BRAINS, BOOKSBYTES

and teenagers!

with Nicola Morgan

More information:

• My books– About the teenage brain – About teenage stress

• Classroom resources: – Brain Sticks

• Your handouts

• My website: www.nicolamorgan.com– And my blog

• Free Brain Sane newsletter re wellbeing, brains, mental health, adolescence, teenage stress, science of reading, digital matters

The day:1. Reading and the brain - does it matter

what or how we read?– Simple/complex? Fiction/factual?

Digital/print – online/e-reader2. Reading and wellbeing - readaxation3. Helping students face exams and beat

stress4. Conclusions, discussions and wind-down

Brain basic - 1

• The brain is “plastic” = everything we do changes our brain

• Use it or lose it – what have you lost?

Brain basic - 2

• When we do something a lot, we grow relevant areas – (more connections, rather than more neurons)

• London taxi driver study• Grow areas at expense of others– Time and space

• TIME spent on activity is crucial

What does reading do to our brain?

• Changes it – and therefore us• Not evolved to read (see Proust + the Squid)• So, time spent reading grows some networks at

the expense of others– Visual/perceptual/spatial– Linguistic– Cognitive– Motor

Have we damaged our brains?!Matthew H. Schneps:

An astrophysicist with dyslexia

Quotes from Scientific American Mind, Aug 19 2014

“The Advantages of Dyslexia”

Bet he canspell it, too

By learning to read, we change our brain

permanently

Copyright Eric Chudler, University of Washington - reproduced by kind permission

We’re reading 3x as much as in 1980

1. More simple texts2. More non-fiction3. More online/screen

See THE ORGANIZED MIND by Daniel Levitin

1. Simple/complex

• “Obscurantism” – remember more?• Research with Wordsworth:– Remember/comprehend more– More brain activity in language areas AND

autobiog memory + emotion• Our brains like to be woken up• If text looks hard, our brain prepares

2. Fiction/non-fiction

• Should value all reading choices, but… • Research suggests fiction boosts empathy• Keith Oatley + Raymond Marr – – Such Stuff as Dreams (book)– Onfiction (blog)– Article on your handout

• BUT: CAUTION re this research

Caution about this research

• Necessarily very limited• Doesn’t account for different types of factual

books• Crucial that children read• And listening to stories should have same

benefit

Digital/print

1. Online:• Mostly information / non-fiction• Shorter text• Fast• Competition on page and in room– Decisions– Distractions

Suggested positives?

• Getting better skimming? (Probably)• Getting better at finding info? (Yes, but not

remembering. Might be OK?)• Better at avoiding distractions? (No) • Better at multi-tasking? (No)

Multi-tasking problems

• “Bandwidth” problems – capacity is c.120bps• Loss of focus and concentration – *• Attempt causes stress and overload• Lower performance on certain tasks – those

requiring concentration

Again, see The Organized Mind*Telegraph Feb 2016 “shorter attention span than goldfish”

Other digital negatives

• Exhausting; low-level anxiety• Sleep is affected• We are remembering less• More TIME online = less what? – Physical exercise – (good for brain)– Time to think and be creative– Time to rest info-laden brains – techno-stress– Time for reading for pleasure, “engagement”

2. Offline: ebook readers?

• Growing evidence: digital may slightly impair comprehension + recall

• Topography of printed page helps comprehension?

• But research is ongoing and very specific– See New Scientist 29/10/2014 (handout)

• Some e-readers also bring distraction• Some find harder to attain “engagement”?

How does this affect teenagers?

• They must be connected – importance of group continual connection/distraction– Dangers of exclusion from group

• Less self-control, greater risk of over-use• May miss instructions; lack of focus during

work• Short-termism – harder to look ahead

?

BREAK!

Recipe for Brain Cake on my website!

BRAINS, BOOKS and BYTESwith Nicola Morgan

Part 2: Reading and Wellbeing

www.nicolamorgan.com

Reading for Wellbeing: Readaxation

Stress

A. What is it? B. Why should schools care?C. What’s so special about teenage stress?D. What is the (evidence-based) role of reading?E. How can librarians and schools influence it?

What is stress?

Chemicals

Adrenalin and cortisol• Heart beats faster and we breathe faster• Blood rushes to brain and muscles– Carrying oxygen and glucose (energy)

• => SUPER-PERFORMANCE – stress is GOOD!

But stress becomes a problem if:

1. It becomes panic2. Or cortisol builds up from lack of breaks(Affects: sleep, mood, mental + physical health, concentration, control, performance and more)

Something else…

“Preoccupation”

• Remember brain bandwidth: if part attention on one thing, cannot perform 100% on another– Eg intrusive neg thoughts; worries; self-consciousness– And “scarcity” – of money, time or food

• Preoccupation diminishes performance/IQ:1. Cognitive capacity (aspects of learning)2. Executive control (aspects of behaviour)

Both The Organized Mind and Scarcity cover this

Special teenage stresses

Teenage stress

• Change: brains, bodies, chemistry, friends, fears, expectations, pressures

• A regular schoolday• “New” stresses:

1. Exams: higher pressure, frequency + stakes2. The internet and social media• Constant online activity

• Intrusive thoughts, rumination – the overwhelming present

What is the role of reading?

Reading Agency Literature Review 2015: • Self-esteem; greater life satisfaction• Increased vocab and general knowledge• Increased empathy + self-understanding• Better mood + relationships• Reduced stress

Why does reading work?

