When the brain learns, synaptic connections are formed and these connections are stimulated by emotional chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, etc. (Thompson, 2021). Therefore, we can infer that by connecting emotions to learning environments and experiences, our students will retain information. By making our lessons fun through hands-on experiences, movement, or laughter, we can help induce positive emotions.

Repetition

An example of repetition could be shown in our reading lessons. Our current curriculum does a great job at connecting content knowledge throughout the units. However, the writing skills seem to be a bit rushed and then are not repeated again. The expectations are that students finish writing pieces in a very short amount of time, and are not given much guidance or time to make edits. By breaking up writing assignments and using supplemental activities to practice writing, we can allow students to have multiple means of exposure to the skills. This repeated practice allows for better retention of the skill.

Brain breaks have been shown to increase brain activity (Edmentum, 2023). Utilizing brain breaks allows students to rest and reset. Our brains can only take in new information in our working memory for a short amount of time. Allowing movement in between learning allows children to regain focus when they return to learning. Our current ELA curriculum calls for an hour and a half of teaching each day. While our math curriculum calls for about an hour. During these times, schedule in movement breaks, or meditation breaks.

Visual Elements

We all know that our ELA and Math curriculums come with additional slides to present with. However, they are designed the exact same way every time and often times our students get bored. A way to incorporate more visual elements may be to utilize supplemental videos for math or to support our reading in ELA. For example, in our class we learn about the Maya, Aztec and Inca. I often show videos of the game Pok-a-tok that we read about to allow students to actually see the game being played in the traditional clothing, rather than just looking at pictures from the book. This strategy is especially useful for students who are visual learners, who learn better "seeing" rather than "hearing" (Edmentum, 2023).

Every one of our students are different. They're brains may be wired differently, their stages of development may not be the exact same, their abilities will be at different levels, and their past experiences will never be the same! Trauma is a very common challenge that many children face. This trauma can affect their memory as well as their ability to learn. Trauma to the brain can even cause permanent damage and can affect behavior (Sousa, 2022). A student with trauma may react differently to potentially threatening stimuli and may struggle to remain focused on the task at hand (Press Office, 2022).

How do we overcome the challenge?

In order for students with traumatic backgrounds to learn they must feel safe and comfortable in the classroom. There are physical and emotional ways that we can support this as teachers. Our classrooms can be quiet and controlled, the lighting in the room can be soft rather than harsh, and students may be allowed to use preferential seating. Emotionally we can support students successes and failures, which allows them to feel comfortable to make mistakes and excited to make gains! We can handle behaviors that may arise with calmness and understanding, and allow students to take breaks when they are feeling overwhelmed.

https://www.brainbasedlearning.net/

https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/brain-based-learning/

https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-brain-based-strategies-encourage-deeper-thinking/