Research That Benefits Children and Families    

I would have to say brain research has been very beneficial to our field.  Without all the information we now know about the brain we would not be as effective as teachers.  I just read an article written by Pam Schiller and Clarissa Willis that addresses how we can use our knowledge of the brain in our teaching strategies with regards to learning standards.  www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200807/BTJPrimaryInterest

Much of what they write about is how children need real and meaningful experiences in order for their brain to absorb the information and actually retain it. 

I think if I could make parents realize one thing it would be that children do not need to be sitting at a desk and doing worksheets for hours to be prepared for kindergarten.  I have to convince parents all the time that want to take their child out of our program (play based program) and put them into an academic preschool “so they will be ready for kindergarten” that what I do in my preschool class will not only prepare them academically but socially, emotionally and we do it in a way that is meaningful and exciting for the child so they learn to love learning!  I have learned over time how to present what we do to parents so they understand what learning is going on each day. 

I use brain gym in my class every day.  This is a technique, if you will that helps the children stimulate their brain ad bodies and prepare them for learning.  Again without someone researching the brain we would not know that these things are helpful to children in their learning process.

www.braingym.org

Through brain research we also know that there are certain times when children are ready to learn something.  Presenting it or trying to force a child to “learn” something their brain is not capable of can actually cause problems down the road.  For example, a 2 year old child does not have the brain function yet to be able to look at you and listen to you when they are in an escalated state such as having a temper tantrum.  Their brain simply cannot think rationally when they are having the tantrum and that is what they have to be able to do to listen to someone who is trying to tell them to calm down or stop doing something.

Our brain is a fascinating thing.  I am intrigued all the time by what I learn about it.