Social Brain Goes to School

Social Brain Goes to School: How Relationships Power Learning

In Sarasota Middle Schools, students work together on teams over a period of time to develop quality relationships, teamwork skills, and a feeling of belonging and trust. Team cohesiveness creates a safe space for learners to share their knowledge, ideas, and opinions, teaching one another, collectively creating ownership and responsibility for their learn- ing. An unintended outcome in Sarasota was the substantial decline of bullying reported by students due to the rapport building within their collaborative teams.“ My students felt safe on their teams to challenge one anoth- er’s thinking, and that sparked mathematical connections that helped them gain real prob- lem-solving skills,” said Dr. Jennifer Mattu, a former middle school math teacher and dis- trict instructional coach. “Student teams took ownership of their work and responsibility for the academic success of each team member,” Mattu continued. “Their curiosity spiked as they curated questions and arrived at solutions together, and I believe that accelerated their learning.” 20

Just as academic student teaming is valuable for learning success, so also is encouraging informal student socializing throughout the school day. Casual student interactions not only stimulate attention and memory, but also help to build “brain-boosting” social con- nections. 21 It is fascinating that something as simple as laughing and talking with others can strengthen neural networks. But it does! A study highlighted in Harvard Business Review revealed that informal social interactions are equally as effective in developing cognitive capacity as brain games and puzzles. 22 There- fore, when our students engage in informal conversations with peers, teachers, and other adults at school, their brains are actively involved in mental activity that yields long- term benefits for their learning.

Socialization Throughout the School

Uniting Learning and Space

Our social brains dedicate an astonishing amount of time to contemplating social inter- action. Renowned researchers Lieberman and Kuhl refer to this brain activity as part of our social brain’s mind-reading network, com- monly known as the “default network.” When we switch off our minds to relax, the default network automatically springs into action, engaging in social thinking, recalling and pro- cessing previous social information, and pre- paring us for our next interactions.

Deliberately harnessing the power of stu- dents’ social brains necessitates purpose- ful design considerations. As Sarah Williams Goldhagen, author of “Welcome to Your World,” points out, “There’s no such thing as a ‘neutral’ environment; your built environment is either helping you or it’s hurting you.” Gold- hagan adds, “We must extract out what kind of design principles in the built environment will have an impact on how kids learn and behave”. 23