Teaching with the Brain in Mind

4.99 MB·English

by  Eric Jensen

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Education
$27.95
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Since Teaching with the Brain in Mind was first published E
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in 1998, it has inspired thousands of educators to apply
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brain research in their classroom teaching. Now, author H
Eric Jensen is back with a completely revised and updated I
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edition of his classic work, featuring new research and
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practical strategies to enhance student comprehension and

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improve student achievement.
In easy to understand, engaging language, Jensen I
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provides a basic orientation to the brain and its various H
systems and explains how they affect learning. After
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discussing what parents and educators can do to get H
children’s brains in good shape for school, Jensen goes E

on to explore topics such as motivation, critical thinking B
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skills, environmental factors, the “social brain,” emotions,
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and memory. He offers fascinating insights on a number
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of specific issues, including

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• How to tap into the brain’s natural reward system. N
• The value of feedback.
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• The importance of prior knowledge and
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mental models.
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• Why stress impedes learning.

• How social interaction affects the brain.
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• How to help students improve their ability to n
encode, maintain, and retrieve learning. d
• Ways to connect brain research to curriculum, E
assessment, and staff development. d
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Jensen’s message to educators is simple: You have far t
i
more influence on students’ brains that you realize . . . o
and you have an obligation to take advantage of the n
incredible revelations science is providing. The revised
and updated edition of Teaching with the Brain in Mind
helps you do just that.
J
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Eric Jensen is one of the world’s leading trainers of N
educators and others in the field of brain-based learning. S
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A former teacher and current member of the Society for N
Neuroscience and New York Academy of Sciences, he
has written more than two dozen books on learning and
the brain, including Brain-Based Learning, Arts with the
Brain in Mind, and SuperTeaching.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Jensen,Eric.
Teachingwiththebraininmind/EricJensen.—2nded.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN1-4166-0030-2(alk.paper)
1. Learning,Psychologyof.2. Teaching—Psychologicalaspects.3. Brain. I.Title.
LB1060.J462005
370.15’23—dc22
2005002844
___________________________________________
1211100908070605 121110987654321
To all the neuroscientists, psychologists,
and researchers who have graciously
supported my efforts to learn how we
learn and how to communicate it better.
To all the educators who make such a
difference in the world.
To my wife, Diane, for her support.

Preface · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·vii 7. Managing the Social Brain. . . . . . . 94
Introduction· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·1 Howsocialinteractionaffectsthebrainand
cognition.Theeffectofstress,bonding,bias,
andpeerpressure.Howtomakeschoolamore
1. Meet Your Amazing Brain . . . . . . . . 7 positivesocialexperience.
Basicbrainanatomy.Howthebrainchanges
overtime.Cooperationandcompetitioninthe 8. Motivation and Engagement . . . . 102
brain.Howthebrainlearns. Commoncausesofdemotivation.Thebrain’s
reactiontorewards.Thenatureofintrinsic
2. Preparing the Brain for School. . . 20 motivation.Toolsformotivation.The
Whattodotogetachild’sbrainreadyforschool. SuperCampmodel.
Sensitiveperiodsinbraindevelopment.Devel-
opingsocialandemotionalskills.Theimpor- 9. Critical Thinking Skills. . . . . . . . 112
tanceofnutrition.Thedynamicteenagebrain. Howgender,culture,disorders,andlifeexperi-
enceshapeauniquebrain.Howthebraintack-
3. Rules We Learn By . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 lesproblemsolving.Howthebrain’smaturation
Howtoincreasestudentengagement.Varia- processaffectslearning.Howthebrainadapts
tionsonrepetition.Theimportanceofprior tochangingcircumstances.
knowledgeandmentalmodels.Waystotake
advantageofthebody’snaturalrhythms.The 10. Memory and Recall . . . . . . . . . . .125
roleofhormones.Trial-and-errorlearning.How Linksbetweenmemoryandsurvival.Waysthat
positiveandnegativeemotionsaffectthebrain. thebrainencodesandmaintainsmemory.The
differentkindsofmemory.Waystoenhance
4. Movement and Learning. . . . . . . . . 60 memoryretrieval.
Themind–bodylink.Howexerciseaffectscog-
nition.Theimportanceofplay,recess,and 11. Brain-Based Teaching. . . . . . . . . 144
physicaleducation. Whattodobefore,during,andafterteaching
totakefulladvantageofwhatweknowabout
5. Emotional States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 thebrainandlearning.
Whyemotionsarenow“mainstream.”How
emotionsareprocessedinthebrain.Thepower 12. Schools with the Brain in Mind 150
ofemotionalstates.Howtoinfluenceemo- Connectingbrainresearchtocurriculum,
tionalstates. assessment,andstaffdevelopment.Supporting
goodinstructionandgoodinstructors.
6. Physical Environments Effectingchangewiththebraininmind.
for Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Neuroscience’snewinterestinphysicalenviron- GlossaryofBrainTerms · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·159
ments.Howseating,temperature,lighting,
References· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·163
noise,andbuildingdesignaffectlearning.Fac-
Follow-UpResources · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·180
torstoconsiderwhendesigningsmarter
Index · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·181
schools.
AbouttheAuthor· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·187

