Natural Stimulant

What is it about the fall season that inspires us to get outside? Whether it is the inviting colors, the crisp air, the sounds of rustling leaves, or even the looming confinement that comes with the cold winter months, we seem especially content to escape the trappings of technology and busy schedules and explore and play outside.

I, personally, enjoy hiking at this time of year. I didn't very much when I was younger.  It wasn't something that my family regularly did with the exception of our annual trek up a small mountain in the state of Maine.  Many years later, I have developed a deep appreciation for exploring the more wild and natural beauty of this country. Being able to spend time walking in the woods, up a mountain, along a river or around a lake helps me relax, improves my health, and, would you believe, increases my ability to use my brain.

As part of its series on the 100th anniversary of our national parks, National Geographic magazine featured a story last winter on nature and the brain, "This Is Your Brain On Nature". The story features the work of University of Utah cognitive psychology professor David Strayer, a leading expert on attention science. Strayer's research reveals, according to the author, "that it’s the visual elements in natural environments—sunsets, streams, butterflies—that reduce stress and mental fatigue...such stimuli promote a gentle, soft focus that allows our brains to wander, rest, and recover." What happens when you try to memorize facts, solve problems, and tackle a complex task when you are tired, stressed, or mentally exhausted? Typically, the result is failure, frustration, and a need to start over.  The brain needs escape and rest.  Exposure to our natural world the research suggests, allows our brains to rest and recover and ultimately increase our ability to effectively function through our school/work problems and projects.  

Dr. Strayer's work was also featured in a highly recommended article in Outside magazine. The author summarizes the increasingly popular hypothesis that "the constant demands of emails, notifications, and general busy-ness put a significant burden on the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the region involved in multitasking and higher-order thinking (like critical thinking and problem solving). Those small demands add up to drain our attentional resources, making us distracted and cognitively fatigued—which in turn makes it more difficult to focus, think deeply, and come up with new ideas."  Dr. Strayer uses electric brain activity tests (EEGs) and creative problem solving tasks to prove this connection between natural escape and improved cognitive ability.  The results have revealed the benefits to include increased creative thinking, improved ability to focus, and more active imagination.  Critics may argue that television, video games, or just sitting on the couch may also provide the brain this escape.  Dr. Strayer, as he describes in the article, argues that nature allows our brain to enter a state of soft fascination and that it is only nature that “you can watch without getting bored, but it’s not in itself mentally taxing. It can be mesmerizing… it’s a gentle capturing of attention.  And it frees your mind to wander, which is one of the best ways to get the creative juices flowing."

I find the connection between nature and the brain to be very intriguing. I am motivated to find new and effective ways to incorporate "nature" into the student experience.  I imagine the most effective thing we can do as leaders of children, is to model for them the importance and benefits of putting the 21st century on pause, and getting "back to nature".

What are your family's favorite natural escapes?  

Book Suggestion: Dr. Strayer's work on attention is also featured in this powerful book about the dangers of texting and driving- a great topic for a future post.

Lessons from the Cube

“A good puzzle, it's a fair thing. Nobody is lying. It's very clear, and the problem depends just on you.” -Ernő Rubik 

Anthony Brooks has it.  "It" is difficult to assess and quantify and goes by many different names. A word that seems to have recenlty gained significant support from the most highly regarded educational researchers is "grit".  Stanford professor, Angela Duckworth, a leading voice on the identification and fostering of academic competencies other than fixed intelligence, defines grit as "the perseverance and passion for long-term goals."


Anthony first picked up a Rubik's Cube six years ago, when he was a fourteen-year-old looking to stay busy on a long bus ride. Today, Anthony holds the world record for solving the Rubik's Cube- less
than seven seconds!

Since its mass-market introduction forty years ago, the "Cube" has befuddled and frustrated most of those that try to solve it.  Most of us have held a Cube in our hands, and surely not many of us solve it on our first attempt.  How long was it before you put it down and proclaimed defeat, never to pick it up again?  Or perhaps, not unlike people such as Anthony, you looked at the problem from different points of view, consulted an expert for insight, or did basic research on the internet for solutions.  In reality, we can all solve the Cube by following (and eventually memorizing if you want to solve it quickly) a set of algorithms.  For the "speedcubers" of the world, like Anthony, being able to solve the Cube quickly- and in some cases blindfolded- requires deliberate practice, focus, and an authentic interest in doing it.


The Rubik's Cube was the central focus of a recent science class activity at our school.  Two seventh grade students in Dr. Steneken's class were going to race each other; the winner being the first to solve a scrambled cube.  However, this competition was unusual in that one of the participants was not actually human, but a student-designed Lego robot.  I recall the winner solved the cube in less than thirty seconds- very impressive.  In my mind, it didn't matter if the winner was the student using his own hands, or the student who used a robot that he built. It was clear that both students had engaged in hours of preparation and practice to solve the problem.  I am sure they both encountered frustrations, obstacles and failure along the way.  Despite the difficulty, they persevered- and I assure you that for each of them this is only the beginning.  Through this process they have demonstrated to me, and to themselves, that they possess the grit that is required to achieve true academic success; that they know what it will take to solve all forms of puzzles and problems.

As a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Education myself, I am very familiar with the work of GSE graduate and professor, Angela Duckworth.  Having been an administrator in the middle school environment for the better part of a decade, I fully support her position that the ability to learn is not fixed, but that this can change with effort.  Having this "growth" mindset, allows for success in all endeavors- whether we are solving a forty year-old puzzle, building robots, or growing as learners and leaders.
Duckworth summarizes the importance of grit in this TED talk:


I believe that it is the role of  parents, teachers, administrators- to foster in our children the grittiness that Professor Duckworth references. We owe them this.  The best way to teach is to encourage and model.  So go find that cube, and give it another shot- you can do it, but you might fail (a lot) before you succeed.

 Related Resources:
Solving The Cube
The Cube's 40th Anniversary Celebration in Times Square
New York Times Profile on the Resurgence of the Rubik's Cube
Liberty Science Center's Rubik's Cube Exhibit
Professor Duckworth's Study on Grit
An Interview with Professor Duckworth (Educational Leadership, 2013)

Anthony Brooks in Times Square: