Secrets of the Brain

It is easy to stumble on clues about how the mind works. Many people notice, for instance, that a good way to learn about a topic is to teach it to someone else.  When a person teaches a concept to others, he or she is likely to remember that material for the long term. Long-term retention is much less likely for those in the role of a traditional learner who is listening to a teacher talk. 

Fortunately, recent advances in brain science mean that we no longer must stumble on insights such as this by trial and error. A good introduction to contemporary research is “How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School.”  This book confirms much of what veteran teachers, and the mothers of small children, know in their bones. Still, even the savviest educators will benefit from learning about the physiology that underlies their best practices.

Instead of putting students in the role of traditional learners, ICG schools enable students to take on more active roles, and often, roles generally reserved for teachers.

Another book making the rounds is “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule The Future” by Daniel Pink. He argues that in the 21st century, creative ability will be more valuable in the global economy than logical or technical expertise. In a world where technical expertise is universal, Pink argues that the most valuable workers will be those who can design creatively.

The schools in the Independent Curriculum Group are at the forefront of applying scientific research to teaching and learning. Instead of putting students in the role of traditional learners, ICG schools enable students to take on more active roles, and often, roles generally reserved for teachers. It should escape no one’s notice that learning based on standardized testing finds little support in the research.

The following are fundamental truths, backed by research, that shape instruction in our schools:

Students Create Learning
Every parent knows that there is no way to make children see things from an adult perspective. Young people must figure things out on their own.  In the same way, an adult teacher can’t make a student see a connection between, say, the Progressive Era and the New Deal. In order to do so, the student’s brain must literally rewire itself to create new pathways between its neurons. If the student’s brain creates knowledge, it follows that the more learners can control the learning, the more connections they can make. Said a student from Beaver Country Day School, “The school fits the students and not the other way around.”

Learning Begins Where the Students Are
Every student brings preconceptions to the classroom. That’s another way of saying that the synapses and neurons of every student’s brain are in a particular configuration. For learning to occur, the student’s brain must build on what is already there, and the best learning occurs when teachers and students can share control in a way that meets the teacher’s objectives while matching the students’ frame of reference.  Teachers who make their classes relevant to student interests are not “dumbing it down” or compromising their standards; they are conforming to a biological reality. “The more we can connect students with their passions, the better off we are,” said Todd Sumner of the Academy at Charlemont.

Everyone is a Contextual Learner
There are 42 notes in “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and most readers will be able to recite them from memory, in order. Assuming eight possibilities for each note, that’s quite a feat. Perhaps more remarkable is the fact that ten years from now, everyone will still be able to recall the 42 notes without any study. The music provides a mental framework for remembering and the notes form a meaningful whole.  Suppose people studied the notes without the music – as disconnected bits of information. Some people would remember more than others, but no one would recall the notes for long. The key to long term mastery is a context, such as music, in which facts become part of a web of meaning that the brain constructs. ICG schools create rich contexts for learning, like Lee Zanger’s Wilderness First Responder course at The White Mountain School, in which students learn the details of anatomy and physiology while practicing evacuations and treatment of wounds in the outback.

Depth and Repetition Are Crucial
You’ll hear over and over again on this site how ICG schools emphasize depth over breadth. “Learning takes time. Students need to focus and concentrate rather than trying to keep a lot of academic balls in the air,” said Jonathan Howland of The Urban School of San Francisco. Permanent learning is all about the thicket of synapses that a student brain is able to create by tying a piece of knowledge to other ideas. With more density comes better recall and an ability to apply the information in more diverse contexts. “Instead of teaching students to master facts, we emphasize in-depth understanding,” said Luthern Williams of Beaver Country Day School.

Students Must Organize and Reorganize their Knowledge
The best learning takes place in a context in which the learner needs the knowledge in order to do something useful or interesting. Learning is more likely to stick if students are able to apply what they have learned in new contexts. A culminating project is often superior to a final exam, or a standardized test, because it requires an additional reorganizing of information in the mind of the student as he or she creates something new. Studying for a test merely rehashes what has already been learned. In the words of a student at the Academy at Charlemont, “I’ve constantly got all the things I’ve learned on projects in the back of my head. If I’m memorizing for a test, I forget it a week later.”

Time for Reflection Is Crucial
Students in traditional schools often work very hard, but beyond getting A’s and getting into college, they usually have little sense of why they do so. While juggling many subjects, students often have little time for reflection. Science has recently highlighted the importance of such reflection – called metacognition – which constantly strengthens students’ control over what they have learned. When students can relate their learning to interests and life goals, they are more likely to master and retain it. “If students can’t reflect on how they’ve done as a learner, then we haven’t done our job well,” said Tim Breen of The White Mountain School. “It’s about figuring out who you are and how you can make a difference in the world.”

Contemporary brain science has a clear bottom line: Education should begin with a focus on students rather than on tests. “Good learning has to be a process of discovery,” said Mark Salkind of The Urban School of San Francisco. “Our classes are not so much about the transfer of knowledge, but about students constructing knowledge for themselves.”