Customer Reviews

The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching the Practice of Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For whatever it's worth, I just received my PhD in Educational Neuropsychology and have been looking closely to see what's recently been published in this nascent field. One key statement in my dissertation was a comment by a neuroscientist that teachers spend all day trying to change the brain while knowing practically nothing about it. Enter James Zull's excellent book.

There's not much available on brain-based learning, educational neuropsychology, neuroeducation--or whatever one chooses to call it--and what there is just doesn't quite cut it for educators--many of whom have at least some degree of technophobia. Neuroscience feels especially daunting and inaccessible to most educators. This book, on the other hand, leads teachers gently by the hand into what was formerly scary territory in a warm, non-threatening way.

After each neural function is described, Dr. Zull, (who I'm guessing wrote the book while on sabbatical at Harvard--specifically at their Center for the Mind, Brain, and Education), immediately discusses the implications that particular function has for teaching and learning. To his credit, he never loses sight of his primary audience--teachers.

The other excellent tactic he uses which is quite novel is to relate neuroscience findings to learning theory--specifically Kolb's. If anyone knows of any other neuroscientist who's done this, please leave a comment as I'd certainly like to know. This is currently a huge gap between neuroscience, cognitive psych, and education.

My only concern is that Dr. Zull may have sacrificed a bit of clarity in the effort to make a dense scientific subject accessible for a non-scientific (primarily) audience. I'd like to see some reviews of the book by other neuroscientists--many of whom are teachers (if in higher ed), themselves. Can we really talk meaningfully about the frontal and rear cortex? I've never heard that division before and would feel more secure with an explanation of which structures compose the front and rear and why this division can be made. Perhaps he's right but I'd like more evidence that this is not as overly simplistic as the "right-brain" and "left brain" divisions that so many non-scientists have glommed onto.

I am submitting an outline for a course in "brain-based learning" at a university and will propose using this book as the primary text. It's that good!

Dr. Zull combines expert knowledge of brain imaging studies and learning theory, enabling a practical understanding of the brain's learning cycle:

(1) New information is received by the sensory cortex, then
(2) Reflective observation is carried out by the integrative cortex, then
(3) Abstract hypotheses are constructed in the frontal cortex, then
(4) The new knowledge is subjected to active testing involving the motor cortex
(Bringing in new knowledge to perpetuate the cycle)

When all steps in the cycle are working well in an emotionally supportive environment, the result is continuous active learning. When any of these steps is inhibited, active learning is not achieved. Dr. Zull gives suggestions for removing these blocks using examples drawn from a long teaching career. The book has been very useful to me for improving communication.

December 15, 2003

Dr. James Zull has put together the biology of the brain along with connecting the brain and education.

The Art of Changing the Brain is the best approach to learning about the function of the brain as it applies to education that I have ever seen.

Dr. Zull style of writing is "easy going" and most enjoyable. One can learn about the functions of the brain without having to have a doctorate in neurology or other arcane sciences.

He does teachers and learners a great service by taking the profession's vocabulary and putting it into scientific terms rather than the other way around. In chapter six of his book he deals with the importance of prior learning and it's formation of actual neuronal networks in the brain that validates the physical presence of learning. When actual life experiences can be reflected in the plasticity of the cerebral neurons then students really sit up and take notice.
When we can validate the physical presence of learning, a new paradigm is created.

Excellent book. Highly recommend!
Dr. Rob Harriman

As I redesigned my course syllabus and lesson plans for introductory anthropology this fall, after reading Zull's book over the summer, I consciously tried to take into account the four step process described by the reviewer below. I've taught the course four times before and this was definitely the most successful -- by the end of the course the students were much more able to use the concepts they'd been introduced to over the course of the term, and the feedback and #s on the student evaluations of the course improved markedly.

Updating in 2012....I am more convinced of the value of this book than ever. After a couple of terms providing and not providing study guides, I've found that the mean grades in my intro. class are higher when the students don't get study guides. The reasons for this are straightforward - they need to go through their notes, identify the concepts themselves, etc. - but as Zull explains this also means they are using different parts of the brain in the process. Granted, I don't need the book to know this, but it's useful to me in justifying the decision not to provide a study guide to have a bit of neuroscience to appeal to.

