During the Wallace grant, Bonnie Benesh will provide ongoing 4J staff consultation and training on how to organize schools using brain research. She began initial training to teachers and other staff members on March 31, 2003 (to Sheldon Region) and April 1, 2003 (North, Churchill, and South Regions). Bonnie consistently modeled what she was teaching throughout the presentation. Below are views of what went on at those trainings.

To see the Register Guard interview with Bonnie on brain based learning, click: http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/01/15/1a.benesh.0115.html

[Click individual pictures to see a larger view.]

Learning guideline: develop a safe, nonthreatening environment.

Learning guideline: provide active, meaningful learning; use social interaction to involve and reinforce.

"Fiddle" toys to keep your hands busy while you focus; water to keep you refreshed; chocolate and peppermint to breathe enhancing brain function; hands-on "tools" for active learning.

Learning the parts of the brain by building a model - the pretzel stick is the brain stem, the almond the amygdula, the orange slice symbolizes the lobes of the brain, and the fruit rollup is the cortex!

Talk about it with your peers, what did you learn, what questions do you have, write down two things that surprised you and what you want to know more about.

Learning guideline: the two tasks of the brain are seeking patterns and making sense out of nonsense; physical movement provides a neurobic activity which gets the oxygen flowing and refocuses the brain for learning.

Learning guideline: The optimal learning cycle (also known as 10-3-7) is 20 minutes of time; the first 10 minutes is "Prime Time 1," when students learn best. The next 3 minutes is "Down Time," when the brain needs a break and the teacher can utilize this time for checking for comprehension, having students talk to each other about what they've learned. The last 7 minutes is "Prime Time 2," the next best learning time, which teachers can use to remediate, extend, or refine what was learned in the first 10 minutes.

After a "lecturette" on neuron action, Bonnie takes the next 3 minutes to reinforce learning by acting it out - this is your neuron...

...and tickling your hand is like the electrical impulse from the neuron, which travels through the dendrites...

Participants then draw their picture of the neuron action, which is followed by Bonnie showing a labeled overhead.

Learning guideline: Use music beats (instrumentals only, no words associated) for specific learning effects. Music with 60-80 beats per minute lowers the heart rate putting the person at ease for learning. Music with 80-100 beats perminute has the effect of focusing the learning (especially when paired with physical movement 3-5 minutes prior to learning activity). Music from 90-110 beats per minute helps fluency - especially with writing, reading, computation, lab situations - and helps students stay on task longer.

Learning guideline: "Neurobic" activity is needed periodically to bring fresh oxygen to the brain, getingt the neurons firing again, and enhancing learning.

Using pressure points, Bonnie shows participants how to increase their own neuron activity.

Learning guideline: provide repeated trials until students reach near mastery before giving them independent homework practice; allow opportunities for self-selected difficulty levels in order to meet individual learning needs.

	Participants were given repeated timed trials, trying to pick up objects (mini-marshmallows, M&Ms, unpopped corn kernels) with chopsticks. They charted the number of objects picked up each time, noting a decline in productivity at first after anew helpful hint (more like a shovel), then numbers went up. It wasn't a competition, but a self-selected difficulty opportunity to accomodate those with prior knowledge and skills (see Komae going after the corn kernels on the right?).