I’m beginning a multi-part series at my Education Week Teacher blog on “brain-based learning” and thought that readers might find a “The Best…” list useful. There’s a lot out there on the topic, but there also seems to be a lot of questionable resources that use that phrase. I’m hoping that readers can help me add to it.
Here are my choices for The Best Resources On “Brain-Based Learning”:
The Best Resources For Showing Students That They Make Their Brain Stronger By Learning
The Teacher In Development blog has a great post about brain-based research and how it relates to teaching ESL.
Edutopia has published another one of their excellent free guides. This one is titled “Six Tips for Brain-Based Learning.” All you have to do is quickly register on the site, and it’s yours….
Here’s the video of an excellent Edutopia Webinar on brain-based learning. It’s led by teacher/author/neurologist Judy Willis.
Brain-Based Learning is a great summary by Judy Willis.
Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning is also by Judy Willis. I’m adding it to the same list.
What Brain Insights Can Boost Your Student’s Classroom Success? is from Eric Jensen.
How The Memory Works In Learning is by Judy Willis.
The Single Most Important Study Fact You Will Ever Learn has some useful information, and is from Schooled For Life.
You’ll find many related resources at The Best Posts & Articles On “Motivating” Students.
The Simple Things I Do To Promote Brain-Based Learning In My Classroom is by Judy Willis.
Nine Things Educators Need to Know About the Brain is from Daily Good.
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You might also want to explore the 900 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.
October 20, 2012 at 8:07 am
Larry,
I am currently in a graduate certificate program at Johns Hopkins University – Mind, Brain, and Teaching. It is fascinating. Program details here: http://education.jhu.edu/Academics/certificates/mindbrain/index.html This is where neuroscience and education intersect.
One great resource coming from this is the Brain Targeted Teaching Model (my advisor wrote the book) http://www.amazon.com/Brain-Targeted-Teaching-Model-21st-Century-Schools/dp/1412991986/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350738227&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=hardiman+brain+based
My own Pinterest collection on the Mind, Brain, and Teaching is here: http://pinterest.com/mrsdi/mind-brain-and-teaching/
There is a lot of dubious information out there, so finding those really good primary sources is key! Hope these help add to your collection.
Christina
October 21, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Larry,
Thanks. See my web site with brain-friendly teaching resources at http://www.SuccessInTeaching.info .
Ron Fitzgerald
October 22, 2012 at 9:10 am
Thanks for the useful links.
I’ve been uncomfortable with the wide use of “brain-based learning” with its implication that instructional principles are emerging directly from the explosion of fascinating work on neurophysiology and cognitive neuroscience. The reality isn’t quite so simple. The detailed mapping of brain regions and their function (done mostly with fMRI studies) is still in its infancy, as the researchers doing this work have said repeatedly. It’s premature to attempt to draw from this work any prescriptive insights on instruction, other than some very broad observations about normal and abnormal brain development.
But there are some tremendously important prescriptive principles for instruction that are available now from cognitive psychology research, which is mostly done in experimental contexts without fMRI machines. That research has a 30+ year head start on the neuroscience. It’s very important to get its implications for practice out to educators, and much of what’s being touted as “brain-based learning” principles are really based on the cognitive psychology research rather than neuroscience. Unfortunately, some of the popularizers get the principles wrong, and some make inappropriate connections to the neuroscience.
Gradually, the neuroscience is connecting with the cognitive psychology research — and my take is that the neuroscience is largely confirming and providing deeper understanding of the principles from cognitive psychology. I would cite as an example the work on perception and perceptual learning.
However, in general it’s still premature to claim that principles for instructional practice can be based directly on neuroscience.
October 23, 2012 at 6:15 am
Brain based learning. What could be more logical?
My recommendation would be for you to watch an eye opening webinar named “Using-Brainpower-to-Master-Reading-Skills_en_US_11-02-25_11.58″.
It is very similar to what we do at the CBA Santa Cruz-Bolivia, nonetheless there are plenty of other tips and resources to take into account.
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December 6, 2012 at 12:43 am
My favorite is Eric Jensen’s blog here:
http://www.jensenlearning.com/news/
Has great insight and also a series on poverty teaching. Worth the read.