Brain science is being used in planning school lessons for 200 students in kindergarten through third grade at the one progressive private school in New York.

The school has become a kind of national laboratory for integrating cognitive neuroscience and cutting-edge educational theory into curriculum, professional development and school design.

"Young children at the Blue School learn about what has been called ‘the amygdala hijack' — what happens to their brains when they flip out. Teachers try to get children into a ‘toward state,' in which they are open to new ideas. Periods of reflection are built into the day for students and teachers alike, because reflection helps executive function — the ability to process information in an orderly way, focus on tasks and exhibit self-control."

(READ the full story in the New York Times)