Unleashing the Power of Perceptual Change: The Potential of Brain-Based Teaching.

Caine, N.C. & Caine, G. (1997). Unleashing the power of perceptual change: The potential of brain-based teaching Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD (199 pp., $18.95 pb, ISBN-87120-287-5).

In 1991, Caine and Caine wrote what was to become the first of three books on brain-based learning and teaching. On the basis of the first book, Making Connections: Teaching and the Human Brain, they began to work with educators and schools to find ways to incorporate their 12 principles of brain-based learning into instructional practices and organizational thinking. As they continued this work, they agreed to document their experiences and further learning which has resulted in two subsequent books, Education on the Edge of Possibility and Unleashing the Power of Perceptual Change, the last book being the subject of this review. The topic of this third book is less about brain-based learning and the discoveries of neuroscience that can influence educational practice, and more about the way teachers teach and educational systems are organized.

In their second book in this series, the authors examined the factors they believe block the path to educational change that would result in a system designed along brain-compatible lines. They identify barriers of procedure and processes embedded in school systems that effectively block innovative change despite much research and many voices over the years. The experiences they document in the second and in this third book have caused them to rethink notions that physical reconfigurations of schools will result in acceptance and implementation of brain research, no matter how compelling. This brings us to the thesis of this third book, Unleashing the Power of Perceptual Change, where they suggest that the route to change is an understanding of perceptual orientations of educators in conjunction with an understanding of brain-based learning.

In the opening chapters, Caine and Caine state their goal is to provide for meaningful learning. They describe this as the difference between surface knowledge and "dynamical knowledge". Dynamical knowledge connects to the real world of the student and is accessed and is used to solve problems and deal with complex situations. It is this complexity and the interconnectedness of events, situations and knowledge that holds "meaning". By paying attention to the twelve principles of brain-based learning, developed in their first book, educators can provide for meaningful learning. The trick is to shift the perceptual orientation and instructional approaches of educators so that they access and use these principles.

Chapter 4 is devoted to explaining three different approaches to instruction. Instructional Approach 1 is described as the "stand and deliver" model and seen as compatible with a mechanistic and bureaucratic worldview. Instructional Approach 2 shares many of the "command and control" aspects of the first but differs in the use by teachers of complex materials, the incorporation of powerful and engaging experiences and a focus on creating meaning. The classroom environment also changes from regurgitation to experimentation and exploration.

Caine and Caine see the shift from Instructional Approach 1 to 2 as a necessary step in the goal of reaching Instructional Approach 3 and believe that educators cannot move to the final step without passing through the sequence. Instructional Approach 3 is characterized as a learner-centered approach based in student interest. This is grounded in a belief that "people learn naturally, it is highly organic and dynamic, with experiences that approach the complexity of real life". The third approach also incorporates the previous two approaches as it includes direct instruction. It is in their explanation of Perceptual Orientation 3 that I hear the echoes of educators of the gifted as they have advocated elements of best practice for gifted learners.

Chapter 5 deals with a questionnaire developed by the authors to assess the differences in mental models held by teachers employing these difference instructional approaches, and to examine the influence these models have over use of instructional approaches. It is from this information that Caine and Caine construct the "perceptual orientations" of their title. Perceptual Orientation 1 and 3 define the ends of a continuum with Perceptual Orientation 2 as a transition described as "the interim but essential path that education has to travel". The attributes of those holding Perceptual Orientation 1 are described as reliance on authority and the power of others, deference to the system and narrowly prescribed teaching foci, use of control and coercion over students and, acceptance of external control of self by some more powerful other. Perceptual Orientation 3 teachers, on the other hand, have an integrated sense of self, a willingness to question the system, rely on their own self-efficacy, work to build it in their students and work from an internal locus of control. The goal, of course, is to have all educators operating from Perceptual Orientation 3. Caine and Caine bring this idea full circle to close with their initial focus on brain-based learning.

Perceptual Orientation 3 thinking is the heart of brain-based learning and permits the teaching that takes place at the edge of possibility.... As people move toward Perceptual Orientation 3, their espoused mental models become congruent, their actions become more authentic, and their teaching becomes sophisticated enough to generate the learning we desire in students. (p. 90)

The rest of the book is devoted to developing understanding of the three perceptual orientations and supporting the case for a concerted move by educators, school systems, and teacher education institutions to Perceptual Orientation 3 thinking and concomitant instructional approaches. Depending on your previous exposure to ideas of traditional vs constructivist teaching, you might find the last half of the book illuminating or a reiteration of what you have encountered elsewhere. There is no doubt that the authors have constructed a neat connection between their theory of brain-based learning and current thinking about support for educational change. They join many others working and researching this area and provide us with one more reason to pursue efforts to move education along the path to authentic, relevant, appropriate experiences for all that work and learn in the system. Who does not want to use more of their brain and to do so effectively?

If your purpose in reading is to learn more about research into brain-based learning, give this book a pass and stick with their first in this series. If you wish to think about educational change and implementation, this is a well-reasoned explanation of some of the factors that influence change from a brain-based perspective, although it becomes somewhat repetitive after the basic thesis is developed in the first half of the book. While many classroom teachers will find this an interesting read and thought provoking if they are reflective, it does not focus on practical suggestions for the classroom and will probably be of more interest and application to teacher educators, policy makers and educational leaders. Readers with specific interest in the minds of gifted individuals will find no new insights. However, one might infer that teachers of the gifted want to be operating from perceptual orientation 3.

Reviewed by Maureen McDermid, District Curriculum Coordinator - Gifted, SD #38 Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.