Neuroplasticity
Brain plasticity is defined as the brains ability to change, grow and make new connections. The brain is able to adapt continuously throughout one's life to new stimuli, as the brain is stimulated the proportion of grey matter has the ability to change (making the brain denser and heavier). Which is why with dedication and effort to a specific task we are able to make long lasting changes to our brain.
As we continue to learn the more pathways we create between the neurons in our brain. With continued effort we increase the amount of times these pathways are travelled, ultimately strengthening our overall knowledge. With continued implementation of this knowledge the strength of the pathways increases, allowing neurons to send stronger and faster signals more often. This is how we create habits and develop task specific skills, such as learning to skate.
Dan Siegel |
Brain plasticity encourages us to step outside our comfort zone embracing challenges as an integral part of learning - "the act of making a mistake results in particularly significant brain growth" (Boaler) - Resulting in neuron paths both being created and strengthening their signals.
Components of the Brain We Use In Growth Mindset
CerebrumIs the largest component of the brain, consisting of both the right and left hemispheres. It is responsible for complex sensory and neural functions along with the initiation of coordination and voluntary actions in the body. The cerebrum also is used for thinking, problem solving, interpreting touch, vision, hearing, speech, reasoning, emotions, learning, fine motor control and our storing our memories.
CerebellumThe Cerebellum is located in the posterior half of the brain, receiving information from the sensory systems, and the spinal cord. It then is able to regulate motor movements such as muscle control and voluntary movements such as speech, posture, balance, and coordination using signals it received from the spinal cord.
Prefrontal CortexIs located in the proximal half of the brain, and is a part of the frontal frontal lobe. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for a variety of complex behaviours including, personality expression, decision making, and planning complex cognitive behaviour. It also plays a large role in an individuals personality development.
HippocampusIs centralized deep within the temporal lobe of each cerebral cortex (each half of the brain). The hippocampus is an important component of the limbic system, located in the outer layer of the cerebrum, that is responsible for motivation, emotion, learning and memory. The hippocampus specifically plays a role in consolidation of information from short-term to long-term memory, and spatial information regarding navigation. It is negatively affected by stress as excess cortisol is released inhibiting the hippocampus from encoding and recalling memories.
AmygdalaIs another central component of the limbic system, that is located deep within the brains temporal lobe, and receives information from our senses and our internal organs. From the stimuli received the amygdala is shown to play a key role in the processing of emotions, decision making, survival instincts and memory. If an individual encounters damage to their amygdala they are considered more likely to take larger risks that offer minimal personal gain.
Brain StemIs located in the posterior half of the brain, continuous with the spinal cord, and is responsible for the flow of messages from the brain to the rest of the body. It also controls all involuntary body functions such as breathing, consciousness, swallowing, blood pressure, heart rate, and weather you are sleeping or awake. The brain stem consists of three different components, the mid-brain (vision, hearing, eye and body movement) the medulla oblongata (breathing and heart rate), and the pons (motor control and sensory analysis) all of which are responsible for different functions.
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Brain Capacity
In Reference to: Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brian - By: Eric Jensen & Carole Snider
Remember when you begin to teach, that developing a students "brain capacity is much more important than adding more content" to learn. With the brain being malleable, cells that we don't use as often as we grow and learn began to die, this is important part of the brains maturation. With the decrease of the overall number of cells, we are able to strengthen the cells that we keep, which increases the over all size of our brains grey matter. The brain is able to make physical changes only in the overall quantity and quality of cells, the connectivity of them, brain mass, blood flow, brain chemistry, and system reactivity. The connections we are creating are influenced by stress, nutrition, our environment, social contact, exercise, and academic skill building, they can all have an impact on either improving or impairing a students attitude, health, social skills, and learning.
Physical activity also has the ability to make the brain smarter. As participation in voluntary gross motor activities such as running, increases the production of of brand new brain cells (Pereira et al., 2007). With the increase in production of new brain cells there is a positive correlation with an increase in mood, learning capacity, and memory. Along with physical activity there are a range of seemingly non-academic activities that have the same capacity to increase brain cell growth such as, board games, reading, computer-programing, etc.
- Brain Changing Factors-
There are three main factors that have the capacity to change the brain:
1. Genes Genes have the capacity to change through gene expression, for example exposure to early stressors may activate genes that increase risk of depression as the infant grows up into adulthood. Therefore our subjective behaviour, expressions, and social dynamics can and do modulate gene expression throughout our lives. Genes we have within us have the ability to be suppressed (turned off) or expressed (turned on) depending on the circumstances one faces, and must be taken into consideration as they have the ability to alter any situation. 2. Environment Envirionmental influences such as stress, nutrition, social contact, exercise, and academic skill building also have the capability to alter gene expression, and can improve/impair a students attitude, health, social skills, and learning. 3. Gene & Environment Interactions Both are involved in the malleability and maturation processes of the brain and have an influence on the brains ability to build on and develop new skills. The brain is able to change from the experiences it is exposed to, and is able to alter its own allocation of tissue, for things such as learning a new language.
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Why Learning Brain Science Matters
Brain science is important as from the moment we are born, as we begin to learn the foundational skills in a variety of disciplines, forming our initial scaffolding. The first step in directing a school to being a growth mindset zone, is presenting to the teachers how the brain works, as many will be unaware of what neuroplasticity is. The next step is to teach students how their brain grows like a muscle and will accomplish the work, which will increase motivation in many students. Another important component of the brain to inform students about are neurons. Neurons are the building blocks of the brain, they are built when you learn something new, and as you continue to develop them they become stronger and fire more rapidly. The more practice and challenging work you provide students with, the more neural pathways you are able to create and build on.
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The Neuroscience of Growth Mindset & Intrinsic Motivation
By: Betsy Ng
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/8/2/20/htm
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/8/2/20/htm
In this scientific paper the author aims to "shed light on the relationship between growth mindset and intrinsic motivation in terms of supporting a growth mindset to facilitate intrinsic motivation through neural responses" (Ng, Betsy.,2018). They define growth mindset as a the belief that learning can be fostered through learning and effort, and intrinsic motivation as the individuals willingness to engage in a task for the purpose of inherent satisfaction. When combined, those with growth mindset believe that an individuals intrinsic motivation can be nurtured.
Neuroscience research has the ability to refine models of motivation and cognitive skill, and plays a pivotal role in developing classroom interventions (Ng, Betsy.,2018). Using neuroscience methods such as electroencephalography (EEG), scientists have recently found that children with growth mindset endorsement were able to perform with higher accuracy after making mistakes. They were not afraid to make mistakes, as they have the ability to learn from the mistake with post error-sccuracy. Thus they determine that "growth-minded students will be resilient and self-regulated when faced with obstacles or challenges during their learning process" (Ng, Betsy.,2018). Neuroscience research also determined that functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), was a better way to determine insights in the brain that are both related to growth mindset and intrinsic motivation. The study also found through fMRI that the brain region most connected to growth mindset is the dorsal region, where as the region mot related to intrinsic motivation is the mid-region. This information is beneficial as it provides a direction in which neuroscience can continue to investigate, as well as provides us with the affirmation that having a "growth mindset relates to brain processes, and brain processes relate to motivated behaviours" (Ng, Betsy.,2018). |
References
Articles
Neuroscience of Growth Mindset & Intrinsic Motivation: www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/8/2/20/htm
Literature
Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brian - By: Eric Jensen & Carole Snider
Neuroscience of Growth Mindset & Intrinsic Motivation: www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/8/2/20/htm
Literature
Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brian - By: Eric Jensen & Carole Snider