How to Explain a Brain: An Educator's Handbook of Brain Terms and Cognitive Processes

"A delicious and nutritious alphabet soup for brain aficionados. How to Explain a Brain serves a generous portion of savory topics for the hearty neural appetite. From amygdala to emotion, from hippocampus to memory, from neurotransmitter to serotonin, the brain is explained as skillfully as one simmers a sumptuous stock."
Robin Fogarty, President
Robin Fogarty & Associates

Unlock the mysteries of the brain with the help of this jargon-free guide!

Noted author Robert Sylwester offers educators and general readers his own definitions for terms used in the cognitive neurosciences. This unique look into the marvelous brain uses language and descriptions that are accessible to readers, even those with just a limited understanding of biology. Discover how our brain is organized and develops, and how educators can use this emerging understanding of cognition to enhance student learning and the school environment.

This ready-reference guide to essential concepts and terms in cognitive neurosciences includes:

• Nearly 300 encyclopedic entries and cross references created to help educators understand key concepts about our brain′s organization, development, and learning capabilities
• Eleven newly created anatomic models and illustrations that focus on key brain systems and functions
• References and recommended print and Internet resources

How to Explain a Brain celebrates the brain in all its wonder and is sure to become a reference book of choice for teachers, instructional leaders, and teacher educators.

Robert Sylwester is an Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Oregon who focuses on the educational implications of new developments in science and technology. He has written 20 books and curricular programs and 200+ journal articles. His most recent books are The Adolescent Brain: Reaching for Autonomy (2007, Corwin Press) and How to Explain a Brain: An Educator’s Handbook of Brain Terms and Cognitive Processes (2005, Corwin Press). He received two Distinguished Achievement Awards from The Education Press Association of America for his syntheses of cognitive science research, published in Educational Leadership. He has made 1600+ conference and staff development presentations on educationally significant developments in brain/stress theory and research. Sylwester wrote a monthly column for the Internet journal, Brain Connection, throughout its 2000-2009 existence, and is now a regular contributor to the Information Age Education Newsletter (http://i-a-e.org/).