Richard Piazza

The creator of the AWAKENINGS workshops has worked in public education for forty years. He has taught on the elementary, middle, high school and college levels.

In addition to his brain-compatible learning workshops, Dick Piazza offers 4MAT training to teachers and administrators across the country.

Reaching Every Child:
A Brain-Compatible Learning Presentation
By Dick Piazza

Current research is reaching deep within the thinking, feeling, acting brain revealing powerful insights about how we learn.

This presentation will provoke a renewed sense of wonder about the process we call learning and provide new understandings about the ways our brains take in and utilize information from both inner and outer sources.

The theory of Multiple Intelligences opens a window into the multiple ways we, as a species, are smart. It points us towards methods for encouraging and accelerating learning. Knowledge of left/right brain differences further clarifies the nature of diversity in our students and expands our notion about the spectrum of human behavior.

The Triune Brain theory examines the three areas of operations our brains utilize in life. Recognizing the magical interplay between the "primitive" brain, the emotion centers and the cognitive "thinking" brain helps explain why some children shut down in school while others thrive.

Finally, we will look at the four basic learning styles and how they manifest themselves in the ways we approach new learning situations.

The seminar will end with an introduction of a powerful learning design called 4MAT, which helps teachers use our current understanding of the brain in the classroom.