"Marvel" at the neuroscientific reasons why smart teens make dumb decisions! "Behold" the mind-controlling power of executive function! "Thrill" to a vision of a better school for the teenage brain! Whether you're a parent interacting with one adolescent or a teacher interacting with many, you know teens can be hard…

This practical resource explains brain development from prenatal to age 8 with suggestions for activities educators and caregivers can use to foster children's cognitive growth. The authors begin with the basics of brain development, and the issues that affect it, and then provide information specific to infant, toddler, preschool, and…

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) remain central topics in institutions' efforts to address student veteran needs. From the authors' experiences with student veterans, they present the five principles of effective instructional practice identified by the National Research Council (NRC) within the context of…

Declining academic performance, along with a growing apathy of students toward the value of education, demonstrates that students in the United States public education system do not recognize the value of a positive experience in middle schools. A plethora of research and writing has been done on elementary schools and secondary schools, but…

School communities in both urban and rural settings need trauma-informed (TI) supports; however, the adversities experienced and access to student supports may be unique to rural school communities. In addition, the contextual challenges experienced by rural schools and communities, as well as the strengths that can be drawn from them, will…

Teaching English language learners has long presented challenges for teachers tasked with bringing these students to a level of language comprehension comparable to that of native speakers. These challenges and issues can lead to difficulty comprehending core academic topics for those learning the English language. "Optimizing Elementary…

Continuing dramatic developments in the ability of neuroscientists to peer inside the brain to discover its incredible intricacy places awesome responsibility on all educators to "do the right thing" for their students. Here, the authors offer readers powerful brain-compatible and research-based teaching and learning strategies based on how the…

This paper addresses how and why the musical intelligence can be used to aid students in the learning process. It explores the brain research, several short vignettes and an informal case study. Conceptually, the author suggests that music can and should be used to help students learn and retain curricular content, may be matched to tasks in…

In this article, Judith V. Boettcher provides ten core learning principles that can guide technology-enhanced teaching as well as more traditional forms of instruction. Drawn from both traditional pedagogical theory as well as current research about how people learn, the ten principles integrate these findings in a helpful set of guidelines that…

The article reviews the literature on creativity, learning styles, brain studies, teaching technologies, and learning strategies. Although learning styles and strategies differ among individuals, creativity is maximized through use of the fully functioning brain. Teaching suggestions include producing alternative explanations/consequences,…

This book reviews recent research and theory on the brain and balances this information with tips and techniques for using the information in classrooms. Brain-compatible learning is explored in the following chapters: (1) "The New Winds of Change"; (2) "The Learning Brain"; (3) "Getting Students Ready To Learn"; (4) "Enriched Environments and the…

This book investigates brain structures and functions of the brain's five major systems (emotional, social, cognitive, physical, and reflective), applying findings from neuro-biology to education. It translates neuroscience into an educational framework for lesson planning and teaching. This framework can serve as a mental model for an ongoing…

A discussion of the Total Physical Response method of second language instruction places the concept within the context of other unconventional language learning methods, reviews the rationale behind the approach, and outlines the classroom procedures used. A sampling of useful commands for classroom use is included. (19 references) (MSE)

Over the past 50 years, brain researchers have stated that human beings probably use less than 1 percent of the brain's potential, and research findings about human intelligence have transformed almost all previous definitions of intelligence. This booklet addresses the following key findings in intelligence research: intelligence is not fixed or…

Data on the development of intelligence and the concept of giftedness are interpreted for use in the classroom and are applied to the development of strategies to optimize learning. The Integrative Education Model is introduced, with its purpose of empowering the learner physically, emotionally, cognitively, and intuitively. The teacher's role is…