Explanation of Brain Based Learning

When an educator understands how the brain works, she is better equipped to assist his
students in several ways. She can help students focus their attention, which will increase their
retention.

This is the promise of brain-based learning. This learning method draws insights from several
fields, including:

 Psychology
 Technology
 Neurology
When teachers understand this concept, it helps them to:

 Keep diverse learners engaged.

 Create a richer learning environment.
 Offer valuable feedback that can lead to a deeper understanding.
By creating a rich learning environment, teachers have the ability to address their students’
emotional and social needs, as well as their minds.

6 tips for brain-based learning

 Make a safe learning environment
 Start early
 Encourage growth
 Get both brains and bodies in gear
 Embrace the potential of novelty
 Request feedback

Many teachers already use some brain-based learning

 Activating prior knowledge: When a teacher introduces topics to his students by activating
prior knowledge, he is helping them build on what they already know. This strengthens the
connections in their brains.
 Utilizing tools: Teachers who use rhymes, songs and graphic organizers are already using
strategies related to brain-based learning. These strategies assist students to represent their
thinking kinesthetically, visually and phonetically. These techniques prime the brain for
learning.

Brain-based principles, and how to implement them

Here are some tenets brain-based learning, as well as ways to effectively introduce and
implement them in the classroom.

The Brain is social

 Human beings are naturally social and seek contact with others. Some of the drive to be social
is the desire to learn through imitation and respond to the behaviors that are seen. Individuals
find meaning in the experiences and information obtained when in contact with others.

Educators have the ability to harness this drive by preparing activities that allow students to
speak with one another and discuss what they are learning. By allowing this kind of activity,
ideas are explored together and:

 Modified
 Transformed
 Confirmed
 Rejected
All levels of learning involve the body and the mind
Whenever an individual acquires new information or has a meaningful experience, the brain
will undergo a physiological change. This process is referred to as neural plasticity.

This physiological change includes small strands (dendrites) to sprout and over time, groups of
these strands combine to create stronger structures that are called synapses.

The synapses are similar to traffic junctions allowing various information highways to intersect.
Some experts state that when an individual learns something new, he is laying down a neural
pathway.

When a particular learning pattern or experience is repeated, the neural pathway becomes
even stronger. This shows that learning has physical, as well as mental impact on the brain.

Students learn better if they are given the opportunity to combine mental and physical activity
together. Students become bored when they just sit all day. All a teacher needs to do is make
his learning activities more active.

Although practice does not necessarily make perfect, it does allow students to firmly establish
the information.

Searching for meaning is inherent

Human beings make sense of what they experience. So they organize their information and
experiences in ways that are understood.

Interest is a huge factor in the way that an individual will filter the enormous amount of
information that he is given. If an individual is interested in something, he feels the need to
understand it.
Students are not always enthusiastic about the subjects they are being taught; however, there
are ways that teachers can stimulate their students. By doing this, the innate desire to find
meaning in what is going on will kick in and their learning experience will be more beneficial.

Emotions are vital to patterning

Neutral learning does not exist. Whenever an individual learns something, there is always an
emotional response. This means that every decision has some kind of emotion linked to it.

This is considered one of the strongest implications of brain-based learning. This means that the
classroom is actually an emotional place.

Teachers need to encourage students to have positive attitudes. When teachers treat their
students with respect, it builds a desirable environment that tends to help their students
succeed.

Teachers need to utilize materials that draw their students into learning because it is presented
to them in an attractive and inviting way. Deep truths will be uncovered as the investigation
into the child’s brain continues.

5 Ways to Design a School for Brain-based Learning

All learning is dependent upon the brain, but the brain does not function alone. Brain-based
learning is built upon the principle that all learning is physiological, relying on all facets and
functions of the physical and neurological processes, including emotion, memory, and sensory
experience.

Designing a school for brain-based learning means creating spaces that address students as
complete individuals, complete with bodies, feelings, and innate needs, instead of just brains
waiting to be filled with information.

Layout
The most effective brain-based learning environment provides space in which to move around
and socialize, making the traditional classroom design of rows of desks highly ineffective in a
learning environment.

Instead of creating rows, teachers should consider a circular classroom, in which students can
see each other and engage with each other. A circular set-up also leaves central space for
movement and activity. According to the Florida Education Association, physical activity has
been shown to lower student stress and produce new neurons, which, in turn, enhances the
learning experience. So, the more empty space teachers leave in a classroom and the more
students get to their feet, the better.
Comfort
The most effective learning happens when students are challenged, but not threatened,
according to learning website Funderstanding, but schools are notoriously stressful
environments. Per the Florida Education Association, studies conducted on the staff and
students found that up to 50 percent of students in many U.S. schools experience moderate to
severe stress daily.

Administrators and teachers need to address these issues in both design and also in response to
issues like bullying, problems at home, and students’ fear of failure. Children don’t respond to
dull, clinical classrooms with hard seats. Educators can seek out comfortable alternatives to
desks, like bean bag chairs and floor pillows, which students can switch to during certain parts
of the day for a break.

Color
Brain-based learning requires stimulation of more than one part of the brain at a time. Young
students, for instance, use visual clues to help in their comprehension of reading, but all
students benefit from having more than one of their senses engaged during the learning
process.

When possible, it’s best to get away from single-colored desks and cream classroom walls.
Bringing the entire color spectrum into the classroom will help to keep students’ brains alert
and interested.

Emotional connection
Brain-based education integrates emotion into the learning process. Students are going to feel
anyway, and, according to a report on engaging students with brain-based learning by
the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), students experience both positive
and negative emotions when being exposed to new information. It’s up to educators to make
sure instruction lends toward the positive feelings. Setting up a classroom in a way that
encourages face-to-face interaction between instructor and student can help build a
connection, which helps students feel more supported in their learning.

Immersive experience
According to ACTE, the brain processes true experiences differently than fabricated scenarios.
That’s why brain-based learning encourages realistic experiences that allow students to
experience what they are learning about firsthand. Field trips are useful in this regard, but so
are hands-on classroom activities, like visual art, brain-based games, and role-playing.

Some subjects also lend to immersive classrooms. Decorating a foreign language classroom in
the style of a country in which the language is spoken gets students in the mindset of what they
are about to learn. It also provides visual cues that help students comprehend the information
they are being taught.

Brain-based learning is a growing trend. Schools are opening up spaces and creating
environments in which real-world, hands-on experience is at the forefront, and studies are
showing that, when it comes to comprehension and retention, these modern brain-based
environments are more effective than tradition.