Using the techniques presented here, teachers can apply findings from neuroscience research to the classroom to support social-emotional learning.

How can educators leverage neuroscience research about how the human brain learns? How can we use this information to improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment so our students achieve deep learning and understanding in all subject areas? Upgrade Your Teaching: Understanding by Design Meets Neuroscience answers these questions by merging…

Thanks to unprecedented advances in brain science, we know more about the brain today than ever before. But what does that science tell us about how we learn? How can we capture the power of neuroscience research so that it benefits our students? Judy Willis and Malana Willis answer these questions with clarity and insight, translating recent…

The student who appears lazy, intentionally oppositional, or who seems to willfully ignore admonitions to pay attention, apply more effort, or to stop talking to his neighbor or texting may not be making voluntary choices. These students' brains may be responding to the stress of sustained or frequent boredom. Functional neuroimaging and…

Teaching adolescents can be quite challenging. Dr. Judy Willis, a neurologist and teacher, explains the inner workings of the adolescent brain. She uses the findings of brain research in her classroom to explain how parents and teachers can trigger untapped inspiration in students. Middle school education has often been a "black hole" for gifted…

Educators are barraged with information about the value of brain food, water, exercise, and vitamins on student learning. This information is often contradictory to and not substantiated by medical or cognitive research. As a neurologist and middle school teacher, the author has found the evidence supporting the value of these factors limited,…

How the brain learns to read has been the subject of much neuroscience educational research. Evidence is mounting for identifiable networks of connected neurons that are particularly active during reading processes such as response to visual and auditory stimuli, relating new information to prior knowledge, long-term memory storage, comprehension,…

In this article, the author discusses the psychosocial benefits of cooperative learning. She discovered that when she relinquished traditional autocratic control and allowed her students to collaborate interactively with classmates to achieve common goals, her students became more invested and engaged in their learning. She also discovered that…

Neurological research has discovered much about how the brain works, Dr. Willis writes, but educators need to be cautious when applying this research to teaching. Following a brief explanation of the three most important technological advances in brain research (Positron Emission Tomography, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and Quantitative…

Has it ever seemed to you that some students are hardwired to dislike math? If so, then here's a book that explains how negative attitudes toward math get established in the brain and what you can do to turn those attitudes around. Math teacher and neurologist Judy Willis gives you over 50 strategies you can use right away in any grade level to:…

The past two decades have provided extraordinary progress in our understanding of the nature of learning. Never before have neuroscience and classroom instruction been so closely linked. Now, educators can find evidence-based neuroimaging and brain-mapping studies to determine the most effective ways to teach, as advances in technology enable…

Neuroscience and cognitive science relating to education are hot topics. They receive extensive but simplified coverage in the mass media, and there is a booming business in "brain-booster" books and products, which claim to be based on the research. Eric Jensen advocates more collaboration among scientists from the full variety of disciplines…

Childhood is a time when students are naturally curious and want to pursue their interests by learning all they can about the things that intrigue them. This interest-stimulated learning is a valuable template because it is compatible with the research discoveries of neuroimaging--what the brain looks like while it actively processes information.…

Neurologist and middle school teacher Judy Willis connects what you do in the classroom to what happens in the brain when students learn how to read, including: (1) Why a classroom has to be safe and supportive in order to overcome barriers to reading fluency; (2) How to jumpstart students who are not well prepared for reading with activities that…

If you've ever felt unprepared to teach students with learning disabilities, here's a book that will extend your brain-friendly teaching practices to address students with learning disabilities and other special challenges. Neurologist and classroom teacher Judy Willis explains how the research on how people learn can help you: (1) Build safe and…