Differentiation and the Brain - David A. Sousa

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here is a brief introduction to some basic principles about how we learn. Each of these principles is evident in the model of differentiation we use in this book—and in classrooms whose teachers are attuned and responsive to the inevitable diversity among today’s students.

      • Each brain is uniquely organized: Even identical twins raised in the same environment view their world differently from each other as a result of their unique experiences and interpretations of how their world works. Although there are basic similarities in how we all learn, there are also important differences. We have individual preferences for how we learn, such as whether we prefer to learn alone or in groups, or by listening, observing, or participating, just to mention a few. These preferences constitute what may be called our own learning profile. Thus, the pervasive notion that one curricular, instructional, and assessment program fits all is hardly brain compatible.

      • The brain is a lean pattern-making machine: One of the jobs of the brain’s frontal lobe—located just behind the forehead—is to determine whether incoming information has meaning for the individual. The frontal lobe does this mainly by looking for patterns. The more information the learner can acquire, the more likely that meaningful patterns will soon evolve. The brain is more apt to retain in long-term memory information that has meaning.

      • The brain’s frontal lobe is often referred to as the executive center because it directs much of the brain’s activity: Its responsibilities include processing higher-order thinking and solving problems. The process of convergent thinking brings together information to solve a problem that generally has a single correct solution—like, for instance, most tasks in school and answers on tests. Few patterns result from this process because it often involves just rote memory. Divergent thinking, on the other hand, is a thought process that generates creative ideas by exploring different ways of solving problems. This process often leads to new ideas and concepts, producing novel patterns and expanding existing cognitive networks. Through differentiation, teachers can explore ways to help students become successful divergent thinkers.

      • Emotions are processed in the brain’s limbic system and play an important role in pattern making: When information and patterns produce an emotional aha, chemicals are released that stimulate the brain’s reward system and keep us motivated to continue learning. However, racing through an overpacked curriculum in a classroom devoid of positive emotions to take a high-stakes test raises anxiety and releases chemicals that shut down the brain’s higher-order processing. The learner’s brain shifts from thinking, “This stuff is interesting,” to “How will I ever pass this test?” When tension is high, retention of learning is low. Differentiation offers students more rewarding learning opportunities.

      • Learning is as much a social process as a cognitive one: Starting from childhood, we learn by observing others, most likely through the mechanism of our mirror neurons. These clusters of neurons fire not only when we experience a task or an emotion but also when we see someone else experience the same task or emotion. Students’ learning is shaped, too, by their groups’ practices and values. How much students participate in class activities, for instance, is often driven by how they think their peers will react if they give an incorrect answer. Self-concept plays a strong role in learning because most individuals tend to avoid situations that may result in failure. Constructive social interactions generate positive emotions and develop executive functions, thereby enhancing learning and retention. Differentiation helps ensure that constructive environment.

      • We are learning a lot more about our memory systems: Why do students forget so much of what they have been taught? Apparently, we can carry information in working memory (a temporary memory where we do conscious processing) for an extended period of time. However, the information will eventually fade away if there is no meaningful reason for it to be retained in long-term memory. Could this explain why students can pass a test on a topic today but barely remember it three months later? Differentiation can include instructional strategies more likely to result in students’ remembering rather than in their discarding what they learn.

      • Learning for retention requires focus and extended attention: Students in the 21st century have many demands on their attention, much of them from new and exciting technology. Because the brain is constantly searching for meaning, students will give their attention to what they find personally meaningful. And the more meaningful it is, the more engaged they will become. When students perceive a learning objective as lacking meaning, for whatever reason, their attention is likely to divert to more stimulating—and off-task—activities. Differentiation can tailor activities to meet individual student needs, thereby maintaining student engagement and focus.

      • Technology is rewiring the young brain: Students in grades preK–12 are spending so much time with their digital devices that their brains are being rewired. This is due to brain plasticity, the ability of the brain to continually learn and reorganize itself as a result of input from its environment. Research studies are finding that this rewiring is having an effect on attention and memory systems, thinking-skills development, and social growth (Sousa, 2016). The extent of the effects will vary among students depending mainly on the amount of time they spend on their digital devices. Differentiation can vary the amount, frequency, and type of technology use among individual students.

      All these insights into the learning process reaffirm how important it is for teachers to recognize individual student needs; create a curriculum that is relevant, engaging, and focused on understanding for their students; differentiate their instructional approaches; use assessments to inform teaching and learning; and provide rich, stimulating, brain-friendly, flexible classroom routines and productive classroom environments. We know more now about how the brain learns, and we should adjust our educational practices accordingly.

      Effective differentiation does not call on a teacher to be all things to every student at all times of the day. Rather, it calls on teachers to be consistently mindful of three things: (1) how they structure their content for meaning and authenticity, (2) who their students are as individuals, and (3) how to use classroom elements flexibly to give themselves degrees of freedom in connecting content and learners. It is our belief that classroom practice and pedagogy research has long supported this approach to teaching. We also believe our new and growing understanding of how the brain develops and learns contributes to the case for quality differentiation.

       A Better Scenario

      Mrs. Worrell looked at the students as they left her room at the end of a reasonably typical school day at the end of the first week of school. She knew some of the students couldn’t wait to leave the room and others would happily stay on for a longer day. She knew some of the students had understood the ideas they explored that day, others had not, and some had known the content before she began teaching it to them. She knew their lives at home ran the gamut from comfortable and supportive to overly demanding to chaotic to abusive. She knew some of the students flourished when they worked with peers and others preferred working alone—or had no one they could call a friend.

      In those students, she saw herself as a young learner—shy, uncertain, and eager to please. She saw her son, who often learned faster than his age-mates and who got weary of waiting for others to learn what he already knew. She saw her daughter, who often needed extra time to learn and who learned best when someone could show her how something worked rather than simply tell her. She knew she needed to create a classroom where there was room for each student to succeed. She wasn’t sure exactly how to do that, but she had some good hunches and the determination to follow them. She was excited to see a new school week begin.

       CHAPTER 2

       Mindset, Learning Environment, and Differentiation

      If children recognize that we have seen their genius, who they really are, they will have the confidence and resilience to take risks in learning. I am convinced that many learning and social difficulties would disappear if we learned to see the genius in each child and then

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