March 2002

Accelerated Learning newsletter, March 2002

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In the November issue, we referred to ten common myths about the brain and learning. In this issue, we begin to explode the myths, starting with the fallacy that 'your memory is perfect'. In case you missed them (or have forgotten them!), here are the myths:

Ten fads that fooled the world
1) Your memory is perfect
2) You only use 10% or less of your brain
3) You have three brains in one
4) Stress stops you learning
5) Your left brain is logical and your right is creative
6) You have an emotional brain
7) Mozart makes you more intelligent
8) Enriched learning environments give your child a better start in life
9) The brain cells you get at birth are those you have for life
10) Male and female brains are so different we ought to teach boys and girls in different ways

Myth number 1: Your memory is perfect
To quote from a popular text 'there is now increasing evidence that our memories may not only be far better than we ever thought but may in fact be perfect'. Sadly, this is wholly untrue. If you had a perfect memory, your life would be hell. Memory is less about recall than it is about reconstitution. Memories do not reside hidden away in specific sites within the brain. Memory relies on a coming together of a number of variables. Change any of those variables and you change the memory. Memory is by its very nature imperfect! False memory syndrome is real.

One in four of us are susceptible to false memory syndrome. With prompting and coaxing, one in four of us can be led to believe that something has occurred in our past that, in fact, has no basis in truth. Each year in the United States 77,000 people are charged with crimes based solely on eyewitness evidence and, according to the US National Institute of Justice figures for 1999 there are 5 who have been sentenced to death on eyewitness testimony alone. After the 1992 Amsterdam plane crash, a study showed that an impossible 66% of those interviewed claimed to have seen the event. Witness testimony is vulnerable to suggestibility and in particularly there are differences of reliability with regard to age, race, presence of a weapon and duration of exposure to the evidence. Older people are more likely to pick someone from an identity parade. Own race bias (ORB) means that the identification of someone of one's own race is more accurate than someone of another race. In the presence of a weapon an eyewitness focuses in a tunnelled way on the weapon and not on the person at the other end of it. Successful bank raids with carrots and aubergines prove this!

It can be seen that memory is a more malleable phenomenon than everyday sense would lead us to believe. This makes the 'truth' itself, more fallible, particularly when it involves an individual drawing upon it. In order for us to survive and to lead balanced and healthy lives, we have become accomplished practitioners in false memory syndrome. Thankfully this is a very necessary part of everyday existence: a survival imperative. What would your life be like if you could remember everything?

We'll be exploding another myth in next month's newsletter.

The secrets of the World Memory Champion - revealed!

Dominic O'Brien looks like a rather dapper car salesman complete with wide suit, bouffoned hair and a small spiv-like moustache. He was, up until 14 years ago, an employee of Stansted Airport. Then he saw a television programme about memory feats and, when the programme finished, he went upstairs and tried it for himself. Nowadays he is current and 8 times World Memory Champion, he travels between airports rather than works in one and he is capable of astonishing feats of memory. He has a lot to teach us about improving memory and recall.

Imagine you are one of 300 delegates at a conference on memory. It is the end of day one and you have listened to informed insights on the neural basis of memory, autobiographical memory, the reliability of eyewitness testimony and sleep, dreaming and memory. Then Dominic arrives. First up, the audience of 300 is asked to stand and, as he remembers your name you sit down! As he goes on and on, head held in hand, eyes closed, more and more people sit down. At the end seven are standing. Has he forgotten? Seven out of 300 isn't bad! No, they all have surnames beginning with a 'w'. The co-ordinator forgot to give him the last page of the delegate list! Tumultuous applause. How does he do this?

Amongst his feats: a pack of cards memorised in 36 seconds, 100 faces and names in half an hour, a 500 word poem in 15 minutes and, a record, 40 decks of cards recalled in order with no mistakes! How does he do it? One of the methods he uses involves physical locations. He has in his head, should he need them, 80 pre-learned possible journeys with 52 stops each. He has little difficulty navigating the pre-rehearsed sequence of stops and at each he quickly makes exaggerated associations with the new information. He assigns the unfamiliar to the familiar and organises it via a visual and spatial sequence. Try it with your own house.

Go from room to room and get familiar with the sequence. Now do the same thing again in your head, but this time pick out some features within that room: a bookshelf, a table, a swirl on the carpet, a light fitting. Notice the colours, the shapes, sounds and smells. Practise the sequence room by room, feature by feature. When you are confident of your sequence try this.

