RAD TEACHING

When a Neurologist becomes a classroom teacher, Brain Learning Reseach promotes teaching strategies. Dr. Judy Willis, a board-certified neurologist and middle school teacher in Santa Barbara, California, has combined her 15 years as a practicing adult and child neurologist with her teacher education training and years of classroom experience. She is an authority in the field of learning-centered brain research and classroom strategies.
Dr. Willis concludes that there are three main brain systems she refers to as RAD which are the keys to building better brains.

RAD is short for:

R: Reticular Activating System (RAS)
A: Amygdala
D: Dopamine

Reticular Activating System

The RAS is the attention activation switching system located at the brainstem. You can
control where students’ focus goes in the classroom, and what information gets through the RAS by incorporating novelty, multi-sensory learning, goal-motivated attention, and creativity with learning activities.

Amygdala

The amygdala is the center of the brain’s emotion relays in the limbic system and it also strengthens the long-term memory potential of information that enters accompanied by positive emotion. With low-risk, low-stress, positive learning activities, the RAS and amygdala can help
the brain focus on the sensory information of the learning activity.

Dopamine

Dopamine is one of the brain’s most important neurotransmitters, proteins that carry information across spaces between nerve endings. When you can incorporate pleasurable learning experiences and activities into lessons, the dopamine released is then available to increase pleasure, attention, and memory.

Judy Willis Will be delivering seminars in Argentina "Learning and the Brain Conference" Sept 4-5, 2009.