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Getting Students Ready to Learn

Preparing the Early Brain

Getting Students Ready to Learn Brought to FEN by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Educators continually complain that students are not ready to learn. They show up for school underfed or malnourished, angry or apathetic, stressed, threatened, and sleepy. Naturally, this makes the roles of both teacher and learner much more difficult. This article considers how educators and parents can better prepare their children's minds and brains for school.

Although research shows that school readiness, indeed, begins at conception, we'll concentrate first on those critical first months and years after birth. We now understand that the first 48 months of life are critical to the brain's development. While researchers have always known that infant development was important, they never knew just how important. Wayne State neurobiologist Harry Chugani says the experiences of the first year "can completely change the way a person turns out."

The brain is literally customizing itself for your particular lifestyle from the day you're born. It's a time of enormous selective receptiveness. The question is, "For what are you customizing your brain?" For educators, the question is even more pointed, "Exactly what talents, abilities, and experiences are students being exposed to and, on the other hand, what are they missing out on?"

Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington says that, in their first year, infants develop a perceptual map of responsive neurons in the auditory cortex. This map is formed by hearing early sounds, and accents and word pronunciations are a big part of it. These phonemes alert infants to the particular inflections like a Spanish rolled "r" or a sharp Japanese "Hi!" As a result, the brain dedicates special neurons to be receptive to those particular sounds.

This developing map is so customized for the household that children are "functionally deaf" to sounds outside of their home environments. The greater the early vocabulary children are exposed to, the better.

Children must also get early exposure to a wide variety of objects and games. Neurobiologists tell us that much of our vision develops in our first year, particularly in the first four to six months, with a major growth spurt at age two to four months. (This window is much earlier than previous studies indicated.) With more than 30 distinct visual areas in the brain, including color, movement, hue, and depth, the growing infant must get a variety of stimulating input, including plenty of practice handling objects and learning their shapes, weight, and movement.

Early Thinking SkillsBrought to FEN by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

By Eric Jensen

The brain is fully ready for thinking through tactile learning as early as nine months. The cortex is not fully developed yet, but the cerebellum is ready. This cauliflower-shaped organ at the back bottom of the brain works overtime in infants. Surprisingly, most infants already understand basic counting principles and simple physics before age one. Neural circuits for math and logic are ready for "planting the seeds" at this age. Parents who explore these possibilities are laying the foundation for long-term success in school.

What's more, infants whose parents talk to them more frequently and use bigger, "adult" words will develop better language skills, says Janellen Huttenlocher at the University of Chicago. "During this time, there is a huge vocabulary to be acquired." This crucial time lays the pathway for reading skills later on.

Developing reading skills is another story. Although babies can learn to see, point to, and say a word, there's little meaning until they have sufficient life experience to match words and experience. Studies suggest babies listen to words even though they cannot yet speak. All the words, understood or not, are contributing to the development of syntax, vocabulary, and meaning. It is believed that this time is critical for language development. Surprisingly, there is no absolute timetable for learning to read. Differences of three years are normal. Some children will be ready to read at four years; others, just as normal, will be ready at seven or even ten years. The child who reads at seven might not be "developmentally delayed" as many have diagnosed.

Eating to LearnBrought to FEN by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

By Eric Jensen

Many school food-service programs were designed for bone and muscle growth, not the brain's learning requirements. There can be a middle ground. Food must supply the nutrients necessary for learning, and the critical nutrients include proteins, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and sugars. The brain also needs a wide range of trace elements such as boron, selenium, vanadium, and potassium.

According to a National Research Council report, Americans eat too much fat, protein, and simple carbohydrates. They eat too few fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates. Even with federally funded breakfast programs, many kids still get only simple carbohydrates. That's insufficient for basic, much less optimal, learning and memory. In addition, many children have food allergies (most commonly to dairy products) that can cause behavioral and learning problems.

Are specific foods particularly good for the brain? There are many, but children rarely get enough of them. They include leafy green vegetables, salmon, nuts, lean meats, and fresh fruits. Other evidence indicates that vitamin and mineral supplements can boost learning, memory, and intelligence.

Drinking to LearnBrought to FEN by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

By Eric Jensen

Dehydration is a common problem that's linked to poor learning. To be at their best, learners need water. When we are thirsty, it's because there's a drop in the water content of the blood. When the water percentage in the blood drops, the salt concentration in the blood is higher. Higher salt levels increase the release of fluids from the cells into the bloodstream. That raises blood pressure and stress. Stress researchers found that within five minutes of drinking water, there is a marked decline in corticoids and ACTH, two hormones associated with elevated stress. In addition, if water is available in the learning environment, the typical hormone response to the stress (elevated levels of corticoids) is "markedly reduced or absent." These studies suggest a strong role for water in keeping learners' stress levels in check.

Because the brain is made up of a higher percentage of water than any other organ, dehydration takes a toll quickly. There's a loss of attentiveness, and lethargy sets in. Dehydration means many children need more water, more often. Soft drinks, juice, coffee, or tea are diuretics that don't help much. Teachers should encourage students to drink water throughout the day. Parents who know this can suggest that their children use water as the primary thirst quencher.

Practical SuggestionsBrought to FEN by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

By Eric Jensen

This issue is so important, we cannot afford to not to take action. We can work with students, staff, and community to help ensure that students' minds and brains are ready for school.

Because we already influence them in many other ways, let's start with students. We can talk to them about nutrition and what stimulates better thinking, learning, and recall. We can ask them to do projects on nutrition to research the impact of various foods. We can ask them to keep a private journal so that they can begin to link up what they eat with how they feel and do in school. Guest speakers can provide some novelty or credibility on the subject. Maybe, most importantly, teachers and parents can role model good "eating-to-learn" nutrition.

At the staff level, we can influence what's served for school breakfasts or lunches. We can change what's put in the vending machines. We can provide information to the district office about nutrition for learning. At the school open house, we can offer parents a talk and handout on "Eating to Learn." We also can influence the district office if the school's start time needs to be changed. Many schools around the country have already successfully done this.

Finally, we ought to engage both school and community resources to educate parents on how to get their children ready for school. Many parents simply don't have access to information, or they think they already know it. Create alliances with local hospitals, the chamber of commerce, or local businesses to get the word out. Prepare flyers and provide free sessions for parents on the benefits of getting their children ready to learn. Talk to them about motor development, crawling, and how it affects reading and writing skills. Encourage them to talk more, play music, and solve more problems. Share with them the impact of television and some easy-to-use alternatives.

Working TogetherBrought to FEN by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

By Eric Jensen

It's common to hear experienced teachers talk about "how kids used to be." But are children's brains really any different today than they were 30 or 40 years ago? We don't know for sure. No one has saved a variety of brains to compare, and today's technology was unavailable back then.

Interestingly, however, there is some evidence that children today really are less prepared for school than they were one or two generations ago. Therefore, schools, educators, and parents must work together to ensure that all of our children are ready for learning each day.

Adapted from Jensen, E. (1998); "Getting Students Ready to Learn", in Teaching with the Brain in Mind (pp. 17-28). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

About the Author
Eric Jensen is a former teacher and current member of the International Society of Neuroscience. Jensen has taught students of all ages, from children in elementary school to young adults in university-level courses. In 1981, Jensen cofounded SuperCamp, the nation's first and largest brain-compatible learning program for teens, now with more than 20,000 graduates. He is the author of Student Success Secrets, Brain-Based Learning, Brain-Compatible Strategies, The Learning Brain, and SuperTeaching. Jensen can be reached, via email, at [email protected].