'In the first room place a large heavy bell there and listen as it clangs. Journey slowly to the next room and when you get there lift a frying pan full of bacon off the carpet before it burns. In the corner of your eye in the same space you notice a small, brightly coloured model of the Eiffel Tower. Stare at it for a second before moving on. Now as you journey you bump into the tennis player Steffi Graf, apologise in your best German accent. She is carrying a model of the Acropolis where her racquet should have been. Strange! Pause and go back over your journey in sequence. Now go on. In the next room Terry Wogan is smiling away to himself as he eats an ice cream. Sadly he has not noticed it all over his pullover. This may be because of the noise of the radio from the far corner of the room. It sounds a familiar jingle. Where have you heard it before? Finally, journeys end. The room opposite is difficult to get into because there are fishing nets from the ceiling down.. It's a struggle. You push your way through and into the room where a small but welcome glass of port awaits. Drink it down.'

Go over it again! Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal. The original countries of the EU.

Dominic O'Brien has been 'thrown out of more than a dozen casinos' - he can remember 18 decks of cards in an hour so maybe that's not surprising - is left handed, says he had ADD as a child and is awaiting the results of MRI scans to tell him what his brain is doing as he remembers. Don't wait for the results - try his techniques! Teach them to your children!

Stem cells improve memory

Stem cell research provides one of the brightest rays of hope for the treatment of conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease. Aged rats with poor memory improved their recall after human stem cells were implanted in their brains.

The research, at the University of Illinois at Chicago, tested rats on their ability to remember the way out of a "water maze". Older rats tended not to perform as well at the task compared to younger rats. However, after the laboratory-grown stem cells were implanted in their brains, their performance improved radically - in one case, the older, memory-impaired rat was able to exit the maze faster than the younger counterpart.

Stem cell are the body's master cells, having the ability to "differentiate" into a wide variety of different cells used for different purposes in the body. If the way the cells differentiate could be controlled, scientists believe they could prove a potent way of replacing certain types of cell - such as brain cells - previously thought irreplaceable. However, the idea of inserting new cells to replace old ones received a setback recently when transplanted neural foetal tissue failed to help Parkinson's patients in many cases.

However, the latest research, along with dozens of other projects, uses stem cells which have not yet differentiated into a particular cell type. Lead researcher Kiminobu Sugaya said that this "malleable" quality meant that it could be easier for them to migrate to the part of the brain where they were needed most, and change into the necessary cell types. Examination of the rat's brains after death showed that the cells had differentiated and grown dramatically in areas associated with spatial memory.

Lead researcher Sugaya said: "The transplanted stem cells may have helped both directly and indirectly. Previous studies have failed to produce working brain cells from transplants of stem cells." However, there remains widespread concern about the safety of stem cells transplantation in humans, although early human trials have so far revealed no direct cause for concern.

Accelerated Learning in action

Three years ago, South Bromsgrove Community High School adopted Accelerated Learning methodologies. In that short period, the school has moved forward dramatically. It has changed towards an achievement culture which has been accompanied by astonishing improvements in exam performance, and the positive attitudes of students towards their educational experience.

Will Thomas, Head of Science, says "we would never have guessed just how much we could have achieved in the last three years. With an understanding of the learning process and a common language for discussing it, the expectations of staff and consequently students has risen markedly. What makes us most proud is the improved life chances of all of our students; the choices they now have."

Will has written a case study about the experiences at South Bromsgrove for the website. To read more, click here or visit the case study section on the website at www.alite.co.uk

How far would you go for the cause of research?

Antoine Lavoisier, the French chemist who lived between 1743 and 1794, was caught up in the revolution and faced beheading. He asked friends to observe closely as he would continue blinking as long as possible after being killed. He was reported to have blinked for 15 seconds after decapitation.

When Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed at Fotheringay Castle in 1587, a clumsy headsman gave her three strokes without quite managing to sever her head. The headsman then had to saw though the skin and gristle with his sheath knife before the job could be regarded as complete. The profound, protracted groan Mary gave when the axe first hit left the horrified witnesses in no doubt that her pain was excruciating. How long is the interval of consciousness after the head is severed?

In France, in the days of the guillotine, some of the condemned were asked to blink their eyes if they were still conscious after the knife fell. Reportedly, their heads blinked for up to 30 seconds after decapitation. How much of this was voluntary and how much due to reflex nerve action is speculation. Most nations with science sophisticated enough to determine this question have long since abandoned decapitation as a legal tool.

Source: The New Scientist

Hydration

In many schools the only source of drinking water for children is in the toilets! Accelerated Learning schools recognise the benefits of proper levels of hydration.

