Brain Rules

Some time at the beach and airport terminals allowed me to catch up on my reading. In "Brain Rules", John Medina has consolidated the most recent research on how the human brain works, and offered some suggestions/implications for how this might affect education.

Not to state the obvious, but if education is essentially about “learning” then it makes sense to have a good understanding of how the brain processes information – how it learns – and what factors might influence that process, both positively and negatively. Wouldn’t it be something if instructional methodology was designed explicitly according to how our brains work? If future teachers understood the relevant brain science?

Fortunately, most of us have known teachers who instinctively taught according to these brain “rules”. And much of this is not new - many of these ideas will bring to mind your mother’s common sense. What’s new is the research documentation. My suggestion is to read the book for yourself, or visit the website: www.brainrules.net where you can find the research that backs up their conclusions. But allow me to share the ideas that jumped out to me.

The first chapter specifically addresses the value of physical activity. This is particularly relevant because of the recent federal proposal that would mandate thirty minutes of physical activity in each school day.

This has generated some controversy: in the current climate of NCLB and the overriding pressure of test scores, where does one find the time to meet another mandate? But to me, it is – pardon the expression – a no-brainer. And it turns out that there’s good research in support of regular physical activity for students (and other learners, as well).

“In a recent study, children jogged for thirty minutes two or three times a week. After twelve weeks, their cognitive performance had improved significantly… When the exercise program was withdrawn, the scores plummeted back to their pre-experiment levels.” (p. 15)

In other words, if you want to increase your test scores, provide students with opportunities to exercise.

“Kids pay better attention to their subjects when they’ve been active. … they are less likely to be disruptive in terms of classroom behavior... (They) have higher self-esteem, less depression, less anxiety. All of those things can impair academic performance.” (p.18)

As I mentioned during a recent board discussion – and while I’m certainly supportive of structured physical education - the proposed regulation doesn’t mandate how the students get their exercise. Several vigorous walks around the school each day might be one way to do it.

It turns out your mother was right: “exercise gets blood to your brain” (bringing it glucose for energy and oxygen to soak up left-over toxic electrons.)  Also: aerobic exercise just twice a week cuts your risk of Alzheimer’s by sixty percent.