Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
2
Year:
2015
Type of Events Held:
- Conference/Forum
- Other
- School Program
- Other: Base Camp Discussions
Target Audiences:
- High School students(9-12)
- Middle school students(6-8)
Approximate Number of People Reached:
70
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
A large assembly was held for all students during our extended Base Camp (community) time. Students explored the 10 Brain Rules (based off of John Medina’s book) and shared with other students what they learned and how that applies to daily life. Additionally, several classes (Foreign Languages, Humanities, Chemistry) explored how their content area relates to and can be better understood through our knowledge of how brains learn and function. Students also participated in daily discussions during Base Camp and used the DANA foundation workbooks to start discussions on how our brain function, changes and grows, and how we as students, teachers and citizens of our community can promote Brain Awareness and Health. Additionally, students shared their knowledge and experiences with Brain and Mental Health (including personal struggles with sports injuries, mental health, counseling, etc.). Other students shared previous STEM Fair findings related to the brain, including how different helmets help protect (or do not help protect) against sport-related injuries.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
Which of These Publicity Methods Was The Most Successful?
Resources
Of the Dana Foundation publications/resources distributed at your event(s), if any, please indicate the three most popular. Please choose up to three. If "other," please indicate below:
- It’s Mindboggling!
- More Mindbogglers!
- BAW Pencils and Erasers
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- Fact Sheets
- Lesson Plans
- Activities/Experiments
- New Puzzles/Games
- New Coloring Sheets
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- BAW Logos
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
Brain Awareness Week was awesome in terms of getting students to look at how they learn and function as a human being. Some immediate outcomes include several of our students seeking counseling services after a discussion on teen depression, and other students vocalizing what type of learning style seems to work best for them (visual, etc.). BAW gave many of our students the language to talk about things they didn’t know how to before (ie “I can’t focus before lunch because I’m hungry,” etc.)
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
We posted the 10 Brain Rules all over the school (one brain rule per poster), and they remained up all year. Students really loved looking at them and continued to have discussions even after BAW was over.
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
No
Quotable comments which capture successful aspects of your event(s):
The students LOVED the 12 Brain Rules and even quoted them throughout the year! Several students were even more motivated to go outside and run around at recess, telling teachers that they'd be "really ready to learn" afterwards!
