Every teacher (and parent) should read this book. Absolutely fascinating, with so many practical suggestions and facts about how the brain learns. Jensen has done a marvelous job of distilling information from the latest brain research. Much better than the first edition that I read in 1999!

I just finished reading "Teaching with the Brain in Mind" and I give it a solid 4/5. Leans heavily on cognitive science-based principles that both confirm what I know about learning and give some surprising insights (temperature matters more than we think). Also practical tips for non-teachers that want to encode new information better and retrieve it more efficiently and accurately.

This book has incredible information about how to apply the most recent brain research to teaching practices! A must read for teachers and anyone else interested in effective teaching practices.

Every teacher needs to read this book. Seriously. Also, make sure to NOT get the first edition.

This book is easy to understand and has practical suggestions on how to apply teaching to the science of brain development and learning. It is written so traditional classroom teachers who need their students to use memorization techniques, etc. can apply brain research to their teaching methods. He touches on some good points that suggest reform.

Keep them moving. This book teaches about the latest brain research as it relates to teaching. I would suggest it to any teacher at any level. Actually, I'd suggest it to parents as well. We're learning more and more about how our brains work. This book gives background and techniques for improving student achievement. Definitely worth reading.

Definitely one of the better books related to teaching that I've read in a long time. It's full of practical information relating to how we can help our students' brains to grow.

New learnings:

Left/right brained personality is out of date. Left/sequential/part to whole doesn't always translate to logic and right/whole to part doesn't always translate to artistic inclination etc...

Once students habituate to a signal, it's time to change to something new.

It takes up to six hours to complete formation of the synaptic connection for implicit learning.

Prior knowledge is not a mythical concoction. It consists of real, physical brain matter.

We all have high and low energy parts of the day. The brain actually forces us to take it easy, adolescents are especially prone. Because of this, portfolios are a more accurate means of showing what a child can do. They use snippets of different times of the day.

People who exercise have more cortical mass.

Great glossary of brain terms in the back.

Solidified old learning:

Strong connection to SMART training, reinforced my belief that the essential skills in the SMART room helps the increase cross body tasks etc.... Lack of screen time is better for young kids because constant screens inhibits the brains ability to develop in the toddler years.

It all relates to Maslow's theory that we need safety, food, sleep in order for our brains to properly learn new content. Nothing new here...

The human brain is is POOR at nonstop attention. It needs time for rest and processing after learning. (Direct instruction (k-2) 5-8 minutes is appropriate, (grades 3-5) 8-12 minutes is appropriate, (adults) 15-18 minutes. For rest/processing time, taking a walk, recess, breaks of any kind are good, writing is not

Repetition works but can backfire if too monotonous.

Priming has a huge effect on verbal fluency. For priming to be effective, students need only to hear or see relevant words. Max value comes from naming or using priming word. (look back at page 41 for ways to prime)

Our brain works best if we learn less content more deeply. "More" is not optimum because learning deeply involves multiple stages of processing. The frontal lobe limits us to 3-7 chunks of info at a time.

Brain learns better by being active in learning rather than passive.

Exercise helps oxygen get to the brain and increases connections among neurons and neuron growth.

Emotional states affect learning.

Rather than focus on cognitive psychology and theory, Dr. Eric Jensen provides a text that is both in-depth and accessible as he describes the biology of the brain and how it impacts learning. Knowing this, teachers are challenged to adapt their pedagogy to meet the needs of students based on what their brains are capable of doing.

Great resource, relevant in the classroom and full of practical suggestions. In some ways it feels like operating instructions for students. One of the ideas I appreciated the most was the need to give students settling time. This is time where students are not learning anything new, they are resting, but their brains are still working to process the information.

A fantastic read. So much to process. I like a healthy dose of science in my pedagogy, so this was a satisfying experience. It's going to take me years to incorporate everything I learned effectively, but I am already feeling a difference from some of the shifts this book inspired.

Science-based perspective of how the brain works in an educational setting.

Fascinating information about the brain!