How the Brain Learns

I just now finished this as my choice on an optional reading assignment for my Masters in Education. I’m in my 19th year of teaching not including two years of charter school teaching and homeschooling my own kids for five years before that. THIS IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL BOOK on teaching I have ever read. I bought and read it on Kindle but today ordered a hard copy so I can write in it, mark it up, put tabs in it and LEARN it. I honestly want it to be my teaching bible for a good long time. Other books come and go and mostly just tout one theory or model or social point of view (and often some curriculum the author has a “connection”to). But this! Oh my goodness - it’s a work of art. First, it’s not full of distracting grammatical errors and poorly-written sentences and is a pleasure to read just for the fine writing. But so much more! The journey starts with the latest on what is known about brain functioning and then goes on to how that function applies to humans in general and to our students in particular. Then, in detail, specifics about the sort of teaching that is carefully aligned with brain functioning and provides the most effective and lasting learning. I kept thinking all the way through, “Cheryl you MUST remember this stuff and DO it! Get it into long-term memory so you’ll own it!” I can’t say as well how much I appreciate that his work is refreshingly free of social progressivist thinking. He writes about the scientifically-researched and known facts about actual physical, structural differences that exist in the brains of males and females, for example. As a matter of fact, evolutionarily, those brains have distinct forms and features for some pretty darn important reasons which modern-day social perspectives aren’t easily going to obliterate. I’m writing too much but everything Sousa recommends is there because it has been thoroughly researched and is supported and confirmed. There is no anecdotal evidence in this book! Just read it please! I think that maybe I’m actually going to be able to BE one of those teachers that I’ve always admired once I digest this and really really make it mine.

I had to purchase this book for a class, but it's a great read for anyone educating children. Understanding how the brain works is critical when teaching children. This book explains the complexities of the human brain in easy-to-understand language, which made it a great read. It's a resource I will continually refer to throughout the school year.

One of the many things I like about this book by David Sousa is that it addresses needs of classroom teachers and given them many ways of addressing the needs of students - absolutely fabulous ideas all related to how the brain learns - and this is for an array of students from SPED to Gifted and Talented and those in between - everybody. Highly recommend this book for anybody interested in addressing the various intellectual and social/mental needs of today's students. A must for classroom teachers.

I wasn't expecting it to be, but this book is SUPER interesting! Did you know that the brain is about 3 pounds in weight but uses about 20% of our calorie intake every day? Like I said the book is super interesting and it's an easy read. I may just keep this one instead of turning it around on Amazon...

I liked how Sousa's book begins with teaching the basics about the brain, then provides excellent research findings that provide a deeper understanding of teaching. The Practitioners Corner at the end of each chapter provides resources that have made a difference in my teaching. This was a required text for graduate work and one of the best introductions to curriculum development one can use.

This book is very much a must for all educators. We have made it part of our inservice for new teachers.Highly recommended for all educators.

Excellent book! If you are a teacher, this is a must-read. This book gives teachers (And parents) a different perspective on how they should be teaching in this day and age. I highly recommend this book. It is very user-friendly.

This book contains valuable, up-to-date information about the brain and learning. It is an excellent tool for teachers. I used it as a resource for a conference for young parents on how to help their children learn.

Este livro é um dos melhores que eu conheço sobre o ensino baseado no cérebro, porém me arrependi enormemente de ter comprado a versão Kindle que pode ser lido no computador, tablet, menos no meu Kindle.... para mim é ruim demais pois eu nao tenho tablet, apenas computador e o Kindle. Resultado... mal consigo lê-lo. Se tivesse me atentando a isso antes teria comprado o livro, apesar de ser muitooooo mais caro!!!!

Excellent resource for instructors. Lots of practical exercises

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