6 Tips for Building Fit Brains
One hot topic in education right now is brain research and what it means for education. Recently, worldwide child research expect Dr. Noburo Kobayashi tackled the subject of brain research. His conclusion? “The 21st century promises to be ‘the century of the brain.’…The time has come for us to apply the results of brain science research to improving education.”
WeAreTeachers wants to help you delve into the exciting field of brain research with our new “Science of Success” microgrant, sponsored by Scientific Learning. Tell us how you would use brain research in your classroom and you could win $200 and a Flip Video camera or iPod nano® with video to capture the implementation of your plan. It takes less than five minutes to apply, so don’t wait-apply now!
In honor of this groundbreaking microgrant, we want to highlight better ways to help you increase brain fitness in your students. Taken from Scientific Learning’s approach to brain fitness, here are 6 tips to building fit brains.
- Find a good rhythm. As Scientific Learning puts it, “practice critical tasks at appropriate frequency and intensity.” Just as having precision in your physical workout promotes optimal results, getting the right balance of frequency and intensity is key to brain fitness.
- Stay on the edge. Keep students challenged, but don’t overwhelm them. Again, balance is key-find the right balance between having them stretch mentally while keeping them from feeling frustrated.
- Cross train. Reinforce past lessons by working them in to current lessons, keeping past lessons fresh in students’ minds and building on what they have learned.
- Get bigger carrots. The rewards should increase as the lessons progress to keep students motivated.
- Create a culture of fearlessness. Make your classroom a place where students feel comfortable to take risks.
- Be students’ “personal brain trainer.” Customize lessons based on age and try to find points of contact to that are engaging specifically to them.
Do you have an idea for integrating brain research into your classroom? We want to hear it! Apply for our “Science of Success” microgrant today!
