Zull doesn't give us a clear cut way to help trigger motivation, but he does gives us a glance into how the brain processes information. After examining the scientific methods of learning and cycling through the brain's processes, Zull determines that the brain wants to survive, and be safe--not exactly a revolutionary idea, but necessary to reiterate, nonetheless. The brain learns by motivation; however, our brains are not entirely motivated by extrinsic reward. Most learning happens when we enjoy what we are doing.
Zull wants us to understand what our students are thinking, and he believes that triggering motivation doesn't happen unless we know what is going on in our student's mind. After doing this, we are then able to make a game plan to promote positive learning.
I keep coming back to idea(s) (contention[s], perhaps) we expressed in our earlier conversations: Zull doesn't really address the interpersonal effects of student-on-student learning. Nor does he factor in any of the various environmental issues affecting changes in the brain. Brain "fitness", if you will, is not simply the product of positive learning experiences, i.e., growth and stimulation does not take place in a vacuum. I also found his emotional, sometimes visceral reactions to his students to be somewhat distracting, ironic and at odds with his clinical approach to the mechanics and chemistry of the brain. Maybe he is proving his point by emphasizing how emotional impressions make for more deeply registered learning experiences--or perhaps I just read too much into things ;-).
Though it lacks clear direction for particular teaching practices, focusing instead on abstract concepts as a necessary theoretical foundation for effective teaching to take place, overall, I felt the text to be a good starting point for a discussion on how we learn. Pedagogically speaking, it leaves many openings (his point, perhaps). My only real beef is that we do not learn in isolation from others or our environmental factors--a bit more acknowledgement of these factors and incorporation of their potential effects would make for a more pressing case.
