Some Refreshing Tidbits on Neuroscience

By Tricia Siudut, Traditional Primary Teacher

Over the MLK Weekend, many of the staff of CFMS attended a professional development event hosted by Loyola University and the Washington Montessori Institute in Columbia, MD. It was fascinating and very validating of the work that we are doing with the children at our school. The guest speaker of the event was Nora McNamara, MD of University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Ohio. She was there to update us on recent findings in the neuroscience community and relate those findings directly to Montessori Education. As an Elementary trained Montessori teacher and neuroscience researcher, she was just the person to explain to the audience of Montessori Practitioners why what we do works so well for the children, and why we should try not to worry so much that the children sing to themselves and wander around the room sometimes. Upon reflection it is truly amazing that so many decades ago Dr. Montessori composed theories on helping children develop their personalities and intelligence that are so in line with current findings in brain development research. 

With us, Dr. McNamara outlined the three "networks" or "modes" of the brain that we all access as humans, and that the children at our school are actively developing. From her description, I picture them as essential roadways of neurons in the brain that serve a purpose and help us in our daily lives. The three networks are the Default, the Central Executive and the Salient. Only one can be in charge in our minds at a time and the mode we are using is decided by what activity we are engaged in. The Default network is what we use when we are consolidating information that has been presented to us. It is the daydreaming, wandering mode essential to the storage and organization of thoughts. When a person is engaged in this mode they may be singing to themselves, dancing, or just wandering around pleasantly. The Central Executive Network is slightly more familiar. It’s in charge when we are solving a problem using information that is new to us. We are in that mode when we are working out rules to a game we have invented with friends, sounding out words, or solving a math equation. Lastly, the Salient network was recently discovered, and is the one that is firing when we are persistently engaged in a relatively easy repetitive task. Often they are tasks that requires use of both of our hands; they are tasks that feel meaningful, and we resist being interrupted. It is being used when we knit, or mop the floor for example. 

It struck me that the activity that we are doing dictates the neural mode that our brains are functioning in. One of the cornerstones to any Montessori classroom is that the children have the freedom to choose their activity.  It has been said that even if you have all of the Montessori Materials, you do not have a Montessori classroom if the children are not free to choose their own work from activities that they have been introduced to. In her book Creative Development of the Child, Volume Two, Dr. Montessori wrote, "This free choice, is one of the fundamental bases for achieving calm in the child's soul. It is of great importance because it requires initiative on the part of the child. If the child uses the material because the teacher commands him to do so, the child is not free. If he has the freedom to choose he is really independent, as he depends on his own will and not on that of another. Offering the child free choice is one of the ways of organizing and developing his personality. The child can choose only those objects which he knows how to use, Once the material has been presented, and the child initiated, he can use it as long as he wants." Since children are developing their brains as they have experiences with activities, it is interesting to think of the idea that perhaps they make a choice because it is what their brain needs at that time.

This idea reminds me of dietary cravings; if I am craving salt, perhaps it is because there is a deficit and my body is attempting to balance itself. Similarly, if a child has chosen to do a Central Executive mode activity like addition and has written out her math facts, she may afterward crave rest and want to do something with her Default mode, like walk on the Blue Line or paint a picture. Additionally, I have seen glimpses of the persistence characteristic of the Salient mode many times in the classroom. The other day one of the older children was sawing a board—he did not stop until he had gotten all the way through to the other end...he looked so satisfied. As a guide for the children I am always thinking to myself, "What does he/she need?" and attempting to present an activity that will be challenging and in line with each child's current interest. It is my hope that if I can serve them each in this way, they will have a variety of activities to choose from as they do the hard work of developing the ability to think and creating healthy neural passages in their minds.