Why The Brain Matters: A Teacher Explores Neuroscience

Educational neuroscience is one of the most hotly debated areas of research and is often misrepresented with grand claims for what it means for teaching and learning. Is each side of the brain responsible for different types of mental activity? Can listening to Mozart improve long-term brain function? Can neuroscience help with reading, or student motivation? In this book, teacher, education consultant and researcher Jon Tibke fact-checks prevailing 'neuromyths' by shining a light on what scientific research is truly relevant for the classroom and exploring the current limits of our understanding. Evidence-informed and complemented by thought-provoking practical tasks, this book will challenge readers to think critically about the human body's most complex organ.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Why do you need to know anything about the brain? Chapter 2: What should you know about the brain? Chapter 3: What your pupils should know about their brains Chapter 4: The neuromyths Chapter 5: How to keep up with reliable and accurate information Chapter 6: The brain and the pre-school, primary and secondary school years Chapter 7: How can schools become involved in and influence research? Chapter 8: Famous brains in education: Temple Grandin and Barbara Arrowsmith-Young Chapter 9: Skills, learning needs and the brain Chapter 10: What lies ahead?

About the Author :
Jon Tibke began his teaching career in Lancashire in 1982, where he taught in four secondary schools over a period of 25 years. Following six years as a deputy headteacher, he moved into initial teacher training, undertaking PGCE roles with the Open University, Edge Hill University and the University of Cumbria. In 2014, Jon became a freelance teacher educator, leading events for trainee, newly qualified and experienced teachers throughout England and Wales, as well as further afield in India, Kazakhstan, Nepal and Qatar. Having finished writing The Brain and Teaching: a cautious guide, Jon is concentrating on the completion of his PhD thesis, The Case of Teachers and Neuroscience: how do teachers mediate information about the brain?

Review :
′Many books based on arcane PhD research read like books based on arcane PhD research. Tibke′s is a delightful exception. Whilst its roots are indeed steeped in a solid evidence-base, and he certainly doesn′t sidestep the crucial debates, it is a beautifully-written and accessible book - respectful of the field′s technical complexities and terminology yet jargon-free in its elucidation, ambitious in its scope yet modest in its claims, simultaneously coolly detached and warmly empathetic, unashamedly on the side of the hard-pressed teacher yet wisely non-ideological and disinterested (in the best and traditional sense of the word). In short, this is a state-of-an-evolving-art summary of a ferociously complex and still immature subject - the brain and its implications for educators. Written by a true educator, certain chapters in particular (eg chapter 4 on the neuromyths) should be required reading for all educational policy-makers and teachers.′ ′At a time when teachers are being encouraged to seek simple answers from out-of-date cognitive psychology, or encouraged to jump on the latest bandwagon by an ever-growing number of snake-oil salespeople, it is deeply refreshing to read a book that takes a critical but positive stance on the relationship between neuroscience and education. Jon Tibke’s book offers just such a well-informed and accessibly-written account of what we know, what we don’t know, and what it all means for teachers. From imaging to neuroplasticity to smart drugs to memory to genetics, Jon Tibke offers concise discussions of key issues in neuroscience that are relevant – and of interest – to teachers as well as debunking pervasive neuro-myths. The glossaries at the end of each chapter are themselves extremely useful. The book also make a great contribution to teachers’ research literacy and would make a valuable contribution to professional development libraries.′     This is a really well-balanced book that will help you to understand the brain and the neuroscienti?c ?eld so that you can think critically about it and  why it should figure in your professional updates, discussion and development. You can also use it to understand and employ some relevant study skills in ?nding reliable sources, think critically about research and look for corroboration from related studies, all skills which  enhance your own professional development. I highly recommend it. Why the Brain Matters is an outstanding book from a skilled communicator and an experienced and enthusiastic educator. I recommend it as an accessible entry point for everyone who has an interest in neuroscience, especially secondary school teachers. It isn’t condescending in its reductionism and it is illuminating in its synthesising of ideas into a context.  And where it needs to be it is provocative. In short, it is exactly what a mainstream book on neuroscience ought to be.