinks milk
9. The Rothman-smoker has a neighbour who drinks water
10. The Pall Mall smoker keeps birds
11. The Swede keeps dogs
12. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house
13. The man who keeps horses lives next to the yellow house
14. The man who smokes Philip Morris drinks beer
15. Coffee is the drink in the green house

Session Three

2009-12-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

1. Ice-breaker: odd one out exercise. Try this question from a SATs paper:

Which of the following is the odd one out?

house cave tractor stable tent

2. Making your own odd one out: create a verbal odd one out exercise with 4 words (of which one doesn't fit), then a version with 5 words, then a version with 6. If you had an odd one out exercise with 20 words of which one didn't fit, could you guarantee an indisputably correct answer?

3. Logic: patterns, persistence, foundations and frontiers.

A couple of quotes from Einstein are interesting in relation to this:

"Imagination is more important than knowledge, because knowledge is limited"

"If people only talked about things they really understood the world would be a very quiet place"

4. Logic games. You will notice that of the sprqs values, persistence features highly in these logical games!

Safara rush hour
Mastermind
Sudoku
Einstein's challenge (see above)

5. Plenary: What skills are you using to play these games? Try to break down your description of what goes on in your head into the smallest steps you can.

How might you use these steps in school subjects (all of them - even the less obviously logical ones)?

How might you tackle Einstein's challenge?

A lateral thinking challenge?

2009-11-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

A boy living on a drought-stricken farm knows his family will die if they don't manage to grow more food. He has little education, no means of communicating with the outside world, and no money at all. What can he do?

Maybe start asking questions until a solution starts to become clear...

Watch the video clip below to find out.

Inspiration for young thinkers

2009-11-19T01:55:00.000-08:00

Session Two

2009-11-19T01:44:00.000-08:00

1. Register and ice-breaker: the cheesegrater (how many alternative uses can you think of for a cheesegrater? How many questions can you formulate about cheesegraters?)
2. TED video (see above). What kinds of thinking can we see here (think about sprqs)?
3. Lateral thinking challenge: can you solve these mysteries? Ask as many questions as you can (whether they seem likely to help or not) to find out more about each scenario, until you begin to see what the answer might be. The questions may only be answered with "yes" or "no".

a) A girl walking along a railway track sees a train thundering at high speed towards her. Instead of immediately jumping off the track, she charges directly at the train for about 5 metres and only then gets off the track. Why?

b) A man is working hard when he recognises an old friend approaching him. Despite both men being fit and well, they cannot speak and have to use hand movements to communicate. Why is this?

c) A young male is lying dead. He has an iron bar across his back and some food lying in front of him. How did he meet his sorry end?

4. Plenary: write on a post-it note the most useful, and the most surprising things you have learnt over the first two sessions

Online Intelligences Diagnostic

2009-11-04T02:24:00.001-08:00

If you would like to find out where your learning strengths may lie, try out this online quiz and print out the results.

Online quiz

Answer as honestly and thoughtfully as you can.

Remember this is just something to think about (braincandy)! Your strengths can provide a "way in" to subjects or activities you usually find difficult, and it is also extremely rewarding to pursue your strengths to the point of real excellence!

After you may wish to post a comment with some of your thoughts.

Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles

2009-11-04T02:09:00.000-08:00

Style to Mind

Session One: getting to know one another, yourself, and the aims of the group.

2009-11-04T01:47:00.000-08:00

1. Icebreaker. Give each girl a letter at random around the room. The task is to find someone in the room that has something in common with you, starting with that letter, and then hold hands with them. Keep going until the whole club is "connected". Might be an idea to move the chairs first!
2. Name badges.
3. What are our group values? Note the blog address blog and discuss SPRQ. Look at the picture: colour, variety, connections. Caveat: no elitism.
4. Banana challenge: how could you SPRQ with a banana? (small groups)
5. What is intelligence? How many ways are there to be clever? (whole group brainstorm)
6. Howard Gardner and Multiple Intelligences (teacher input, see PowerPoint slides above this post).
7. Online diagnostic and print-out. Partner discussion: are you surprised? How could this knowledge affect the way you approach lessons (and life)? File in document wallets.
8. Plenary: what did you learn today (graffiti wall)?