Brain Based Education : Implications for the classroom

Lesson based on: Jensen, E. P. (2008). A Fresh Look at Brain Based Education. Retrieved 04 03, 2010, from Phi Delta

Kappan: http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v89/k0802jen.htm

Human brain can grow neurons• Process regulated by everyday

activities

• Can be enhanced by exercise, low level of stress, good nutrition

Social conditions can influence brain• Become more active in managing

social environment

• Don’t rely on random groups…strengthen prosocial conditions

• Groups offer reward, acceptance, pleasure, coherence, stress free

Brain can rewire & remap due to plasticity• Enhance through skill-building,

reading, meditation, the arts, career and technical education, and thinking skills

Chronic stress is bad for the brain• Repeated stress results in a state of

“allostasis”, an adjusted new baseline for stress

• Stress affects health, learning and behavior

Genes can respond to environment• Everyday behaviors can influence

gene expression

Good nutrition feeds the brain• What we eat affects memory,

attention, stress and even intelligence

Arts may have role in brain based learning• Although jury is still out, arts may

have developmentally sensitive period of the arts

Exercise is medicine for the brain• Exercise strongly correlated with

increased brain mass, better cognition, mood regulation, and new cell production.

Strides in brain rehabilitation studies• Aggressive behavioral therapies,

new drugs, and stem cell implantation can be used to influence, regulate, and repair brain-based disorders.

Environments alter our brain• Increasing neuroscience research to

understand human responses to the built environment.