42 Ways to Boost Learning by Applying Our Bodies, Surroundings and Relationships
Blog Post
Cole Keister via Unsplash
Sept. 7, 2021
The Learning Sciences Exchange (LSX) is a cross-sector fellowship program designed to bring together journalists, entertainment producers, policy influencers, social entrepreneurs, and researchers around the science of early learning. As part of the program, our fellows contribute to various publications, including New America’s EdCentral blog; BOLD, the blog on learning development published by the Jacobs Foundation; and outside publications. The article below, authored by LSX Fellow Annie Murphy Paul, is excerpted from a blog published in KQED on August 5, 2021: 42 Ways to Boost Learning by Applying Our Bodies, Surroundings and Relationships
Our education system is dominated by a neurocentric model of thinking: we assume that students’ mental activity is contained inside their heads. But we open up a world of new possibilities when we encourage students to think outside the brain: that is, to use external resources to enhance their mental processes.
Such outside-the-head resources include the sensations and movements of students’ bodies; the physical spaces in which students learn and play; and the social interactions students engage in with others. My new book, "The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain," offers an array of practical strategies for engaging these mental “extensions”; here, is a selection especially for teachers and parents.
To continue reading, see the full article published August 5, 2021 in KQED.
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