Brain Research, Education and the Battle for Social Media Dominance

Does Brain Research say that Pinterest will win the battle for social media supremacy?  The answer is Yes!

In the social media battle, Pinterest may have what it takes to knock out the others. Visual focus means it speaks to our brains in a way the others don’t. Photos, not words, are the focus. No rankings or numbers of friends although the number of likes and re-pins may remake the new currency.

Pinterest is the hottest growing trend in Social Media, remember those boards that looked like cardboard and you took a pushpin and put up your favorite photo of the hottest teen star or a reminder about your next dental appointment, now you can do it virtually! Pinterest is a way to share content and “allows members to “pin” images, videos and other objects to their pinboard.” You can also like someone’s “pin” and re-pin it to one of your boards. There are boards for “trip I want to take,” “recipe I want to make,” and “House I want to have.”

Our brains learn best when they can remember and repeat or possible repin. We are visual creatures, over all other senses, but many of these photos invoke other senses and form the comments, which include our longings, feelings and dreams.  The photos tap into the reptilian brain where we want to relax, be fed, our basic needs. We see it and we want to pin it. We can have it all, at least on our boards.

Read the full article on Science Schmooze in the Jewish Journal.

More by Lisa Niver Rajna at We Said Go Travel.

Lisa on National Television as a Science Teacher!

CAREER DAY: Grab your test tubes & beakers! This week on Career Day we’re DISSECTING a career that will really SPARK your interest… teaching elementary school SCIENCE!

Lisa Niver Rajna appeared on National Television on KTLA Channel 5 on September 29, 2012, in episode 302 on Career Day. After sharing over 200 careers, Lisa is the FIRST teacher ever to appear on this show.

WATCH: Lisa on CAREER DAY

Bring Fitness Into the Classroom: Exercise Rhymes

Bring Fitness Into the Classroom

In on our modern society, a focus on academics in our education system has resulted in less physical activity for children. Most schools have reduced physical education (PE) classes to once or twice a week. Despite an emphasis on academics, reducing PE classes may be counterproductive as research indicates that fit children do better in school. Researchers at the University of Illinois concluded:

We have found a strong relationship between academic achievement and fitness scores,” said Darla Castelli, a professor of kinesiology whose area of expertise is effective physical education practices. “Those who scored well in academics also did well in physical fitness.” …[Co-researcher, Charles Hilman, a kinesiology professor at Illinois stated:]“…fit children made fewer errors than sedentary ones.[i]

Incorporating movement into the curriculum benefits learning. Dr. Sherry Bush, a prominent Clinical Pediatric Psychologist, contends that the area of the brain responsible for motor coordination is also involved in learning. According to Dr. Bush, movement engages motor centers that strengthen brain to body connections, establishes muscle memory, and enhances learning. Even simple movements like standing and writing on a chalkboard help children retain information[ii]. When movement is part of learning, kids retain information better than when they sitting sedentarily.

Fitness in the Classroom

Teachers can incorporate short fitness breaks into the classroom activities. These fitness breaks can be a regular part of the day to allow children to exert physical energy in short bursts so they can refocus on academic lessons. Getting children out of their chairs to stand, move and strengthen their bodies increases attention spans and enhances learning. Children that stretch, jump and pretend and are better equipped to focus their attention on academics.

Exercise breaks throughout the day helps kids stay healthy since short bursts of activity a few times per day are as effective as one longer exercise session. These exercise breaks also benefit teachers who are willing to do them along with their students.

Exercise Rhymes™ in the Classroom

Exercise Rhymes™ are rhymes that make exercising fun! The Exercise Rhymes fitness flashcard deck combines rhyming with exercise for kids 3 to 7 years. Exercise Rhymes can be incorporated into classroom activities for preschool and primary elementary students, and tied to the curriculum. The rhymes are fun and informative while expanding children’s vocabulary. Rhyming is well known among educators to be a building block for phonics and reading. The rhymes and exercises form mind body patterns that reinforce learning.

