Learning is the soul of our species. From our first steps to our last words, we are what we learn. But for all its obvious importance, learning has lost touch with human progress. We live in an information age, work in a knowledge economy, yet our schools are relics of an industrial era. Education insider Alex Beard takes us on a dazzling tour of the future of learning to show how we can - and why we must - do better. Tackling everything from artificial intelligence to our growing understanding of the infant brain, Natural Born Learners is a user's guide to transforming learning in the twenty-first century and roadmap to accessing our better future selves.

Our education predicts how much we'll earn, how content we will be, even how long we'll live. But for all its importance, learning has lost touch with human progress. We live in an information age, work in a knowledge economy, yet our schools are relics of an industrial age. In Natural Born Learners, education insider Alex Beard takes us on a dazzling tour of the future of learning to show how we can - and why we must - do better. Tackling everything from artificial intelligence to our growing understanding of the infant brain, from the roots of creativity to the way classrooms can be unwitting engines of extremism, Beard leads us from the crowded corridors of a London comprehensive to the high-tech halls of Silicon Valley, through the exam factories of South Korea to the inclusive classrooms of Finland to reveal that today we stand on the cusp of a learning revolution --

This updated edition of the award-winning bestseller shows teachers how to help students become the motivated, successful, and natural learners they were born to be.

Why do video games fascinate kids so much that they will spend hours pursuing a difficult skill? Why don't they apply this kind of intensity to their school work? In their most penetrating and important work in years, these two leaders in the field of brain-based education build a bridge to the future of education with a dynamic model of teaching that works for all grade levels and in all cultural and ethnic groups. The authors' education model, the "Guided Experience Approach," is based on the way that biologists see learning as a totally natural, continuous interaction between perception and action. Natural Learning for a Connected World provides a practical, step-by-step description and successful examples from practice of this perception action cycle so that we can finally provide the learning environments essential for our children to thrive in the knowledge age.

Humans are natural born learners and creative thinkers. Learning environments need to be inspiring spaces that support the diversity of learners and a multitude of learning scenarios. The first step is to dump the classroom.In this book, Rosan Bosch introduces her progressive design concepts for physical learning spaces: Mountain Top, Cave, Campfire, Watering Hole, Hands-on, and Movement.

This essential resource provides parents and educators of students of all ages with research-based, classroom-proven strategies for how to implement brain-compatible learning into your curriculum.

The future of education centers empowered students in a global learning ecosystem. Despite decades of reform, the traditional borders of education—graduation, curriculum, classrooms, schools—have failed to deliver on the goals of excellence and equity. Despite massive societal changes, education remains controlled by an old mindset. It is time to change that limiting mindset and, more importantly, the ineffective practices in education. To truly serve all learners, future classrooms must remove the boundaries of learning and become student-centered, culturally responsive, and personalized—supportive and equitable environments where each student can direct their own learning and seek multiple pathways to skills and knowledge in a global learning ecosystem. This compelling call for transformative change offers all involved in education Evidence-based arguments that reveal the need to break the traditional borders that limit learning Strategies to personalize learning and remove the confinement of traditional pathways Examples from around the world to create equitable and student-centric learning environments Resources for creating a school learning environment that expands opportunities for personalized learning into the global learning ecosystem It is time to now imagine a different kind of learning, without borders, and to begin the shifts in practice that will result in personalized learning for all students.

The companion to The Call of the Wild + Free: styled in the lush aesthetic of the Wild + Free brand, a four-color book offering outdoor activities and essays, that parents, educators, and caregivers can use to inspire their children. Wild and Free Nature is a beautiful, four-color resource book for parents, educators, and caregivers to enjoy doing hands-on activities outside with kids. One of the core philosophies behind Wild + Free is the belief that nature is the best classroom we could ever hope for. It unlocks the imagination and inspires creativity in ways that a schoolroom never could. Being out in nature has a number of benefits. Studies show that children are more likely to interact with kids of different ages and learn to problem solve in natural settings. Being in natural settings stimulates the brain and restores cognitive function. Children who spend time in natural settings also interact better with kids of all ages and learn to solve problems more easily. They build muscle and coordination and fend off obesity. It cultivates a sense of responsibility for caring for the earth, not to mention, encourages imaginative play, curiosity, and other qualities necessary to spark a love for investigation and learning. This resource book will help equip parents and adults who work with children to get them outdoors with activities such as: Build a treehouse in the woods. Cultivate a garden plot. Make land art and nature crafts. Create a mud kitchen in the backyard. Go for a nature walk each morning. Find a secret swimming hole. Go to the creek to learn about the water cycle. Plant a garden to see what will grow in your backyard. Raise monarch caterpillars and feed them milkweed until they transform into butterflies. Set up a birdwatching station in your front window equipped with binoculars, notebooks, and bird guides. Make a wilderness fort with the fallen branches from trees. With the same lush photography as The Call of the Wild + Free, this book includes step-by-step pictures that show parents how to do the activity, and essays on the importance of nature in a child's life.

In a world suffering from global warming, riddled with constant warfare, and struggling under the weight of money and banking crises, Born to Learn: A Transactional Analysis of Human Learningasks what would happen if we learned to perform human transactions in a different way. What if we were able to improve our social and psychological messaging in classrooms and in learning situations everywhere? What kind of effect could it have on our nation and the world? From the instant we first draw breath to the moment when we take our last, humans instinctively use transactional analysis (TA) to get what we need to survive. The overwhelmingly important factor, frequently overlooked in this process, is our environment's influence, often negative, on these transactions. At the same time, many of the socioeconomic and political problems we face today, including resource depletion, dysfunctional systems, global warming, and money and banking crises share a root cause-humans discounting relevant phenomena, problems, opportunities, alternatives for change, and ability to change. Richard John Stapleton, PhD, asserts these problems are not caused by humans making mistakes exercising free will, but instead are caused by natural cause-effect chains determining human feelings, thoughts, and decisions and physical environments, and therefore humans are not to blame or praise. On the other hand, by cooperating with each other and by focusing on the real causes of problems, rather than focusing on fixed ideologies, dogma, and doctrine, hopefully we can cause positive changes and generate real solutions for the long run. Born to Learn: A Transactional Analysis of Human Learningaims to give readers a more comprehensive understanding of how our lives are shaped and controlled by both social and psychological messaging as well as offering tools to pursue a better future.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.