A child needs to be in the best physical state for learning in order for the brain to take in and process new information. Children need to drink water throughout the day to remain hydrated. Dehydration, combined with irregular intake of fluids and fuelling with high concentrate sugar drinks - often laced with additives and preservatives - may prove a deadly cocktail for the young learners in a classroom.

Here are the benefits of appropriate intake of fresh water:

• The brain is 75% water so that even moderate dehydration can cause headaches and dizziness
• Water is required for expiration
• Regulates body temperature
• Carries nutrients and oxygen to all cells in the body
• Blood is 92% water
• Moistens oxygen for breathing
• Protects and cushions vital organs
• Helps to convert food into energy
• Helps body absorb nutrients
• Removes waste
• Bones are 22% water
• Muscles are 75% water
• Cushions joints

Alite schools have used a range of strategies to ensure children are getting enough water during the day without causing disruption in the classroom. Water coolers have been introduced to classrooms, or children have been encouraged to bring their own sports bottle to school to refill with water when they need it. Children are educated about the importance of drinking plenty of water (not fizzy drinks!), and staff provide role models by keeping a glass or bottle of water on their desk.

Mr Motivator meets Kilroy!
In a recent BBC Kilroy special on unemployment, Alistair Smith - dubbed 'Mr Motivator' by TES - was asked to provide some motivation for an employment seeker who was struggling to find work. It is not easy to give meaningful input during a 5 minute slot on a daytime television programme, but using a timeline activity the subject of the programme was able to see his way forward to a more positive future. If you would like to know more about timelining and motivation, please visit your profile following this link, and click the 'motivation' box.

Dudley hire in the portaloos
650 staff attended the launch of the Dudley Partnership for Achievement EAZ learning day at a local sports centre. Alistair was impressed by the organisation, which was military in its precision even down to the two very sizeable portaloos placed beside the front entrance!

Alite 2002 - motivation and learning
Alistair Smith will be heading up this national conference on motivation and learning. Plenary speakers include Bill Lucas, Director of the Campaign for Learning and Howard Kennedy, of the London Leadership Centre. Bill is a major force behind the national drive to improve 'learnacy' in our schools, and will draw from his book 'Power Up Your Mind' and share his personal perspective on motivation and learning. Howard is Managing Director of the London Leadership Centre, Institute of Education, University of London. He will draw on the very latest evidence from around the world on how to motivate and provide learning leadership in a complex organisation like a school.

Tanni Grey-Thompson appears as a special Guest Speaker, revealing how she has motivated herself to become a world-class athlete.

In addition to the plenary speakers, outstanding practitioners from schools, local authorities and community groups from around the UK will present their work in a unique learning forum. The forum has three strands: Primary, Secondary and Local Authority. Choose any combination of round table session and stand visits to meet your needs. You can visit each presenter at their stand or listen as they describe their work at three scheduled round-table sessions throughout the day. Presentations include:

• How to use Multiple Intelligences in the classroom to engage and motivate and enthuse.
• A holistic approach to motivation and learning which works from the inside out.
• How to devise and deliver a Learning to Learn programme for a large secondary school.
• Using accelerated learning methods and a collegiate management approach to transform a large faculty.
• How does an accelerated learning school keep its momentum? How do you stay doing the right things?
• A thinking skills approach: a first school thinks you can teach young children to think - and would like you to hear about it!
• Everything you need to know about assessment: A radical and active approach which involves students in every stage of assessment.
• How a large London Secondary School developed its learning by developing its staff and what OFSTED thought about it.

This is a challenging programme designed to bring to life the theory of motivation. The day will be headed up by Alistair Smith, and will be packed with practical tools and techniques for keeping students motivated. Delegates are sure to leave the Conference feeling highly motivated themselves!

Alite 2002, the Motivation and Learning conference, will take place on 21 June 2002 at the Café Royal, London.

For more information, please follow this link or email office@alite.co.uk

Alite for Literacy

• Do you want proven ways to build on and improve your literacy strategy?
• What about more imaginative ways to engage boys in reading?
• Could you benefit from creative questioning techniques in plenary sessions?

Alite for Literacy is a new course offering imaginative and exciting ways to improve literacy through Accelerated Learning, while still meeting the requirements of the NLS.

This is a fast-paced, fun and interactive one-day programme, designed to give participants fresh ideas for improving literacy through Accelerated Learning, while still meeting the requirements of the NLS.

Alite for Literacy may be booked as an INSET for 20 - 60 delegates from a single school or a cluster. It will also take place as an open course specifically for primary schools on 18 April at the Holiday Inn Victoria, London. For more information, please follow this link or email office@alite.co.uk

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