In the last 20 years, the cognitive sciences have revealed fresh, surprising, and useful insights into how and why our students learn. Teachers can now draw on psychology and neuroscience research to supplement, reconsider, even overturn our traditions and training. To use this research most wisely, teachers must find our way to an elusive Goldilocks Zone. Instead of resisting all research-based guidance, we should be ready to take it to heart - even when it challenges both our training and conventional wisdom. Instead of accepting all research-based guidance, we should be ready to reject it emphatically - especially the hyped-up edu-fads that exaggerate and misinterpret psychology findings. How can we get this Goldilocks balance "just right"? This book offers a specific, practical quest map to discover just such a balance. By critically examining the source, the research, and ourselves, teachers can develop the skills necessary to be effective research skeptics. Written by a teacher with 18 years in the classroom - and 13 years studying neuroscience and psychology - The Goldilocks Map transforms brain research from a daunting monologue into an approachable, exciting, and lively conversation.

Combining a lively voice with scientific research, Learning Deepens explores the fascinating and useful world of student motivation. Written for teachers-and everyone interested in teaching and learning-Learning Deepens helps classrooms flourish by fostering students' intrinsic motivation. Part I delves into Mindset. Although seemingly well known, this theory is often oversimplified and widely misunderstood. By exploring its step-by-step historical development, we can use it more flexibly and effectively to help learners 'charge!' when they might otherwise 'retreat.' Part II enters the paradoxical world of Stereotype Threat. A surprising cascade of counter-intuitive effects can cause students to struggle in school-not because they don't care, but because they work too hard. The right classroom strategies block this demotivational pathway, and thereby foster student learning. By interleaving psychology and neuroscience research with dozens of practical classroom examples, Learning Deepens makes these two theories both clear and immediately useful. Learning Deepens is the second book in the series "A Teacher's Guide to the Learning Brain." The first book, Learning Begins, studies the science of working memory and attention.

Learning Begins, written by a teacher for teachers, translates current brain research into practical classroom strategies. Because students learn with their brains, it simply makes sense for teachers to explore educational psychology and neuroscience. And yet, information in these fields can be daunting and contradictory. Worse still, few researchers can clearly explain the specific classroom uses of their remarkable discoveries. Learning Begins both explains this research and makes it useful for teachers and administrators. Part I investigates the science of working memory: a cognitive capacity essential to all school work. When teachers recognize the many classroom perils that can overwhelm working memory, they can use research-aligned strategies to protect it, and thereby promote student learning. Part II reveals the complexities of student attention. By understanding the three neural sub-processes that create attention, teachers can structure their classrooms and their lessons to help students focus on and understand new material. Written in a lively and approachable voice, based on years of classroom experience and a decade of scientific study, Learning Begins makes educational psychology and neuroscience clear and useful in schools and classrooms.

Learning Begins, written by a teacher for teachers, translates current brain research into practical classroom strategies. Because students learn with their brains, it simply makes sense for teachers to explore educational psychology and neuroscience. And yet, information in these fields can be daunting and contradictory. Worse still, few researchers can clearly explain the specific classroom uses of their remarkable discoveries. Learning Begins both explains this research and makes it useful for teachers and administrators. Part I investigates the science of working memory: a cognitive capacity essential to all school work. When teachers recognize the many classroom perils that can overwhelm working memory, they can use research-aligned strategies to protect it, and thereby promote student learning. Part II reveals the complexities of student attention. By understanding the three neural sub-processes that create attention, teachers can structure their classrooms and their lessons to help students focus on and understand new material. Written in a lively and approachable voice, based on years of classroom experience and a decade of scientific study, Learning Begins makes educational psychology and neuroscience clear and useful in schools and classrooms.

Combining a lively voice with scientific research, Learning Deepens explores the fascinating and useful world of student motivation. Written for teachers-and everyone interested in teaching and learning-Learning Deepens helps classrooms flourish by fostering students' intrinsic motivation. Part I delves into Mindset. Although seemingly well known, this theory is often oversimplified and widely misunderstood. By exploring its step-by-step historical development, we can use it more flexibly and effectively to help learners 'charge!' when they might otherwise 'retreat.' Part II enters the paradoxical world of Stereotype Threat. A surprising cascade of counter-intuitive effects can cause students to struggle in school-not because they don't care, but because they work too hard. The right classroom strategies block this demotivational pathway, and thereby foster student learning. By interleaving psychology and neuroscience research with dozens of practical classroom examples, Learning Deepens makes these two theories both clear and immediately useful. Learning Deepens is the second book in the series "A Teacher's Guide to the Learning Brain." The first book, Learning Begins, studies the science of working memory and attention.