I’ve just finished reading a wonderful book by James Zull, The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching the Practice of Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning. Before I get into this, let me take a step back. Over a year ago, it became clear that many Brescia faculty members were looking for a way to better understand the students in their classrooms. That led to a number of discussions that culminated in the launch of the Brescia Faculty Institute (“BFI”), a thrice-annual, full-day session that would be dedicated to optimizing learning in our classrooms.
The inaugural Brescia BFI was facilitated by Dr. Jo Ann Deak, an expert in the area of girls, women, and learning. Her presentation to faculty focused on emerging brain research that indicates, at the risk of oversimplifying, that the neurological differences between the brains of young women and men can provide key lessons around maximizing the learning experiences of our students. By understanding what is going on, neurologically, for woman situated in what she called the “magic decade” between ages 12-22, we might aspire to teach to those specific needs and, in doing so, optimize learning.
I can tell you that Dr. Deak stirred up a great deal of interest, excitement, and even controversy among our faculty members and it has led to a renewed interest in brain research as it applies to learning strategies. James Zull’s book is in keeping with this growing field of research and scholarship.
Zull’s key premise, that I suspect Dr. Deak would love, is that “learning is change. It is change in ourselves because it is change in the brain. Thus, the art of teaching must be the art of changing the brain.” Zull, a Biology professor and the Director of the Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Education at Case Western Reserve University, argues that teaching must centre on creating conditions, presumably in the classroom, that lead to change in the learner’s brain. In order to optimize learning, Zull claims, we must build in strong experiences along with an opportunity to reflect on those experiences, utilizing David Kolb’s 1984 cyclical model of experiential learning whereby sensory experience leads to reflection which in turn leads to the generation of new ideas and finally the testing of those ideas known as learning. At all times, we must strive for balance among the different stages of this process, or otherwise risk not achieving the best outcomes.
While neuroscience has so much to tell us about optimizing learning for the entire community, it is even more instructive when we focus in on a slice of that community – women learners. It speaks to significant differences in the structure of the male and female brain, differences that are in many ways amplified when the brains in question are under 25 years old.
And so we continue trying to ‘change our own brains’ – to learn more about the art of learning – not just for the joy of that learning, but more importantly to serve our students as best we can. As the only women’s university in Canada, Brescia has the luxury of being able to target its efforts to female learners, a focus that surely leads to the best possible outcomes.