The Plastic Brain: The Brain That Changed
Relevance: Neuroplasticity is a field that we will be hearing a lot more about in the coming years. What is it? It is the idea that the brain can reorder and reorganize itself throughout our lifetime by the formation of new neural connections. It is the ability of the brain to expand its possibilities and connections through new experiences.
In the film link above, you will meet Andy, a young man with cerebral palsy, and Lee, his 'trainer'. When we first meet Andy, we see the difficulty he has with walking. Through Lee's physical training, we see the results of neuroplastic training through the encountering of new experiences. In Andy's story, we see how his brain has reordered itself, creating new neural connections, allowing Andy to walk with less difficulty, albeit not with a normed gait.
I find this such a fascinating field of science. I hope you enjoy this film as much as I did.
The subject of neuroplasticity is covered in the book The Straight-A Conspiracy: Your Secret Guide to Ending the Stress of School and Totally Ruling the World . I have personally found that talking to students about this subject can be helpful for them to realize that they can grow and improve. The incredible example of Andy and his remarkable improvements through physical therapy are only one of the many ways our brains are capable of changing and adapting to our structural and chemical conditions. I highly recommend that educators, parents and students check out this book.
ReplyDeleteWith having a big push on Growth Mindset I like to make connections to the neuroplasticity topic. I find this field to be very fascinating and would really like to learn much more about how we can use concepts or practices in our teaching. I enjoyed Andy's story and he motivated me to bring this up to my students.
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