Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom
By Judy Willis, MD, M.Ed
to be published in May 2007 by ASCD


Dr. Willis evaluates the abundance of neurological research material about how the brain learns and separates the valid studies from the pseudoscience. She then uses her twenty years as a neuroscience researcher and practicing child and adult neurologist with her seven years of classroom teaching to provide a repertoire of instructional strategies, classroom-tested lessons, activities, and cross-curricular units that support the diversity of learners in your inclusion classes.

Starting with the processes to create a supportive classroom structure responsive to the needs of diverse learners you will be guided into effective adaptation of classroom strategies that ensure the continuity of student-focused instruction, effective parent and colleague communication, authentic assessment, and preparation for standardized testing.
From initial techniques to reveal the learning strengths and interests of all your students will come the clues to help you develop individualized student plans adapted to their realistic learning outcomes. Through scaffolding and multisensory approaches you will achieve the optimal goal of having students participate in the design of challenging yet reachable goals that let them experience mastery through focused effort in areas of interest. This process will extend to the rest of their schoolwork so they become goal-directed, focused students once again connected positively with their learning.

The book offers specific examples of instructional strategies, learning style specific plans, and techniques to build supportive communities that minimize classroom management problems and maximizes knowledge acquisition for all learners. Dr. Willis will explain in approachable language the neuro-logical reasoning based upon the newest PET and fMRI scan research of how the brain processes information from raw sensory data to memory storage and accessible retrieval centers.