Think Tank Library Brain Based Learning Plans For New Standards Grades 6 12 1st Edition Mary Boyd Ratzer No Waiting Time
Think Tank Library Brain Based Learning Plans For New Standards Grades 6 12 1st Edition Mary Boyd Ratzer No Waiting Time
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THINK TANK LIBRARY
By 1998, neuroscientists could use positron emission tomography (PET) to observe and measure the
elasticity of the developing brain, along with the rate of what is technically called synaptogenesis!
In plain English, this means that scientists are now able to measure brain development. In fact, they have
evidence showing that children ages 4 to 10 generate new brain synapses at a rate double that of adults,
and developing brains keep up the growth pace past teenage years.
This should be a warning to teachers and librarians in no uncertain terms: Carpe diem! Now is the time
when opportunity knocks! Students are ready to think, hard-wire new knowledge, and understand their world.
Chugani, Harry. “A Critical Period of Brain Development: Studies of Cerebral Glucose Utilization with PET.” Preventive Medicine
7 (1998): 184–188. (And many other scientists subsequently.)
THINK TANK LIBRARY
BRAIN-BASED LEARNING PLANS FOR
NEW STANDARDS, GRADES 6–12
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction ix
1. Think Tanks and the Culture of School 1
2. Twenty-Two Brain-Based Strategies to Make Your Library a Think Tank Today 3
3. Think-Tank Libraries and Inquiry 7
4. Thinking and the Common Core 11
5. Novice and Expert Thinkers 13
6. If the Brain Could Talk 19
7. Thinking and Information Literacy 21
8. Thinking in English Language Arts 23
9. Thinking and Text-Dependent Questions 27
10. Thinking in Social Studies 29
11. Thinking in Mathematics 31
12. Thinking in Science 35
13. Developmental Spotlight on Thinking 39
14. Introduction to Think-Tank Lessons 45
Appendix 125
Bibliography & Resources 131
Index 135
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The following teacher-librarians contributed lesson ideas or lesson pilot feedback for this book.
This field testing and field contribution adds to the strength of the content. It showcases the co-
operative resource-sharing characteristic for which our profession is known.
Aimee Bishop, Social Studies Teacher, Brittonkill High School, New York
David Brown, Social Studies Teacher, Saratoga Springs High School, New York
Amy Carpenter , School Librarian, Stillwater Middle High School, New York
Steve Danna, PhD, Dean of Branch Campus, SUNY Plattsburgh at Queensbury—colleague and local
brain research advocate
Michele Furlong, School Librarian, Brittonkill High School, New York
Jason Groark, Social Studies teacher, Salem High School, Salem, New York
Tim Jacques, ELA Teacher, Brittonkill Hgh School, New York
Wendy Jacques, ELA teacher, Shenedehowa High School, Clifton Park, New York
Kathy Mayba, Social Studies Teacher, Shenedehowa High School, Clifton Park, New York
Jan Tunison, Scotia Glenville High School, Scotia, New York
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INTRODUCTION
• Focusing on connections
• Ongoing questioning
• Reflecting on metacognition
• Seeking and evaluating information
• Forging patterns, relationships, and building big ideas
• Wondering and curiosity that engages the learner
Recent decades have given birth to cognitive science, introducing educators to how the brain works.
Applying brain science to learning allows us to improve teaching and student performance. Many books
have been written about brain science and this book does not intend to compete with that vast body of
research. However, that same research has led us to the positions we espouse in this book as applied to
our work of educating students.
Inquiry is the framework for the deep, brain-based learning experiences in this book. Fostering deep
thinking and the development of an expert mind is the central focus of this book. The assumption that class-
rooms and schools can be think tanks will be demonstrated in the sample lessons. Truly, if they are not
think tanks, classrooms will diminish their potential to implement the Common Core Learning Standards.
They diminish their potential to move beyond rote, and fact-soaked brains with no possibility for content
mastery.
The progression of the novice brain to the expert brain is the heart of the matter for college and career
readiness. Progression from novice to expert brain is our responsibility and our charge. It is essential to
achievement and our economic future. We are educating the next generation that will run the world. This
mission is not only critical, it is imperative.
