MULTICULTURAL LEARNING MODEL
3. Teaching about Neuroplasticity at Elementary School
stimulation), (2) start the level of task difficulty just above the level of current functioning and, as the individual attains mastery at that level, (3) remove the support, wherever possible, of any areas that could compensate for the targeted weaker area of functioning (targeted/differential stimulation; effortful processing;
novelty), (4) build in performance mastery criteria that is rewarded (sustained attention; active engagement; reward effects on dopamine), (5) repeated and prolonged practice.
students able to see the time.
Activity I
1. Demonstrate the task on how to make origami to the students (see appendix 2). Remain them that they will be timed, and that they have to record their time and count their errors as soon as they complete the task.
2. Explain that some students will take longer than others, and that it doesn‟t matter how long they take because it simply depends on what experiences shaped their brains as children.
3. Pass out the origami paper
4. Do the task. When all the students are prepared to begin, teacher gives instruction to start and allow the timer to run until all the students have completed the task.
5. Ask students to report the time they need to complete the task and the numbers of getting difficulties (such as looking at instruction paper, asking to teacher and friend). Draw graph on the time needed by the students in a certain interval and the number of errors they make.
6. Discuss how the students felt after trying the new activity. Some questions are asked such as , “Did you want to give up while doing the activity?”
“Did you feel that the activity was so difficult?” “Did you feel tense?”.
Activity 2
1. Ask the students to repeat the task. Repeat also steps 4 and 5, draw graph from each trial. Ask the students to observe the improvement. Then, the teacher explain that this is an example of neuroplasticity in which the neurons in the brain were forming new connections when they learned new experiences.
2. Discuss the disequilibrium on this trial and ask the students “what do you need to do to make strong pathways of the neurons in your brain?”. The teacher direct students to the importance of repeating the activity
frequently to trace the new neural pathways. More dendrites grow when a
by remembering, practicing, visualizing, or using the new information.
3. Ask the students to connect the task with their real life experience by recalling the time when they learn something new and whether they are able to get over it or quit.
Activity 3
This activity is intended to give opportunity for students to experience the effects of distraction on their concentration and performance.
1. Prepare 3 signs which contain small actions written instruction for the student to do. The students should complete the task quickly and the signs were written largely and darkly enough for all the students to see from their desks (See the signs in appendix 3). Prepare also a tone that can be played out loud such as a sound from phone,
2. Tell the students they are going to do the task again, but this time they will have to read an instruction and take the action whenever they hear a tone.
3. Say “start” when all the students are ready with their pencils, ring the tone, start the timer and allow the timer to run until all the students have
completed the task. In this activity, a beep sound from the phone were played every few seconds.
4. Draw graph of the times and the number of errors as in the previous activities. In this activity, the students need longer times, as expected.
Then, ask students “why do you need longer time?”. The students then realized that it took extra time because they had to stop their work while doing the tasks.
5. Explain to the students that whenever they are concentrating on a task, they have activated a particular neural pathway. When they stop a task to do something else, they have to walk back from that neural pathway and down another neural pathway. To complete the task, they have to travel
the likelihood of errors.
6. Ask the students to connect the activity with their real experience. This activity illustrates how distractions interfere learning. Students discuss how often they are interrupted in their work and what sort of things
distract them. These might include cell phones, video games, siblings, TV, friend etc. If they know what distract them, they can avoid it while they do something important so that they can finish their work as soon as possible.
Activity 4
This activity is similar with the previous three activities but the students should practice mindfulness activity before completing the tasks to help them settle into the present moment more easily. Through mindfulness activity, students are freed from becoming entangled in thoughts of the past, and freed from
worrying about what happen next.
1. Ask the students to stand beside their desks, be silent and still, and close their eyes. Instruct them to place their attention in the back of their arms, the back of their necks, the back of their legs. Ask them to reach their arms straight out and notice the back of the arms, the chest. Ask them to open their eyes, bend forward, and reach for their toes, placing their attention on the back of their legs, and on the sensation of the blood rushing to their heads. Have them stand straight up, be relaxed and still. While they stand, ask them to notice only their breath in and out, in and out. This should take 2-3 minutes. Then, ask them to sit down, keeping that calm brain that they just practiced.
2. Ask students to do new task(see appendix 4). When all the students are prepared to begin, teacher give instruction to start and allow the timer to run until all the students have completed the task.
3. Ask students to report the time they need to complete the task and the number of errors they make. Draw graph on the time needed by the students in a certain interval and the number of errors they make.
“What do you feel now?” “Is it easy for you to do the task?””don‟t you feel the tense such as in the first activity?”
8. Explain that the mindfulness exercises are designed to develop their