It also makes me wary of stuff like the new Apple iBook textbooks that eliminate the process of making index cards to study. When you understand how the brain works, it's clear that these apparently mundane tasks are actually critical to the learning process.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. At first, I was skeptical that a biologist could deal sensitively with the psychological & social issues involved in helping students learn. But my skepticism quickly turned to enthusiasm when I discovered how clearly Zull linked his biological explanations of how brains work with the psychology of learning. He also described how instructors could put his insights to use in designing their courses & classroom activities. This is a great book and one I plan to use in my teaching seminar for graduate students. Well written and with lots of helpful examples.

I have read several books on learning and the brain, and this is currently the front runner. Zull does an excellent job of presenting the research in a way that captures his own journey as a student of brain-based teaching, and his insights are excellent. He's a very good story teller. I keep going back to the book and learning more. I have not read Sousa though, and I know he has been positively reviewed on this site. In any event, you won't regret buying this book.

I have a background in both biology and teaching. This book does an amazing job of tying biology and learning together, including some excellent, in-depth discussion on both what works in teaching, and why we've sometimes failed to teach. It has made me more aware of what teachers are up against (existing neuronal networks, evolutionary brain biology) and has given me more of an understanding of how critical it is to build on what the learner knows and provide concrete experiences. This was used as a text in my Masters class in learning. It is easy to read and understand because the author is putting into practice what he is preaching!!

A rich experience based narrative of Learning that teaches how to address any learning style including your own. Not a pier-reviewed document, it is strictly speaking, speculative. It focusing on conveying small ideas and observations with large effects. Learning is a process that is innate to living, and this book provides hints from a veteran on how to take the battle to the front lines in order to empower the learner with the ability and tools to involve, evaluate and teach themselves. Dr. Zull applies the lessons being taught in the book to his writing style, clearly illustrating each concept by generating interest and leading the reader to make connections in their own mind.

Zull clears the air by laying out the out the brain as a physical object and all behaviors and ideas as structures within. learning IS changing the brain and something you do everyday: change your brain change your life. With this practical view in hand the causes of learning issues like burnout and slow learning become visible and addressable. Changes in the brain take time and nutrition to take root as you must literally grow the connections you have made.

The book focuses on how to teach you to lead others to make their own connections, ones that they will actually be able to use. written with a concise style and light citations, support is provided by real life examples and illustrations both pictographic and figurative. Even so some parts may need to be read more than once as the far-reaching impacts of simple changes are profound, however for me rereading was always in appreciation and not for clarification. Zull uses simple language to portray gems of productivity and understanding which lay hidden in plain sight, concepts that are impactful because of how deeply connected they are to our every day lives, these fundamental concepts can be applied to become a more effective person in all aspects of life.

Not simply for the instructor, this book can help both the parent and the learner, or more generally an individual at any stage in life. Quarks of the brain that may cause even normal people to struggle are also explored, shedding light on their strange expressions in behavior and in life skills. Insights found here can help one cope with issues that may have held them back in education as early as elementary school and in life more generally.

Having helped instruct "learning-disabled" students, most problems (in light of this writing) are in fact, a matter of perspective on the part of the instructor, the students and the parents. This is a framework for disciplined thinking and reasoning centered around meta-cognitive skills, logic and disciplined study in a supportive environment. Skills that I wish I had found at a young age.

I can not recommend this book more highly, It has helped change my life. Having said that though, it is not for every one. It is heavily biased to people with an open mind to problem solving and those that have not been done justice by the existing educational system; People who have done well under the existing system, or who are believers in "building character" through needless adversity are not likely to either buy into the premise, nor find value here.

I chose this book for an independent study class. My fields of study are social work and life coaching. I also have interests in education,science, music and dance. I often find that what I learn in one area is relevant to many areas.From reading this book, I realize this conncectedness has a lot to do with the way our brains work, and they way we learn.
This book takes on the challenge of connecting learning theory with brain anatomy and function. It took two readings for me to begin to connect all many of the dots of the picture Zull attempts to draw for us. I look forward to sitting down and reading the book again. I apreciate his curiosity and openess. His goal is encourage curiousty in his reader. He presents factual information, along with his own guesses and encourages the reader to speculate as well.

I am an adult education professor and just love this book and the biological angle it takes on in learning perspectives.