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BBI 2007 Session 3
Review
Science as loopy, story telling/revising rather than truth/facts
"I was intrigued when asked to decide rather or not the earth was round or flat. At first this seemed to be an easy question to answer based on what we are taught but by the end of the disscussion I was left questioning I had learned. We were given several more questions of this type and at the end I always questioned what I had been taught." .... Deidre
"Science as story telling and story telling in general (as Paul describes it) can at times seem unrealistic. I say this because I'm not sure if we could ever get everyone in the world to listen and acknowledge everyone else's stories. At the same time, I think it's necessary to be hopeful and do our part in order to be a catalyst for change. I also think that I may perceive story telling a little differently...but I guess that's the whole idea...I acknowledged Paul's ideas and in turn it affected my own. I think that's the most important part: it's still my own" ... Ashley
- getting better at process at least as important as acquiring content
- a social process: diversity/transaction essential
"Using computer models to illustrate outcomes can enrich students’ understanding. For example, if asked where an arrow will land if shot directly above a pick up truck traveling 45mph; my students can predict based on their prior knowledge. Obviously, I can not pile the lot of them on a truck and conduct the experiment to have them find out what will happen. So usually I would draw a schematic and explain the answer to the students. They will take my word for the actual result or not. However to avoid any home experimentation I can have the students use a computer applet that gives them the ability to manipulate variables such as speed, angle, etc. and then run it as many times as they want. In this way, they’ve used technology as a tool to see the results for themselves. I can also add a discussion area to have students write their reactions and why they think this result has occurred. Their required notes give me information on each individual’s level of understanding, a win-win situation!" ... Joyce
"I think it would be really important to guide them through what they might be considering as take aways from the activity. Students, very generally speaking, are more engaged by technology and sometimes the point of what an instructor is trying to impart gets lost in the fun of playing around with the game or the ants." ... Benjamin
"It is amazing that a seemingly random pattern can quickly become a pattern, if even for a short amount of time. But in the big picture, I wonder were this is leading to in our discussion of the brain?" ... Robert
- observations themselves are "stories"
- computers, computer models valuable educational tools
- distributed systems
Moving on ... to the nervous system
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The Brain - is wider than the Sky - For - put them side by side - The one the other will contain With ease - and You - beside-
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Implications if Emily was right?
- Brain = behavior, there isn't anything else
- "a person's mental activities are entirely due to the behavior of nerve cells ... and the atoms, ions, and molecules that make them up and influence them" ... Francis Crick, The Astonishing Hypothesis
- "it never ceases to amaze me that all the richness of
our mental life - all our feelings, our emotions, our thoughts, our
ambitions, our love life, our religious sentiments and even what each
of us regards as his own intimate private self - is simply the activity
of these little specks of jelly in your head, in your brain. There is
nothing else" ... Vilayanur Ramachandram
- From Bibical Times to Today: What Has Changed and What Hasn't About Epilepsy
- The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
- The Gregarious Brain - NY Times Magazine, 8 July 2007
What story do you hear/see in Emily Dickinson's poem? Do you think the brain is wide enough to contain the sky ... "and You beside"? What would this imply? In general? About education? Write your thoughts in the forum area below.
Thinking about how the brain (nervous system) works (if Dickinson right)
- From stimulus/response box to semi-autonomous input/output box consisting of interconnected input/outboxes consisting of ... large number of very small input/output boxes (neurons)
Is the real brain (nervous system) actually that way?
Yep ...
- Sensory neurons the only way in, motor neurons the only way out, mostly interneurons
- Similar but different in different organisms, different in same organism at different times
- All neurons, differences in behavior are differences in organization of neurons
(change organization of neurons, change behavior) - Neurons have some degree of autonomy, so therefore does nervous system, can view as output/input box as appropriately as input/output box
- The architecture of the brain gives it the characteristics of an explorer
Key points
- Brain=behavior a good story
- Variation from brain to brain (diversity)
- For outside to affect brain it has to pass through sensory neurons
- Changes in brains with experience
- Brains have characteristics independent of experience and can generate outputs independent of experience
- Brains are designed (by evolution) to explore, to do loopy science
What most interests you about what we've talked about so far? In what ways might it be relevant in your classroom? What would you like to learn more about yourself using the internet? Write some thoughts/questions in the forum area below.
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Comments
Emily's poem and brain variations
Tuesday July 10, 2007
Wow, teachers are brain surgeons! A brain surgeon at Bryn Mawr Hospital changes the brain with surgical instruments while I change behavior with my words and actions. Now the final issue becomes a pay equity issue since we both have the same affect.
Also the comment about babies are born explores reminds me of a book by Alice Gopnick, Scientists in the Crib. In the book she states that babies are born with powerful learning mechanisms and cites a study by Andy Meltzoff where he explains that infant can mimic facial expressions (stick your tongue out at the baby, the baby will stick his/her tongue out at you) 42 minutes after they are born. It seems like we are really born to explore and learn almost from the moment of birth. This is complete contrast with John Locke who said that children are blank slates.
Two quotes come to mind on the uniqueness of our brains. The first is from Carl Jung maintaining that “The normal man is only fiction” and the second one from Rodney Dangerfield asserting in his unique and ubiquitous style “The only normal people are the ones you don’t know too well.” The same can be said for their brains.
I especially like Paul’s comment about his goal of teaching; to teach them to think. It reminds me of a story. If you
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a person how to fish, and you fed him for a lifetime. Something to consider if we really want our students to become true life long learners which will be necessary in our increasingly complex and demanding condensed world
Emily, The Brain, The Classroom, and The Internet
Emily - Emily indeed was on to something as the brain in big enough to contain all that we experience and imagine.
The Brain - I believe as finite as the sky is, in that it is contained on the Earth, God has given us the capacity to use our brain to think and be creative infinitely.
Classrooms and The Internet - Setting an atmosphere for exploratory learning is a fine ideal. However, as a teacher and administrator turned adjunct, the common thread on each of these levels is the pacing requirement. Curricula does not afford Educators the time to allow students to explore, question, and/or challenge what they are being taught...how sad is the realization of this for the students and teachers. These would be recognized, in many cases, as teachable moments. Hope rests in the fact that we provide food for thought for time spent out of our classrooms...in their world.
Emily Dickinson
Brain matter
brain
Emily's Brain
brain
Day Two, Morning Session
I see the logic behind the story that the brain, and more specifically, the way that it is conditioned, is responsible for our interactions, our learning, and our social skills. I'm very intrigued as to what learning more about our brains will mean for me as a medium for my students and as an individual in my own relationships with others.
In terms of what it implies for the classroom, I think it gives us an important reminder: We really are brain surgeons, and the scary thing is that I think many educators out there are unaware of that fact or unwilling to consider such a story or explanation from that perspective. Locally, when dealing with students of special needs or students who are talented/gifted, and universally, when dealing with education legislation, such as NCLB or even on a state level, the majority, or at least the plurality, of people who hold power over the educational system are unaware of the fact that they are indeed brain surgeons. The result is legislation like NCLB and the state, county, and township programs that have been designed by individuals/groups in order to comply with federal statutes...measures which are not actionary, but reactionary, in a sense, like taping together a cracked mirror.
Graham
on difference ....
Anyone for Chess?
Emily Dickinson's Poem and discussion
I understood Emily
emily dickinson
poem
Emily Dickinson Response
Emily Dickinson's poem
If there isn't more, don't mention it
Paul, "Brain = behavior, there isn't anything else"
If there is nothing else, why do you mention the environment, e.g. "For outside to affect brain it has to pass through sensory neurons"? That means there ìs more, outside.
what's "outside"?
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