In the field of education, the language of ‘brain-based’ learning is regularly used in policy documents, professional development sessions, and popular discussions about learning and the brain. And yet, in practical terms, the collective understanding of the brain’s role (and potential) in learning remains surprisingly limited.
Many people now accept that the brain can change. Far fewer understand how it changes, what conditions are required, and what kinds of experiences lead to lasting structural and functional development rather than temporary improvement. In education especially, brain-based approaches and neuroplasticity is often treated (if at all), as an encouraging idea rather than a disciplined, evidence-based practice.
True neuroplastic change is not passive. It does not occur simply through exposure, accommodation, or repetition of what a learner already finds manageable. It requires precisely targeted, progressively demanding cognitive work, sustained over time, and matched to the learner’s specific profile. This distinction matters. Without it, we risk assuming that all learning experiences are equally transformative. When fact, truly influencing academic and human potential includes strengthening the cognitive capacities that support independent thinking, reasoning, and learning.
In schools, this gap between awareness and application has real consequences. Well-intentioned systems often prioritize short-term success, efficiency, and ease, particularly in an era of accelerating technology. Supports are frequently designed to help students cope around their difficulties rather than address them at the level of the brain. While these supports can be valuable, they should not be mistaken for development.
What remains less understood is that cognitive capacity can be built, and that doing so often involves struggle. Not struggle as frustration or failure, but as a carefully supported challenge that engages attention, persistence, and effort. This kind of work is demanding for learners and educators alike. It takes time. It resists quick fixes. But it is precisely this process that enables durable cognitive growth.
I hope the field of education moves beyond simply acknowledging the brain within learning as theoretical - and moves toward seeing it as a responsibility. This means designing educational experiences that do not just accommodate learners as they are, but invest in who they can become. It means valuing long-term brain development alongside immediate outcomes. And it means recognizing that genuine transformation in human potential is possible, but only when we are willing to align our practices with what the brain truly requires to change.
This, to me, remains one of the most important and unfinished conversations in education today.
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