CRHS Freshman Seminar STUDY SMARTER NOT HARDER Learning

CRHS Freshman Seminar STUDY SMARTER. . . . NOT HARDER Learning HOW to use the genius inside you

CRHS Freshman Seminar HUMAN BEINGS NORMALLY USE ONLY 2 PERCENT TO 10 PERCENT OF THE BRAIN’S CAPACITY FOR HIGHER LEVEL THOUGHT Ø There are ways of studying and learning that are and learning that can painful, unproductive, and unlock the genius in every leave you worse off than one of us before. . . No matter what you do now, you can learn to harness your brain and do better. . . • If you are failing, you can pass – anything • If you’re passing, you can get B’s • If you getting B’s, you can get A’s • If you’re getting A’s, you can do even more! THERE IS A GENIUS INSIDE YOU

CRHS Freshman Seminar AMAZING BRAIN FACTS � What part of you is only 1% to 3% of your body's mass, yet uses 20% of all the oxygen you breathe? Your brain! - Your brain needs a continuous supply of oxygen. A 10 minute loss of oxygen will usually cause significant neural damage. Cold can lengthen this time, which is why cold-water drowning victims have been revived after as much as 40 minutes - without brain damage. - Your brain uses a fifth of all your blood. It needs it to keep up with the heavy metabolic demands of its neurons. It needs not only the glucose that is delivered, but of course, the oxygen. - Your brain feels no pain. There are no nerves that register pain within the brain itself. Because of this, neurosurgeons can probe the brain while a patient is conscious (what fun!). By doing this, they can use feedback from the patient to identify important regions, such as those used for speech, or visualization. -.

CRHS Freshman Seminar MORE BRAIN FACTS - The human brain weighs an average of a little over three pounds, or 1. 4 kilograms. Albert Einstein's brain may have been smaller than yours, because he was smaller than average. There is a general correlation between body size and the size of our brains. - There about 100, 000 miles of blood vessels in the brain. If they were stretched out (there's a nice thought!) they would circle the earth more than four times.

CRHS Freshman Seminar DID YOU KNOW? . . . your brain is capable of having more ideas than the number of atoms in the known universe! (source: Tony Buzan, Head Strong 2001)

CRHS Freshman Seminar DID YOU KNOW? . . . if you could harness the power used by your brain, you could power a 10 -watt light bulb! …The human brain is approximately 75% water

CRHS Freshman Seminar DID YOU KNOW � Stress over long periods can weaken the brain’s ability to learn and remember. � Not using the brain can reduce your IQ. . Using it in the right way can increase your IQ � Brain messages travel between neurons in just one thousandth of a second. � Each time you have a new thought or memory, a new brain connection is made between two or more brain cells.

CRHS Freshman Seminar YOUR BRAIN IS ACTUALLY 3 BRAINS! � THE REPTILIAN BRAIN � THE LIMBIC BRAIN � THE CORTEX

CRHS Freshman Seminar THE REPTILIAN BRAIN § § § We are born with it. It relies on instinct It deals with survival and reproduction. It is the center for instinctive reflexes, primitive impulses, sex and violence. It is not influenced by culture or personal history.

Study Smarter, Not Harder CRHS Freshman Seminar THIS PART OF YOUR BRAIN MONITORS AND REGULATES breathing � heart rate � Hunger This primitive brain looks after the body and does a very good job of taking care of it. So if you are hungry or thirsty or excited or stressed or scared – it is the REPTILIAN brain that tries to take control and you will likely operate on REFLEX and INSTINCT – not reason or thought. �

CRHS Freshman Seminar IT IS THE HOME OF � The FLIGHT OR FIGHT sensation in times of danger � Our sense of territory � Our feelings of safety � Our survival instincts Think about: Can you think of a situation in which this brain was dominating your thoughts and actions?

CRHS Freshman Seminar IT AFFECTS HOW WE STUDY AND LEARN BECAUSE � When our reptilian brains are dominating our behavior, we have little access to our higher brain functions (thinking or reasoning)– they are blocked � So, study situations should have as little stress as possible – or the “fight or flight” part of the brain takes over and you REACT rather than THINK

CRHS Freshman Seminar THE LIMBIC BRAIN § § § Is acquired during the beginning of human life (0 -5 years old) It is the center of emotion, representing tensions, feelings and contradictions. It is pretty much the same brain capacity as all other mammals --

CRHS Freshman Seminar THE LIMBIC BRAIN � Think about the difference between a mouse and a lizard, or between a cat and a snake, and you'll recognize what this mammalian brain adds to a creature's capacities. � Mammals have "feelings" like ours

CRHS Freshman Seminar THE LIMBIC BRAIN v Is the primary site of long-term memory (the more emotional we feel about something, the longer we remember it) –ASSOCIATION and EMOTION ARE KEY TO MEMORY For example, think of a major event that was either very happy or very sad or very frightening – you can remember most of the details, even years later – why? You remember things better if they are associated with strong emotions …. .

CRHS Freshman Seminar BUT The emotions themselves can block the “thinking” part of the brain…. . When the emotional brain tells us to do something, we completely shut off our logical brain and simply follow our “emtoional” orders, thinking we are following logic when we really aren't.

CRHS Freshman Seminar SO WHAT? This is why you often observe others doing the strangest things (yelling at the television. . . Screaming at other cars on the road. . . ) – actions that are logical, but “feel” good. Have you tried to get someone to calm down and “think”in a situation like this? -- they get really defensive. But later they look back on what they did and sometimes see it in a new light and see where they went wrong and how stupid they looked (when the emotion is gone).

CRHS Freshman Seminar SWITCH FROM EMOTIONAL TO REASON. . . � So the key to managing your other 2 brains is to realize that your logical brain often does switch off when certain events happen and you must switch it back on

CRHS Freshman Seminar THE LOGICAL BRAIN (CORTEX) � Our THINKING brain Contains our HIGHER intelligences: Ø Ability to reason Ø Ability to set goals Ø Ability to make plans Ø Ability to develop (speak and write) language Ø Ability to understand ABSTRACT terms (love, jealously, fairness, freedom, courage, RESPONSIBILITY!)

CRHS Freshman Seminar THE LOGICAL BRAIN (CORTEX) o Only ¼ inch thick, but has all the fold and wrinkles This part of the brain is the part that we will “harness” for maximum learning…. Finding the genius inside all of us.

CRHS Freshman Seminar WHICH IS WHICH?

CRHS Freshman Seminar THREE BRAINS --

CRHS Freshman Seminar ALL WORKING TOGETHER Toward a state of RELAXED ALERTNESS best for effective learning Best for communication that is open, reasonable, and efficient (speaking, listening, understanding) Describe what you think RELAXED ALERTNESS IS.

CRHS Freshman Seminar HOW DO WE USE THIS INFORMATION? WE WILL CREATE A TOOLBOX that will contain things that will help you make the most of your incredible potential. “your mind is like a parachute --- it only works when it’s open!”