Preface
Formostofhumanhistory,themodelfor
learningwassimple:ifyouwantedtolearn
somethingnew,youeitherhadtofigureitout
onyourownorapprenticeyourselftosomeonewho
couldshowyouhowtodoit.Watch,listen,andtry
outthenewskill;thisworkedforpeasantsandroy-
alty,parentsandchildren,blacksmithsandmonks.
Sowhatchangedallthat?Massiveincreasesin
populationbeganthefirstchange,andtheshift
fromplowsharestofactoriesduringtheIndustrial
Revolutionbroughtnewmodelsoflearning.The
notiondevelopedthatyoucouldbringeveryone
togetherinasingleplaceandofferastandardized
curriculum.Thisparadigmofschooling,exported
fromPrussia,waspopularizedbyHoraceMannin
thelate1800sandearly1900s.Oftenreferredtoas
the“factorymodel,”itemphasizedusefulskills
suchasobedience,orderliness,andrespectfor
authority.MariaMontessoricommentedthatchil-
drenoftenfelthumiliatedinthisnewrole.
Apeculiartwisttothisparadigmemergeddur-
ingthe1940sthroughthe1960s.Atthetime,the
dominanttheoryofhumanbehaviorwasinflu-
encedbythedoctrinesofpsychologistsJohnWat-
sonandB.F.Skinner,whosethinkingwent
somethinglikethis:“Wemaynotknowwhatgoes
oninsidethebrain,butwecancertainlyseewhat
happensontheoutside.Let’smeasurebehaviors
andlearntomodifythemwithbehaviorreinforc-
ers.Ifwelikeit,rewardit.Ifwedon’t,punishit.”
vii
viii Teaching with the Brain in Mind
Consideringwhatweknewaboutthebrainatthat Ibecamesoenthusiastic(somewouldsayzeal-
time,thisbehavioristapproachmadesense.But ous),thatIdecidedtosharemyexcitementwith
now,it’sbecomingoutdatedasresearchuncovers others.BecauseIwasateacher,myfirstresponse
newunderstandingsofhowthebrainworks. was,“Whydon’tmyownstudentshavethiskind
Timeshavechanged. oflearningexperienceeveryday?”
Todayit’snolongersuprisingtoseethebrain Withinmonths,IcofoundedwithBobbie
onthecoverofnationalmagazines.Societyingen- DePorteranexperimental,cutting-edgeacademic
eralhasfinallymovedpastthenoveltystageof programinSanDiego,California,called
exclaiming,“Wow,thebrain!”Andcollectively SuperCamp.Ourpurposewastousethelatest
we’vebeguntograsptheendlessconnections researchonlearningtoenrichandempoweryoung
betweenbrainresearchandeverydaylife.Butarti- studentswithlifeskillsandlearningtools.Ireasoned
clesthatappearinthepopularmediararelyofferthe thatifthesestrategiesworkedwithadults,they
depthofinformationorpointofviewthattoday’s couldalsoworkwithkids.Weheldourfirstsession
educatorsneed.Aretherevelationsandimplications inAugust1982.Itwasanimmediatesuccess,and
ofbrainresearchreachingthosewhoworkmostwith wesoonoffereditinotherstatesandcountries.We
children?I’mnotsurethattheyare. werefloodedwithmediaattentionandwerefea-
Ifyouwantedtogetyourcarfixed,wouldyou turedinmorethan200articlesinmagazinesand
gotoamechanic?Certainly.Ifyouwantedlegal newspapersincludingUSATodayandTheWall
help,wouldyoufindanattorney?Ofcourse.And StreetJournal.Later,storiesaboutSuperCamp
tounderstandthebrainandhowwelearn,would appearedonCNNandGoodMorning,America.
yougotoateacher?Probablynot.Yeteveryyear, Studentsinthisacademicprogramhavea
millionsofparentstrustthattheprofessionalswho nearlyuniversalpositiveexperience.Yearsof
teachtheirchildrenareknowledgeableaboutthe follow-uphaveshownthatthebenefitslasted
brainandtheprocessesoflearning.Indefenseof longafterthe10-dayprogramitself(DePorter&
teachers,evenneuroscientistsstilldisagreeabout Hernacki,1992).Inaddition,students’gradesand
someoftheinnerworkingsofthebrain.Theyalso schoolparticipationwentup,andthestudents
