Midwest Brain Learning Institute

What is MBLI?

The Midwest Brain and Learning Institute is an opportunity for West Michigan educators, parents, medical and social service businesses to connect the latest and greatest learning about the most important organ in our body to the work we do everyday.

Nationally recognized speakers attend Institute learning lectures and speak on the potential impact their research has on learning. A full 20 credit hour graduate course immerses new findings of maximizing brain learning into the classroom that you teach in every day. Challenging assignments that allow you to use research, from others and your own, to make an experience for your students that they won't forget.

Why you should be interested?

I was attracted and excited to take this graduate course because I knew the information I was exposing myself to was that of research that was proven to make a difference in learning and the brain. While conducting research with students in my own class, often I have realized that I value the the research of many of scientists that know more than I do!

I find it so fascinating that scientists are now associating different parts of the brain with different skills and emotional connections. It's not just about sitting, getting, and spitting! For us as educators, we need to be challenged to hear that instructors that "talk at" students and tell them what to learn and complete... are not effective These teachers have control issues, afraid to maximize the creative potential of the human brain. The educators that create and facilitate a multitude of engaging, social, and emotional experiences of learning are creating students who can think, create, and grow using the whole brain.

How can I learn more?

Included in this website is an overview of my journey through the MBLI graduate course. Throughout my journey I have been challenged to research new ideas and strategies, exercise my learnings in my classroom, and reflect on the moments where I made the "ah ha", when things started make sense! My intent for this website is to create conversation around this opportunity for you to become a better you, using the research and learning about the brain that I have has the opportunity to be exposed to.