Slide 6 of 22
Notes:
Implications for Schools: Brain based learning is the informed process of using a group of practical strategies that are driven by sound principles derived from brain research.(Brain-Based Learning: Wheres the Proof? Jensen Learning Corporations http://www.jlcbrain.com/truth.html .
Schools should not be run based solely on the biology of the brain. However, to ignore what we do know about the brain would be equally irresponsible. Brain-based learning offers some direction for educators who want more purposeful, informed teaching. It offers the possibility of less hit or miss in the classroom. We have learned about how environments impact our learning, the role of trauma and the effects of distress and threat. With additional clarity in research, brain-based approaches may soon suggest far better options for those struggling with learning. (Brain-Based Learning: Wheres the Proof? Jensen Learning Corporations http://www.jlcbrain.com/truth.html ) Brain research certainly will have more to tell us about how children's brains develop, but each small step, each specific finding, must be replicated by other studies. Hypotheses that generalize from MRI images to classroom teaching methods may be interesting and fun to read, but they should be regarded with a true scientist's skeptical eye. At the present time, the best judge of effective classroom practice is not the neuroscientist, but the knowledgeable and experienced educator. (Bergen 2002, 377)
Brain research is not the be all and end all that will solve all education problems. However, it is going to make us work harder and understand better. (Covino 2002, 25)
Today, brain research is starting to confirm what many educators have known for years: Children learn better and remember more when their studies are mixed with music and drama, experience, emotion, and real-world context. The more regions of the brain that are involved and the more we engage our emotions, the more means we have for recalling information. (Covino 2002, 25)
Brain based research, though still in its infancy, could influence everything from how teachers deliver lessons in the classroom to how school buildings are designed or to how recess is scheduled. Its also throwing old myths out the window: that we use only ten percent of our brains and that children are either right-brained or left-brained. (Covino 2002, 25).
