Synopses & Reviews
What is at work in the mind of a five-year-old explaining the game of tag to a new friend? What is going on in the head of a thirty-five-year-old parent showing a first-grader how to button a coat? And what exactly is happening in the brain of a sixty-five-year-old professor discussing statistics with a room full of graduate students?
While research about the nature and science of learning abounds, shockingly few insights into how and why humans teach have emerged—until now. Countering the dated yet widely held presumption that teaching is simply the transfer of knowledge from one person to another, The Teaching Brain weaves together scientific research and real-life examples to show that teaching is a dynamic interaction and an evolutionary cognitive skill that develops from birth to adulthood. With engaging, accessible prose, Harvard researcher Vanessa Rodriguez reveals what it actually takes to become an expert teacher. At a time when all sides of the teaching debate tirelessly seek to define good teaching—or even how to build a better teacher—The Teaching Brain upends the misguided premises for how we measure the success of teachers.
This game-changing analysis of how the mind teaches will transform common perceptions of one of the most essential human practices (and one of the most hotly debated professions), charting a path forward for teachers, parents, and anyone seeking to better understand learning—and unlocking the teaching brain in all of us.
Review
"Vanessa Rodriguez has a truly original mind. Her experience, empathy, and insight have inspired and provoked me."
—Deborah Meier, author of In Schools We Trust
Synopsis
All sides of the teaching debate have sought to define a "good teacher," yet this effort is as misguided as one that would label a student a "good learner." The Teaching Brain challenges the long-held, misguided concept of a perfect teacher for all students and reveals a radical new idea: teaching is a human evolutionary skill that develops and adapts over time. Discoveries in brain research have unearthed mountains of knowledge about the nature and science of learning, but shockingly our insight into how and why humans teach has barely evolved beyond dated animal studies. Siloed thinking has for too long prevented us from discovering the science behind teaching, thwarting countless well-meaning attempts to improve the struggling state of education in America. Destined to spur a revolution in how we see and understand one of the most essential human practices, this groundbreaking book maps "the teaching brain" in all of us and charts a path forward not just for teachers and students but for anyone confronting learning challenges—at school, at home, or at work.
About the Author
Vanessa Rodriguez is a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education who has presented her award-winning work in educational neuroscience in the United States and abroad. After teaching history, science, and English for over a decade in New York Citys public schools, she now resides in Cambridge, MA. This is her first book. Michelle Fitzpatrick, a graduate of Harvards masters program in Mind, Brain, and Education, has co-authored over thirty non-fiction books, including Whats Eating Your Child? and the New York Times bestseller Transition by Chaz Bono. She lives in Dover, MA.