Stimulate the Brain
A kindergarten teacher leads students through dance movements (left) in what appears to be an enriched environment. Opportunities for physical exercise, social interaction, and other types of stimulating activity characterize enriched environments, which promote positive changes in the brain (van Praag, Kempermann, & Gage, 2000). Fewer signs of enrichment appear in the photo on the right, which shows another teacher with her class of preschoolers in a sparse room without books or even furniture.
A kindergarten teacher leads students through dance movements (left) in what appears to be an enriched environment. Opportunities for physical exercise, social interaction, and other types of stimulating activity characterize enriched environments, which promote positive changes in the brain (van Praag, Kempermann, & Gage, 2000). Fewer signs of enrichment appear in the photo on the right, which shows another teacher with her class of preschoolers in a sparse room without books or even furniture.
left: Goh Chai Hin/Afp/Getty Images; right: © Robert Van Der Hilst/Corbis