Description:
Students follow movements shown on screen using child actors from participating schools
Rationale:
- This part of the activity is designed to be fun so students look forward to working with you
- The state of student arousal is essential for brain development and these movements will release the epinephrine that is needed later in the lesson (NB Ensure that students are not too excited or over-aroused as a result of this activity)
- Performing novel movements that challenge students’ ability to balance primes the nervous system for learning and development
Note that the above rationale could be used to explain the importance of this lesson element to teachers and parents. Your description may need to be simplified for students.
Time:
5 minutes
Teaching Points:
- Health and safety comes first so ensure that there is enough space behind chairs and students are focussed
- Engagement and time restrictions are more important than correcting technical movement errors
- Before playing each video, challenge students to copy the movements on screen as precisely as possible
- You need to perform the movements as well to model good form and encourage participation
- Praising individual students for their effort and precision will release dopamine that will help in the short and long term
- Be disciplined with the 5 minute time allocation
Description:
Short daily micro-lessons that teach students more about their brain and how this programme will help them
Rationale:
- Explain the key reasons why the programme will improve students’ brain health and cognitive performance
- Encourage students to actively focus on their neurocognitive training exercises, engaging passively will have little benefit
- Increase the likelihood of students reaching the 20 hour target by training whilst away from school
Note that the above rationale could be used to explain the importance of this lesson element to teachers and parents. Your description may need to be simplified for students.
Time:
5 minutes
Teaching Points:
- Enlarge information on screen so students can see them clearly
- Plan for student participation and interactions within each lesson (see icons below)
- Discuss lessons with your teacher and use them wherever possible
- Classroom management of 30 students is not easy so maintain the pace of the lesson, keep it upbeat and praise regularly
- Be disciplined with the 5 minute time allocation, even if the response from students is positive
- Reinforce these messages as often as possible during the rest of your mentoring programme with Year 5 students
Description:
Supervised and customised use of the BrainHQ neurocognitive development platform with a programme training target of 20 hours
Rationale:
- Frequent, targeted and sustained stimulation of the brain in this way will heal neurological distortions and strengthen all brains
- Real focus during training exercises releases acetylcholine that shines a spotlight on the brain areas targeted, helping to activate the required neural pathways in the moment, for a while afterwards and during later sleep when rewiring takes place
- Ending neuro lessons with this activity will prime children for learning during the rest of the morning or afternoon session
Note that the above rationale could be used to explain the importance of this lesson element to teachers and parents. Your description may need to be simplified for students.
Time:
20 minutes
Teaching Points:
- Understand the software yourself and be prepared for administrative and access issues with the BrainHQ platform
- Encourage students to actively focus during training exercises and ensure that the atmosphere in the classroom is suitable
- Observations should be on students maintaining their focus and identifying those who may be struggling with their settings
- Encourage students to welcome and appreciate failures because these are opportunities for strengthening their brain
- Praise students for improvements, resilience and persistence, not for getting high scores
- Reinforce messages from Healthy Brains lessons that consolidate and “lock-in” daily gains, especially sleeping, relaxing and eating well (NB neural adaptations happen during sleep and deep rest, not during neurocognitive training or learning episodes)