What is neuroscience and why does it matter to education?

Put simply, neuroscience is the study of the brain: how it functions, what hurts it, ways to strengthen it, and so on. Like other organs in the body, for instance the heart or the lungs, the brain is inseparable from the health and wellness of our whole selves. As educators, we draw on brain science in order to support and inform educational leaders, administrators, teachers, and students. We strive to make neuroscientific research applicable and practical in all aspects of educational life from learning to classroom management, from reducing stress to enhancing wellness, from high-performance to discipline decisions.

Why is Neuroplasticity so important for educators to understand?

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change throughout our lifespans. Our brains are shaped, wired, and sculpted by our environments and by what we practice. The most empowering lesson our students can learn is that their brain can be physically altered by what they choose to do. Brain scientists put it simply: “what fires together, wires together.” This catch-phrase we need to remember tells us that every time we choose to practice something – scoring a goal, problem-solving, recollecting historical facts, performing a song, creating something new, learning vocabulary in a new language – it wires into our brains. We lay down neural networks that begin as bumpy, country roads, but with deliberate practice can become the super highways of skill and mastery. Now, the other key catchphrase is “use it or lose it.” When we stop practicing, we may well lose the skill we worked hard to achieve.

Neuroplasticity applies to conduct, not just academics, sports, and the arts.

If we want students to behave, to be empathic and not bullying, to be calm and not disruptive, to be kind and not violent, to be self-regulated and not dysregulated, to be destressed and not stressed out, to focus and not be distracted, we need to harness neuroplasticity. We need to train children’s brains how to calm down in our 21st century of constant noise and stimuli. We need them to focus in our era of distraction. We need to learn that their stressed-out reactions can be regulated and they have the power to do it. We need to apply the science of “co-regulation” to help our children and teens lean on caring adults and one another to replace stress with connection. We can destress our teachers by destressing our students and brain science can be a pathway for that.