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Authors of the newly revised Teaching with the Brain in Mind, Liesl McConchie and Eric Jensen offer whole-brain approaches teachers can take to engage students in new learning and retaining that knowledge.

"Poverty" is an uncomfortable word. Teachers are often unsure what to expect from kids from low-income households and what to do differently as a result. Well-known author and educator Eric Jensen points to seven differences that show up in school between low- and middle-income children. By understanding what they are and how to address them, teachers can help mitigate those differences. Difference 1--health and nutrition--covers the emotional, physical, and mental health supports that students need. Difference 2--vocabulary--makes it clear that without a growing vocabulary, kids are hesitant to take classroom risks. Difference 3--effort and energy--shows readers that kids won't invest much if the odds of success are low. Difference 4--hope and mind-set--accounts for the fact that when belief is lacking or hope is low, effort plummets. With difference 5--cognition--students may back off difficult tasks if they don't think they "have it." Difference 6--relationships--shows how impaired relational skills create discipline issues. And finally, difference 7--stress--speaks of the toxic effects on learning of anxiety and chronic stress. Teachers can help students succeed by understanding these seven differences and addressing them with purposeful teaching.

Describes three types of brain disorders: the sluggish, the oppositional, and the depressed. Explains how to identify these disorders and offers educators strategies for dealing with each. (Contains 11 references.) (PKP)

Research suggests that physical activity benefits learning. Movement increases heart rate and circulation, enhances spatial learning, provides a break from learning, allows cognitive maturation, stimulates release of beneficial chemicals, counteracts excessive sitting, and affirms the value of implicit learning. Energizing classroom strategies are outlined. (Contains 20 references.) (MLH)

Although neuroscience has much to offer teaching and learning conceptualizations, educators must be cautious about applying lab research to classrooms. Brain research seems hazy, confusing, and contradictory because it is new. Myths about synapses, low-stress learning, memorization, enrichment, and learning styles are debunked. (MLH)

New neuroscientific knowledge is redefining possibilities for K-12 education. There are five critical variables in the brain's learning process: neural history, context, acquisition, elaboration, and encoding. This article tracks one student's unique brain activity throughout her school day to illustrate these variables. (MLH)

Information about brain impairment and strategies for teachers to teach brain-impaired students are provided.

This article examines the relationship between exercise and the learning process, focusing on how standing or streching in the classroom can help improve students' attention and energy levels. The benefits of active learning over passive learning is stressed.

This article examines brain-based learning research and applications in the classroom.

It has been acknowledged for years that teaching does not equal learning but existing research has been able to provide society with a better understanding of what actually occurs in a typical student's brain. New knowledge in neuroscience is redefining possibilities for education. This will be demonstrated from the perspective of five critical aspects in the brain's learning process as observed in the brain of a typical student named Julie.