Universities have the impression that K–12 educators require only rote and recall from their students.
This advice to professors from Columbia University is incriminating:
Students must recognize the limitations of their current skills, knowledge, and perspectives. They
must realize that approaches rewarded in high school—such as rote memorization, the mechanical
use of formulas, or the parroting back ideas from a textbook—are no longer sufficient in college, where
we value originality, high-level analytical skills, and facility in writing.
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This book is an amalgamation of brain research. Our bibliography represents years of reading, learning,
embracing, and implementing brain-based educational recommendations. We did not do the research, but
we assimilated this and put it into practice. It is time to take thinking seriously and equip the leaders of
tomorrow to change our world!
CHAPTER 1
The pure, original think-tank phenomenon inspired this book. Although the prototype is not a perfect
match for the culture of a school, the Common Core does encourage a culture of collaboration true to the
think-tank model. Think tanks are essentially defined by expertise, collaboration, research, and focus on
a problem. This can easily be mirrored in a library, classroom, or a school.
Pinterest is populated with think-tank classroom ideas. Prepackaged think-tank bulletin board die cuts,
student awards, and stickers are for sale on Google. Also, many project-based and inquiry-driven class-
rooms feature think-tank spaces, think-tank resources, and instructional goals related to thinking.
A virtual tour of think-tank culture in schools abounds in colorful manipulatives, activities, and brain
teasers. A think-tank tour would include student-directed investigations, collaborative learning ventures,
real-world experiences, and problem solving. Think-tank references align into three tiers:
Tier three genuinely encompasses the best thinking, as well as collaborative, creative, and problem-
centered student work. This requires a supportive learning environment in which students are safe to ques-
tion, investigate, brainstorm, and refine their discoveries based upon information, evidence, and thought.
At this level, knowledge of the discipline and its language is the starting point.
Think tanks are real world. Generating and advocating for public policy is often done in a think-tank
model. Government and corporate interests support think tanks to address problems, issues, and
2 Think Tank Library
Does this foster College Does this work for a Objectives aligned with the Common Core and College
and Career Readiness think-tank model? and Career Readiness:
opportunities. Scientific research often occurs in a think-tank setting. NASA solved the problems with
Apollo 13 in a frenzied, collaborative, and problem-based crisis, and the mission was saved by expert think-
ing. The economy and the well-being of millions are pushed forward daily by think tanks in informal, low-
profile settings.
Some aspects of the Common Core dispose classrooms and teachers to use a think-tank approach to
problems and issues. Using knowledge for a meaningful purpose requires higher level thought. Primary
source texts, background knowledge, and key concepts generate topics to be explored, uncovered, and
investigated.
Think-tank classrooms and think-tank schools transform learning with purpose, energy, and motiva-
tion. Learners can experience genuine flow in their collaborative work, moving beyond the clock and irrel-
evant tasking. Learners can enjoy awareness of cognition and successful solutions. New ideas, pride in
rigorous work, and purposeful analysis reward those in think-tank classrooms and think-tank schools.
CHAPTER 2
TWENTY-TWO BRAIN-BASED
STRATEGIES TO MAKE YOUR LIBRARY
A THINK TANK TODAY
Consider the following suggestions as brain basics. You can optimize instruction and learning by using
these brain strategies in your library or classroom. If you weave these in routinely, there will be a signifi-
cant difference in the dynamics of your library. A learner-centered environment generates and stimulates
thinking. Using these multipurpose think-tank tools often results in innovative ideas to take thinking to a
new level. Conscious use of these tools can become habitual and natural. Skill increases with use. Each
strategy aligns with research on how the brain learns and what works optimally for active learners.
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.
Albert Einstein
1. Elicit emotion
When emotion is in play, the brain focuses better and remembers what is learned. Carefully pay
attention to emotion, a much underestimated component of learning. Motivation, purpose, and per-
sonal connections all thrive when emotion is tapped. Emotion can transform a disaffected learner and
generate enthusiasm in a student who does not care. Music, film, stories, pictures, and experience help
trigger an emotional response.
