Brain Research and Learning Resources

This week I have located some resources on topics related to the brain and learning:


1. The Center for Advanced Special Technology (CAST) is a non-profit research and development organization, founded in 1984, with the intent of making learning, and access to learning, more equitable for all students, including those with disabilities. The organization employs neuropsychologists, education specialists, and experts in technology, classroom practices and educational policies. CAST provides resources for the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), based on neuroscientific findings about the brain’s recognition, strategic and affective networks and how curriculum can be designed and delivered so as to meet students’ individual needs (cast.org). In addition to providing a number of resources and tools for designing lessons, the website also provides a digital copy of the book Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age (Rose & Meyer, 2002). This book discusses brain research and its implications in designing curriculum to reach all learners.

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/index.cfm

2. The website for the Center for Research on Learning and Thinking from the University of Michigan offers links to a variety of resources related to teaching strategies and learning theories. It provides links to information on brain research based teaching practices, Instructional Design Theory, an index to learning theories and models, Transformative Learning theory and more, including a free copy of the book How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School (Bransford, Brown and Cocking, 1999).

http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tslt.php