Implications for Educators

Brain imaging technologies and neural networks are certainly not the first things that jump into most teachers' minds on the way to school each morning. But you do not need to have a degree in neuroscience to reap the benefits of understanding the learning brain. The fundamental nature of the recognition, strategic, and affective networks form a framework we can use to analyze our students' individual strengths and weaknesses and understand their individual differences.

One of the clearest and most important revelations stemming from brain research is that there are no "regular" students. The notion of broad categories of learners-smart, not smart, disabled, not disabled, regular, not regular-is a gross oversimplification that does not reflect reality. By categorizing students in this way, we miss many subtle and important qualities and focus instead on a single characteristic.

The modular organization of learning networks and the highly specialized subprocesses within networks mean that each student brings a unique assortment of strengths, weaknesses, and preferences to school. In our classroom examples so far, we have focused on characteristics within a single brain network in order to highlight the impact of issues within each network. This is not a recommendation to focus on one network alone for any given student. In fact, patterns of strength and weakness across all three networks interact with the teaching and learning environment in ways that can either bring about progress or frustration. Sometimes a problem in one area can receive so much attention that other issues are missed. For example, students with learning disabilities are often mistakenly thought to have problems only with recognizing words. But as our final classroom example of this chapter illustrates, most learning disabilities actually involve all three learning networks.

Activity: Use the three brain networks to analyze individual differences.

Meet Mr. Hernandez . . . and Patrick

Mr. Hernandez teaches 6th grade in a middle-class suburban neighborhood. One of his new students this year is Patrick, "a good kid," albeit one who doesn't seem terribly invested in his schoolwork. According to Patrick's elementary and early middle school teachers, he is a "classic dyslexic, with atrocious spelling, missed vowels, and disjointed thoughts." Despite tutoring and other special supports, Patrick continues to have difficulty reading and writing.

Mr. Hernandez spends the first few weeks of the semester identifying Patrick's strengths and weaknesses across all three networks. He notes that Patrick's learning issues are more complex than his individualized education plan (IEP) indicates. In addition to problems with recognition-based skills in reading and writing, Patrick demonstrates some strategic issues. Specifically, he's easily distracted and has difficulty self-monitoring, causing him to lose track of his goal midway through an activity. Further, Mr. Hernandez notes that although Patrick is generally cheerful, he has become accustomed to failure. In fact, Patrick's identity seems in some ways tied to being a poor student. From time to time, he jokes about his poor grades in a seemingly proud way and seems largely unwilling to invest effort in schoolwork. These behaviors clearly signal affective concerns that should be addressed.

Mr. Hernandez considers the best approach for supporting Patrick's learning based on his broader understanding of Patrick's strengths and weaknesses. He decides to address the affective side first, knowing that if Patrick is not motivated to achieve academically, his progress on all fronts will be limited. Mr. Hernandez will try capitalizing on Patrick's strong interest in baseball to fashion some early writing and math assignments around that subject. He also plans to support Patrick's reading and writing mechanics so that difficulties there don't interfere with his ability to produce good work.

New insights into the learning brain help educators understand how learners differ and give us ideas about how we might better promote their learning. UDL Classroom Template 1, available in the Appendix (p. 178) and online, will guide you through the development of your own Class Learning Profile-a compendium of your students' strengths, weaknesses, and interests across the three brain networks.

Classroom Template: The Classroom Learning Profile Template gives tips and tools for considering learner needs and strengths in light of the three brain networks.

Educators hoping to get the most accurate picture of students' capacities must also carefully consider the materials and tools available to them in the classroom. It is in the intersection of student characteristics and the tools they use that students' abilities are actually defined. In the next chapter, we examine the media and tools of teaching.