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How the Brain Learns
This updated edition of the powerful bestseller examines new research on brain functioning and translates this information into effective classroom strategies and activities.
328 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 31, 2012
Perhaps the least useful book I have ever read for "professional development". The author, who has not done any original research, offers the reader his interpretation of the hodgepodge of articles he has hand-selected.
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February 18, 2016I've read several book sin this field and this is one of the better ones. The last chapters in particular where everything is brought together are particularly useful and I have shared these ideas with colleagues. My only criticism is that the examples are overly American and I don't think they need to be. I will reference and use this again.
June 24, 2020
This must be the first time I rate a pedagogics-book this highly. Very interesting, references to relatively new scientific research, and plenty of practical tips.
I may not be able to use all of it when teaching university students, but it certainly made me understand more about how my own kids learn.
I may not be able to use all of it when teaching university students, but it certainly made me understand more about how my own kids learn.
December 17, 2019
4.5 stars. Overall, I found this book fascinating. There were a few parts that were somewhat slow or difficult to understand, but I’m finding myself more and more fascinated by the human brain and how it works. I also really liked the practical suggestions for teachers. I’d found things I could take and use in the
classroom rather than just a bunch of theory I didn’t know how to apply.
classroom rather than just a bunch of theory I didn’t know how to apply.
June 29, 2007
This book can be a little dry (wordy/sciencey), but it explains how the brain learns, the difference between the male and female brains, and how to best teach to make learning real.
December 24, 2018
This is an absolute essential for any teacher in the field no matter how long they’ve been teaching.
January 24, 2020
Awesome book! I read it because my wife was using the book for her recent class. I really enjoyed this and will use the concepts for my own learning in the future. Well done, Dr. Sousa!
April 18, 2022
My textbook for the class "Brain-Based Learning" was very helpful. I am newer to teaching and took this course to prepare me for teaching in higher education but the wisdom from this K-12 teaching book was still relevant. He started off with a few chapters on the anatomy of the brain and talked about research that shows what we know about what each part of the brain does functionally. Sousa then shifted to practical applications for teachers from educational psychology. Things like teaching for transfer, teaching for recall, confabulation, and the benefits of a flipped classroom were insightful areas for all teachers. Personally, I know I will refer back to the book often because of the simplicity of Sousa's presentation and the helpful worksheets at the end of every chapter. This is a great textbook for teachers and I'm glad my teacher recognized that in choosing it for this course.
April 1, 2019
I read this for an online class. It was good for a textbook, well-organized with plenty of visuals, and easy to understand language.
There were a few opinions that didn't seem to be backed up with any fact. For example, the author suggests that hip/hop music can cause reading problems but didn't provide solid evidence. Also, the author gives the annoying piece of advice to teachers to cut "unnecessary content" from the curriculum but doesn't give any examples of things that are unnecessary. But overall, good textbook for teachers who want to understand how the brain learns, remembers, and applies information.
There were a few opinions that didn't seem to be backed up with any fact. For example, the author suggests that hip/hop music can cause reading problems but didn't provide solid evidence. Also, the author gives the annoying piece of advice to teachers to cut "unnecessary content" from the curriculum but doesn't give any examples of things that are unnecessary. But overall, good textbook for teachers who want to understand how the brain learns, remembers, and applies information.
November 8, 2022
Some solid ideas on the growing field of scientific research on learning, and some solid ideas on how to improve teaching and perhaps self-learning as well for adults.
I read this less so for how I could potentially use this book to influence others, but moreso on how I could improve learning (and retention) for myself, particularly with tasks I find difficult or challenging, when I am intellectually out of my comfort zone. There are some good suggestions in here with regards to that.
I read this less so for how I could potentially use this book to influence others, but moreso on how I could improve learning (and retention) for myself, particularly with tasks I find difficult or challenging, when I am intellectually out of my comfort zone. There are some good suggestions in here with regards to that.
April 4, 2019
This book was very informative and the key ideas are easy to implement into my classroom. I have a greater understanding of how my students are learning and what to do in order to increase retention.
Want to read
June 23, 2021Recommended by a teacher in Math teachers collective and collaborative Facebook group; it’s a textbook; she found it one of the most interesting and useful to explain to high school students why she does some of the things in math class.
June 25, 2019
A great read for educators and parents.