• Readers believe it’s relaxing• Allows “engagement” / “flow”• Chance to forget present worries• Bibliotherapy – a long history

• Clinical bibliotherapy• Developmental bibliotherapy – The Novel Cure

– “Narrative transportation” identification with character insight + growth

Readaxation

Definition: “Reading to relax, as a conscious strategy for wellbeing and stress management. The aim is to feel and function well.”

Does it matter what we/they read?

• Must be free choice• No judgement by others– Fiction or factual? – Digital or print?

• Anything which allows engagement

How do we make it happen?

Victor Nell (1988) The psychology of reading for pleasure: Needs and gratifications. “Unless people experience reading as a pleasurable activity, they will stop reading and choose more enjoyable alternatives.”

Also see Nell’s book, Lost in a Book

“Motivational Flowchart”

Wahhh! A FLOWCHART!

Nell’s Motivational Flowchart

If Adequate skills + Correct book selection + Expectation of benefit … People will try pleasure reading. If they find physiological + cognitive benefits, they will do more pleasure reading. If not, they will do other activity.

Suggested benefits• You feel less stressed• You can switch off from worries • Helps you get to sleep • Helps you understand other people better • Helps you face and understand problems• Helps you help your friends with problems• Helps you know more about the world• Improves imagination/creativity • Helps you do better at school • Increases vocabulary • Improves confidence and self-esteem

Use my Readaxation diary

• See website today

• Discuss possible benefits with students: give them autonomy

2. We need to properly value it

• Remember: relaxation is not a luxury– Too much stress poor performance

• This pleasure has no negative and lots of positive side-effects

• How can you get this message to senior management?

3. We need to make time for it

In summary

• Relaxation is not a luxury but necessary for health and wellbeing

• Readaxation is not the only way to relax but it is a perfect one, with evidence– AND it has many other benefits for performance

• TELL SENIOR MANAGEMENT!

CAUTION:Children who read a

lot risk becoming independent, open-

minded, questioning, knowledgeable and

CONFIDENT

WARNING!

LUNCH! Food, water, chat and breathe

BRAINS, BOOKS and BYTESwith Nicola Morgan

Part 3: Helping students face exams

www.nicolamorgan.com

Brain basic

• How we learn things + acquire skills– Grow pathways/networks between neurons– Pathways = branches (dendrites) and

connections (synapses)– c 100 billion neurons – each with up to 10k

dendrites

Neurons without Dendrites

Young/unused neurons

More developed neurons

Young/unused neurons

More developed neurons

How we grow connections

– Trying– Copying– Sleeping• Sleeping brain focuses on what we struggled with• So, failure is not a bad thing

– (Socialise, exercise, breaks??)

Learning is affected by:

•Stress•Sleep•Confidence / positivity / mood – “I can learn this”•Personality•Teaching•Concentration and focus•Using best ways to learn•The group dynamic and each student’s place in it

Concentration / focus

Educate:• Fact: we cannot focus as well on two things– Though the effect depends on the task

• So managing screen time is crucial• “You will get your work done faster and better

if you switch off distraction” • Tools: pomodoro technique; Antisocial• Intrinsic motivation: experience of benefit

Stress strategies

Educate re what stress IS – good and bad• “RELAXATION IS NOT A LUXURY”– Emphasise that relaxation helps performance – Teach about “preoccupation” and • Digital distraction

• Cortisol effect– “Cup of stress”

The cup of stress

Strategies

A. Breathing skills – for panic or general relaxationB. Down-time – activities to reduce cortisol

~ Different ~ Varied ~ Deliberate

C. Perspective: ~ you are not alone ~ this is not forever ~ talk

D. Teach intrusive thoughts tool

On my

website

Intrusive thoughts tool

• Every thought is a pathway in the brain• The brain learns by repetition, creating strong

pathways that are easy to follow• But the brain can learn negative, unhelpful

things, too => negative intrusive thoughts• We can replace with positive thought

Improve sleep

Tools for better sleep

1. Recognise that sleep affects mood, learning, health, stress

2. See my classroom resources – Brain Sticks3. And your sheet of tips for pupils4. Understand Sleep Hygiene

“Sleep hygiene”

1-2 hours before bedAim:

1. Wind down to lower heart rate/stress2. Stimulate melatonin (sleep hormone)• Remove daylight• Turn screens off

3. Create routine

Many tips on handout

Another thing that affects learning

• Personality–Introversion – QUIET by Susan Cain

Introversion/extroversion

• Introverts are not necessarily “shy”• Spend huge energy in all social situations• More need for quiet time• If needs aren’t met => more stress• May feel inadequate - wrongly• Most school situations v stressful for them

The best ways to learn

• (Highlighting, underlining generally NOT best)• Breaks at the right time:– Before a task is finished

• Follow learning by exercise, sleep or chat• Test before learning• Spaced learning• Re-writing in own words• Teaching someone else

How We Learn by Benedict Carey

Dyslexic students

• Organisation and planning need help• Do not assume instructions have gone in• Do not assume all teachers understand• Extra need to be familiar with exam format• Extra need for emotional support• “Studying with dyslexia” – Pocket Study Skills,

by Janet Godwin

?

BREAK!

How well do you look after your brain?!

• Take the FLOURISH test

DISCUSSION - READAXATION

• Might your school’s SMT be open to the readaxation message?

• Different pupils will enjoy different benefits, so can you think of ways to engage all of them in discovering benefits of reading for pleasure?

Ten Things Schools Should Know

See your handout

SHARE!

Free quarterly Brain Sane newsletter has much more about brains, reading, adolescence and stress

A Manifesto for Reading

• Educate about the wellbeing benefits of R4P• Make time for reading in personal/school day• View R4P as essential, not luxury• Promote Readaxation as anti-stress strategy• Do it equally for all ages