The Neuroscience and Psychology of Effective Education

The education system has long been stuck in a cycle of outdated methodologies, leaving students disengaged, struggling with mental health, and failing to reach their full potential. However, a wealth of research in neuroscience, psychology, and education points to a better way—one that prioritizes connection, competence, and autonomy as the foundational pillars of student success.

At Prenda, we’ve taken this research and applied it at scale, helping learners thrive in microschools—small, community-driven learning environments where students feel safe, empowered, and motivated to learn.

Why Do Traditional Schools Struggle?

For decades, evidence-based practices have been ignored in the education system. Research has shown that many common classroom strategies—rewards and punishments, rigid pacing, standardized testing—actually increase stress, decrease engagement, and weaken student motivation​. Schools continue to focus on content delivery rather than student well-being, self-motivation, and individualized learning.

This mismatch between what research shows works and what actually happens in classrooms has led to:

👎 Rising mental health struggles—42% of youth report persistent sadness, and suicide rates have increased among students​. (CDC)
👎Widespread disengagement—only 47% of students report feeling engaged at school​. (Gallop)
👎 Ineffective learning—only 18% of students enter Prenda at grade level in math, despite parents frequently reporting passing grades in traditional schools​. (Prenda i-Ready results)

The problem isn’t that kids don’t want to learn—it’s that the system isn’t designed for the way they actually learn best.

The Three Pillars of Effective Learning

1. Connection: Safe and Supportive Relationships Unlock Learning

Neurological research has demonstrated that a child’s ability to learn is directly tied to their relationships with caring adults​. A 1997 study of 80,000 adolescents found that students with a strong adult connection—whether a parent, teacher, or mentor—were significantly less likely to experience mental health struggles, drop out of school, or engage in risky behavior​.

How Connection Influences Learning

What's happening in the child's brain when they are feeling high levels of connection with the adults in their learning environment? It's called internal safety. The child's brain knows that it is dependent on adult caretakers for protection and survival. So when the relationship is strong, kids are confident that they can rely on their caregivers for their needs and the brain relaxes and gets ready to learn. On the other hand, anything that might make the child feel like they are less valuable in the eyes of the adult in the room will usually trigger a child's sympathetic nervous system (also known as your fight, flight, or freeze response) which takes the prefrontal cortex (PFC) off line. This is an issue because the PFC is the area of the brain that helps the child stay focused, manage their behavior, remember instructions, and problem solve—all key things a student needs to do during school. Even subtle but negative interactions like a harsh tone, a threatening look, public embarrassment or comparison etc. can be enough to keep kids in a chronic state of neurological stress. This stress keeps the PFC offline negatively impacting the child's ability to learn.

At Prenda, we structure microschools so that each student has deep relationships with their guide and peers. This means:

✅ Small class sizes (5-10 students)—Kids aren’t lost in a sea of faces.
✅ Guides who act as mentors, not enforcers—No rigid power dynamics, just real human relationships.
✅ Intentional “collecting” practices—Guides are taught how to build and maintain warmth and connection daily.

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2. Competence: Learning at the Right Level Builds Confidence

A major problem in traditional schools is that students are often either bored (because the material is too easy) or frustrated (because it’s too hard). This leads to disengagement and a lack of perceived competence—a key driver of motivation​.

How Competency Influences Learning

When a child encounters a novel academic task, the brain goes into problem solving mode. This might look like recalling prior knowledge and experience, using various resources to gain more knowledge, seeking out assistance from more knowledgeable others. However, if a child is asked to perform tasks that are so far above their abilities they quickly learn that no amount of effort enables them to achieve the goal. They look around and see their peers figuring things out and succeeding, but they aren't able to meet the expectation themselves. This leads to something psychologists call "learned helplessness" and essentially causes the student to give up hope before they even try. These kids respond to their lack of competency with aggression, apathy, or by learning into the role of the class clown. All the while we exacerbate this issue by marching along at whatever pace the curriculum schedule demands leaving these demoralized kiddos in the dust. The same thing can happen to kids who are opperating so far above the whole-group, class instruction level that they are bored to tears and disengage.

Prenda solves this by:

✅ Using adaptive, mastery-based learning tools—Every student works at their true skill level, not just their age-based grade level.
✅ Encouraging “productive struggle”—Students learn that challenge is good, not something to be avoided​ or ashamed of.
✅ Removing letter grades—Instead of a one-shot test, students keep learning until they’ve truly mastered a concept.

3. Autonomy: Students Thrive When They Have Control Over Their Learning

The third key pillar is autonomy—the ability to make meaningful choices about one’s learning. Decades of psychological research have shown that when people feel in control, they are more motivated, less anxious, and more persistent​.

How Autonomy Influences Learning

Recall the last time you felt micromanaged at work or at home. Was it a happy experience or did you swear under your breath and tighten your fists? Or perhaps you felt a wave of overwhelm or fear that you weren't meeting expectations? Or maybe you just removed yourself from the situation quickly. Whatever you felt, it likely wasn't pleasant. That's because humans have an innate need for self-direction. We want to move and do as we please and we don't take kindly to people bossing us around. Now consider the life of a child or teen. How often do they get do make meaningful choices about their lives without strict direction from teachers or parents? Not often, right? This elicits something called "counter-will." It's that feeling of push back you get from kids when you just want them to do their homework or empty the dishwasher. They are so pressed to do what they are "supposed to do" all the time that they are in a state of constantly defending their autonomy. This creates an unhealthy power dynamic between adults and kids and both parties end up wasting a lot of time and energy. Maybe math isn't so bad, but because it's being forced upon them, kids feel to fight it. Great news, there's a different way to approach this.

At Prenda, we maximize student autonomy by:

✅ Letting students set their own learning goals—Each student, parent, and guide collaborates on a personalized plan.
✅ Providing choices in curriculum and learning activities—Students can pick topics that interest them.
✅ Using Socratic questioning instead of giving direct answers—Guides ask, “How would you like to go about demonstrating what you've learned?” instead of just telling students what to do​.

The Results: Real Data from Prenda Microschools

The impact of prioritizing connection, competence, and autonomy is clear in Prenda’s student outcomes:

📈 35 percentage point increase in intrinsic motivation—Students learn because they want to, not because they have to.
📈 1.78 years of reading progress in one year and 34% of students making more than 1 year's progress in math—Personalized learning accelerates growth.
📈 75% of students say learning is “just right” for them compared to a pre Prenda rate of 34%—No more “too fast” or “too slow” learning.
📈 86% of students feel happy about school, up from only 36% in traditional school​ —Proof that making these simple modifications to school is felt by students.

Learn More: Deep Dive into the Research

This blog post only scratches the surface. If you want to explore the full scientific foundation behind why microschools work, check out:

🎧 Podcast Episode: The Science Behind Microschools – A Conversation with Kaity Broadbent

📄 Full Research Report: Download the “Research Alignment: Science Behind Microschools” PDF

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Want to create a learning environment based on all of this research? Let us help you start a microschool in your community! No prior educational experience required.

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