ConnecTed 2017

ConnectED 2017 Southwell School

Nathan Wallis (Keynote)

The Fascinating Brain       (Ka Tikaka o Ka Roro)

Brain development researcher.

The first thousand days of your life (from conception to 2.6) are the critical years for brain development. Intelligence isn't inherited. Its the data we gather in the first thousand days of life that dictate intelligence. Later intelligence links back to those first thousand days.

There are no genes that transmit intelligence.
Epigenetics - how genes respond to the environment.
Example of epigenetics - an increase in physical size and IQ is evident in each generation. This isn't evolutionary because genes  take thousands of years to change. Epigenetics makes you taller and have a higher IQ because of improved nourishment, easier physical living, more stimulating intellectual environment.

Intelligence doesn't come from genes, so where does it come from?

Firstborn children often are the most successful.
The number of words spoken to them per day from day one has a profound impact on stimulating the brain and developing the cognitive processes.
Processing language is the most complex thing your brain does.
For the first year of life language is most important with their primary caregiver (mother).
Babies have to attune to someone to learn language. Only words being directly addressed to the baby are taken in.

Brain develops most in the first year through engaging with the primary caregiver. The first six months are about attachment to mother.  Having your baby facing out rather than towards you in the pram means they have a smaller amount of brain activity than if they are looking at you.
Dyslexia and Autism have a strong genetic component. ADHD is more environmentally influenced.
Risk and resilience - risk factors - poverty, alcoholism etc at one end of the spectrum, at the other best outcomes from the quality
Risk factors - parents in prison, no education, no family connection, violence, large families. having a child put on a sleep programme in the first 18 months of life. Having a child in childcare in the first three years.
Resiliency - biggest factor is mother staying home for the first year of life. Others involve playing a musical instrument, speaking your first language, having a close relationship with grandparents.

Resiliency comes in the third brain - the lymbic system. We are inclined to push through to get the frontal cortex engaging before it is ready to fire up.
Most kids will have risk factors!

(for every dollar you spend on children in the first thousand days you save 17 later in life)

The research says that a child who is at home with his mother even if she gives him minimal attention, he is better off than if he is in a highly qualified early childcare centre.
if they do need to go into childcare, it is better to have it happen in the child's own home.

Cortisol is a stress chemical the brain produces. 80% engagment with mother keeps cortisol low.

Neurophysical aspects

Our brain is made up of four brains - the fourth one, the frontal cortex,  is the most critical one - it does everything that a human can do that a dog can't do. Language for example happens is in the frontal cortex. Also includes empathy, controlling emotions etc.
Brain one is the brain stem - survival - keeps you breathing.
Brain two is about movement.
Brain three (lymbic system) the mammal brain - the parenting brain,  the emotional brain, procreating, protecting your offspring.
The brain is fully grown by age twelve but it doesn't fully mature until later. Over time we have pushed out the time it takes to reach full development. Now it is seen as not reaching full maturity until the late twenties, or early thirties.
Gender has different results. One matures faster than the other. Female brains develop faster.
The majority of females reach maturity between 18 and 24. Men up to 32.
Birth order has an effect. First born girls are closer to 18 reaching adulthood than later siblings.

Having a girl first then a boy is disadvantaging for the boy rather than the other way round, where a boy is born first. Girls have a double advantage of being first born and having a faster maturing brain. If a boy is born first he has the advantage of being first born.

Boys are not ready for literacy and numeracy learning before the age of seven. Yet we are pushing this from age five. Frontal cortex comes into its

Nathan Wallis

Connected Day at Southwell 2016 - Workshop

Develop Digital Citizenship and Effective Research Skills by Anne Robertson,CLA Advisor

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XWfqDbvalDyEQz-EZ88o__TfRfSIKmZMMvb34bCuxWs/edit#heading=h.ngxhercj5igj

Connected July 2016

KeyNote Speaker Marcus Akuhata-Brown

When a crisis hits what connections do you have?
Where is a place you can go when a crisis hits?
What connections do you have in your immediate world and the wider world?
Having significant people in your life allows you to know where to go in your moment of crisis.

In the connection to a place builds connections to people.

Lots of people walking around feeling vulnerable, lonely, scared and not connected with anyone or any place.

How can we ‘teach’ connectedness to learners who may not have this modelled at home? Or have been to many homes/schools in their lives?

Lack of vision can be directly related to a degraded state of mana.

Waiata is to inform learning not just a entertainment, it can help you to process information.Eg By the rivers of Babylon. Tell us your story by song, sing about

This is my story, my whakapapa, relationship to people and place,

All the names  in history were connected and had a meaning and purpose to person.

Become condition by the environment. It was convenient for those who had power to keep the young people in the box, parameters  coz it is easy for ‘us’ to control them where they are comfortable.

Coming from the same whakapapa If I can make it you can make it

If we are operating from head we will be just 1, 2 or 3 but we operate from head we can make a difference.Head and heart need to connect, like clapping , power to change.

Powerful thing is when your head and heart are connected and can change your life. Trying to make good choices and decisions, never believed in myself, thought I was never too good.

Wisdom is in the room, when it starts

Encouragement by the teacher made my way to the university, the first one in the family.I was out of comfort zone, the further from the comfort zone, the more growth the flow , the movement occurs. Real growth occurs  when you want to grow yourselves and how  uncomfortable you are willing to become.

When you are in journey with people its hard work , the ebbs and flows can be challenging to your life.

Probably want to give perspective what does it mean to you. If there is fire in your puku then you can become what you want to be

I was with the people who made a difference, had passion and belief to change the world.

You must become the change that you want to see.

Went to England, met Prince Charles, saw my green taonga and said “ I see you are from New Zealand”

I am here coz someone came to me  when I was at school and challenged me  and I still challenge myself

you can never underestimate what can happen  when you choose to make a difference.

Life is like a coin, you can choose to spend it anywhere but you can spend it only once.

It's not programs, it's not policies it's people, that make a change.
You must become the change you want to see in the world - Gandhi

My First Label Post