Saturday, January 26, 2013

I feel you

Ladybug in hand 
It's week 2 in my Neuro EVO and we are mostly uncovering the science behind emotions; how amygdala, dopamine, serotonin and prefrontal cortex can get to make us enjoy exploring the world around us as well as fight or freeze or want to flee - needless to say all processes which greatly impact our success in class.

Anamaria shared a TED talk I remember watching too - how our emotions are reflected in our body language - and surprisingly - how this works the other way around too.  Marineide followed up with a tip she had once received that seems to suggest an even  broader see-show-feel relationship; if  you dress up kids nice, they would naturally behave better. And the same is true for adults. I have to agree with this. I know that I like wearing what I feel comfortable in - and if I have to put on something else, this affects the way I feel.

The discovery I shared with the group is Technology-Enhanced Social-Emotional Activities - a website with practical activities to use in class adaptable for various ages. I'd already come across most of them at some point or other in my life, so I clicked the one that sounded least familiar - What's your sentence? The link takes you to Dan Pink's tip to discovering and nurturing our inner motivation. A simple answer to 2 questions:
  • What's my sentence? (the thing I want to be known for) and...
  • Was I better today than yesterday? 
...and suggestion how to use this in class. I'll work on mine after my badly needed beauty sleep.

I think we teachers have mostly come across such activities in terms of different sort of vocabulary (warm-up, getting-to-know each other activities, ice-breakers...) - so its kind of interesting to pull them together in this context - which basically tackles the same topic from the other end (activity leading to emotions vs. emotions leading to activity/non-activity).

12 comments:

Sinead said...

What a wonderful video! Very motivating. Thanks for sharing.

Mila said...

Well done, loved the links! Thanks.


(www.milanavarro@posterouos.com)

Saša said...

Thanks Mila and Unknown - happy to hear you found something of interest.

Dani Lyra said...

Hello Sasa,

Great way to narrow the studies and all that was said about how the brain works to our teaching practice. I love to realiaze that we teachers do or try to do things right when we think about motivation in our classes, and that neuroscience gives us important data to back the choices we make. Loved the post! great summary of an amazing learning week!

Sinead said...

What's my sentence? I'm still thinking about it, but what a wonderful approach to lifelong learning and a great idea for a getting to know you activity with higher level learners. Thank you! Great post :D.

Sinead said...

Oh also, I hope you don't mind if I use the site for a blogpost and link the reference to your blog. I'll wait for your answer before I publish, thanks.

Saša said...

@Dani I too find it kind of reassuring to see that while there is a lot to learn from Neuro science, there are also findings supporting many things that have been implemented naturally for centuries. :-)
@Sinead You're welcome, Sinead - thanks for dropping by.I too am still working on my sentence. Will let you know about it once I figure it out. Do feel free to further explore and blog about the site... I am most happy it has caught your attention the way it has caught mine.

Mary H said...

I must have missed the link the first time you shared it. Will definitely explore that site some more. Thanks for sharing!

Sinead said...
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Sinead said...
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Sinead said...

Third time lucky.
Thanks so much.
I used the lesson successfully with one learner and hope to post his sentence on Friday! Here's the link: http://mcmorrowsinead.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/whats-your-sentence/

Saša said...

Thanks for persisting, Sinead dear - and for showing me the way to your place. :-)