The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
August 23, 2008
Mirrors and Models
Do you ever wonder why people get hooked on the Summer Olympics,
watching sports they probably won't think about for another four
years? This year my favorite athlete was gymnast Shawn Johnson
from Iowa, so graceful in defeat for many days. A world champion
before the events began, she was tagged to be the gal who came home
with a fistful of gold medals and ended up on a box of Wheaties.
But beginning with teammates' stumbles in the first days of
competition, through a repeat again and again of slightly low
scores from judges, she never cried. Shawn always praised her
teammates, enjoyed their successes, and said she was thankful for
the trio of silver medals around her neck. And when she finally,
on her very last routine of the competition, nailed her flips and
whirls on the impossibly narrow balance beam and landed her only
gold medal, it was one of those transcendent moments that reminds
me why the Olympics are so addictive. Scientists have recently been decoding how "mirror neurons" in our
brains work. They've realized humans are wired to connect with
others, to live vicariously through others' experiences, in much
stronger ways than we once thought. The brain doesn't
differentiate much between watching someone do something, and doing
it yourself - which is why there are so many obsessed sports fans
in the world. Most important for teachers, these mirror neurons
are also a key to how we learn. Just watching someone read a book
teaches us more than we ever realized about the reading process.
And we use our emotions to readily connect those experiences to
other related tasks (either physically or emotionally). I will
never be a gymnast (beyond the contortions I go through to get
through airport security screening). But I can connect to the
feelings of almost, not quite reaching a goal again and again, and
finally succeeding. What teacher hasn't experienced weeks or
months of helping a struggling student almost, but not quite, grasp
a concept? It makes those breakthrough moments all the more sweet. Mirror neurons are also the reason modeling in classrooms is so
essential. When students see the strategies teachers use to tackle
difficult texts, no matter the genre, their brains don't
differentiate between their experiences and ours. The teacher's
strategies become part of the mix that fires up whenever a student
approaches a new text. Likewise, all those whole-class activities
to build community around reading and writing early in the year
become ingredients in the chemical soup in our students' brains as
they read and write on their own. The consequences of broken
mirror neurons can also be dire, as any teacher who has worked with
an autistic child knows. What about mirror neurons in staff settings? Simply put, our moms
were right - we shouldn't hang out with the wrong crowd, and we
need to choose our role models carefully. Mirror neurons imitate
and absorb what they see around us whether we like what we're
seeing or not. If you're surrounded by negative, unhappy people,
it's human nature that you're going to absorb that outlook over
time. Sometimes toxic environments or people can't be avoided, but
it's important to note when it comes to "emotional contagions,"
negative environments have more powerful effects than positive
ones. If you have a colleague or two who are always resentful or
angry, you owe it to yourself and your students to limit your time
with them. If you have to spend time with them, even decreasing eye
contact or verbal interactions can help limit what your brain's
mirror neurons pick up. Beyond the emotional benefits, there is another reason literacy
leaders will benefit from hanging out with optimistic folks - it
makes you a better problem solver, since happiness is associated
with a higher functioning left-side of the brain (the logical,
problem-solving area). From the Society for Neuroscience's article
"Bliss and the Brain": Studies suggest that certain people's ability to see life through
rose-colored glasses links to a heightened left-sided brain
function. A scrutiny of brain activity indicates that individuals
with natural positive dispositions have trumped up activity in the
left prefrontal cortex compared with their more negative
counterparts... Evidence suggests that the left-siders may better handle stressful
events on a biological level. For example, studies show that they
have a higher function of cells that help defend the body, known as
natural killer cells, compared with individuals who have greater
right side activity. Left-sided students who face a stressful exam
have a smaller drop in their killer cells than right-siders. Other
research indicates that generally left-siders may have lower levels
of the stress hormone, cortisol. Shawn Johnson spent years training physically for the Olympics.
But it may be her mind and heart that were most carefully honed for
success. By staying positive and embracing the achievements of
others, she eventually reached her goal. And thanks to mirror
neurons, many teachers around the world have a tiny bit of Shawn's
positive chemical rush tucked away in our brains, too, as we face
all the unique challenges a new school year brings.
This week, we've got some resources for linking assessment and
community building early in the year, plus more as always. Enjoy!
Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy
www.choiceliteracy.com Free for All Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak's new book, Day to Day
Assessment in the Reading Workshop, is out from Scholastic. The
publishers have given us permission to reprint their suggestions for
integrating observations and assessments of students naturally
into reader's workshops during the first six weeks of school: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/665.cfm If you're interested in learning more about mirror neurons and
their connections to learning, Nova from PBS has a fascinating
short video about mirror neurons available on the web. This clip
would be a fun catalyst for a student or staff discussion about the
importance of staying positive and optimistic all year long: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3204/01.html Bud the Teacher has a blog that is a cult favorite among educators
- and it's no wonder when you read his open letter to teachers for
the start of the school year. If you're in the mood for an
uplifting reminder of why we do what we do, you may want to give it
a read: http://budtheteacher.com/blog/2008/08/16/an-open-letter-to-teachers/ Our apologies to those reading the text-only version of last week's
newsletter who were unable to open the link to Shari Frost's
Read-Alouds for the Start of the School Year. The corrected link
is here: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/403.cfm
Aimee Buckner's new DVD, Mentor Texts, is now available for
purchase. The DVD includes 90 minutes of footage from reading and
writing workshops, demonstrating how mentor texts can anchor
learning everything from writing techniques to reading strategies.
Members receive a $30 discount for online purchases. You can view
sample footage and a detailed description of the DVD at this link: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/products/item19.cfm For Members Only
Jennifer Allen and her colleagues have been on a four-year journey
to find a good way to discuss student work during staff meetings.
At first everyone only wanted to share the best examples of
students, and often the focus drifted too quickly to superficial
issues like spelling errors. Finally, they created a template of
focus questions in a one-page format that guides discussion for
student work in any subject area: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/664.cfm With all the checklists for launching the school year available for
teachers, isn't it about time someone developed one for literacy
coaches? Jan Miller Burkins has done just that - her Launching the
Year Checklist is concise, and tackles everything from reformatting
computer files to touching base with each teacher: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/668.cfm
What role can principals play in helping teachers assess students
early in the year? Watch principal Karen Szymusiak as she
interviews nine-year-old Ana, to learn about her needs and
interests as a reader. In the first of a two-part video series,
Karen questions Ana. Next week, Karen will share her findings with
Ana's teacher: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/669.cfm Finally, from the Choice Literacy Archives, Suzy Kaback's "What's
the Most Important Thing" template is a flexible tool early in the
school year for everything from teaching young students how to take
notes, to helping colleagues get to know each other at a staff
meeting: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/418.cfm
That's all for this week!
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