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Brain Rule 5:
The summer before I went into my junior year of high school I went to a camp at Brown University to prep me for the SAT. The only thing I still remember was them teaching us about brain synapses and how you must relate new information to old information in order to really learn it.
In order to take this information and help my dependent learners develop independent thinking, I have to teach them how to explore their own minds. Educators can use inquiry questions such as:
- What is the most important thing you've ever learned in school? Why?
- What is something you learned in school that you use every day? How?
- How do you learn best? On your own or with other students?
These questions begin to get students' brains ready to look for those important things they already know in the material being introduced.

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Rule #2- Positive relationships keep our safety-threat detection systems in check

This rule stuck out to me the most primarily because I am a firm believer that it is our own relationships that help mold who we are as people. If a student is only told that they are going to fail, they are going to believe it. Not only that, but if they go home to a bad homelife, this also affects their development and how they act in many social situations. It is our jobs to foster a more healthy relationship with our students as they should feel safe and secure at school. For my teaching, I don't know how many times I've repeated, "work with me and I'll work with you". I know building healthy relationships is important and my personality usually meshes well with the students, but it is because of me being willing to also learn about them as individuals, this usually helps me deescalate situations when they come up in class. I'll use one of my 8th graders as an example because she typically has a very short temper. Her homelife is a bit more hostile than a normal home so she typically meets everything in her life with some kind of hostility. With her, I know I need to push through her combative behavior and crack a few jokes and get a smile out of her then I know I broke through to her in order to make sure she is willing to hear me out.

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4. Attention drives learning.

I have noticed that my students' attention span are short lived.  It is difficult for them to pay attention even during "engaging assignments".  Based on our text by Zaretta Hammond, I now understand that aside from "engaging" activities, the neuroscience that we have to pay attention to in order to help dependent learners develop independent thinking are:
- what we're asking students to pay attention to because the brain can only focus on a few things at once
- creating positive and supportive learning environments in order to promote the students' motivational and emotional well-being
- the cultural expectations of what paying attention looks like

There are several actions that educators can take to address attention driven learning.  Some of those actions include:
- monitor and adjusting instruction based on student feedback
- provide opportunities for collaboration and interaction which can help to foster motivation and emotional well-being by promoting a sense of community and shared learning
- incorporate movement and hands-on activities which can help to engage students and maintain their attention by providing a more interactive and dynamic learning experience
- use culturally responsive teaching strategies which can help to capture and maintain students' attention by making learning more relevant and engaging to their lives
- promote a positive and inclusive classroom environment by recognizing and valuing the diversity of their students

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Rule #2 Positive relationships keep our safety-threat detection system in check.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about this rule because I practice a lot of what goes into it.  As a new teacher, Ive been learning everyday new ways on how to connect and build relationships with my students. Establishing this rapport with our students is the branch that allows for so many other opportunities to grow. I love fostering a class where every student feels safe. It is enough that many of our students struggle with their studies and understanding course material. However, having a teacher that you are able to ask questions to or to express confusion or gain some  clarity is the most important. Often times, my students are embarrassed to admit that they do not understand what was taught. I have started to sit with my students at their tables so that they are able to tell me in a smaller setting what they need help with. As the school year goes on I have learning many new ways in forming these teacher-student relationships. Greeting students as they walk in has been my favorite. Along with giving praise when they’ve done something positive. All of these ways have benefitted my class and I.

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Rule 5: All new information must be coupled with existing funds of knowledge in order to be learned resonates the most with me. Since the beginning of my teaching career, I have always heard of the importance of bridging the gap of knowledge for students. It is proven that when students have background knowledge to build upon they can become stronger and more independent thinkers. The textbook states "To make learning stick, we have to determine what students know and understand how they organized in their schema." As an educator, I can use my students prior knowledge to hook them onto the lesson and provide access to each individual learner. With that, students will be better equipped to handle the rigorous aspect of each lesson because they will have already connected their background knowledge. As educators, and with the information of neuroscience which is the foundation of this chapter, we can plan more thoroughly and ensure confidence within the learners. Leveraging the assets of our dependent learners not only takes pressure off the educator as the knowledge "fore-bearer" but intertwines practices to help our students become more independent thinkers that are more confident and well equipped for critical thinking.

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I believe rule #6. "The brain physically grows through challenge and stretch, expanding its ability to do more complex learning and thinking." resonates with me most at the moment. This is an important rule to really think about and keep in mind in the classroom because it physically affects the brain and  just how we think. This rule gave me a clear understanding of what aspects educators need to keep in mind when developing their students mindsets. Especially when working with dependent learners. Having a better understanding on the brains negative biases and how many positive experiences are really needed to counteract a negative thought or experience is eye-opening. You need more positive experiences than negative ones to counteract micro invalidations.
Educators play a role in shifting a negative academic mindset into a growth mindset. By educators creating a partnership with their students and empowering them to keep trying when things get tough- they are developing their independence. Educators can set high standards in their classrooms for ALL students. This is important when building independent learners. Many students are used to receiving special exemptions or lower standards based off of previous years data. If all teachers hold students to a consistently higher level of learning and ensure learning is a consistent expectation -we are allowing our students' brain to grow through complex thinking. Teachers should also interrupt student's negative self-talk. This is important when developing confident and independent thinkers.

