Vocabulary Concept Vitalizer, Chapter 1, Week 2, Mary Kay Ward
"gender experiences" - a detailed journal of experiences that corroborate with brain-based research gives us as parents and teachers new insights into can we can interact with both male and female brains. page 16
"bridge brains" - the bridge brains are boys and girls that have almost equal qualities of both boy and girl brains. They are bridge between male and female cultures because their brains are the most "bi-gender". page 16
"dopomine" - a neurotransmitter that stimulates movitation and pleasure centers in the brains of both males and females. Male and female brains can stimulate dopamine in different ways. Too much dopomine can lead to uncontrolled or subconscious movement such as tapping, jerking and repetitive and too little dopomine can cause use to have trouble controlling movements. page 21
"myelination of the brain" - girls brains tend to mature at an earlier age than boys; usually in their early twenties while boys brains mature closer to age thirty. One of the final steps into adulthood occurs when the nerves sprial around the shaft of other nerves and are coated similar to the way vines spiral around and coat the trunk of a tree. This coating is called myelin, which causes electrial impulses to travel down a nerve more quickly and efficiently. page 25
"task focus" - the male brain becomes overwhelmed more quickly than the female due to the fact that it is not as activiated in as many places as a female brain, causing it it to decide on the importantance of stimulants, thus preferring to manage stimulation by "sticking to a plan". page 29
"amygdala" - part of the limbic system that generates feelings of anger and fear which explains why both sexes are much more aggressive at adolesence, but especially so in males who are considered "high risks". page 41
"hippocampus" - the part of the brain that focuses on memory which means a larger hippocampus means better memory. A female brain has a larger hippocampus than a male brain which may explain why girls are better at remembering some things such as names and faces in social relationships. page 41
I found it very interesting and true that females are able to remember things easier than men because of a larger hippocampus. A lot of the vocabulary and facts in this chapter were interesting to read! I also discussed the fact that women mature in their early 20s while men do not mature til their 30s. I did not know that before I read this chapter, but found it to be very true when I thought about it! Just reading the first chapter, I can already tell I am going to enjoy reading this book for my teaching career and for parenting as well.
ReplyDeleteNatalie Gianvecchio
I think these were all great vocab choices, Mary Kay. I found the chart on pages 20-25 very interesting to look through. It's so amazing to me that the size of one part of the brain, or the way it develops in the body, can impact personality, talent, strengths & weaknesses, ability to take in information, etc. I think it's so important we take in all of this information, and really use to it to understsand our students, as well as children in general.
ReplyDeleteMeghan Koch