About Born to Learn...
Born to Learn makes it possible for all students to realize their potential as natural learners. Everyone has an innate, natural ability and motivation to learn. We are natural pattern-seekers, thinkers, and learners from birth — and the brain uses the same innate processes throughout life. Born to Learn provides parents and educators of students of all ages with important information about how the brain learns.

Born to Learn reframes traditional education, transforming the student who "can’t" into the student who is simply not experiencing his or her birthright as a naturally motivated learner. This book provides research-based, concrete strategies for creating a student-centered curriculum in which every student can learn!

In We're Born to Learn Rita Smilkstein reports on her research with almost 9,000 people, from 2nd graders to graduate students to educators across disciplines, which reveals a natural human learnng process (NHLP) of six stages from foundational knowledge through higher-level thinking. She also shows that this NHLP converges exactly with how the brain naturally learns. She then provides guidelines and models showing educators how to create learning experiences at each stage of the process for individuals, small groups, and whole classes so all students can experience the joy and satisfaction of success.

We’re Born to Learn includes:
  • Detailed field/classroom and neuroscience research combined into principles for developing brain-compatible, natural-learning curricula for any classroom
  • Simple charts detailing the six-stage Natural Human Learning Process
  • Practical methods for developing curricula and selecting pedagogical strategies that are most effective in helping students utilize their innate learning processes
  • Guidelines and models for how this theory can be applied to the development of lesson plans and curricula
Development of Born to Learn second edition is currently in progress.