Brain Blog

What?

In class today we went over the different parts of the brain including where they are located and thier functions. The reticular activating system, located at the top of the brain stem, is the filtering system of the brain and helps us sort through things and focus on one thing at a time. The frontal lobe is in the front of the brain and controls logic and reasoning. The temporal lobes are located above the ears and is responsible for perception, speech, meory loss, and smells. The occipital lobe is located in the back and helps with vision. The parietal lobe is located on the crown of the head nad itegrate sensory information. The hippicampus, next to the midbrain, consolidates short-term memory and when damaged can be like the "50 first dates" dilemma. The amygdala is under the midbrain and is the emotional regulation center. The brain stem connects to the spinal cord and is in charge of the autonomic processes. The cerebellum, or "little brain" works with the integration of information. Broca's Area is located on the left side of the brain with the processing of language and music. The Wernicke's Area, also behind the left ear, works with understanding and interpretating auditory functions. And finally the corpus collosum is the communication center of the brain.
No part of the brain "does" anything by itself. The development occurs back to fron, not fully developed until 25-35 years of age.

So What?

The lesson of the brain is an important part of this class so that I can better understand how my students and I learn, how our brains are working and thinking through things, and how damage to the brain affects learning. These factors are going to affect the teaching methods and styles that I choose to use in my classroom. The details of the brain are going to help me link the different theories, cognitive studies, and ideas from the rest of the course and classify it so it becomes useful information.

Now what?

I need to now learn the different theories and how to put them into practice as I prepare lessons and prepare for the teaching experience.