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Gordon F. Sherman, Ph.D. Newgrange School & Education Center Princeton, N.J. thenewgrange

Oregon Branch IDA Salem, Oregon “ Cerebrodiversity In The Classroom-- Lessons From Neuroscience” Part 1 - Slides 1-32. Gordon F. Sherman, Ph.D. Newgrange School & Education Center Princeton, N.J. www.thenewgrange.org February 24, 2007. Themes. Cerebrodiversity (from conception)

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Gordon F. Sherman, Ph.D. Newgrange School & Education Center Princeton, N.J. thenewgrange

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  1. Oregon Branch IDASalem, Oregon“Cerebrodiversity In The Classroom-- Lessons From Neuroscience”Part 1 - Slides 1-32 Gordon F. Sherman, Ph.D. Newgrange School & Education Center Princeton, N.J. www.thenewgrange.org February 24, 2007

  2. Themes • Cerebrodiversity (from conception) • Plasticity (bce ecb) • It’s all about interactions • Brain knowledge enables better teaching • 1 = 10 • Students have a new kind of brain/mind • Critical thinking about science

  3. An Additional Focus “Just as the printing press…changed how knowledge works, we have hypothesized that these new digital media will have the same effect. It’s critical that we understand (digital media’s) benefits and its unintended consequences. There are implications for both of those for schools.”--Connie Yowell, MacArthur Foundation, Education Week, 11-06

  4. “If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn't.”--Emerson M. Pugh

  5. “The human brain is estimated to have about a hundred billion nerve cells, two million miles of axons, and a million billion synapses, making it the most complex structure, natural or artificial, on earth.”--Green et al.

  6. You use more than 10% The Optimal Brain • Does not exist • Even that which scores 2400 • Specific environment match • Unique combination of strengths/weaknesses

  7. Expect Brain Differences • Variance is fundamental • General patterns exist • All levels of structure-function • Molecules, cells, neurochemistry, synapses, networks, memories, reward systems • Cerebrodiversity

  8. How Are Variation and Uniqueness Produced?

  9. Brain Development • Genes set limits and directions • Brain shaped by encounters with external world (plasticity) • Environment fine tunes the interactions of neurons/circuits/systems (CD) • Incorporates early environmental interaction • Power of parents, teachers, schools

  10. Neuroplasticity • Fetus has twice the number of neurons • Lose 100 billion neurons • Connect or die • This is a good thing!

  11. Environment Shapes Circuits • Environmental sculptor • Developmental dance • Brain directs activities and activities shape the brain • Feedback loop • Plasticity • Lifelong

  12. Magical Mystery • Illusion of unity/continuity (vision) • Warm, moist, dark, quiet, electric • No executive center or grandmother cell (BC)

  13. Cerebrodiversity: An Emerging Model? • Collective neural heterogeneity • Unique way our brains function • Genetically-guided early brain development and subsequent interactions with environment • Learning differences/dyslexia • Adaptive advantage/evolutionary asset • Beyond the disability paradigm • Timely/appropriate intervention

  14. Profiles of Cerebrodiversity

  15. Multiple Intelligences • Logical-Mathematical • Linguistic • Spatial • Bodily-Kinesthetic • Musical • Interpersonal • Intrapersonal • Naturalist • Existential?

  16. Why Is Cerebrodiversity Important? • Diversity is basis of evolution through natural selection • Ensures processing flexibility • Maximizes learning opportunities • Adapt to changing environments

  17. Evolution • < 1% of species are still in existence • Humans have only been around for a brief period • Not all existing behaviors or structures adaptive (belly button/ear lobes)

  18. Natural Selection • Primary mechanism of evolution • Operates on diverse (+/-) hereditary traits • Struggle among organisms for reproductive success (physical, behavior)) • Leads to local adaptation (not advancement or progress) • Improves fitness of populations • Diversity is key!

  19. Cerebrodiversity Results in Learning Differences • This is a good thing! • Must be clever to maximize results

  20. How Can Cerebrodiversity Result in Learning Disabilities? • It’s all about interactions!

  21. Environments Interact with Learning Differences • The environment can translate learning differences into severe learning disabilities • Process • Demands (itedwwydhinad) and educational structure • Poorly designed instructional environments punish cerebrodiversity

  22. Producing Cerebrodiversity • Change the developmental trajectory of the brain • Affect connectivity • Increase specialization • Dyslexia as an example

  23. An Example of Cerebrodiversity

  24. W. Pringle Morgan, M.D.

  25. James Hinshelwood, M.D.(1859-1919)

  26. Samuel Torrey Orton, M.D.(1879-1948)

  27. Norman Geschwind, M.D.(1926-1984)

  28. One Cause:The Environment Changed

  29. Elevator/Taxi Definition of Dyslexia • Brain-based • Difference in processing information • Affects ability to learn to read, write, and spell

  30. If Dyslexia is an Example of Cerebrodiversity, then…the Brain Should be Different!

  31. Brain Methods • Classic histology • Neuroimaging

  32. Postmortem

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