Cross-curricular lessons combining science, math, reading, writing, art and even physical education enrich the learning experience. For example, a science lesson on the lifecycle of a frog can include the Frog Exercise Rhyme that gets kids jumping up and down like a frog. They could also take turns jumping forward and then measuring how far they have jumped. They can write their own poem or story about frogs and draw a picture of a frog.

Exercise Rhymes are a fitness-based learning resource for parents, educators and therapists in developing a child’s learning skills while promoting fitness. The go-everywhere card deck fits today’s active lifestyles.

By: Marina McLennan, Exercise Rhymes, LLC.  www.ExerciseRhymes.com .

Copyright © 2012 Exercise Rhymes, LLC.

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[i] Mitchell, Melissa (2004). Physically fit children appear to do better in classroom, researchers say. Abstract retrieved April 24, 2008, from http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/04/1018fitness.html

[ii] Dr. Sherry Bush shared information with Marina McLennan about rhyming, movement in learning, and brain development during a meeting on April 1, 2008 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Success Story: Science Fair Projects with Real-World Impact

Science Buddies has been a wonderful resource for Science Fair in my classroom! I am excited to share this article they wrote about me!

A science teacher at Brawerman Elementary School in Los Angeles views Science Buddies as an indispensable classroom partner, especially when it comes to helping students locate quality science Project Ideas—in all areas of interest.

Above: Teacher Lisa Niver Rajna with a student at last year's school science fair. Science Buddies is an important part of Lisa's approach to science education in the classroom. Lisa's students used the Topic Selection Wizard to help them locate exciting projects, many of which have real-world connections and applications that she encouraged them to explore. Some of the Project Ideas Lisa's students selected last year include:

• Ask a Cricket, 'What is The Temperature?'


• Bombs Away! A Ping Pong Catapult


• Build Your Own Crystal Radio


• Building Structures: It's a Slippery Slope


• Crazy Crystal Creations: How to Grow the Best and the Largest Crystals


• Dirty Snowballs: How a Comet's Size Affects How Fast It Melts


• Distracted Driver: Do Distractions Affect Driving Video Game Scores?


• Do-It-Yourself DNA


• Feeding Earthworms: Do Different Diets Affect Them and the Soil They Enrich?


• From Brine to Beverage: Solar-Powered Salt Removal


• From Sauce to Solid: The Science of Cranberry Condiments


• Great Globs of Gluten! Which Wheat Flour Has the Most?


• How Does Packaging Affect the Ripening of Fruit?


• How Sweet It Is—How Much Sugar Is Really in That Soda?


• Is the Soup Ready? Measure How Much Water is Absorbed by Dried Beans


• Make the Wind Work for You!


• Make Your Own Markers


• Mixing Your Own Marshmallows: Finding the Right Ratio of Sugar to Corn Syrup


• Movie Music


• Nothing But Net: The Science of Shooting Hoops


• Now You're Cooking!


• Potions and Lotions: Lessons in Cosmetic Chemistry


• Radiant Radish Seeds


• Rubber Bands for Energy


• Scintillating Scents: The Science of Making Perfume


• Shimmy, Shimmy Soda Pop: Develop Your Own Soda Pop Recipe


• Spread the Soap, Not the Germs


• Think Fast: Do Video Game Players Have Faster Reaction Times Than Non-Players?


• Which Fruits Can Ruin Your Gelatin Dessert?


