Educators can improve their grant-proposal writing by having a fundable idea, following guidelines precisely, seeking out funding sources, carefully crafting the proposal, and critiquing it before sending it. Only the best-written proposals get funded. Resources are listed. (MLH)

Sylwester says education must begin relying more on biology than social and behavioral science. All brain systems move from a slow, awkward functional level to a fast, efficient level. Contributions of metacognition, self-regulation, emotions, reflective and reflexive responses, comparison, and classification to cognitive development are…

Although neuroscience has much to offer teaching and learning conceptualizations, educators must be cautious about applying lab research to classrooms. Brain research seems hazy, confusing, and contradictory because it is new. Myths about synapses, low-stress learning, memorization, enrichment, and learning styles are debunked. (MLH)

In this interview, psychologist Andrew Meltzoff dispels some popular myths and discusses insights from cognitive developmental psychology to enlighten educators. Studying infants and listening to young children has led experts to revise their ideas about the thought/language relationship. Play activities are profound learning experiences. (MLH)

Educational practices involving emotional intelligence should be based on solid research, not sensationalistic claims. There are two emotional-intelligence models based on ability and an ability/social-competence mixture. Emphasizing cooperative behavior could stifle creativity, healthy skepticism, or spontaneity. Teaching emotional reasoning pays…

Emotion is an innate, powerful, and principally unconscious process that is perceptible in body language, responds vigorously to high-contrast information concerning dangers and opportunities, and often biases the direction of our problem- solving responses. Curricular challenges involving the arts, play, and classroom management are discussed.…

ADHD is a neuropsychiatric disorder in youngsters characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. To avoid chaotic classrooms, incomplete assignments, and universal misery, teachers should view ADHD children as whole persons, be proactive, and recognize their own biases. Assisting such students requires caution, creativity, and…

Research suggests that physical activity benefits learning. Movement increases heart rate and circulation, enhances spatial learning, provides a break from learning, allows cognitive maturation, stimulates release of beneficial chemicals, counteracts excessive sitting, and affirms the value of implicit learning. Energizing classroom strategies are…

For 12 years, the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) has researched use of technology to expand opportunities for diverse learners. Universal design principles drawn from architecture and product development are useful for developing effective educational tools that can accommodate students' varied recognition, strategic, and affective…

An independent school in Encino, California, studied the concept of neoplasticity (lifelong brain reorganization processes) and started using more technology in classrooms. Brain-based programs require a rich learning environment, thematic instruction, integrated curricula, musical stimulation, multiple intelligences, and multisensory specialized…

Demonstrates how teachers can make instruction more meaningful by linking new subject matter to students' previous experiences and by using community resources to create exciting new learning experiences. If the content is rigorous and relevant, debates, storytelling, the arts, graphic organizers, and mnemonics can dramatically enhance student…

Under an Israeli Communities of Thinking model, teaching and learning are organized into three stages: the fertile question, research, and performance. A questioning pedagogy recreates the fertile question, undermines students' assumptions, celebrates questions, imparts knowledge questioningly, coaches research questions, and enables open…

At a new charter school serving predominantly defiant underachievers and special-needs students, a psychology teacher was challenged to implement founders' brain-based principles. She succeeded by establishing a climate of relaxed alertness, immersing students in meaningful experiences, and guiding them in processing their experiences. (MLH)

Through a partnership with Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, staff of a successful, improvement-oriented elementary school focused on brain-compatible practices. These included a safe, nonthreatening environment; active and meaningful learning; rich, stimulating, varied input; and accurate, timely, and helpful feedback. (MLH)

Neuropsychology professor Steven Petersen describes what scientists are finding out about brain development, synaptic growth and wiring, intentional and incidental learning, the role of emotion in learning, and declarative and implicit memory systems. Neuroscience has only the broadest outline of principles to offer today's educators. (MLH)