The Anatomy of Learning

Understanding the anatomy of learning requires us to grasp how the brain processes and retains information. It is crucial to designing impactful lessons. The frontal lobe, essential for focus, planning, and decision-making, plays a significant role in student engagement. By leveraging brain-friendly strategies, teachers can help students transition from mere focus to a state of flow—a heightened level of engagement where deep learning occurs.

What is Flow, and Why Does It Matter?

Flow, coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is a state where individuals are fully immersed and highly productive in their tasks. For students, achieving flow leads to deeper understanding, improved memory, and increased motivation. The key is creating an environment that balances challenge and skill, fosters autonomy, and sparks curiosity. In Brain-Based Learning, Jensen and McConchie state that learning is acquiring knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, and preferences. They discuss that learning follows the direct and then indirect approach. Flow challenges that construct by embracing the indirect, then direct approach to learning. Some of the brain-based interventions discussed in the episode include:

Brain-Based Strategies for Educators and Occupational Therapists

  1. Tell Me About: Engage students with open-ended prompts like “Tell me about this.” This strategy triggers curiosity and connects prior knowledge and new learning.
  2. What do you see/What do you notice?: This strategy triggers connections to previous knowledge so that students can make sense of the stimulus.
  3. Indirect Instruction First: Start lessons with activities that encourage exploration and discussion rather than direct instruction.
  4. Leverage Movement: Incorporate activities like sensory paths or standing tasks to tap into the brain’s reliance on movement for learning.
  5. Harnessing Motivation: Create relevant, challenging, and unpredictable lessons to spark students’ intrinsic motivation.

Why It Works

Engaging the brain’s natural reward system with techniques that stimulate dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin promotes focus, creativity, and retention. By understanding these neurochemical drivers, educators can craft lessons that resonate with students and guide them toward success.

Looking Ahead

The conversation doesn’t stop here. In the coming months, IMPACT Wednesday will delve deeper into concepts from Building Thinking Classrooms and further explore flow’s role in education. These sessions are designed to empower educators with the tools they need to transform classrooms into thriving learning communities.

Stay tuned for more insights and practical strategies. Ready to transform your teaching?

Join us at the next IMPACT Wednesday session. (Note: Jonily posts these events on her Eventbrite page.)

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper & Row.

Flow Research Collective. (n.d.). Flow triggers. Retrieved January 15, 2025, from https://www.flowresearchcollective.com/blog/flow-triggers

Jensen, E., & McConchie, L. (2020). Brain-based learning: Teaching the way students really learn (3rd ed.). Corwin.

Free resource that goes along with the episode