Research-Based Strategies To Ignite Student Learning: Insights from Neuroscience and the Classroom

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 research on the brain and learning into understandable concepts and practical strategies to use across the curriculum, spanning all grade levels from pre-K through post-secondary.

In this revised and expanded edition of the best-selling Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning, readers will learn how to:

• Arouse students' curiosity and interest in pursuing wide-ranging topics, including those they might typically find boring.
• Counteract the negative effects of stress, boredom, and frustration on memory.
• Defuse undesirable behaviours that are the result of the brain's natural "fight/flight/freeze" response.
• Incorporate the motivating characteristics of video gaming—including clear goals, achievable challenges, predictions, and continual feedback—into classroom learning.
• Break through stereotypes that deter students from reaching their full potential.
• Use the power of neuroscience research to develop students' executive function skills, such as focus, prioritisation, organisation, collaboration, critical analysis, and innovation.

Willis and Willis describe how the brain converts a vast amount of sensory input into long-term memory and durable understanding, and how educators can use this knowledge to guide students to more successful experiences in school and beyond.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Dedication

Introduction

How Red Wagons Capture Students' Attention

How Emotions and Stress Affect Learning

The Journey from Sensory Intake to Memory

Building Powerful Executive Functions: Skills for the School Years and Beyond

Afterword

Appendix: A Neurological Lesson/Unit/Presentation Planner

Glossary

References

About the Authors