Product Description

If you want to know more about the brain and learning, this is the book you need. In what promises to become the bible of the brain-based learning movement, Alistair Smith guides the reader through the development cycle of the brain and then describes what helps and hinders learning. A fascinating, highly topical and well researched book that answers your questions and gives you guidance. - How do I help my child improve at maths? - What is the best time for my child to begin formal learning? - Can I control my own fears? If so, how? - What factors in a mother's lifestyle will influence her baby's learning? - What is the best time to learn any language? - Why will the children in my class not sit still? - Can you teach intelligence? - How does sleep improve all-round memory and recall? - What happens to my brain as I age? - How can I recognise a learner under stress? What can I do about it? - What should I know about differences in the left and right sides of my brain? - Should we teach boys and girls separately? - What is a memory? Does it exist somewhere in the brain? - What does brain science tell us about selection by ability? The Brain's Behind It identifies fallacies, fads and facts about the brain and learning and gives recommendations for parents, educators and policy-makers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #88012 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 312 pages

From the Publisher
The Brain’s Behind It is well researched, bang up to date and written in the author's easy going style. The book takes brain-based learning onto a new level of meaning and utility. Truly international in its scope, this book will play a real part in shaping thinking about learning in the years to come.

From the Author
With this book I have attempted to find out whether brain science really can tell parents, educators and policy-makers anything about learning. I start with the 16 myths of the brain based and self help movements and then attempt to replace fallacy and fad with facts and findings. The book took three years to write and is intended to be accessible, engaging and authentic. Throughout I have tried to relate the science of the brain back to the everyday experiences of learners.

From the Inside Flap
If you want to know more about the brain and learning, this is the book you need. In what promises to become the bible of the brain-based learning movement, Alistair Smith guides the reader through the development cycle of the brain and then describes what helps and hinders learning. A fascinating, highly topical and well researched book that answers your questions and gives you guidance.
- How do I help my child improve at maths?
- What is the best time for my child to begin formal learning?
- Can I control my own fears? If so, how?
- What factors in a mother’s lifestyle will influence her baby’s learning?
- What is the best time to learn any language?
- Why will the children in my class not sit still?
- Can you teach intelligence?
- How does sleep improve all-round memory and recall?
- What happens to my brain as I age?
- How can I recognise a learner under stress? What can I do about it?
- What should I know about differences in the left and right sides of my brain?
- Should we teach boys and girls separately?
- What is a memory? Does it exist somewhere in the brain?
- What does brain science tell us about selection by ability?
The Brain’s Behind It identifies fallacies, fads and facts about the brain and learning and gives recommendations for parents, educators and policy-makers.

Customer Reviews

Lessons on the Brain
If you're a parent or a teacher and you like practical tips with your theory, then I can thoroughly recommend this book to you. Those of us interested in our brains and how we learn should take our hats off to Alistair Smith. In The Brain's Behind It he's done an excellent job of sifting through the research to bring us a book that is firmly rooted in science. From this he makes clear and practical recommendations for how this knowledge can be utilised for learners. I was particularly interested in what he had to say about some of the accepted 'facts' that many have believed for years, such as us only using 10% of our brains or that we have a perfect memory. The straightforward and knowledgeable way in which he dismisses such fallacies is very refreshing. It is one of the most engaging aspects of the book: accessibility.

Brain research can be a complex topic, yet the author has made the field accessible to the layperson without being patronising. His informal tone updates the reader on the latest research, supported by entertaining anecdotes, illustrations and quotations. Recommendations are presented in a useful bullet point format and there are some handy tips at the back for parents, educators and policy makers, such is the remit of this book. Also at the back was my particular favourite, the Question section. The list shows the reader where to find the answers to such diverse questions as when to begin formal learning, whether sporting performance can be improved by thought alone, whether missing breakfast impairs thinking or not and how sleep can improve recall. Together with a list of sources and useful websites to explore, the end section alone makes the book worth buying. Then again, if you're my sister you don't need to bother doing that, as it's on its way for your Birthday. Somehow I feel confident that my nephew will fulfil his potential and enjoy his learning.

The Brain Revealed
A fascinating journey through the brain and learning from foetus to old age. After more than a decade of conflicting research and evolving rumour about how the brain develops and learns, "The Brain's Behind It" sets the record straight.
In this compelling book, Alistair Smith challenges the myths and legends that have grown up around the brain. Putting forward balanced and clearly reasoned accounts of the latest research, he grips the reader with his attention to detail and a humour which permeates the narrative.

Clear and enticing headlines throughout the text make for easy access to the material. From drugs to food, to gambling and memory, "The Brain's Behind It" is a tantalising collection of research and an honest appraisal of the current position in relation to neuroscience and psychology. This text is a captivating work whether you read it cover to cover or dip into the headlines that grab you. Above all it challenges one's current thinking about the brain and learning. Anyone who runs a brain or helps others develop theirs will be hooked!