Day One

Ms.Driscoll(one our second grade teachers) and I arrived safely last night. This morning we grabbed some breakfast and headed to our first workshop. Dr.William Howe, who is an education consultant for multicultural education and works for the Conneticut State Department of Education, spoke today on student achievement. He said it is important for students to be able to work in a diverse world and workplace. Students need to develop empathy and be able to compete with students around the world. Most US companies and multinational corporations receive most of their revenues from overseas. Dr.Howe said the more languages we know, the more likely we are to be hired by international corporations. Dr.Howe led discussions about many key aspects in our everyday lessons. He had us think about our lessons and how are they helping us achieve academic and cultural excellence. He said multicultural education nurtures student’s hearts, as well as their minds, in school. Dr.Howe shared many ideas with us on how to create an environment that is both emotionally and physically safe for everyone. I look forward to sharing the lessons when I get back!

National Association for Multicultural Education Advocates for Educational Equity and Social Justice

I am so excited to learn wonderful ideas about empowering children and youth. I look forward to the start of the conference on November 3rd. The first workshop I will be attending is about developing curriculum that will prepare our students for a diverse workforce and a global economy. I wonder how awareness of culture affect our teaching and learning? My flight takes off tomorrow evening. It will be a long flight!

Home =)

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

-Dr.Seuss
I made it back to New Jersey safely. I have many things to share with you, a book called, You Can't Use Your Brain If You're a Jellyfish, memory games, math games, and pictures of the brain. See you tomorrow.
Here are the answers to your super questions:
Max, is your brain mushy? Not really. It is soft but I wouldn't say that it feels like Jell-O
Paige, what is the color of your brain? It has a tan appearance. The surface of the brain has blood vessels and is a bit darker than the underlying deeper portion.
Andrew, what does your brain look like? It looks like wrinkled Jello-O
Emma, how does your brain know if you like asparagus? Your taste senses the flavor of the asparagus, and this information is forwarded into the brain. Reward centers and neurons that indicate "liking" are active when you taste something that you like and the hippocampus helps you remember your liking for asparagus.
Emmet, how does your brain think? Different parts in the brain do different things. Some parts help you to learn and remember, some help to solve problems and make decisions. Some help you with balance or to move your hands, arms, and legs.
Bobby, how does your brain know how to do the right thing? The part of the brain called, cerebrum, helps you to make the right decisions.The key part of our brain in "controlling" our behavior is the frontal lobe - right behind your forehead.
Drew, does your brain grow? Our brain is three and half pounds. It does grow a bit while you are little and in turn your skull grows in size.However, you do grow new brain cells in the learning and memory center (hippocampus) of the brain.
Benno, does your brain have bones? The brain does not, but it is protected by the skull.
Sammi, how does your brain think about you? The Brain Stem connects the brain to the spinal cord and and controls such things as heart rate and breathing.
Leila, does your brain shrink?You can lose brain matter in certain disease states and thus your brain can lose volume. A perfect example of this is Alzheimers.
Lily, How does your brain do math?Math thinking is highly complex. It involves a number of areas in the brain. These include, the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the visual cortex, The Broca’s area, the angular gyrus, and the Wernicke’s area. (I’ll have to show you a picture of the brain).
Nicolas, does your brain control anything? Our body has a nervous system. It is made of nerve cells which are called neurons. Neurons in particular parts of the brain are responsible for particular functions - for example, neurons in the motor area of the brain control the movement of our limbs on the opposite side of the body.
Kenan, does your brain do anything bad? The part of the brain called, cerebrum, helps you to make the right decisions.
Katherine, does your brain know how to cut while you are cutting? Your hand sends messages to your brain and the brain sends it back to your hand through the nervous system.
Christine, how many languages can your brain learn to speak?The Broca’s area, the angular gyrus, and the Wernicke’s area are parts of the brain that help to learn languages.
Christopher, how does your brain know how to check mate someone in chess?Practice, practice, practice.

Day Three

It is the last and final day of our conference. I am sad to be leaving such an outstanding conference, but I am ecstatic to see you all on Monday. Some amazing speakers today, talked more about our brain. The first speaker, Dr.Kenneth S.Kosik, spoke about strengthening our powers of attention, memory and concentration. He said a memory which is created with a strong emotion is unforgettable. Do you remember your first day of kindergarten? I remember meeting you on the very first day, it brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. You would love to know, that Dr.Kosnik thinks that a game called “Nintendo Brain Age” enchances our memory. My favorite quote by him: “Memory is about the future. The future is about imagination.”

Music is the way to make us excellent listeners, believes Dr.Nina Kraus. Certain parts of the brain are actually larger in volume for musicians. She used research to show that students who actively engage in music lessons have great listening skills. (Parents please visit this site for more info: www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu).

Tonight I will spend some time with my friends in DC. I’ll post again tomorrow, to let you know about my return trip home! See you soon!

Day Two

Dr.Kenneth S. Kosik ,from the neuroscience institute in California, started our morning session, by asking how often do we smile in the classroom? How often do we use new words? They were thought provoking questions. I think we do those things a lot in our classroom. He also said our abilities should not be measured by tests. I loved that! He says that neuroscience and education can get us there, to meet that goal. Dr.Daniel T. Willingham spoke about why students may not like school. I told him that we all love school! But he said sometimes the choices we make, can affect weather we like school or not. I guess we must be making good choices! My favorite thing he said and I’ll quote him, “Intelligence is not something you are, but something you get”. What do you think he means by that?
He said it is important for our students to feel successful and not to be afraid of failure. He said losing a video game is easier for us, then feeling like we don’t understand something in the classroom. Dr. Edward L. Deci spoke about motivation. Where does the energy come from? What moves people to behave? He said motivation should be intrinsic. That is a big word. He did say it is important to give our students choices. Our daily choice time, is a perfect example. For many of you, that is your favorite time of the day! You are motivated to learn and play during choice time, all on your own, without rewards.
My favorite speaker today, Dr.William R. Stixrud spoke about why movement and meditation are important for attention, motivation, and learning. Let children play he said. He also said exercise and healthy eating are important for our brain too. He said teaching yoga and dance is important too!
It looks like you had a blast with special friends and grandparents today! Wish I was there too, miss you lots!

Day One

Hello students and families! I made it to Washington DC today and I am truly enjoying the conference on the first day. Today we had three keynote speakers. The first speaker, Dr.Michael Posner, spoke about the development of the brain. He said our daily experiences shape our behavior. The second speaker today, was my favorite. Her name was Dr.Martha Bridge Denckla, and she spoke about our attention and things that we are attracted to. Dr.Denckla thinks we are usually great listeners when we are attracted to topics. I think, she is so right!I know that when I am really excited about a topic, I really am eager to learn about it. The third speaker, Dr. Patricia Quinn, spoke about girls and their attention spans. My first day is off to a super start and I look forward to the next two days. I took some pictures to share with you. I loved reading all of your questions. Over the next few days I hope to learn all about your questions and share my thoughts with you! Hope your Thursday was fantastic too! Miss you lots.

Love,Ms. Mehta

Learning and the Brain Conference

Dear K-MW Families,
The Learning and the Brain conference is on May 6th, 7th, and 8th in our Nation's Capital, Washington DC. I am eager to meet neuroscientists, teachers, and researchers, from throughout the United States and abroad. They will share new and exciting things about the brain and how it influences our learning in the classroom. However, I will miss you and thought it would be delightful to share my adventures with you. I would love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to leave comments on the blog! Happy blogging to all of us in K-MW!
Love,
Ms.Mehta