• Creating a Video Game for the Blind

Students in grades three through six at Wilshire Boulevard Temple's Brawerman Elementary School in Los Angeles all participate in the school's annual science fair. While doing a Science Buddies Project Idea is not a requirement in Lisa Niver Rajna's science classes, all of her fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students begin their search for a science fair project by using the Topic Selection Wizard, a Science Buddies tool that suggests science projects to students based on their interests, assignment, timeline, and grade level.
Finding the Right Project
From Lisa's perspective, the project selection phase of the science fair assignment is a "crucial" step in the process. "I want each student to care and be passionate about her topic," says Lisa, who has been using Science Buddies and the Topic Selection Wizard with students at Brawerman for several years. When she talks with her fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classes about the science fair project assignment, Lisa says she "highly recommends" that they choose a Science Buddies project, and she allots valuable classroom time for her students to use the Wizard. Despite the crunch many teachers feel in fitting all the pieces of core curriculum into the hours of a school year, using class time to have students use the Wizard is a process that helps both Lisa and her students.

Read the rest of the article

Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning

Here is the beginning of my review of Marc Prensky's book: Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning.

•  Reading Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning by Marc Prensky was a fantastic experience. This book details the importance of real learning is our students. As a teacher, I am always looking to share connections with my students. I want them to ask, “Who cares about this topic?” I have a great answer. I know that brain research says it is easier to learn and you will make a stronger memory if you are interested in your topic. Partnering and passion-based learning are two concepts based in brain research. 
  

Read the whole review at Wandering Educators.

What topics do you care about teaching your children or students? 

Profiles in International Education: Lisa Niver Rajna

Dr. Jessie Voights interviewed me for the Profiles in International Education Section on her site Wandering Educators. Read about me on Wandering Educators!

Here is the beginning of the Interview:

Lisa Niver Rajna is our Geography Awareness Editor, a world traveler, and a science teacher in Los Angeles, California. Think that science isn't international? Think again! I'm impressed with the work that Lisa does with her students - exploring the world, and the people in it. She's the publisher of two websites that combine her love of travel and teaching science - We Said Go Travel, and Science Isn't Scary. She embodies the true meaning of international education - and practices it every day. 

Want to read the full interview and see the photos? Click here! 

Candy Creation Contest!

SWEET CONCOCTION CONTEST!

Love candy and like to cook? Enter ODYSSEY's contest in the February 2012 "Candy: Sweet Science" issue and you might win a super sweet prize! First, read up on the science of concocting candy:

*from "Making New Candy Concoctions"

By Anna M. Lewis

To be a candy inventor, you need to be part chemist, part doctor, and part inventor. Here’s some food for thought when you start concocting your own sweet (or sour or salty) creations.

Chemistry of Candy: Sugar, of course! Basic candy is a mixture of sugar, liquid, and flavor that has been heated. Candy is created when the sugar mixture cools. As the sugar mixture temperature increases, the amount of water decreases. The less water in the mixture, the harder the cooled candy will be. The size of the crystals that form during cooling affects the texture of the candy. Adding corn syrup or glucose in small amounts, helps prevent crystals from forming, so the candy will be smoother, like caramel.

Heat: As the sugar mixture’s temperature increases, the mixture goes from sticky, cloudy sweet to dry clear sweet.

Acid: Adding an acid (like lemon juice or cream of tartar) helps in controlling the formation of crystals in candy. Acid breaks apart the glucose and fructose molecules. Remember, glucose helps prevent crystals from forming.

Fats: Butter and other fatty ingredients also interfere with crystallization, blocking molecules that are attempting to make crystals. Toffee is smooth and creamy due to the absence of crystals.

Remember, texture, smell, and temperature also play a part in the enjoyment of a taste.
Candy Concoction Contest
Use any of the ideas we’ve presented here to create your own new candy concoction. Describe your new candy treat (taste, texture, hardness), and include a list of ingredients and the process you used to make it. (CAUTION: If cooking is required, ask an adult to help. Please include cooking temperature.) Ask three friends to taste and rate your new candy. Send all the information with a photo of your new candy to: SWEET CONCOCTION: 30 Grove Street, Peterborough, NH 03458. Or email it to: odysseymagazine@caruspub.com. The last day for entries to be received is March 30, 2012. Be sure to include your name, age, and address. The winner will receive a sweet prize and have their concoction featured in an upcoming issue.

More information: http://www.odysseymagazine.com/pages/contests.asp