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Brain-Based Learning: 15 Strategies to Improve Student Learning & Retention

There is no supercomputer more powerful than the human brain. – Dr. Bobbi Hansen

To non-educators, the term “brain-based learning” may sound redundant. Doesn’t all learning involve our brains? Yes — but brain-based learning delves a little deeper into the science of how we learn in order to deliver more effective instruction. 

This introduction to brain-based learning serves as an accompaniment to Dr. Bobbi Hansen’s presentation, “Teaching with Superpowers: Instructing Through Brain-Informed Practices,” delivered during a University of San Diego Master of Education town hall. View the recorded presentation here. >>

What Is Brain-Based Learning?

Key Principles

Benefits of Brain-Based Learning

8 brain-based teaching strategies, how to build a brain-based curriculum: 7 ideas.

Brain-based learning involves teachers creating conditions that increase student motivation, engagement and long-term retention by tapping into the natural ways the brain receives, processes and stores information. This approach can be applied to classroom teaching methods, lesson planning, curriculum design and any other educational engagement. As long as the planning and delivery is rooted in the latest research on the science of learning, it’s considered brain-based instruction. 

The research in question centers primarily around the brain’s ability to change and reorganize itself to receive and retain new information in a process called neuroplasticity . New information and experiences can physically reshape the brain’s neural pathways; the more we practice new skills or review new information, the stronger those pathways become and the better we retain the information or ability. 

Our brain’s neuroplasticity is influenced, both positively and negatively, by motivation, stress and challenge, as well as our emotional state as we’re learning. Understanding how neuroplasticity works (especially in young, developing brains) can help curriculum designers and educators build lessons that are more likely to “stick.” When students master new concepts or gain new skills in the classroom, teachers see this neuroplasticity in action. Perhaps Dr. David Sousa , an educational neuroscience consultant, puts it best: “Successful teachers are brain-changers!”

The theory of the left and right brain has been synonymous with learning styles since it was introduced in the 1960s. Neuropsychologist Roger W. Sperry posited that all humans are either right-brain or left-brain dominant, depending on how they think and receive information. More informed neurological research, however, has since disproven this theory ; we now know that humans use each hemisphere of their brain for different tasks, and that neither is dominant over the other.   

As neurological research and discovery gained traction in the 1990s, some researchers began to apply their findings to the classroom. In “ Understanding a Brain-Based Approach to Learning and Teaching ,” Geoffrey Caine and Renate Nummela Caine proposed that educators leverage neuroscience to improve students’ knowledge retention and performance. The Caines found that students had better comprehension and retention in a collaborative, hands-on, brain-based learning environment than those in a traditional lecture-based classroom . Scientifically speaking, active learning leads to the growth of dendrites — nerve cell extensions in the brain that influence how neurons collect and process information. This is good news for knowledge retention. 

Brain-based learning has since gained significant traction in schools. As evidenced by texts like Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016), there remains a continued insistence that all educators have a working knowledge of how the brain receives and retains information in order to be better teachers.

Key Principles of Brain-Based Learning

The overall goal of brain-based learning is not complicated, nor is it unattainable: 

To create a learning environment and classroom strategy where all students can thrive.

To achieve this goal, educators need to break down their instruction (and their students’ learning) into smaller components. In her town hall presentation to USD MEd students, Dr. Bobbi Hansen identifies four key principles of brain-based learning: 

• Experience: New experiences only reshape the brain when we are actively participating in those experiences. 
• Flow: Stress affects memory, so instructors need to facilitate a “ flow state ” in which students are comfortable, safe and focused.
• “Sticky” learning: Utilize teaching methods that result in higher knowledge retention, such as learning by doing or student-led instruction. 
• Brain-informed teaching practices: Identify and implement the teaching strategies that will best support the current group of students.  

