This article by Donna Wilson, Ph.D., is a fantastic look into student potential as it relates to the plasticity of the brain. It is also posted here: www.p21.org.
Donna Wilson, Ph.D., is a school/educational psychologist, teacher educator, and author. Her most recent books include Five Big Ideas for Effective Teaching: Connecting Mind, Brain, and Education Research to Classroom Practice (Teachers College Press) and Flourishing
in the First Five Years: Connecting Implications from Mind, Brain, and
Education Research to the Development of Young Children (Rowman
& Littlefield Education). She is cofounder and academic team leader
at the Center for Innovative Education and Prevention (CIEP). http://donnawilsonphd.org
Driving Question: What does neuroplasticity research suggest about the potential of all students to master the 4Cs?
By Donna Wilson, Ph.D.
The discovery that learning changes the structure and function of the
brain (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000) has the potential to
transform education in both profound and practical ways—if we can, once
and for all, dislodge persistent misconceptions that obscure this
promise.