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3. Culture guides how we process information.
Rule #3 gives me an understanding that in order to help dependent learners develop independent ways of thinking, curriculum needs to be connected in some way to students' and teachers' cultures. According to Hammond, "social interactions such as conversation and storytelling" are important and necessary "as learning aids" (Hammond, 2015, pg. 48). I have found that anytime I bridge my own culture or interests into a lesson or as an anecdote, I immediately engage my students into the lesson. For instance, my students and I enjoy listening to instrumental music during small group or independent work periods, and we take turns sharing our favorite artists and finding instrumentals that can be played. One artist that my students and I have in common is Bad Bunny, so I have a curated a playlist with his instrumentals while also including instrumentals with similar popular artists that they enjoy, as well. They also enjoy anime, and YouTube has a great selection of lo-fi anime screensavers that I project on the SMART Board as an alternative.
As special education teachers, SEL and CRSE are necessary components to accommodate the various learning styles of students. It is important to be aware of students' interests, triggers, cultures and backgrounds, and self-regulation strategies. I have found that the more vulnerable and transparent I am with my students about who I am, the more trusting and vulnerable they are with me. I have also understood that my students are not very willing to engage with me or the lessons if I do not first give them an incentive or a small tidbit of my own, thus, culture trading has been a necessary method to build attention and engagement in my own classroom.

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I was responding to Danielle's comment, and I thought about this TED talk. This is an elementary principal in the Bronx, and I think that many of his ideas and philosophies about how he serves his students intersect with Hammond's brain rules.

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The Sixth Priority | Luis Torres | TEDxBronx

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Rule #6 resonated with me most, particularly in the way that it reminds me of Zygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. ZPD provides a framework for conceptualizing what a learner can do unaided, and the circle expands towards tasks that the learner can do with assistance or even not at all with their current knowledge.

Teaching algebra, I feel as though I get a high number of kids who begin the class assuming that they'll "never get it" or that they're "just not a math person" Math instruction is made more challenging by the fact that students have to have a firm grasp of the foundational concepts in order to proceed.

I really appreciate the notion of challenging and stretching the brain, because it reminds us that it's okay to not always get the material right away, and that there will likely be some difficulties and practice needed before we feel comfortable with new concepts. We know from the science that our brains are not fixed in their understanding and capacity, and this rule speaks to how we can change our thinking about how humans learn to give every student a chance to be successful in our respective classes.

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For me I feel like rule number one and two are the most closely related. However, rule number 2 sticks out to me the most "Positive relationships keep our safety threat detection systems in check."  This rule we need to pay attention with dependent learners in order to develop independent thinkers because it correlates with students fight or flight response.  If the know in the classroom that they have a teacher that is looking out for their well being, they will be able to trust that teacher methods.  They will feel safety and confident  in what the teacher is asking and expecting of them.
As an educator it is our responsibility to develop positive relationships with students, by talking to them getting to know their needs, likes, dislikes etc.. By doing this when they are having a bad day or do not feel safety in the moment they know that they have you as a safety net to ease their threat detection.

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Rule 6. The brain physically grows through challenge and stretch, expanding its ability to do more complex learning and thinking.

We must challenge our students' cognitive skills to help them reach their full potential by paying close attention to what experts say about the nervous system. It is imperative to know the parts of the brain that are responsible for information processing. Neuroscience teaches us that the "limbic region" of the brain's primary role is to "help us learn from experience, manage our emotions, and remember" (Hammond, 2014, p. 4). A healthy classroom environment can target this brain region by embracing students' differences and engaging in social-emotional learning. Therefore, to promote "productive struggles," teachers must establish a safe, loving environment first. A safe environment will help students enter the classroom with a ready-to-be-challenge mindset.

Neuroscience also talks about the neocortex being part of the brain where students build their intellectual capacity. When students face challenging work, the brain seeks to grow more dendrites which allows them to complete "complex information processing" ((Hammond, 2014, p.6). Additionally, the brain's response is to grow "more capacity in the form of neurons, and synapsis, topping it all off with a thick coat of myelin to give it speed" ((Hammond, 2014, p. 12). The students' brains want challenging work because it is the most effective way to acquire knowledge.

Therefore, as a teacher, I should always be open to activities that require them to indulge in high-level thinking. I must keep exposing them to new innovative concepts. I must allow my students to struggle when they don't understand an activity—allowing them to develop their ideas for solving problems. Give them space to learn from their mistakes and peers instead of me feeding them the answers.