2. Connect, connect, connect
Short-term memory has a finite capacity. The brain can move many facts into long-term memory by
chunking details under broad categories. Charting, concept mapping, mind mapping, and Web 2.0
tools visualize connections and help to discern relationships among discrete items. Connecting ele-
ments of text to experience, or people to ideas, doubles the likelihood of getting the brain to pay
attention and file the idea into memory. Otherwise, it will be treated like background noise. Con-
sciously connect new content to prior knowledge. Recycling ideas, essential questions, and concepts
strengthens neural pathways. Conventional wisdom says: neurons that fire together wire together.
3. Talk, socialize, interact, collaborate
The human brain is hardwired for social interaction. Learning in a solitary and silent mode is not
optimal for memory. Learning in a socially interactive setting is characterized by sharing, feedback,
discussion, critical engagement, or conversation. This “turns on the lights” for the brain, as Ross Todd
posits. The quality of decisions made with peer involvement surpasses those generated solo.
4 Think Tank Library
Knowledge products produced collaboratively by teams that merge diverse talents and strengths are
stronger than those created by one mind.
4. Be quiet
After an interval of multitasking or diverse learning experiences, the brain has a tough job to accom-
plish. To process important new ideas, the brain needs to consolidate what it has in temporary
holding. This complex activity requires a quiet, inactive time such as a break, or even sleep. Taking
multiple breaks at intervals from sustained activity gives the brain its quiet time to go to work
consolidating. Intense, sunrise to sundown exposure to media, relentless entertainment, and minute-
to-minute texting defeats the brain’s efforts. Sleep is the last resort.
5. Think aloud
Model your expert brain in action, verbalizing what you are thinking. Call attention to the thinking
process when solving problems or tackling tough text, when making an important decision, or
weighing pros and cons. Place a real or virtual sign over your doorway: Thinking in progress.
Activate your brain. This is often referred to as metacognitive modeling.
6. Challenge with rigor
It is counterintuitive, but the brain responds to rigorous content with equally rigorous thinking.
Nature seeks the easy path, and brains do too. Quick decisions and a surface grasp of concepts appeal
to the line of least resistance in the brain. Many learners think they know when they are merely
familiar with a concept. This can be a barrier to really knowing content. Low-level thought is not
likely to get neurons firing or connecting. Rigorous and meaningful work actually leads to deep
understanding, when the brain grapples with understanding, reasoning, questioning, and evaluating.
Dilemmas are valuable and worth a thousand flat, airless facts.
7. Engage the power of reflection and metacognition
Self-assessment, metacognitive thinking, and the habit of evaluating one’s own progress all boost
learning and the quality of products. Stopping to consider what is accomplished against a model, a
rubric, or a reflection with a peer helps the learner to confront problems and use feedback to improve
performance. A fast-track task that starts like a footrace, whisks through the essentials, and lands in
the done pile with a thud can be completed without thinking. Unfortunately, the thinking makes the
learning happen. Thinking is the true essential.
8. Question
Questions are catalysts of thinking. Thinking is the catalyst for learning. Learning is ultimately not
based on answers, but on questions. Questions can spark curiosity, probe deeper reasons, clarify foggy
notions, or challenge assumptions. Questions redirect the flow of ideas back to the learner. They
uproot misconceptions and insist on better evidence. Questions scaffold understanding from what to
how and why. Questioning is at the heart of the Common Core because of its connection to thinking.
9. Answer questions with questions
Every librarian has heard his or her share of “stupid questions” despite the old claim that there is no
such thing. We beg to differ. We can answer those questions with other questions to help metacog-
nitively model the path of deductive reasoning. When you hear a stupid question such as, “Do you have
any good books?” you can respond with the better mode, “Well, how do you define ‘good,’ Johnny?”
10. Solve authentic problems
The human brain is a problem-solving brain. Failing to use the power of authentic problem solving in
teaching and learning is like pushing a high-powered sports car up a hill. So much content easily
converts into a problem-based framework. It is like turning on the ignition and roaring down a
thinking highway. The beauty of problems is that they have no immediate answers. Brains need to
analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and conclude to work with them. That level of thinking assures transfer
and long-term new knowledge.
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