Brain Rules

Trolling the web recently, I came across UW professor John Medina, whose book Brain Rules recently came out in paperback. (Very co-incidently, while lost in Laurelhurst today, I noticed a mysterious campus-like facility called the Talaris Institute, which turns out to be his research institute. Who knew?)

Medina has dedicated a long career to understanding how human beings process information and has boiled his conclusions down to twelve simple rules.

The Rules

Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.
Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.
Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.
Rule #4: We don't pay attention to boring things.
Rule #5: Repeat to remember.
Rule #6: Remember to repeat.
Rule #7: Sleep well, think well.
Rule #8: Stressed brains don't learn the same way.
Rule #9: Stimulate more of the senses.
Rule #10: Vision trumps all other senses.
Rule #11: Male and female brains are different.
Rule #12: We are powerful and natural explorers.

These twelve rules appear on Medina's interactive website. I know we've all heard plenty about brain stuff before, but there is something engagingly wonky about this website. You can click on each rule for a "mini-tutorial," which includes video, audio, charts and explanatory text. I found Rules #2, #4, #5, #6 and #10 particularly relevant in terms of how I teach.

Of course, the way my brain works, my challenge is to find a way to allow new ideas to have impact. Too often, I read or hear something striking and fresh about teaching...and then I go back to doing what I usually do.

So! I hereby vow to slash text from powerpoint presentations. And maybe look for ways to introduce smells into the classroom...