Our Students’ Needs Must Be Met for Success in the Classroom

Students don’t care what you know until they know that you care.

By Victor Meier

When students do not feel safe with their teachers and school officials, she or he is likely not to of performed as well as students who are comfortable or unaffected.

Years ago, as a society we all agree that it was okay for boys to cry. I grew up in the seventies, so I still remember being promised I would be, “given something to cry about.” Oh joy! Now when our students feel misunderstood they feel unsafe and that is often because the teacher cannot connect with the way the student learns. The student then often becomes disconnected and isolated from the classroom. Most students are not affected this way. This is why understanding the brain, how it has evolved and functions are paramount to effective instruction.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs makes the point that without a student’s basic needs being met there will be no foundation for proper instruction. It is then fair to characterize the whole organism by saying simply that it is hungry, for consciousness is almost completely preempted by hunger. The human brain is “wired” for survival and when the basic needs of the human are not being met it becomes difficult for the individual to concentrate on higher functioning cognitive tasks until hers or his basic needs have been met.

The brain is a survival organ. It is designed to solve problems related to surviving in an unstable outdoor environment and to do so in nearly constant motion (to keep you living long enough to pass your genes on). We were not the strongest on the planet but we developed the strongest brains, the key to our survival.

Theoretical Learning Models and the Evolution of the Brain

Theoretical learning models are just that, theory. There is no one specific way to approach all students. Each student will dictate the way that she or he is best approached. It is up to the educators to assess each student’s preferred learning modality and apply a appropriate strategy. John Wooden stated in his book, They Call Me Coach that he treated all players fairly, though not equally. Each player is a uniquely different person with individual needs. Wooden believed that treating (former players) Bill Walton and Henry Bibby the same way was unfair to both players; because each player was different.  Wooden only lead UCLA’s Basketball Team to 88 Straight Victories that nearly spanned the entire college career of Walton and others.

In the classroom Classic Conditioning is the foundation for how every other learning model will operate. Applying a system or “method madness” allows freedom in that students will always know at every stage in their educational process and throughout their days, what is exactly expected of them. This allows them the opportunity to hold each other accountable. Accountability extends to the instructor as she or he will need to monitor and ensure positive interactions between classmates. When considering the influence of technology in the classroom and how this affects instruction I suggest that teachers use a Social Learning Model for instruction.

It’s the foundational responsibility of the instructor to model the type of work that she or he expects from their students. However, allowing students to assist each other only makes the teacher’s job easier and more successful. Yes, more successful. Many times students have insights into each other’s struggles that the teacher cannot relate to. Admittedly, this is a gray area; however, strong leadership requires involvement and attention to detail. Students sharing information and ideas foster greater understanding of the subject matter. Our ability to understand each other is our chief survival tool. Relationships helped us survive in the jungle and are critical to surviving at work and school today. It all relies on proper accountability and support.

The Effects of Exercise on the Brain

We all know that exercise is good for the body. But it’s incredibly good for the brain too. Exercise zaps harmful stress chemicals. It boosts problem-solving abilities, planning and attention, also. There is no worse environment for the brain than that of the classroom, library, office, cubical, etc. Human beings are wired for movement. The body has evolved in such a way that our movements have been built to conserve energy and therefore requiring less effort and expending less energy. Not to mention preventing brain diseases and protecting the body from illness as well.

Human beings are meant to move and some research suggests that early Paleolithic man traveled up to twelve miles per day. That is the basis for a new exercise and diet trend fashioned around the Paleolithic Era. The human brain evolved under conditions of almost constant motion. From this, one might predict that the optimal environment for processing information would include motion. That is exactly what one finds. Indeed, the best business meeting would have everyone walking at about 1.8 miles per hour. Discussions within a brisk walk… That is definitely something to think about.

Evolutionary Adaptations

The human species has evolved in a very controversial manner with researchers and scientists commonly disagreeing on many aspects of evolution. There are some that believe in the idea of a missing link and others lend less credibility to this theory. All in all these are theories with discrepancies. This is one interpretation of the hominid family “tree,” of which Homo sapiens is one branch. Looking more like a rosebush than an elm, this tree is under constant revision and is not universally embraced.

A version is on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Note how incomplete the story is. Dr. Medina claims that the human brain is composed of three parts; starting with the lizard brain in charge of the human’s basic need like breathing. The paleomammalian brain was then added and associated with what Dr. Medina refers to as “The four F’s” – Fighting, Feeding, Fleeing and… reproductive behavior. Then we added the complex human brain.

Adaptations in our wrists, hips, knees and other joints made us more efficient. Our ancestors used the energy savings to pump up the body not the brain. By comparison to our evolutionary counterparts (Chimpanzees) humans move about four times more efficiently than they do. That simply means that humans use approximately 75% less energy bipedally that quadrupeds do. Humans chose this path as one of less resistance. The strongest brains survive, not the strongest bodies. Our ability to solve problems, learn from mistakes, and create alliances with other people helps us survive. We took over the world by learning to cooperate and forming teams with our neighbors.

Conclusion

Obesity is a major public health problem in developed countries. This factor is a direct correlative to the importance of physical activity and allowing students to engage their physical surroundings. Technology can help bridge this gap with hands on experiences, simulations and academic games. However, this must be tendered with the importance of physical activity (both aerobic and anaerobic exercise). Low levels of physical activity coupled with high levels of television viewing have been linked with obesity in children. A lethargic body will breed an apathetic or lazy brain. At the end of the day the basic needs of students must be met in order to provide a level platform and foundation for education and instruction. It takes more brain power to solve life’s more complicated and complex problems.

 

Our brains became much bigger than our evolutionary counterparts’. In developing the more complex human brain, human beings have run into a problem; multiple meanings that can be applied to specific events or items. Educators must be aware of their students learning modalities and adhere to the difference of interpretation that many occur. It is this ability that has allowed the human race to share information and information is power. This process has allowed human beings to create structure, organization and planning. Dual representation allows us to assign meaning to symbols. From there we created language art, math, etc. This is the basis for how to build a strong mind and body; thereby preparing well rounded students for education. Education greatly reduces one’s willingness to turn to crime and other desperate actions, making educational expense and investment in civilization.

References

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm

Your Amazing Brain.org, http://www.youramazingbrain.org/insidebrain/brainevolution.htm

Medina, J. Brain Rules.com; #2 Survival, http://www.brainrules.net/survival

Makenzie, B.A., M.D., R. Tait, Exercise in Education and Medicine, Second Edition. (1909) W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, PA.

The recognition of physical education by teachers has been retarded by dabblers and self-elected professors of one or another systems, who’s extravagant claims have done much to obscure the real educational value of neuromuscular training. (Makenzie, Preface)

Bammann, K; Peplies, J; Sjostrom, M; Lissner, L; Henauw, S; Galli, C; Iacoviello, L; Krogh, V; Marild, S. & Pigeot, I. (2006). Assessment of diet, physical activity and biological, social and environmental factors in a multi-centre European project on diet- and lifestyle-related disorders in children (IDEFICS). Journal of Public Health. 
Harrison, M; Burns, C; McGuinness, M; Heslin, J. & Murphy, N. (2006). Influence of a health education intervention on physical activity and screen time in primary school children: Switch Off-Get Active.’ Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.