Brain Science for Principals: What School Leaders Need to Know

Brain Science for Principals: What School Leaders Need to Know features leadership of learning from the perspective of recent findings of educational neuroscience. Each chapter explores a question related to learning and offers practical suggestions for principals. Divided into six sections, each of the 24 short chapters can stand alone or the book can be read cover-to-cover. The opening section explains how understanding brain neuroplasticity changes belief in fixed intelligence. A partial list of subjects explored in the book includes neurogenesis, neurodiversity, memory, brain fitness, the emotional connection, effects of stress, poverty, embodied cognition, movement, mindset, ELL issues, multitasking, the role of the arts, ages and stages of the brain, emotional intelligence, creating resonance, and maintaining mindfulness. The conclusion underscores how neuroscientifically literate principals can enhance learning and advance social justice. Writers of the book anticipate a future when educational neuroscience findings about learning become part of the education of every principal and school leader. Knowing how the brain works is the key to the future of education.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables and Figures Preface – Linda L. Lyman Acknowledgments Introduction – Linda L. Lyman Section I – Learning Chapter 1 – How can learning be enhanced? – Linda L. Lyman Chapter 2 – How does neuroplasticity change belief in fixed intelligence? – Matthew K. Heid Chapter 3 – How does metacognition enhance learning? – Jennifer McCoy Chapter 4 – How does being bilingual benefit a learner’s brain? – Patricia M. Valente Chapter 5 – How does multi-tasking affect learning? – Matthew K. Heid Section II – The Fit Brain Chapter 6 – How does sleep build brain health? – Stacie M. France Chapter 7 – How do school breakfast and lunch programs support learning? – Brian M. Swanson Chapter 8 – How does exercise enhance learning? – Brian M. Swanson Chapter 9 – How does movement in the classroom benefit learning? – Abigail Larrison Chapter 10 – How can memory be enhanced? – Linda L. Lyman Section III – The Emotional Connection Chapter 11 – Why is a positive learning environment so important? – Jennifer McCoy Chapter 12 – How do trauma and chronic stress affect the brain? – Stacie M. France Chapter 13 – How can stress be recognized and reduces? – Jamie L. Hartrich Chapter 14 – How do the Arts nurture and connect emotions? –Patricia M. Valente Section IV – The Brain on School Chapter 15 – How can mindset make someone smarter? – Matthew K. Heid Chapter 16 – How can knowing brain science improve Reading? – Patricia M. Valente Chapter 17 – How can knowing brain science improve Math? – Jamie L. Hartrich Chapter 18 – How can principals support teacher success with ELLs? – Patricia M. Valente Section V – Ages and Stages of the Brain Chapter 19 – How can principals help elementary learners? – Jamie L. Hartrich Chapter 20 – How can principals help middle school learners? – Stacie M. France Chapter 21 – How can principals help high school learners? – Jennifer McCoy Section VI – Inside the Brain of a Principal Chapter 22 – How can principals maintain mindfulness in challenging times? – Christine Paxson Chapter 23 – How can principals support environments that cultivate learning - Christine Paxson Chapter 24 – How can brain science inform cultural processes? – Christine Paxson Conclusion – Linda L. Lyman About the Authors About the Editor – Linda L. Lyman About the Consulting Editor – Abigail Larrison References

About the Author :
Linda L. Lyman is a professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations at Illinois State University. Through her teaching and writing, she has explored and advocated leadership approaches that enhance learning, promote growth through dialogue, and advance social justice.

Review :
Neuroscience has and continues to offer exciting insight into how both children and adults learn and grow. Brain Science for Principals effectively translates the research to practical application which will serve school leaders in their efforts to create a culture and environment supportive of all learners. This is an important and timely read. Brain Science for Principals is a brilliant read and needs to be on the reading list of every principal and education administration program. It is a brain myth buster and has the potential to make each reader neuro-wise and not neuro-naïve. Bravo! As a teacher educator who has worked with many teachers in our graduate degree programs with majors in brain-based teaching, I have often heard them say how much they wished their administrators knew more about the brain and how people learn. This book provides leaders with just such a resource! Principals who read this book will be better able to support teachers to increase instructional effectiveness through their understanding of how learning occurs. The responsibilities of principals are complex and expanding and this book supplies information they need. Written by practitioners, principals new to the profession will find current information and applicable strategies they likely did not receive as part of their training. Seasoned principals will recognize many of the ideas posed from previous information on child development and student motivation but with enriched and updated information from neuroscience. All principals will gain new perspectives of students’ diverse academic, physical, and emotional needs and have the scientific backing they need to create environments where students learn in brain-friendly ways, experience subjects that motivate and enrich them, and are less constrained by old notions of who they are or who they can become. Principals passionate about closing achievement gaps and ensuring all students achieve to their fullest potential need to read this book. Getting to know the whole student and where they are is key to ensuring students succeed and grow. This book connects the ideas of intelligence and mindsets as they relate to learning and provides advice that principals can believe and follow! After immersing into the in-depth research of Brain Science for Principals, I realized my principal colleagues and I have focused ourselves as instructional leaders with a fixed mindset as opposed to a more effective learning leader or an effective growth leader. Dr. Linda Lyman and her colleagues have done an outstanding job clearly outlining through extensive research what effective educational leaders need to know about Neuroscience. Accountability for student growth is at the forefront of every conversation. We are in an age where student growth is the focus of politicians, administration, teachers, parents and students. Brain Science for Principals offers insights into brain research that supports the environments that can cultivate learning. I found the book easy to read and helpful in understanding the impact of brain science on education. The format of the book allows for reflection about what is read, which leads to implementation of ideas to create a school culture for addressing the needs of the whole child. Understanding how the brain, intelligence, and emotional control change as children develop is a useful and important skill for educators, not only because of the consequences for learning, but also to help promote equity in schooling. Imagining that the brain can be developed, nurtured, and grown presents a shifted paradigm for principals who make decisions about student learning, disciplinary consequences, and physical activity. Any principal committed to social justice, to include learning, would be well served by reading this book with the teachers in the building and explore the implications for the way we “do schooling”.