Brain-based learning is about science, not history. It is about understanding how the brain is wired, why it works the way it does, and using this information to guide our decisions in education; it is not about "teaching the way we taught" simply because it worked for us. | |
In my experience, when teachers and administrators think about "differentiation," they see the faces of a few students in their collective minds' eye: They think of "those kids" who need something else, slightly modified to fit a special learning need, a desire for enrichment, etc. Jensen's research flips this idea on its head: . "Almost 90% of human brains are atypical, damaged or in some way not healthy. ... Instead of there being mostly 'typical' students with some with 'differences,' the brain research tells us the opposite" (Jensen, 2014). Differentiation shouldn't be something that happens for some students in the classroom; rather, it should be the norm for all students, as the research overwhelmingly supports how different the vast majority of students in a given classroom really are.
Beyond all the research and evidence to support brain-based classroom approaches and differentiated instruction for all students, she should remember the tremendous responsible she has to teach every student, every day...because every single day matters. "On every single day of school, your students' brains will be changing.When their brains change, so do their levels of attention, learning, and cognition. Whether they are changing for better or for worse depends heavily on the quality of the staff at your school" (Jensen, 2009, p. 48). |
Edutopia. (2015). Brain-Based Learning: Resource Roundup. Retrieved on 10 Apr 2015 from http://www.edutopia.org/article/brain-based-learning-resources#graph4
Jensen, E. (2011). Brain-Based Learning. YouTube video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyYhoCqo58w
Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the Brain in Mind (2nd Edition). Alexandria, VA, USA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (ASCD). ProQuest ebrary. http://egandb.uas.alaska.edu:2081/lib/uasoutheast/reader.action?ppg=6&docID=10089220&tm=1428258945648
Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with Poverty in Mind : What Being Poor Does to Kids’ Brains and What Schools Can Do About It. Alexandria, VA, USA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (ASCD). ProQuest ebrary. Retrieved from: http://egandb.uas.alaska.edu:2081/lib/uasoutheast/reader.action?ppg=28&docID=10375878&tm=1428259489468
Jensen, E. (2014). Guide to Brain-Based Teaching. Jensen Learning. Retrieved from http://www.jensenlearning.com/pdf/10MostEffectiveTips.pdf
Wilson, D. (2014). Metacognition: The Gift that Keeps Giving. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/metacognition-gift-that-keeps-giving-donna-wilson-marcus-conyers