Monthly Archives: November 2015

Giving Back: Can pro-social behavior be self-protective?

Humans are social beings, and we need others: Celebrating the good and coping with the bad is hard without friends and family. A loss of interest in social activities can be a sign of depression and mental illness. And social



Posted in L&B Blog | 1 Comment

Developing the Social Brain: Insights from the Science of Adolescence

Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood that largely coincides with the years of secondary schooling. This stage of life is characterized by many cognitive changes. One such change is in social signal sensitivity. Recent research has provided evidence



Posted in L&B Blog | 1 Comment

Learning & the Brain® Presented the “2015 Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award” at Its Educational Conference in Boston on Sunday

Learning & the Brain presented Dr. Fumiko Hoeft from the University of California, San Francisco with the “2015 Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award” for her contributions to bridging the gap between brain research and classroom practice during the Learning &



Posted in News | Leave a comment

The Problem with Believing in Innate Talent

“It’s OK, some people just aren’t good at math”. We’ve all heard this before. In fact, some of us have probably even thought it about ourselves (“I’m just not a math person”, “I’ve just never been great at spelling”). But



Posted in L&B Blog | Leave a comment

Do metaphors make learning a piece of cake?

At first glance, metaphor and science might seem to inhabit opposite ends of the things-we-learn-in-school continuum. We usually learn about metaphor through lessons on works like Langston Hughes’s Life ain’t been no crystal stair, and we associate science with topics



Posted in L&B Blog | Leave a comment

Overloaded and Underprepared: Strategies for Stronger Schools and Healthy, Successful Kids by Denise Pope, Maureen Brown and Sarah Miles

Many middle and high school students are exhausted, stressed, tempted by maladaptive behaviors, and not necessarily optimally prepared for adulthood. Challenge Success is an organization that addresses these issues by advising schools about best practices for improving learning, supporting social emotional



Posted in Book Reviews | Leave a comment

Meta-Learning: The Importance of Thinking about Thinking

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn”1  The Issue When we think about what we teach our students, the first thing that comes to



Posted in L&B Blog | 2 Comments