The following are some specific classroom examples that incorporate these four key principles:  

Health and wellness

Physical activity isn’t only for the gym. When students are able to take stretch breaks, go for short walks or otherwise move their bodies during lessons, the more engaged they will be when they come back. Movement-based learning is more common in younger grades, but teachers should not count older students out — bringing some light physical engagement to classroom lessons can:

• Energize and revitalize students (and teachers)
• Improve students’ attention spans 
• Help students receive and retain more information 

When students are in a positive emotional state, they are more willing to engage in lessons and classroom activities. Social validation from their peers and affirmations from their teacher can contribute to students’ feelings of belonging . 

When learning new material, it can be highly valuable to hear other students’ reactions or experience how they take in new information. Group activities help students learn from one another and may even help them understand information better than they would have from their teachers’ presentations. 

Peer teaching

Educators may occasionally feel unprepared to teach certain course material but find that their comprehension grows as they begin to deliver their lessons. Teaching others is the most effective way to learn , and this applies to students as well. If a handful of students grasp a concept right away, they can then turn around and teach their peers, thereby strengthening their own understanding and delivering this new information in a way that resonates with their classmates.

Repetition, experimentation and productive failure are all more effective than simple memorization of facts or vocabulary. Students should have an opportunity to practice new skills and retrieve new knowledge before any major assessment. 

Limiting lectures

Traditional lecture-based teaching has been proven not as effective as active learning . Making lessons more active rather than passive promotes students’ knowledge retention. 

Meaningful information

Academic concepts can often feel disconnected from students’ actual lives. How many teachers have fielded the question, “But when am I ever going to need this?” Finding ways to connect course materials to the real world boosts student engagement and gives relevant meaning to abstract concepts. 

Written and verbal information

Lessons and assignments that incorporate varied modes of delivery give students a better chance of logging information in their long term memory. This involves the instructor delivering both spoken and written lessons, and the students demonstrating their understanding through both written and verbal assignments. 

Stimulation

Not all students learn the same way, but there are ways to capture their attention that generally garner a positive reaction. Incorporating movement, humor, games or current events that are of interest to their age group can increase students’ participation, processing abilities and the likelihood that they will remember the course content. 

Stress mitigation

In general, stress negatively impacts our brains’ neuroplasticity, preventing us from retaining information. By and large, students learn and perform better in a classroom environment that is calm, safe, supportive and positive (and with a teacher who exhibits the same qualities).

When information is presented in a way that accounts for the brain’s ability to process it, it can vastly improve the learning experience. Brain-based learning supports: 

• Skills retention
• Higher academic performance 
• Academic progression
• Long-term memory
• Brain health and function 
• Classroom cooperation
• Motivation 
• A positive attitude

As long as a lesson is built around the way students receive and retain information, brain-based learning can look like almost anything. Educators can utilize multiple instructional methods while following the principles of experience, flow, “sticky” learning and brain-based teaching strategies. These principles remain the same no matter the age of the student; it is up to the teacher and their creativity to build age-appropriate lessons rooted in a brain-based foundation. 

Here are some high-level strategies teachers can use when building their brain-based lesson plans: 

• Combine written and verbal information to boost learning retention
• Prioritize engagements that are hands-on, creative, useful and have an emotional impact
• Favor lessons and activities that help students develop critical thinking skills over simple memorization
• Model lessons and assignments on real-world challenges that students can relate to
• Create lessons that teach students social and team-building skills in addition to course content
• Build opportunities to practice course content into every lesson, or before moving on to the next unit
• Incorporate movement or brain breaks into lessons, regardless of grade level
• Ensure that neither lessons nor the classroom environment contribute to unnecessary stress or anxiety

As mentioned above, a brain-based curriculum can look like anything, so long as lessons are built to encourage students’ neuroplasticity and optimal knowledge retention. It’s important to note that not all strategies work for all students , so rely on trial and error to see what works and what doesn’t for your classroom. 

• Break learning into chunks. 

This may seem obvious to many educators, but it bears repeating. Students learn best when they can digest new concepts bit by bit; break lessons down into bite-sized pieces that fall into introductory, practice and review segments before moving on to a new concept or topic. 

• Include “turn and talk” time in your lessons.

