Teaching With the Brain in Mind

Teaching with the Brain in Mind
running away. In that case the student realized the
danger and made proactive choices. Some argue
that asking students to accomplish tasks for which
they lack the resources can also contribute to
immobilization.
Decision. The student must have made a
paralyzing decision to explain the event and his or
her reaction to it. Usually it takes the form of “I
can’t do anything right” or “I’m to blame” or “I’m
bad luck.” These conclusions are the precursor to
forming such a negative expectation about the
future that the result is no effort. These conclusions
can also originate from repeated teacher criticisms
like, “You’re hopeless” or “You just don’t try”
(Peterson et al. 1993).
Which students are most susceptible to the
condition of learned helplessness? The at-risk
learners—those who come from threatening home
lives and exhibit aggressive street survival behaviors
in the classroom—may be most likely to be
affected. This notion suggests that we might take a
new look at the so called “lack of motivation” in
the discouraged learner. The kids at school who
seem to be the most able to deal with failure, students
who are outgoing and verbal, may in fact, be
the ones most unable to deal with it.
The Biology of Learned Helplessness
Here, the evidence is pervasive: Certain traumas
can literally rewire the brain. The resulting stresses
on students from lack of control “are typically so
potent that they alter the activity of almost every
neurotransmitter in some particular brain region
and some neurotransmitter in almost every brain
region,” say Peterson and colleagues (1993). Right
now, scientists have collected a great deal of “prob-
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able biological suspects” yet still don’t have the collective
“gang.” It’s as if they know the notes but not
the whole symphony. When a serious condition is
present, intervention is necessary. Some students
can be helped with prescription drugs, either stimulants
or depressants.
A series of telling animal experiments (Maier
and Geer 1968) illuminates the seriousness of lack
of control. Dogs were placed in separate cages.
They were given mild shocks through the grid
floor, with no chance to escape. After their resignation
became chronic, the shock was eliminated on
half the cage. The dog was then dragged across to
the safe area to let it feel the altered grid and see
the light indicating safety. But the dog went right
back to the shocked side and curled up in fear
again. This is similar to a student who has learned
to fail and simply won’t even try.
How long do you think it took to get the dog
to reengage actively in choice-making again? Five
or 10 draggings? “After 30 to 50 such draggings,
the dogs began to respond on their own,” say
Peterson and colleagues (1993). If you think
humans are different, think again. When the
brain’s been rewired by experience, lives are
changed. To see for yourself, visit a shelter for
abused women. Or, visit most high schools and
you’ll see many laid-back “I don’t care and it
doesn’t matter” kids. Unknowingly, teachers often
give up on these students after 5 or 10 positive
attempts. In fact, students who have learned to be
helpless may need dozens of positive choice trials
before becoming mobilized again. The brain must
rewire itself to change the behavior.
Amazingly, a single exposure to trauma can
produce changes to receptor sites in the brain.
Remember, though, it’s the issue of control, which