TRENDS,

NETWORKS,
AND CRITICAL
THINKING

NAME :
______________________________________________________
GRADE AND SECTION: GRADE 12 HUMSS
TEACHER: LAUREANO R. FERANIL LPT
WEEK: 5 AND 6
 WEEK 5
THE HUMAN BRAIN IS CHANGING THE
WORLD
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify the factors that shape human brain
2. Explain the interplay of brain and experience and;
3. Examine the roles of human brain in transforming and enhancing human relationships

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES ON HUMAN BRAIN

There has been a growing interest about the human brain. Many of recent findings
about how the brain works are new and can affect the way we view ourselves and
our capacities. There are some popular notions about the brain that will be either
debunked or clarified in this chapter. The first one is the statement that human
intelligence is fixed and that intelligence is measured through Intelligence Quotient
(IQ) tests. This test has been categorizing people according to their mental abilities
However, the idea that intelligence is fixed disregards the importance of experience.

Current discoveries about the brain prove that intelligence changes as an individual
earns new things. These findings emphasize the role of experience in shaping the
human brain. As we acquire more skills and knowledge through experience, our
intellectual abilities continue to develop. Learning happens inside the brain. This takes
place as the brain creates neural networks that look like spider webs. Inside our brain
are billions of interacting neurons that form neural connections. These neural
connections are shaped our exposure to social interactions and the changing
environment.

For example. a group of Senior High School students in a Technology and Livelihood
Education (TLE) class are assigned to do a business plan project that involves selling
of food. This project aims to develop student’s entrepreneurship skills which include
business planning making a good product, persuading costumers and generating profit.
This activity allows students to develop cognitive ad social skills. At the neural level,
This learning experience facilitates and strengthen neural connections inside the brain.

The more we learn the more neural connections are developed.

Ongoing debates on human brain involve the roles of emotion in cognitive
functions. These debates assume that every rational thought is influenced by feelings
in our decision-making. In effect, every human thought processed by our mental and
emotional brain is expressed and acted through our social roles. Human actions and
decisions have implications on our social interactions and relationships within the
social world that we inhabit.

VIEWS ON THE HUMAN BRAIN

For many years, it was believed that the human brain has fixed memory, processing
speed, and intelligence. It was "hardwired," meaning it has a permanently connected
circular location." It was assumed that we are born with a set of cognitive abilities
which are more or less unchanging for the rest of our lives. If a part is damaged, the
brain could not reorganize itself or recover lost functions. This view was supported
by the discoveries of neurosurgeon Paul Broca (1824-1980) and neurologist
Wernicke (1848-1905) about the function of specific areas in the brain connected
speech development. Damage to the area resulted to speech impairment.

Lately, there has been a surge of interest on the brain's capacity to change itself
structurally and functionally throughout the duration of one's life because of the
influence of one's environment as well as genetic and biological factors. This concept
is called brain plasticity. It maintains that the human brain is chemically predisposed
to be modified by experience during the developmental period. This implies that the
experiences that we acquire and skills we learn reflect the level of our maturation
and brain development. Interestingly, scientists stress that brain plasticity is more
present in childhood than in adulthood.

This quotation from the book The Brain That Changes ltself apply illustrates
what the human brain is capable of: "|The brain is not an inanimate vessel that we
fill; rather it is more like a living creature with an appetite, one that can grow and
change itself with proper nourishment and exercise (NCBI)"

Our brain can transform itself through what we do and think. The brain is
constantly changing itself. It can process information based on previous processed
information and rewire itself based on prior experiences. Unlike the computer, it
reprograms itself. And these functional changes happen when we are learning and
memorizing new things. The human brain is malleable and able to adapt itself to
the changing environment and deal with new input and information. Our brain does
not only receive information but can also rewire itself in response to certain repeated
activities and experiences. Thus, cognitive functions such as critical thinking, abstract
reasoning, attention, and memory can be improved and managed.

Particular attention has been given to how children's brain structures, neurons
neural network connections, and organization experience modification and alteration.
Brain research has shown that "wiring up" begins in the infancy. During this period,
a baby's brain absorbs new information from its environment, resulting in the
growth of billions of nerve cell connections. Eventually, these connections go through
pruning. During the adolescent period, humans experience cognitive challenges and
develop skills in planning and problem solving. Throughout adulthood and old age
the brain's neural connections continue to change in response to new experiences
and learnings. The brain has a period of intense "developmental plasticity" during the
first 25 years was or so of life. Beyond this stage (adult years), it is more difficult to learn
specific behavior. Central to this claim is the idea that the first 25 years of life is
characterized as the schooling stage.

Neuro-science research is engaged in deepening our knowledge of the brain's ability

to adapt and change itself. Neuroplasticity has created avenues for developing a set of
cognitive therapies and treatments for different issues surrounding the function and
structure of the brain We need to understand the consequences of brain research to
the individual’s personhood or how we view human beings. Probing into the working
of the brain bas implications on one personality, creative powers, memories and
dreams, well as on issues of identity and autonomy.

NEURONS AND NEURAL NETWORK

The brain is composed of 80 to 100 billion neurons or nerve cells. These neurons
process information through electrical and chemical signals. Clusters of neurons that
connect to each other can be referred to as biological neural networks, with different
networks connecting to each other in circuits called neural pathways.
In the 1950s, Canadian scientist Donald Hebb (1904-1985) came up with a very
simple rule: when an axon of cell A is near enough to excite cell B and repeatedly or
persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change occurs
in either one or both of the cells. He suggested that two neurons firing together will
strengthen the connection and make it easier for the two neurons to elicit a response
from a third neuron. In short, "The neurons that fire together wire together.
Take as an example the process of learning how to play a guitar. At the start,
it would be difficult to coordinate between the finger work on the fretboard and
Strumming the strings. But with constant practice, things will improve until it is
almost effortless. Repetition creates new neural pathways in the brain which makes
it hardwired or permanently connected to perform the practiced activity. As these
pathways are created, the brain need not work hard to make it happen.

ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK

The previous discussion on how biological neural networks operate is illustrated

on how information is processed through neural connections. This paradigm was
adopted in creating Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). ANN is a model of reasoning
based on the human brain. It is a type of artificial intelligence that attempts to
imitate the way the human brain works. This model has been proven useful in
processing, classifying, and calculating information. Computer scientists believe
that machines can mimic the way the human brain process information through the
use of computer software or electronic circuits. Dr. Robert Hecht-Nielsen, the
inventor of one of the first neurocomputers, defined ANN as a system that uses
interconnecting networks in processing information to generate an output.

Computer scientists believe that machines can mimic the way the human brain
process information through the use of computer software or electronic circuits.
Let us look at the following examples: A high school teacher who handles five
classes with sixty students per class will look for a device that will help him or
her compute grades with ease and efficiency. By using the Microsoft Excel as a
tool, he or she will be able to maximize her work by reducing the amount time
in computing the grades. In computing a mathematical equation, a high school
student can use also a calculator. The diagram below shows how ANN works.
this process, inputs (raw data) are calculated, classified, and organized producing
specified outputs (results). These outputs (computed grades and answer from
mathematical equation) become new data for interpretation and evaluation.
has many practical uses in medicine (ultrasound scans, cardiograms)
business (customer research, data validation), engineering, and education.
In contrast to the human brain, ANN has no gender, culture, emotion and social
experience. It operates in a mechanistic input-process-output mode. However, neural
networks in human brains are shaped by one's experiences which affect one's decisions
and actions. This means that human neural networks function a more complex way.
As unique individuals, we process experience differently because we are situated in
diverse social contexts.

THE TRIUNE BRAIN

The triune brain is made up of the hindbrain, midbrain, and cortex. It is biologically
and socially structured for learning. In the past, research is made up of the
interests focused on the functions of these brain regions. Focus has now shifted
from modularization to connectivity between different brain areas. This implies that
neural networks operate in complex ways. Thus, learning to master a particular skill
involves more neural connections between various brain regions.
One good example to illustrate the point is the development of reading skills
Brain functions involving language, visual skills, emotions, and motor skills (such
as writing) are necessary in acquiring reading skills. This shows that reading results
from maturation and interaction among different areas of the brain. It is important
to note that neural connections involved in developing a complex skill is profoundly
shaped by environmental experience.

SOCIAL BRAIN
The brain is the social organ of the body. It is responsible for discharging intelligence
and emotions thus carrying out a primary role in our socialization. As humans, our
innate ability to comprehend and feel emotions at the complex and conscious level
is vital to our social life.

Our brain make us fundamentally a social species, responding to the environment

around us with both rational thought and feelings. The skills of thinking and feeling al
to adapt to the environment and to build networks that will sustain productive lives.
Adolescence is a critical period for social adaptation. As their social world
expands, adolescents need to make sense of the changes that are happening in their
lives. This involves forming positive relationships with family and friends, swell
making choices that will enable their development as human beings for instance
central to the survival and adaptation of senior high school students is building and
sustaining nurturing social networks (friendship, study group, and clubs) that
will help enrich their talents, stimulate their interests, and boost their confidence.
Studies on neuroscience argue that the brain reorganizes itself during the adolescence
period. Honhen and Murphy (2016) notes that during this period the social
brain is activated. The idea that the brain is a social organ came from the hypothesis
that primates have bigger brains compared to all other vertebrates Large
brains deal with a more complex social environment.
Name:________________________________________________ Date:___________

TASK 1 : Constructing a concept web: recall the most significant concept or skill that you have
learned. It can be learning how to bike, how to solve math problems, how to write a speech, how to
make a power-point presentation or how to cook. Describe your experiences and write them on the
appropriate box pertaining to the functions of human brain.

what feelings were involved in the learning

process? how did this feelings affect
knowledge acquisition?
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what significant knowledge, concept or skills where and when did the learning process take
have you acquired? place? what available resources did you use to
______________________________________ learn? what is the value of the concept,
______________________________________ knowledge and skill have you gained?
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who are the people involved during the
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learning process?
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 WEEK 6
THE INDIVIDUAL WITHIN SOCIAL
NETWORKS

TASK 1- IDENTIFY WHAT IS BEING DESCRIBED IN EACH ITEM. CHOOSE YOUR ANSWER ON THE BOX
BELOW.
____________1. Behavioral expectations attached to our social position.
____________2. Visual representation of a social network.
____________3. The social position that each individual occupies within a society.
____________4. Views social relationships in terms of human connections and interactions.
____________5. Refers to interacting people within a network
____________6. A highly structured social network sharing common agenda and missions.
____________7. Defines as network members that are connected by one or more types of relations
____________8. A method used in interpreting social network
____________9. Stratification of social roles and statuses
___________10. Digital on non-digital social platforms where people access and share information

NODES SOCIAL STATUS

ROLE SOCIAL MAP SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

SOCIAL NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA RANK INSTITUTION

TASK 2: ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BRIEFLY BUT DELIBERATELY:

1. Why do you think humans build and participate in social network?

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2. Why is it important to understand human interaction?

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SOURCE:
 TRENDS, NETWORKS, AND CRITICAL THINKING -Vibal Publishing House

Prepared and Compiled by:

LAUREANO R. FERANIL
Teacher

Approved by:
ROMALYN V. CABABAT Noted
SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
LEA S. LONTOC
Ed.D
President/Director