Take breaks during each lesson or unit for students to talk amongst themselves and solidify their understanding of the topic. This can fall into the “review” stage mentioned above. You can also task students with explaining a new concept to a parent or someone unfamiliar with it. After all, teaching is the best way to grasp a new skill or subject.

Not all “chunks” need to involve learning! Leave space in each lesson for movement or stretch breaks. You can even create lessons that get students moving while they learn — e.g. role playing a historical event or reading out loud “popcorn”-style with a tossed ball.

• Include multisensory elements in each lesson. 

For some topics, using visual elements may be a no-brainer; but challenge yourself to activate other senses during your lessons. Can you help students “physicalize” parts of speech? How can you bring a history lesson to life through sound?

• Practice retrieval.

Encourage students to try to remember what they’ve learned from a lesson, even if the topic is fairly new to them. The process of remembering strengthens memory and identifies gaps that call for a refresher. For example, rather than providing a study guide with bullet points covering key points of a lesson, build your study guides around questions that students will need to answer, thereby creating their own study guide through retrieval.  

• Use concept mapping.

Concept mapping is the act of connecting separate elements of a topic or unit into a web of comprehension. For example, in a unit on cell structure, students can list out what they’ve learned about each component of a cell, then visually connect the components to each other by explaining their relationships. 

• Make it real. 

Whenever possible, get your students out of the classroom to apply their learning in the real world. Field trips are a classic example of experiential learning, but even taking your students for a walk around campus to talk about the weather or photosynthesis can help make abstract concepts easier to understand. 

This is just a sampling of the ways in which creative educators can leverage neuroscience to help their students succeed in the classroom. 

The best teachers never stop pursuing new ways to make learning accessible for all students. The specializations offered by USD’s Master of Education program enable educators to drill down into specific areas of interest that not only improve their own teaching practice, but can also lead to higher student achievement and a love of learning. Explore all the ways in which you can strengthen your teaching skill set and boost your earning potential with an advanced degree.

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3 Basic Steps of Backward Design Lesson Plans [+FAQs]

Backwards lesson planning might sound like a New Age approach to teaching, but it’s actually a proven method for increasing learning retention and student success. The concept was popularized by educators and authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe in their 1998 book Understanding by Design , which provides a framework for planning lessons by starting at the end and working — well, backwards!

In backward design, educators start by identifying or creating a final assessment, then building their lessons toward that specific end. Traditionally, educators identify course content they need to cover, design their lessons accordingly, then create the final assessment. While the traditional approach may work in some cases, there are some significant flaws and challenges. The backward design model seeks to avoid those challenges by encouraging teachers to be much more intentional in their curriculum development and make the most out of class time. 

Backward design helps educators focus on their students’ process of learning, rather than on their own teaching. This student-centered approach consists of three primary steps: identifying the desired results, gathering evidence of learning and then designing the content.

Step 1: Identify the Desired Results

First, consider the goals of the course, unit or lesson. What do you want students to know or be able to do at the end — explain how cells work? Demonstrate long division? Read an entire book without help? Backward lesson design begins with identifying a specific desired outcome. 

Academic standards usually provide the best direction for educational goals. For example, according to the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice , students should be able to understand the concept of ratios by the end of sixth grade. Their proficiency is typically measured through standardized testing. It is the teacher’s job to determine, via backward lesson design, how their students will reach the necessary level of proficiency.

Once you know the standards your students are expected to meet by a certain grade level, make a list of all the foundational knowledge they need to reach that goal. Using the ratio example, the teacher would need to ensure their students have a solid understanding of multi-digit multiplication, division, factors and multiples. If students enter sixth grade without competent skills in these areas, the teacher will need to build appropriate units into their lesson plans to achieve the year-end goal of understanding ratios. 

Follow these practices when designing your backward lesson plans: 

• Know exactly what the applicable standards require students to know. 
• Set clear, achievable and measurable learning goals and communicate them to your students (if appropriate).
• Design your lessons with the applicable standards/standardized assessments in mind and adjust accordingly if needed. 
• Prioritize collaborative, student-centered learning over more traditional, teacher-centered learning ; students can tell when lessons seem mechanical. 
• Determine how each individual planned lesson, activity or learning engagement contributes to students’ success.  
• For non-standardized assessments, determine how students’ test performance will affect their final grade. 

Above all, approach your lesson planning not by asking “What do I need to teach ?” but rather, “What do my students need to learn or be able to do ?” and “How well do they need to perform to demonstrate their understanding?”

Step 2: Gather Evidence of Learning

All the lesson planning in the world won’t necessarily guarantee that students will retain and master new concepts. To gauge effectiveness and find evidence of learning, you’ll need to plan regular mini-assessments throughout the course of a unit or lesson. 

The backward design model begins with creating or identifying the goals of final assessment, but the actual lesson plans should include regular formative assessments like short quizzes, peer evaluations, discussions, one-on-one student-teacher interviews and student self-reflections. Since students will be only part of the way through the unit, and therefore may not yet have mastered the content, the goal of these mini-assessment will be to gauge abilities like critical thinking, inquiry, problem-solving and foundational knowledge. 

You can (and should) build your lessons around two or three types of assessments to gather evidence of learning:

• The final assessment at the end of the course or unit.
• Preliminary “diagnostic” assessments to check students’ existing knowledge at the start of the course or unit.
• Progress assessments to gauge students’ understanding along the way, such as pop quizzes, individual reflections or homework assignments.

Step 3: Design Content for Instruction

Now it’s time to actually create your lesson plans! Your backwards lesson planning should incorporate both instructional strategies and instructional activities. 

Instructional strategies are the teaching methods by which you present new information to your students. Methods can include teacher-centered approaches like demonstrations or lectures, or student-centered approaches like peer discussion and inquiry-based learning.  

Instructional activities are the specific ways in which students interact with the course content. These activities run the gamut from watching educational videos, creating posters or presentations, completing a group project or playing learning-based games.  Successful lesson plans often contain a mix of instructional strategies and activities, since asking students to adapt to different modes of learning is an effective way to keep them engaged .

Traditional Design vs. Backward Design

There are merits to both traditional lesson planning and backward lesson design, but key differences can create challenges for some teachers and students. 

An educator who follows traditional lesson design will typically take these steps: 

• Identify a topic or piece of content that needs to be covered in class based on academic standards. 
• Create a sequence of lessons that teach that topic. 
• Develop an assessment to measure student’s learning during the lesson phase. 

Unlike in backward lesson design, the assessment here is created after the lessons. Therefore, a teacher could risk omitting certain facets of the lessons from the final assessment, only acknowledging in hindsight that they probably could have saved valuable class time by skipping certain units or activities. When an assessment is created after the lessons have taken place, a teacher risks covering course content that does not add value to the overall lesson or factor into the final assessment. 

Furthermore, when a teacher designs a lesson without a plan for the final assessment, they may be tempted to add activities or units to the lesson just for the sake of filling class time. Students of all ages know when they are asked to do something pointless in class; they can spot “busy work” from a mile away, and will disengage as they see fit . 

As we’ve discussed, backward lesson design takes the opposite approach. In this case, the teacher will: 

• Determine what students should know by the end of a particular lesson or unit.
• Create the assessment that will measure students’ learning. 
• Build a lesson or course that will prepare students for maximum success on that assessment.  

Some teachers may fear that backward design emphasizes “teaching to the test,” which puts unfair pressure on students to learn for the sake of the final assessment. However, it is up to the skilled teacher to emphasize the process of gaining new knowledge, as opposed to acing the final test. While it can be difficult to grasp at first, backward design encourages educators to be intentional with their lesson planning, since it imbues the class time with a specific purpose. 

It helps to communicate the purpose to students as well. Knowing what the end goal is will encourage them to take ownership of their learning and lend meaning to their class participation. 

7 QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE SELECTING A CURRICULUM DESIGN COURSE

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3 Examples of Backward Design

The following examples are simply suggestions for what creating backward design lesson plans might look like. When creating your own lesson plans, please refer to your state’s or school’s specific academic standards. 

The Boston Tea Party

According to the History–Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools , students should be able to explain the causes of the American Revolution by grade 5. Within this standard, students should understand the political, religious and economic causes as well as the significance of the Continental Congresses, the

Declaration of Independence and notable figures like King George III, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.

• Assessment: By the end of a unit on the economic tensions between Great Britain and the American colonies, students will write a letter from the point of view of a colonist either defending or criticizing the Boston Tea Party protest.
• Learning: Through direct instruction, in-class readings, group discussions and/or educational videos, students will become familiar with the origin of the tax on British tea imports, how it affected everyday life in the colonies, who the Sons of Liberty were and the series of events that occurred in Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773. 
• Progress: Students should be able to demonstrate their growing understanding of the who, what, when, where and why of the event through short quizzes, take-home assignments and in-class activities. 
• Outcome: For their final assessment, students will read their letters aloud to the class. If time allows, responses and respectful debates are encouraged. 

The Lunar Cycle

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) state that, by grades 6–8, students should be able to “develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.” To achieve this, a unit on moon cycles might be designed to look like this: 

• Assessment: For their final assessment, students will design, construct and present a working model of the sun, moon and Earth. The model can be two- or three-dimensional, but must contain moving parts. Students must be able to demonstrate and interpret their model to the rest of the class. 
• Learning: Initial lesson content may feature videos, direct instruction from the teacher, flash cards and/or the opportunity to interact with an existing version of the final assessment (a working model of the orbiting bodies). 
• Progress: Progress assessments can take the form of matching quizzes (“match the moon phase to the correct image!”), worksheets or teacher-led question-and-answer sessions.
• Outcome: By the time students are ready to begin developing their own model, each should be able to explain the lunar cycle in their own words. This will also serve as preparation for their final presentation.  

Literary Metaphor

By grades 11–12, students in California public schools should be able to “use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques such as metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the complexity of the topic,” in works of literature.

• Assessment: For their final assessment in a unit on poetry, students will write an original poem built around a metaphor for their own lives. 
• Learning: First, students will read Billy Collins’ poem “ Cliché ,” which describes the poet’s life as a book. Students will identify all instances of metaphor, simile and personification. Next, they’ll brainstorm metaphors and similes for their own lives. Students may engage in open discussions with others or the teacher in order to further develop their ideas.  
• Progress: Before they write their final poem, students should be able to define and give examples of figurative language via quizzes, worksheets and other in-class assessments. 
• Outcome: Students will be able to effectively use figurative language as it relates to their own experiences in a way that others can understand. 

FAQs About Backwards Lesson Planning

What is backward design.

Backward design in education is a lesson planning strategy that starts with the final assessment, then asks teachers to build their lessons toward that goal. This differs from transitional lesson design, in which teachers identify content they need to cover, build relevant lessons, then create the final assessment. Backward lesson design encourages teachers to be more intentional about their lesson plans and ensures that they make the best use of class time.

How can I measure evidence of student learning?

Besides the final assessment, teachers can gather evidence of student learning by building regular formative assessments into their lessons or units. Formative assessments can include short quizzes, peer evaluations, discussions, one-on-one student-teacher interviews and student self-reflections. The intention of these progress assessments should be to gauge abilities like critical thinking, inquiry, problem-solving and foundational knowledge as it pertains to the course content.

Interested in more professional development opportunities for teachers? Explore education courses and certificates at the University of San Diego’s Division of Professional and Continuing Education.

Helpful Resource Links

Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

Exploring the philosophy, process and benefits of backward lesson design. 

5 Reasons Why Continuing Education Matters for Educators

A downloadable guide for teaching professionals from the University of San Diego.

Increase Student Engagement with Well-Crafted Curriculum

A 6-unit, online, self-paced course for K–12 educators seeking to engage students while adhering to standards. 

Designing Impactful Curriculum For Effective Teaching

A 3-unit, online, self-paced course for K–12 educators interested in planning customized curriculum and/or lesson plans.

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