Brain Hacking 101: Your Mind Is A Toxic Cesspool. Clean It. Then Hack It.

By Oskar Cymerman   |   @focus2achieve   |   BAm! Radio Network EdWords Blogger
 

Is this a sick joke?

Hardly.

Is this one of those Doctor shows in which a brilliant brain surgeon performs a miraculous brain procedure to save the life of another amazing MD main character and his love interest?

Not even.

Is this one one of those annoying marketing schemes during which you are brainwashed into spending hundreds of dollars on plumbing repairs while being thoroughly grossed out?

Wrong again. Stop it! Relax. No one's selling anything here. Just the truth. And, for the next 72 hours, it's completely free.

In fact, it is free forever.

My intent is to create a series of infographics explaining BRAIN-BASED LEARNING HACKS in the next several weeks.

Each infographic I will put out into the ether will be fact and research-based and intended to be a resource for educators and students. If you are a lead learner (very clever - took me a while to figure out this is code for "principal" or maybe "sup"?) SHARE THEM WITH THE OTHER EDUCATORS in your building/district. If you are a teacher like me ("lifelong learner"?) SHARE THEM WITH YOUR STUDENTS.

Much of the information below is inspired by what I learned from a Massive Online Open Course or MOOC through Coursera and University of California, San Diego named "Learning How To Learn" developed by Dr. Barbara Oakley. I strongly encourage you to watch her TEDx Oakland University Talk on "Learning How To Learn." In my infographics, I combine what I learn with personal experience as a middle school and high school teacher to make K-12 learning accessible to all students.

This infographic is the first. Think of it, and the future ones, as brain growth hacking strategies. So welcome to BRAIN HACKING 101! It's about what happens in your brain when you sleep (or don't).

Sleep? Who? Me? You ask. Yes! You, Mr. Overachiever and Ms. There's Not Enough Time In The Day To Get All My S**t Done! That is one long name BTW.

Sleep & Learning Infographic

Do you get enough sleep consistently? Be honest. I know I should, but I consistently DON'T get enough sleep. I commit to get better. Right here. Right now. How about you?

Thanks for reading/looking and I hope you enjoyed this post. Please share it with other educators and especially young learners who have no idea and need to know. They might even enjoy it. I will feature the second infographic: "Brain Hacking 102: Don't Procrastinate! Pomodoro Instead" in my next NEWSLETTER, so please SIGN UP if you would like to receive some tools on how to talk about and tackle procrastination with your students (or yourself).

If you find the information in the infographic useful, consider buying "Crush School: Every Student's Guide To Killing It In The Classroom", which is a book I wrote to help students learn more efficiently and effectively using proven research based strategies.

And Remember: You have the power to change the world. Use it often.

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Room 123

Room 123

In room one twenty three...

We talk the talk

And walk the walk

We graph

And we laugh

We read, discuss, and write

Sometimes the words have a bite

We dance

Talk about France

We play

And mold clay

We invent and investigate

Sometimes we instigate

We dare 

To social media we share

Deep down we care 

When we say we don't 

We put up a front

We're unaware how easily we scare 

We don't run

But we have fun

We fight, but we're polite

Perfect we're not

We don't try to be

We learn so we can see

We roar

And we soar 

Yes we fly

We reach and grab for the sky

Sometimes we fall

Sometimes we cry 

We fall

But we get up

We get rocked

But then we roll

Whatever it takes we rise up

We climb right back to the top

We are all we're meant to be

In room one twenty three...

The classroom is such a weird and wonderful place isn't it?

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this poem. Please share it if you think other educators and non-educators might enjoy it. I will feature a weekly poem/rap/comic to provoke reflection and inspiration in my NEWSLETTER, so please SIGN UP if you dig that.

And Remember: You have the power to change the world. Use it often.