What if learning isn't just happening between our ears?

For generations, we've designed classrooms around a familiar formula: sit still, face forward, and let your mind do the heavy lifting. It's a model that treats students almost like computers, passively processing information—or as Susan Hrach puts it, "brains on sticks."

But learning is far more dynamic, shaped not just by what happens in our heads, but by our bodies, emotions, and the environments around us.

In this episode of Higher Learnings, educator and author Susan Hrach draws on her book Minding Bodies to explore how physical space, sensation, and movement influence the way students think and learn.

Along the way, she challenges us to reconsider whether traditional classrooms might actually be working against learning, and shares practical ways to engage students' minds and bodies, even if it means getting a little uncomfortable ourselves.

Guest Bio

Susan Hrach is an educator, author, and faculty development expert with more than 25 years of experience in higher education. She is the author of Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect Learning and now works as an independent speaker, workshop facilitator, and coach.

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