disagreeabouthowmuchscientificdataaboutthe reportedgreaterself-confidence.Theteaching
braincanbeappliedtoschools.Inaddition,many methodsusedatSuperCamphavebeenevaluated
schoolsofeducationdonotofferprogramsthat andshowntobehighlyeffective(Benn,2003).
connectneurobiology,teaching,andclassroom TheexperimentwebegandecadesagoinSouthern
behaviors.It’stimetheydid. Californiaisnowaninternationalfixture,with
morethan40,000graduates.
Inthepublishingindustry,thebrain-based
Starting Points
teachingrevolutionofficiallybeganwithLeslie
I discovered for myself the concept of brain- Hart’sgroundbreaking1983book,HumanBrain,
compatiblelearningduringaworkshopIattended HumanLearning.Thisbookinvitedreadersto
inJune1980.Theexperiencewassopositive,and makelinksbetweenwhatweknowaboutthebrain
Preface ix
andhowweteach.Insteadofleavingitalltosoci- hasalreadyoccurredinthousandsofschools
ologists,psychologists,andwell-meaningeduca- throughouttheworld.
tors,Hartsuggestedweturntobiology.How Learninginwaysthatarecompatiblewiththe
exactlyisthebrainbestdesignedtolearn?This wayhumansnaturallyfunctionisanapproachthat
verypowerfulquestionbeganalastingparadigm willstandthetestoftime.Yes,itmayattractsome
shiftthatiscontinuallyspurredbynewtechnology, criticism,spurredbythekindofdefensivereaction
practicalteachers,andthemushroomingranksof thatistypicalamongthosewhowishtoholdonto
neuroscientists,whonownumbermorethan thestatusquo.Butifthisparadigmissolid,asI
30,000worldwide. believeitis,moreandmorepeoplewillcometo
realizethatifyouwanttounderstandhuman
learning,you’dbetterunderstandthebrain.
Changing Brains, Changing Minds
ThefirsteditionofTeachingwiththeBrainin
Where Do You Start?
Mind,publishedin1998,introducedthousands
ofeducatorstolinksbetweenbrainresearchand Togetstarted,becomemore“consumerliterate”
classroomsuccess.Thisrevised,secondedition aboutbrainresearch.Learnsomeofthemajor
takesarenewedandmorecriticallookatthe termsandthebestsourcesofseriousresearch.
researchconnectionsandexaminesthefruitsof Learnthenamesofprominentpeoplewhoare
success.Educatorsthroughouttheworldcredit doingtheworkthatismostrelevanttoeducators.
brain-basedteachingandlearningwithhelpingto Herearesomeofthemajortechnicaljournals
raiseteachermorale,increasingteacherretention, thatarerevealingnewdiscoveriesmonthly:
andimprovingstudentachievement.Ihaveseen,
• JournalofNeuroscience
felt,andheardfirsthandthedifferenceitmakes.
(cid:127) LearningandMemory
Studentsofallbackgroundsandages,withevery
(cid:127) BrainandCognition
imaginablehistoryoffailure,cansucceedand
(cid:127) BrainResearch
havesucceededwithabrain-basedapproachto
(cid:127) NatureNeuroscience
teachingandlearning.
(cid:127) BrainandBehavior
Althoughitisnotapanacea,thisapproach
(cid:127) JournalofCognitiveNeuroscience
providessomeimportantguidancefordecision
making.Thebrain-basedrevolutionhasalready Remember,onejournaloronescientist’sopinion
changedschoolstarttimesandinfluenceddisci- isnotenough.Digforlongitudinalstudiesthat
plinepolicies,assessmentmethods,teachingstrate- examinediversepopulationsandhavesufficient
gies,budgetpriorities,lunchroomchoices, samplesizes.Yourownquestionsoughttobe,
classroomenvironments,theuseoftechnology, “What’stheoriginofthisidea?Isitstilljustthe-
schoolarchitecture,andeventhewaywethinkof ory?Where’stheresearchonit?”You’llwantto
theartsandphysicaleducation.Brain-basedlearn- know,“Whatwasthescientificdiscoverythat
ingisnolongerapredictionorafad;thechange illuminatedthetheory?Whatclinicaltrialshave