Schools spend years teaching students algebra, chemistry, and history. Yet too many people graduate from high school without knowing how memory, attention, and stress impact their learning. They assume that bad grades mean “they’re not smart enough.”
The truth is that few students learn evidence-based strategies for studying, getting a good night’s sleep, and managing stress before high-pressure exams.
If schools and teachers want students to thrive, they must teach them how learn very early.
Case in point: My high school classmate had a sleepless night before an Advanced Placement American history exam at Lithonia High School in metro Atlanta, cramming Heimler’s story videos. During the test, he forgot much of the content he had studied. His conclusion was clear: “Maybe I should have studied harder.” »
I didn’t agree. The problem wasn’t his efforts. Nor his intelligence. It was that he had never been taught how learning worked.
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This is an important issue for students in disadvantaged communities, where access to advice on how stress, sleep and attention affect learning is often difficult. limit.
Many students must find effective strategies on their own. I saw this with my own eyes at my school. That’s why I started the Cognition Club in ninth grade with the support of my advisor. As the club grew, we discussed foods that promote focus and stress management strategies while studying for the state-required Georgia Milestones Assessment – topics rarely covered in class.
My interest in brain health came from home. My sister developed epilepsy at age 9 and her grades dropped over time because it affected her memory, concentration, and ability to go to school.
Noticing how she often blamed herself for not doing as well as she used to, I collected and gave her wellness and study strategies – such as good sleep hygiene, targeted study intervals, and techniques to reduce fatigue – drawing inspiration from Jim Kwik And Andrew Huberman.
These approaches helped her challenge the belief that her academic abilities were fixed and motivated her to pursue business and law. While supporting his successful journey, I realized how simple methods can help students who doubt their ability to learn.
Eventually, our conversations in Cognition Club moved from number of study hours to how we studied. I noticed that students who initially viewed the club as a study hall began to report less anxiety during the tests.
Schools constantly assess learning through quizzes, homework, and standardized exams. Understanding how attention, stress, and study habits affect learning can help students establish stronger study routines, improve their self-regulation, and approach their educational and career paths with greater acuity. trust. And for students facing financial challenges, family responsibilities, or limited academic support, understanding how learning works can be especially helpful.
Related: Helping children learn how their brains work
As I entered higher education, I became increasingly aware that many students were not introduced to the sciences of learning early enough. This motivated me to create NeuroPioneers Course in 2023 – an independent, student-led initiative focused on brain health education and mentoring for underserved middle and high school students.
Through curriculum development and educational outreach, I sought to introduce students to the relationship between daily habits and learning, as well as strategies to improve memory, attention, and sleep. This experience reinforced my belief that young people should be given the opportunity to understand how their brains work before academic challenges begin to shape their confidence and limit their aspirations.
Many students assume that academic success depends solely on hard work or innate abilities. In our six-week program in North Carolina, they are exposed to brain health and protective habits through interactive workshops, hands-on learning and student mentoring. They leave with a better understanding of how their habits affect their learning.
Teaching how attention and stress shape memory and learning is just as important as teaching academic content.
All students deserve the opportunity to discover how their brains learn best, but schools don’t need to add another graduation requirement to make that happen. They can start by integrating basic science learning concepts into existing health, science, and counseling courses. A psychology professor may hold office hours or after-school meetings to help students study smarter, not harder. Social workers and guidance counselors can help students manage stressors to better concentrate on test day. School leaders can hold school-wide assemblies to help students adopt better learning habits that promote academic success.
I’m not saying that teaching students attention, stress, memory, and effective study habits will solve all educational challenges. But it can help students better understand the factors that influence their academic performance and learn more effectively.
Students shouldn’t have to discover effective habits through trial and error. If we want students to succeed, we must teach them not only what they need to learn, but also how learning works.
Victoria Ayodele is an undergraduate studying neurodevelopment and nutrition. Her interests include neuroscience education, brain health literacy, and educational equity.
This opinion article on neuroscience education was produced by The Hechinger reportan independent, nonprofit news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Register for the Hechinger newsletter.Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org
The article STUDENT VOICE: Schools Teach Students What to Learn, But Rarely Teach Them How to Learn appeared first in the Hechinger Report.
