What’s a Serious Academic Doing Meddling with Animated Documentary Graphics?

It had been a good three-day conference for the three hundred and twenty or so students at Atlantic College in South Wales. Billed as giving both the introductory talk, and the concluding lecture, I was to be the outside parts of an obviously rich and varied sandwich. But so stimulating had that conference been that […]

Facing an Inconvenient Truth and Doing something about it

If not since the beginning of time, at least over the past half dozen millennia, older generations concerned about the future wellbeing of their societies have pondered the question (and  the mystery) of how  young people learn. So profound was Confucius’ observation two and a half thousand years ago; “tell me and I forget, show […]

Thesis 45 – Helping Yourself

“Doing it for your self” is a deeply engrained human instinct, something built up in the human genome over millions of years that increases our ability to survive.  It’s about resilience, the determination that the more you can do for yourself, the more in control of your future you believe yourself to be.   As […]

Thesis 34 – Natural Talent

Too often we underrate our brains and our intelligence.  Formal education can become such a complicated, self-conscious and over-regulated activity that learning is widely regarded as something difficult that the brain would rather not do.  That is wrong, for learning is the brain’s primary function, its constant concern, and we all become restless and frustrated […]

HMC Conference, St Andrews

The most complete statement of the Initiative’s ideas

Learning to Go with the Grain of the Brain

If young people are to be equipped effectively to meet the challenges of the 21st century it is surely prudent to seek out the very best understandings from current scientific research into the nature of how humans learn before considering further reform of the current system.

This article by John Abbott and Terence Ryan appeared in the Spring, 1999 issue of Education Canada.