NHR Source Analysis

From Davidson’s essay, the source I chose to look into was “How Brain Research Relates to Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships” by William R. Daggett and Paul David Nussbaum, which focuses on connecting the topics of “brain health,” brain development, and their impacts on effective education (Daggett and Nussbaum). According to this paper, a healthy brain develops through neuronal plasticity, a dynamic and malleable process. “Enriched environments” full of mental stimulation and physical activity promote the growth of brain cells especially; also, a “brain reserve” (a density of brain cell connections) helps to protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases (Daggett and Nussbaum). When related to education, these two concepts reveal much about the neuronal development behind learning. Specifically, maximized “mental stimulation and cooperative learning” promote student-side learning more effectively than lectures or objective memorization. Studies in brain research reveal that this new method of highly cognitive and physical learning has potential not only as a more effective way of learning, but also possibly as a way to develop better brain health for one’s future self. With more of a focus on educating the general public rather than the explaining the complexities of neurology, this paper uses scholarly language and concepts, yet can still be easily understood by the average reader. Furthermore, the writing in this paper is organized and concise, focusing only on relevant topics and dividing different topics into many easy to digest paragraphs. The authors use a very educative, but hopeful tone, especially at the very end, saying that “the potential [of brain research] is compelling” (Daggett and Nussbaum). Seemingly, the writers testify for higher mental stimulation by leaving the end of their paper open-ended, allowing the reader to ponder on the potential impacts that understanding the human brain can have on our educational system.

<http://www.nyctecenter.org/spn/media/files/articles/research/Brain%20Research%20White%20Paper.pdf>.

Works Cited:

Daggett, Willard R., and Paul David Nussbaum. "How Brain Research Relates to Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships." (n.d.): n. pag. International Center for Leadership in Education. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.