No abstract

Research on the executive functions of the brain supports a constructivist, experiential approach to teaching and learning.

Many of the qualities that we look for in leaders are precisely those qualities that make people very good teachers. With this in mind, the development of leadership can be seen as the result of some types of professional development. It happens naturally in those processes where people begin to take charge. It happens even more powerfully when staff members work together to foster collective learning in a school.

The article introduces the notion of a "meme." A meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. In education it acts as a powerful assumption, guiding what is meant by learning and teaching and determines that teaching should include a textbook, teacher-directed lessons, control of student behavior, and testing as proof of "learning." The article explores new challenges to this meme coming from current research emerging out of biology, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. It suggests that a form of project-based learning is more compatible with how the human brain was designed to make sense of experience.

Brain research must be carefully examined before the appropriate implications for education emerge. When used in conjunction with the best of what is emerging in other fields, it becomes clear that the traditional model of education is no longer serving the needs of our students. To successfully implement the most important changes, however, we must change ourselves first.