Leading and Learning in Schools: Brain-Based Practices

The authors have surveyed extensive literature in recent studies of brain-compatible applications in learning and education. Although they use mostly secondary sources, they have provided a great service to school administrators and teachers. So much useful information has been distilled from numerous books and packed into this small book of just over 200 pages. For example, on p.13, you get a list of Ron Brandt's principles of human learning: "People learn what is meaningful to them. People learn more when they accept challenging but achievable goals. Learning is developmental. Individuals learn differently. Leaning takes place through social interaction. People need feedback to learn. Succesful learning involves the use of strategies that themselves are learned. A positive emotional climate influences learning." On the next page, you get another list of Caine and Caine's Twelve Principles of the Mind. Almost every page is filled with succinct summaries. Topics covered include: how we learn, memory, the importance of meaning and understanding, brain-compatible instruction, curriculum and teacher development. Senge's views on learning organizations and systems thinking have also been included for developing the school as a learning community. This book is a very good introductory overview. For follow-up, I'd recommend: Brain-based Learning, Schools that Learn and Ten Steps to a Learning Organization.