This post references tools and resources found in The Neurodivergent Toolkit [HERE]

The Brain Isn’t a Sponge

Today

I’m gonna show you what turns neurons 🧠 ON and forms the neural pathways that we need in the classroom. Scroll 👇 for strategies and the BEST toolkit for doing stuff like this in your classroom.

Last Time We Were Together 

I explained what learning actually is; neurons connecting, firing, and building pathways that get stronger with repetition. It also showed why stress gets in the way of that process, which changes what learning and behavior look like in real classrooms.

If you haven’t read Part 2 yet, start there first:
🧠 Part 2: What it Really Means To Learn [HERE]

If you’re new start here:
🧠 Part 1: Mental Health is a Learning Issue [HERE]

First Off… The Brain is Not a Sponge 🧽

When people say “the brain is a sponge,” they typically mean that a child’s brain “absorbs information really fast.”

But the sponge analogy causes problems because it makes learning seem automatic.

Learning is not automatic, and the brain does not “absorb information like a sponge.” 🧽

Learning happens when neurons activate 💡 , connect 🔗, and create pathways 👣 and as those pathways strengthen, they add information to long term memory.

Glutamate, It's What Neurons Crave  

What is glutamate 🦠?

Glutamate is a neurotransmitter or a signal 🛜 neurons 🧠 send that tell other neurons to do certain things. Neurotransmitters  🛜 are like chemical messengers or Morse Code  and they get different parts of the brain to activate, pay attention, and not pick your nose in front of your friends.

Glutamate 🦠 are messages that tell neurons to turn “on” or activate💡. Every time a neuron sends and receives glutamate their connection stabilizes and over time it builds a neural pathway 👣.

Think of glutamate like a “love letter” for neurons- when one neuron sends it to another they start to “hit it off”, then they fall into “lust” and finally into a deep everlasting “love”. At this point the neural connection is so strong that not even Thor himself could tear them apart. 

The Brain Strengthens What Gets Repeated and Weakens What Doesn’t

The brain isn’t trying to remember everything.
It’s designed to be energy efficient. 🍃

If a neuron gets repeatedly activated,
the brain begins to think:

  “If it’s constantly turning on it must be important, I’ll give it extra attention.”

All to be energy efficient.

When a neuron isn’t used, the brain STOPS investing in it.

🗣️ We don't want this to happen to neurons!
Specifically neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) or the PFC thinking brain 🎓.

PFC & Learning Through Repetition

This is why using creative and unique styles of repetition is really, really important.

We need quality repetition. Attentive and experience driven repetition.
Not worksheet repetition.

These  👆 are the styles of repetition that spike glutamate 🦠, increases activation in the PFC thinking brain, and grow connections 🔗and pathways 👣 in the PFC..

Stress Changes How the Brain Learns From Repetition 

When stress is chronically high, like in the United States right now,
ALL brains are subconsciously using A LOT of energy for protection:

• Brains today are, under the radar, continuously using small amounts of energy to:
• Constantly scan the room for threats
• Manage embarrassment and vulnerability
• Try avoid being wrong or making mistakes
• Stay socially “safe” in a time of social division
• Cope with sensory overload or overwhelm
• Mask confusion, worry, and fear/anxiety

For our students, this adds up and drains energy their brains need to keep the PFC thinking brain ON. 

If the PFC thinking brain is “off line”, the brain can’t retain the info we want it to. Instead of retaining information it reverts to the survival brain, prioritizing threats OR rewards. 

👆For us adults, this is best demonstrated by the increase of impulsive spending when money is tight. Saving money and balancing a budget, are indeed, PFC skills.

What Teachers Can Do With This 👇

Social Buffers

Felt safety and predictable structure are 2 “social buffers” that protect neurons from the harmful effects of stress. These buffers keep neurons in the PFC thinking brain activated so the brain can grow the PFC’s neural pathways 👣.  

Yay!! Thinking Brain! 

That’s why felt safety and predictability need to be FOUNDATIONAL parts of planning and instruction. They impact how long students’ brains can keep neurons active so neural pathways have time to stabilize and information can officially be uploaded into long term memory. 

Routines

You don’t need to be a neuroscientist.

You just need to consider the following when creating routines.

You want routines that use:

• predictable repetition that cue the brain (so its paying attention)
• chunking (keep reading)
• frequent reactivation in different parts of the brain (practice variety)
• enough novelty that students don’t check out (you have to have the brains' attention)

🗣️ Repeat the learning without repeating the exact same task over and over. You have to keep the brain’s attention.

Two Things To Try Tomorrow 

1) Cue → Chunk → Chew for repetition without overload

Use the Cue, Chunk, Chew Strategy, proposed by Dr. Hammond, in Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain*.

You can learn how in the Instruction Kit, located inside The Neurodivergent Toolkit [HERE]

• Cue: Start the same way each time to gets the brain’s attention and “warm it up” the neurons associated with the task. 
• Chunk: Teach in short 12-15 minute bursts instead of long stretches. 
• Chew: Build in a variety of quick practice or reflection so the same neural pathway 👣 can connect to different areas of the brain, do this before you move on.

This structure increases the number of times glutamate 🦠 can activate neurons 🧠, make neural connections 🔗, and create neural pathways 👣.

🗣️ Without pushing kids into refusal.

2) Over-learning in the last 10 minutes

Use Over-learning routines, also in The Instruction Kit, [CHECK IT OUT HERE].

• Pick one essential idea and have students show it in two different ways:
• quick sketch + one-sentence explanation
• example + non-example
• solve it + explain the steps to a partner
• sort it + justify the sort

This gets you to the same goal via different formats.

Repeated activation with enough variety that students stay engaged and neural pathways grow!

Why Psychological Needs?

If your class is consistently loud and chaotic, you CAN’T fix chaos with chaos.

You CAN’T fix chaos with random strategies.

In order for ANY strategy to be effective,
it MUST be intentional AND target the ROOT of the chaos.

Stop Wasting Time & Energy

In order to get to the root of the issue you have to-

🗣️ Uncover which psychological need is compromised  👇:

• Autonomy
• Belonging
• Competency

The strategy you pick should depend on which ever of these 👆  NEEDS is MOST compromised.  

A class that’s hootin' & hollerin' from social anxiety needs something different than a class that’s hootin’ & hollerin’ because they don't feel competent in doing the work.

That’s why The Instruction Kit, Classroom Environment Kit, and Behavior & Needs Detective all work together inside The Neurodivergent Toolkit

[CLICK HERE TO GET THE TOOLKIT]

Each resource helps you:

• Identify the compromised NEED
• Choose the right support to target the NEED
• Adjust based on feedback 

Start this 👆tomorrow! All inside the Neurodivergent Toolkit [HERE]

Coming next: 

Part 4, the  “Ohhh… that’s why...” moment

Part 4 is where we paint a fuller picture of how we can get neurons 🧠 and glutamate 🦠 to work together to get the learning we want. 

Next post: 🧠 The Neurobiology of Learning — Part 4: Why Some Kids Just “Never Seem To Learn”. [CLICK HERE READ THE BLOG] 

FOOTNOTES:

* Hammond, Z., & Jackson, Y. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. California: Corwin.