July 23, 2019
Great book for understanding how the brain learns. The author provides a lot of resources and tips that can be used in the classroom to support whole brain learning.
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September 26, 2019Absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in the brain science involved in teaching and learning. Never complete yet always definitive.
October 9, 2019
i think your an idiot and my pets love you and this book is shit
November 13, 2020
I learned a lot.
December 19, 2021
Excellent addition to any teachers repertoire!
January 15, 2024
Explica en términos simples, el funcionamiento del cerebro en los procesos de aprendizaje.
March 12, 2013
Well, I was on the fence about this book until Chapter 3. Now, I would recommend this to any teacher, administrator, or just plain anybody who is curious how our silly little 'ole brain works and learns. I found it excessively exciting from a teacher's point of view and from my actor histronic sensibility, so...I think it will be useful to anyone looking for a left-brained book that talks about how our right-brains make us smarter...
Well, there is too much in this book to go into, but I will mention that it is designed to be like a lecture utilizing Bloom's Taxonomy, so the first two chapters are hard because it's a lot of "Remember" information. Chapter 3 is the "Understand" moment in the taxonomy, or what teacher's call the students' "Aha!" moment. Chapters 4 lives in the Apply area of how we transfer our information to the student...how do we apply the information we've already learned from the previous chapters. Chapter 5 is the Analyze section, which talks about the two hemispheres of the brain and how we can tackle them as teachers. Chapter 6 is the Evaluate area where we learn how to take the arts and P.E. and create an environment that makes the student want to move onto the last part of the taxonomy: Create. Chapter 7 is the create section...and where Sousa finally talks about Bloom's Taxonomy in full. This is where he lays out how we as teachers can utilize the taxonomy to inspire higher-order thinking, which will, ultimately create positive transfer and retention (our job). The last chapter just goes back to another level of the taxonomy: apply, but because the taxonomy is now non-heirarchical, then it's okay to go back.
This was another book I was reading since January for my class, and I decided to finish it early because we have an assignment that asks us to present something that is cool in the book: Practitioner's Corner. This a section in each chapter that gives the teacher ideas about lessons or lesson planning. We're supposed to do one, but I found that difficult because we hadn't finished the book, yet, and I wanted to make sure that some of the other Practitioner Corner's were not ones that I wanted to do. I guess I'll just have to decide now. It will be on youtube eventually...
Well, there is too much in this book to go into, but I will mention that it is designed to be like a lecture utilizing Bloom's Taxonomy, so the first two chapters are hard because it's a lot of "Remember" information. Chapter 3 is the "Understand" moment in the taxonomy, or what teacher's call the students' "Aha!" moment. Chapters 4 lives in the Apply area of how we transfer our information to the student...how do we apply the information we've already learned from the previous chapters. Chapter 5 is the Analyze section, which talks about the two hemispheres of the brain and how we can tackle them as teachers. Chapter 6 is the Evaluate area where we learn how to take the arts and P.E. and create an environment that makes the student want to move onto the last part of the taxonomy: Create. Chapter 7 is the create section...and where Sousa finally talks about Bloom's Taxonomy in full. This is where he lays out how we as teachers can utilize the taxonomy to inspire higher-order thinking, which will, ultimately create positive transfer and retention (our job). The last chapter just goes back to another level of the taxonomy: apply, but because the taxonomy is now non-heirarchical, then it's okay to go back.
This was another book I was reading since January for my class, and I decided to finish it early because we have an assignment that asks us to present something that is cool in the book: Practitioner's Corner. This a section in each chapter that gives the teacher ideas about lessons or lesson planning. We're supposed to do one, but I found that difficult because we hadn't finished the book, yet, and I wanted to make sure that some of the other Practitioner Corner's were not ones that I wanted to do. I guess I'll just have to decide now. It will be on youtube eventually...
January 11, 2010
This is an extremely useful book for any teacher to read. Over the last twenty five years, the psychology community has learned more about how the brain actually learns at a physiological level than it learned in the previous twenty five hundred. It contains a lot of very solid information and suggestions for how to increase learning in your students and have more fun and get more satisfaction from the whole process to boot.
