Our amazing brain

Hi, guys and girls! Sorry for not posting, but I had a lot of things to do. I had a very difficult exam to sit for, and I started a new job, so I've been very busy. I have good news! My favorite singer, Joss Stone, is coming to Argentina. So, I'm really looking forward to it. By the way, I want to invite you to the next BA Celebra.

In today's post, I want to talk about a video Miss Racker sent me about neuroplasticity. I think that is very important for us, as teacher, to know these kind of things. But before starting, we have to define what neuroplasticity means. Basically, the word “Neuro” has to do with the brain, and “Plastic” has to do with something that can be changed.

The lecturer of this TED talk is Lara Boyd. She is a brain researcher at the University of British Columbia.  

In 2006, she was recruited by the University of British Columbia to become the Canada Research Chair in Neurobiology and Motor Learning. Since that time she has established the Brain Behaviour Lab, recruited and trained over 40 graduate students, published more than 80 papers and been awarded over $5 million in funding.

According to Lara Boyd, we can shape the brain, we want to have. She says that every time we learn a new skill, we change our brain. She also says that these changes are not limited by our age. What's more, your brain can change in three ways to support learning; chemical (related to short-term memory), by altering its structure (related to long-term memory), and by altering its function. According to Boyd, all these processes take place in concert, and together they support learning.  She also says that the best driver of neuroplastic change in our brain is our behavior. And sorry guys, there is no neuroplasticity drug we can take. The more you practice, the more you learn.  Boyd also says that our brain is shaped by everything we do, but also by everything we don't do. She says something that for me is very important, “the uniqueness of your brain will affect you both as learner and also as a teacher.” And she wonderfully ends the talk by encouraging the audience to build the brain they want.

This TED talk gave me a great idea for my lessons. I’m not going to give too much information about this idea, but in my next post, I will tell you everything about it.

I hope you have a great week! Btw, thank you, Miss Racker for the video.