Welcome to the October 2015 edition of The Learning Brain.
Since I started publishing this newsletter back in 2013, there has been an explosion in the amount of information available about learning and the brain.This month you can read some of the latest about autism, how our brains get meaning from speech sounds, and neuroscience insights into becoming a better writer. Plus see some tips to help students motivate themselves, at the end of the newsletter.
Kind regards,
PS: The new Learning Capacity Magazine on Flipboard is a great way for you to easily keep up-to-date with what’s new.
PPS: Want to introduce your children to how their brains work? Check out the neuroscience website for kids in this issue.
Latest Research
New knowledge about how we get meaning from speech sounds
New research from Trinity College, Dublin is adding to our knowledge of how infants develop speech and language, and how our brains transform the sounds we hear into meaning.
The researchers have for the first time, identified the precise moment our brains convert speech sounds into meaning by analyzing electrical brain signals measured through the scalp. Read more.
Gene study may lead to more personalised treatments for autism
Scientists working to understand the genetics of autism open the way for potential new treatments. This is one of the conclusions from a DNA analysis of 1,866 families affected by autism.
The analysis identified 239 genes with the greatest likelihood of causing autism. This may prove helpful to doctors and geneticists using genetic screens to guide diagnosis and personalised treatment for autism. Read more.
What’s New?
The Learning Capacity Mazagine
On Flipboard – read on your smart phone, tablet (iPad, Android) or computer. Contains articles and podcasts with fresh ones added each week.
- It’s free
- All about education, neuroscience, learning
- Convenient to access
- Easy to use – just “Flip” the pages
The Learning Capacity Podcast
Is Educational Neuroscience for Real? Dr Martha Burns Explains
In this episode you’ll hear Dr Martha Burns, director of neuroscience education at Scientific Learning corporation discuss the emerging field of educational neuroscience.
Is this a specialist area of knowledge, or just a title for intellectual sounding conversation? Are we moving to a more scientific model of teaching? Can teachers combine the art and the science of teaching for better student outcomes?
Listen to this potentially controversial topic.
Working Memory
The Role of Working Memory
Poor working memory is a common problem and can seriously impact a child’s ability to learn and progress at school, and an adult’s ability to function in the work place.
Working memory is the ability to keep information in your mind for a short time, focus on a task and remember what to do next. Training your working memory enables you to stay focused, remember instructions, plan next steps and ignore distractions.
Free Download
The Brain that Changes Itself
Neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to change itself—is now a household term. If you haven’t read this bestselling book yet, it’s a must!
Download your FREE CHAPTER – “Redesigning the Brain: A scientist changes brains to sharpen perception and memory, increase speed of thought, and heal learning problems”.
Read about the ground-breaking work of Dr Michael Merzenich that led to the development of Fast ForWord. Get to know more about the science of learning and reading.
Maths Skills Booster – September Worksheets
Parents and teachers continue to send in feedback about how the Maths Skills Booster is helping. Thanks for sharing. Here are a few recent comments:
- My son tries to out do his previous time so he is competitive with himself!
- Measured improvement, engagement, confidence, very useful
- Increased awareness of times tables and number facts.
Ready for your new set of Maths Skills Booster Worksheets? You can download the October worksheets here.
Did you miss out on the original Maths Skills Booster? You can get it here.
Book of the Month
The Reader’s Brain: How Neuroscience Can Make You a Better Writer
Have you ever found yourself re-reading the same sentence four or five times and thought “I should get more sleep”? Are you clueless as to why one paragraph just seems to “flow” while you simply can’t recall the contents of another? Guess what: you are not alone.
The Reader’s Brain is the first science-based guide to writing, employing research on how our brains process written language. It will help improve writing for you or your students – to ensure it can be read quickly, assimilated easily, and recalled precisely.
App of the Month
MathBoard
MathBoard teaches addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It is a multiple choice quiz generator that allows you to customise which topics you wish to be quizzed on, how many questions are in the quiz, and what range of numbers you want in the problems.
MathBoard is appropriate for all ages from kindergarten to high school.
What’s On?
Dyslexia Empowerment Week
Dyslexia Empowerment week – increasing the community’s awareness and understanding of dyslexia. See how your local school and/or community can get involved.
Is Reading Recovery effective?
More evidence that the
Reading Recovery program
is ineffective for most
struggling readers.
Can Neuroscience help?
Poor Listening Skills. Could it be APD?
Poor listening skills –
Could it be due to hearing
loss, inattention or Auditory Processing Disorder?
Helping Students Motivate Themselves
Autonomy, competence, relatedness, and relevance – the four qualities identified as critical to helping students motivate themselves.
Neuroscience for Kids
Discover the exciting world
of the brain, spinal cord,
neurons and the senses
– for kids.
How the brain tells you where you are
How do you know if
you’re moving in the right direction or where you parked your car? Watch
Neuroscientist
Neil Burgess to learn how.
4 reasons to keep reading to your school aged child
Reading to your child helps them develop language skills on many levels. Read more.