An International Experience with the CTTL’s Summer Academy KRISTIN SIMMERS
“Being an MBE-aligned teacher means being able to sit with the discomfort of change.” - Christine Lewis, St. Andrew’s Epsicopal School “Keep it simple, stupid” - Dr. Pedro de Bruyckere, Arteveldehogeschool, Ghent
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hen I began the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning’s (CTTL) Science of Teaching and School Leadership Academy, my motivation was 40% learning new content and 60% seeing what other schools were doing with it. I have been studying neuroscience in education, formally and informally, for nearly 20 years, teaching in four different countries and currently working at one of the most innovative schools that I know… literally halfway around the world from St. Andrew’s! I wanted to see, hear, discuss and question other experts’ Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) journeys, looking for ways to connect and support one another. It is uncommon to find an educational conference where private, public, international and local schools intertwine as seamlessly as they did at the Academy and, as Glenn Whittman, Director of the CTTL said in his closing remarks, we are not that disparate - and it is the students that unite us. Throughout the five days, we were able to engage with a range of experts and educators speaking to how MBE Science applies to optimal teaching and learning now. Today. With the educators right here in front
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of us. For the benefit of all learners. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, “When any real progress is made, we unlearn and learn anew what we thought we knew before.” The first step toward achieving a common understanding of what MBE is seems to be addressing what MBE is not. So let’s start with some myth-busting. MBE is not a specific, discrete list of strategies to be immediately applied to each and every possible learning environment without purposeful modification and intentional unpacking. MBE is also not a panacea, nor a magic wand, nor an immediate quick fix for all your educational needs. It is inaccurate to assume that MBE is so deeply rooted in neuroscience that it lacks the practical “But what do I do now?” tips and tricks that motivated yet frustrated teachers are often looking for. “I see your brain scan, but can you please tell me how this will get Johnny to stop running around the classroom and interrupting all the other kids’ learning, please?!” Also, as covered in the very first chapter of “Neuroteach,”1 there is a prevalent misconception that MBE exists primarily to help the struggling or exceptional learners, rather than being a framework to enhance
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