Not all of this book is as well researched as I would like. Sousa (for example) presents the "learning pyramid" as a central paradigm for how old-style teaching went awry and how new "engagement" teaching significantly improves learning, but in fact the learning pyramid, although conceptually compelling, is not well-founded in research. At least as far as I could tell, trying quite hard. The company that originally presented it did so without any sound research behind it as an heuristic, and since then it has become almost an urban legend in and of itself, where only the hardy who are persistent enough to look for the original research realize, eventually, that it is bullshit and there isn't any.
There is, however, plenty of anecdotal experience and it is a compelling heuristic that leads one to adopt methodology that has been validated by research, so it isn't a useless model -- just don't take the percentages in the learning pyramid too seriously -- the moral that one should take from the story is that if one plots out "engagement" as the vertical axis of the pyramid, increasing engagement (and decreasing its opposite, detachment) students will be more successful and retain more information.
Either way, I heartily recommend it. It is quite readable, has nifty pictures, and does contain a lot of good research, and research-backed methodology and conclusions.
rgb
Not all of this book is as well researched as I would like. Sousa (for example) presents the "learning pyramid" as a central paradigm for how old-style teaching went awry and how new "engagement" teaching significantly improves learning, but in fact the learning pyramid, although conceptually compelling, is not well-founded in research. At least as far as I could tell, trying quite hard. The company that originally presented it did so without any sound research behind it as an heuristic, and since then it has become almost an urban legend in and of itself, where only the hardy who are persistent enough to look for the original research realize, eventually, that it is bullshit and there isn't any.
There is, however, plenty of anecdotal experience and it is a compelling heuristic that leads one to adopt methodology that has been validated by research, so it isn't a useless model -- just don't take the percentages in the learning pyramid too seriously -- the moral that one should take from the story is that if one plots out "engagement" as the vertical axis of the pyramid, increasing engagement (and decreasing its opposite, detachment) students will be more successful and retain more information.
Either way, I heartily recommend it. It is quite readable, has nifty pictures, and does contain a lot of good research, and research-backed methodology and conclusions.
rgb
March 9, 2013
There are some pretty neat bits of theoretical advice in this book, but there are problems. More theory and philosophy than science, no original research, some of the sources are outdated, and there are source problems. The credibility of some of the sources is questionable and some mentioned sources did not match the references. When you're citing someone who is citing someone who cited someones else who might be citing their own study or opinion, you run into an issue of credibility. Some points about how we learn have been contradicted by recent scholarly papers on brain research and educational psychology. This book is good if you want a basic understanding for some of the principles of how the brain works, and there are some neat teaching tips. It may serve as a good beginner's book, but be forewarned you will want to investigate and read more recent peer reviewed scholarly articles.
July 13, 2012
Written for educators, this recently updated book reviews the latest science on how the brain learns and gives a lot of helpful advise on how to use that information in the classroom. The explanation of how memory works is worth the price of the book. Great information and insight for my APICS Learning Dynamics for Instructors course and useful information for our home-schooled daughter plus information that should help her in improving her motor skills for Irish dance.
I'll be referring to this book a lot over the next few years!
I'll be referring to this book a lot over the next few years!
March 31, 2016
Amazing text on how the brain learns and ways to incorporate that knowledge into your teaching. It even includes a list of 21 questions to ask yourself as you are planning a lesson to ensure that your lesson is brain friendly with a rationale for each question and a reference to chapters within the book where that point is covered. I recommend this book to anyone who teaches or has children in school. I plan to read some of his other books once I am finished with my masters' degree.
March 20, 2008
I read this together with my fellow members of the Beaverton High School site council (which I belonged to 1999-2001, and chaired the second year). This book was interesting, but I think it just represents the tip of the iceberg. Neuroscientists will be learning so much more in the coming decades about how the brain functions and how people learn. I can't wait to find out.
July 7, 2013
Sousa did an excellent job of explaining how the brain functions, why this matters to learning, and how to adapt teaching to the brain's learning methods. It is filled with activities to try in the classroom and suggestions for planning that will aid in classroom management and student retention. A very informative read.
July 7, 2011
Excellent book on the basics of just what it says, how the brain learns. Obviously, the applications are for teachers but the actual science of it makes a great deal of sense. Very accessible to those of us who are not brain scientists.
July 7, 2009
more theory, interesting stuff, now ai know why kids are so crazy! :)
March 23, 2016
Wow! Great information! Great for teachers! However, teachers may become frustrated that the way they teach (or are expected to teach) may contradict the way the brain learns!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews