ENGAGING THE STUDENT BRAIN

Northup offers teachers a brief guide to the quickest and most effective methods to get students involved in their own learning.

The author shares the tips and tricks that he’s picked up over his 35 years of teaching public school to get students to listen and, most importantly, learn. He shares seven “secrets” to engaging students on an intellectual level—integrating concepts like the connection between mind and body and paying attention to nonverbal communication cues—that make up “a bunch of simple ways to speak the universal language that engages, and speaks to, (almost) all brains” (he calls the concept “Albrainian”). Scattered throughout the lessons are funny, self-deprecating anecdotes about Northup’s own experiences both in and out of the classroom. “Brain Break/Refresh” sections regularly review key points alongside occasional black-and-white cartoons and simple diagrams. The most visually striking features of the guide are the various font sizes and uses of bold print, unique spacing, and all-caps that emphasize key points: “Be Instinctively Important—Not just Entertaining. Just like that book you couldn’t put down. Entertaining eventually bores the brain. Instinctively Important never does. It is in rhythm with the brain. Instinctively Important is Albrainian.” The conversational tone and somewhat frenetic layout keep readers on their toes in a text that is often reminiscent of a particularly charismatic TED Talk. Northup’s approach and advice are refreshingly honest and open—he encourages teachers to tell students the “secrets” behind engaged learning in order to foster a dialogue where there's normally not one, and he shows reverence for the vital roles that educators play: “Being a true gardener in the classroom means giving the flower what it needs, not just what we like or need to get done.” One caveat: Northup periodically interrupts the guide to promote his other works by offering free bonus items and sign-up QR codes for his website and books.

A quick, casual read full of to-the-point advice and exercises for engaging students in the classroom.