Enhancing Successful School Learning by Understanding How the Brain Works

There is no health without brain health. A healthy functioning brain is the foundation for all successful learning, social, civic and economic development. The school environment is an important component of healthy brain development. Just as schools are locations in which physical health can be encouraged and improved, so are they locations in which brain health can be encouraged and improved.

How and when a young person's brain develops affects how they learn. An understanding of how a young person’s brain functions may help us better create brain-healthy environments and educational approaches that can enhance learning outcomes.

The human brain is the most complex entity in the universe. It has more connections than there are stars in the Milky Way. It is the organ of adaptation and of civilization. What we are, what we think and what we do, as individuals and as a human species are the outcomes of how our brains work. That in turn is influenced by a variety of other factors including our genetic endowment, the way our brains naturally develop over time, and the impact of the environment on the way our brains develop and on how they work.

The adolescent years (puberty to about age 25) are characterized by a second major period of brain development (the first is during the early years of development). New brain connections are developed, old connections are pruned, and complex systems that guide emotional integration, motivation, craving-induced behaviors and the capacity for good executive functioning (impulse control; problem solving; empathic/cognitive integration; etc.) come online.

These neurodevelopmental changes continue to be guided by both genetically-determined neurodevelopment and by environmental influences. As this development occurs a number of challenges are presented to the school setting. Some of these include the following: how to structure the school environment to improve learning potential; how to best motivate for learning; how to present materials to enhance uptake and retention; how to address brain dysfunction or brain disorder to best support the students with those disabilities.

The adolescent years are also characterized by the onset of the severe and persistent mental disorders, such as major depression; schizophrenia; bipolar disorder; panic disorder; social phobia and others.

Schools can provide curriculum on brain health and brain disorder to help decrease the stigma associated with these conditions and to help students identify these problems early when interventions can make the greatest positive impact. Teachers should be well versed in knowledge about and understanding of these issues and training institutions and ongoing continuing educational programs should be in place to enable teachers to acquire the knowledge and competencies needed.

The recently developed Secondary School Mental Health Curriculum and its accompanying teacher training module is a good example of this application. Schools could provide linkages to appropriate health care services and can become community resource centers that provide information on a variety of health related matters – including brain health and mental disorders.

In summary, neurodevelopment is directed by a genetic blueprint and modified by the environment. Schools are uniquely placed in a situation in which they can shape the developing brain by applying brain-healthy environments. Additionally, neurodevelopmental factors can be better understood and this better understanding could result in the creation and application of various educational strategies that can be applied in such a manner as to enhance learning outcomes.

Further information: Dana Foundation, Brain Explorer, BrainBlogger

~ Dr. Stan Kutcher