Brain’s Primary Function

The brain’s primary function is learning; its capacity to learn is limitless. Most people learn many things in their lives quite effortlessly without realizing that learning is taking place. So, reluctance to learn cannot be attributed to the brain.

All Children Can Learn

All children can learn, even the child who appears to be careless, lazy or stubborn. Every child’s brain is unique and the more a child learns, the more unique each child becomes. Life outside school is complex and everyone can contribute to society in different ways. So we should not expect our children to conform to one particular set of teaching methods.

Role of Parents/ Teachers

Learning can be either facilitated or inhibited, so teachers (and parents) play an integral role in brain-based learning. A common scenario is that when a particular method is used and some students are not responding well, they are labeled as inattentive, stupid or plain lazy. This goes against the principles of brain-based learning which would entail changing the methods or approaches to suit the needs of every child and offering choices. School and life experiences can affect the way the brain functions. We should not ‘kill’ a child before he/ she has ‘bloomed’.

Knowing the Psychology of Children Can Help

Not all children progress at the same pace, so we should not expect equal achievement based on chronological age. In school, teachers could experiment with many creative methods that are challenging for all their students. At home, parents may do the same.

Day Dreaming- A Learning Tool!

Even daydreaming can be a learning tool; it is a kind of mental patterning, just like problem solving or critical thinking. For a child to grow and learn, he or she must feel respected and understood. The teacher’s role is to facilitate learning, not push learning down the throats of their students. Students are also human and they have feelings, so teachers should be sensitive to how students feel. Mutual respect and acceptance will help keep communication lines open between the teacher and the students. It is this, not constant nagging, that would promote learning.

Two-Brain Doctrine

Research has shown that the right and left hemispheres of the brain have different functions. Also, both hemispheres interact when a normal healthy person learns. One section of the brain breaks up information into parts and the other looks at it as a whole or a series of wholes. This aspect of the brain is called the ‘two brain’ doctrine and good teaching should take this into account. For example, when we teach grammar or vocabulary, we should incorporate them in whole-language experiences. This is because learning is cumulative and developmental and a certain time frame should be provided for the child to fully grasp what he or she has learnt.

A Passionate Teacher

Passion is a great tool when it comes to teaching and learning. When a teacher is passionate about teaching, she subconsciously becomes a perfect role model for her students. Her enthusiasm is transferred to the students who automatically become enthusiastic in learning. A teacher’s genuine compassion and dedication cannot be faked. Students can usually discern if the teacher is genuinely concerned or not. Sometimes a student’s lack of interest in a lesson can be directly attributed to the lack lustre performance of the teacher.

Using a Thematic Approach

Students’ minds, just like ours, are processing information all the time. They try to make sense of what they have learnt; the brain remembers better when a person stores information that has some bearing on prior knowledge and actual experience. Using a thematic approach would ensure that all the components we teach are related. The brain takes a longer time to remember isolated bits of information. So, we cannot expect students to memorize chunks of unrelated information.

Promoting Experiential Learning

Brain-based learning favours experiential learning. Classroom demonstrations, projects, field trips, visual imageries of experiences and performances are some ways of promoting experiential learning. Stories and dramas are other ways. For example, a language teacher could teach vocabulary through skits or drama and grammar can be learnt not in isolation but in process, through stories or writing. If possible, all the senses should be utilized for learning to take place.

Low in Threat, High in Challenge

I have shown how our brain’s power to assimilate information can either be enhanced or diminished. If we are exposed to material that is beyond our capacity, our brains downshift and we under perform but when we are exposed to material that is challenging, our brain works optimally and we succeed. So, the guideline is to create a learning environment that is low in threat and high in challenge.

About the author: Fauziah is an educationist, a former government school teacher and a leading mind coach and trainer in Singapore and in the region. She can be contacted by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it You may check out her profile at www.petrahypnosis.com and www.petraedu.com