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The rule that I resonate the most with is the first rule.  No one can actively learn if there is a sense of threat in an environment meant to be nurturing. If there’s is a constant need to feel like you’re in survival mood, you aren’t going to focus on what is needed to grow. In this mindset, you are only focus on survival and making sure you make it another day. If this feeling of survival and threat is eliminated from the classroom and gives students the chance to feel as if they are safe no matter what, this is when their focus shifts and they are able to actual learn. Threats do not always have to be physical, it could very much be mental. Making sure it is known  that it is a space for learning and mistakes are welcomed. This is a crucial part of education. Specially emphasizing the need to help others when they are lost and not adding to their confusion by making fun of them. Making sure it’s a space in which everyone is respected.

This rule is a core belief I have. I make sure students feel they welcomed and they are in a safe space. They can focus on just their education. I hope this is something I can continue beyond just being a first year teacher.

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Rule number five really speaks to me. "All new information must be coupled with existing funds of knowledge in order to be learned." The text mentions a teacher in Brazil that was using words that related to what they knew in order to learn.
While I was in undergrad, I had a professor that spent a year living in Colorado City with the FLDS community. Apart of them living there she asked to give IQ tests to students. One thing they noticed in their analysis of their answers is that for things that applied to their living, they were able to answer and score very well. However, there were questions that mentioned things like a circus or roller coaster rides, which these children had never been exposed so they were not able to answer. Their experience in Colorado City demonstrates this point.
My daughter is almost five, and I can see this in her early learning journey. She first needed to learn sounds, then understand words, then to speak words, then letters to associate with words and their sounds, now she is in the process of learning to read and spell by recognizing the sounds of each letter (and vice versa for spelling).
In teaching, we need to ensure that the foundation is strong in order to move on to the next content area and continually build on those skills.

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Culturally responsive teaching is an approach that recognizes and values the cultural backgrounds and experiences of students. One of the brain rules of culture is that “Culture guides how we process information”, which means that students' cultural backgrounds and experiences can impact how they learn and process information in the classroom. This can be done by incorporating diverse perspectives and experiences into lessons, materials, and activities.

As an action step, teachers can use this brain rule to create a learning environment that is inclusive and responsive to the diverse backgrounds of their students by providing multiple representations. Teachers can present information in a variety of ways to accommodate different learning styles and cultural backgrounds. For example, they can use visuals, hands-on activities, and storytelling to convey information. Also, encourage dialogue and discussion to create opportunities for students to share their perspectives and experiences in the classroom. This can help students feel valued and can also enrich class discussions.

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Rule number five stress the importance of prior knowledge. The brain stretch and builds on knowledge we already learned to process new information. As teachers, it’s important to make sure our students have the basic foundation necessary before teaching new materials, to provide scaffolding for students struggle or lacking that prior knowledge. It also necessary to teach students to make connections and be able to use their prior knowledge or lessons to independently learn. This can be simple as giving a Do Now that ask about their lesson and provide a connection to the new content. It also be a quick review or homework that Prompts students to recall and assess their prior knowledge before starting a new lesson.

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"Positive interactions keep our safety threat detection systems in control," is the brain rule I've chosen. By providing an environment that the brain perceives as safe and caring, it is our duty as educators to create the optimal learning environment for our dependent learners. They concentrate the change from stress to learning in this way. A close relationship with each student is the first step teachers should take to ensure students learning and success. Beginning with a simple hello and good-bye each day will go a long way toward getting to know your students. When teaching, it is also a good idea to give your students options and allow open, respectful communication.

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I chose the first brain rule.

1. The rule gives me some understanding about the aspects of neuroscience we need to pay attention to in order to help dependent learners develop independent thinking by understanding the variety of "threats" these students may face within a classroom setting. Even in the classroom, they may be contemplating 1,000 threats they will meet when they leave the classroom or leave the school. This, of course, will distract from the learning. However, if these students are seeking to connect to others in their community, then the classroom must be seen as a safe place, where one can bond with others in an authentic way, while learning skills to push independent learning further.

2. One action step that educators can do is to, from the first day of class, make a culture where no students are taunted or bullied for taking a learning risk. In fact, it is always and in every case a time for celebration and praise. This sets a clear mood and expectation about what happens in the class when someone tries to do something new. As well, educators can give students social-emotional time in the class to bond with other students, increasing a less threatening environment.

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Directions:
Select one of of the following brain rules:

1. The brain seeks to minimize social threats and maximize opportunities to connect with others in the community.

2. Positive relationships keep our safety-threat detection systems in check.

3. Culture guides how we process information.

4. Attention drives learning.

5. All new information must be coupled with existing funds of knowledge in order to be learned.

6. The brain physically grows through challenge and stretch, expanding its ability to do more complex learning and thinking. Using your selected brain rule, respond to the following prompts on Padlet.

How do the rules give you some understanding of what aspects of neuroscience we need to pay attention to in order to help dependent learners develop independent thinking?

What are some action steps educators can take to address your group’s brain rule in the classroom with students?

**Respond to one of your colleagues!**