---
title: "Academic Lens: The Active, Extended Mind"
description: We believe experiences build an individual’s identity over time. We believe challenge and discomfort are critical to growth, and that being active, outdoors, and constantly in “awe” of that which surrounds us is good for the brain's development.
image: https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/hubfs/Blog_Pics/Academic_Lens/2021-2022%20-%20Academic%20Lens/Extended%20Mind/Blog%204.jpeg
---

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## Academic Lens: The Active, Extended Mind

Posted by [Scott Allenby](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/author/scott-allenby)

03/29/2022

On Friday, we will welcome 50 families to campus for the first of our three Accepted Student Days. As accepted students and their families tour campus and engage in panel discussions with our current students, our hope is that our visitors gain a deeper understanding of Proctor’s educational model and the “why” behind the Proctor experience. 

![Blog 4](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Pics/Academic_Lens/2021-2022%20-%20Academic%20Lens/Extended%20Mind/Blog%204.jpeg?width=6144&name=Blog%204.jpeg)

At the core of this experience is our collective understanding that adolescent brains learn best when actively engaged in the learning process. Adam Grant’s recent interview with science author [Annie Murphy Paul](https://anniemurphypaul.com/books/the-extended-mind/) on her latest book, [The Extended Mind](https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Outside-Brain-Annie-Murphy/dp/0544947665), provides powerful insights into the intersection of movement, cognition, learning, and the outdoors in the evolution of the human brain and learning. If you have not listened, do yourself a favor and do so [HERE](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/annie-murphy-paul-the-next-big-idea/id1346314086?i=1000554206573). 

![Blog 3](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Pics/Academic_Lens/2021-2022%20-%20Academic%20Lens/Extended%20Mind/Blog%203.jpeg?width=2048&name=Blog%203.jpeg)

Paul’s research explores how movement, environmental factors, and social interaction affects our cognition. Set within the context of the past two years of pandemic-learning, Paul’s writing provides sharp contrast to that which adolescents around the world have experienced in a virtual learning world. In framing her research, Paul writes: 

> *“Our culture insists that the brain is the sole locus of thinking, a cordoned-off space where cognition happens. This book argues otherwise: it holds that the mind constructs our thought processes from the resources available outside the brain. These resources include the feelings and movements of our bodies; the physical spaces in which we learn and work; and the other minds with which we interact—our classmates, colleagues, teachers, supervisors, friends. Sometimes, all three elements come together in especially felicitous fashion…”*

![Proctor Academy Boarding Prep School New England Proctor Academy Boarding Prep School New England](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Pics/Academic_Lens/2021-2022%20-%20Academic%20Lens/Extended%20Mind/Blog%205.jpg?width=4032&name=Blog%205.jpg)

We have long known this intersection of factors within a learning environment to be central to an effective “Proctor classroom”, yet when new research reinforces our practices, we are encouraged to double down on what we know in our guts to be true. Paul’s research explains the physiological restoration of being outside occurs largely because of the repeating patterns of nature’s stimuli - bird songs, wind in the leaves, rivers flowing, waves lapping against the shore - combined with the “power of awe” that physiologically resets the human brain when encountered.

![Proctor Academy Boarding Prep School New England Proctor Academy Boarding Prep School New England](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Pics/Academic_Lens/2021-2022%20-%20Academic%20Lens/Extended%20Mind/Blog%208.jpeg?width=6144&name=Blog%208.jpeg)

Likewise, learning in a safe, secure community of individuals unlocks the brain’s ability to engage in far more complex cognition than a less safe, less secure environment. Human brains evolved outdoors, in social communities. However, too often, the life we live indoors, on screens, and in isolation challenges our attention supply. Paul shares, “We spend so much time worrying about distractions from our attention - demands on our attention - but we do not think about the supply. How do we refill our attention? The best way to do that is to go outside and spend time in nature, leaving your device behind.” 

![Proctor Academy Boarding Prep School New England Proctor Academy Boarding Prep School New England](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Pics/Academic_Lens/2021-2022%20-%20Academic%20Lens/Extended%20Mind/Blog%209.jpeg?width=6144&name=Blog%209.jpeg)

As accepted students and their families absorb and come to better understand the various pieces of Proctor’s educational model on Friday, our annual challenge is to effectively communicate how the multitude of pieces of our model come together in unique ways for each student. While many schools rely on an instant gratification strategy to attract students and families (“Come here and you will experience \_\_X\_\_ and that will make you happy today!”), we believe the true value of a Proctor education lies in delayed gratification. We believe experiences build an individual’s identity over time. We believe challenge and discomfort are critical to growth, and that being active, outdoors, and constantly in “awe” of that which surrounds us is good for the brain's development.

We cannot wait for our accepted students and their families to experience this approach to education for themselves over the next two weeks. 

[![Click here for more information on Proctor's Accepted Student Days!](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/408790/55ff8ee4-9c17-4f64-acdc-368cad8028b7.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/408790/55ff8ee4-9c17-4f64-acdc-368cad8028b7)

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- [October 2017 (17)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2017/10)
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- [August 2017 (7)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2017/08)
- [July 2017 (4)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2017/07)
- [June 2017 (8)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2017/06)
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- [April 2017 (24)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2017/04)
- [March 2017 (16)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2017/03)
- [February 2017 (26)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2017/02)
- [January 2017 (22)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2017/01)
- [December 2016 (16)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/12)
- [November 2016 (22)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/11)
- [October 2016 (23)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/10)
- [September 2016 (16)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/09)
- [August 2016 (7)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/08)
- [July 2016 (5)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/07)
- [June 2016 (11)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/06)
- [May 2016 (25)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/05)
- [April 2016 (23)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/04)
- [March 2016 (16)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/03)
- [February 2016 (29)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/02)
- [January 2016 (18)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2016/01)
- [December 2015 (17)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/12)
- [November 2015 (17)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/11)
- [October 2015 (22)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/10)
- [September 2015 (13)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/09)
- [August 2015 (6)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/08)
- [July 2015 (7)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/07)
- [June 2015 (8)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/06)
- [May 2015 (27)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/05)
- [April 2015 (19)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/04)
- [March 2015 (14)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/03)
- [February 2015 (24)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/02)
- [January 2015 (21)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2015/01)
- [December 2014 (16)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2014/12)
- [November 2014 (18)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2014/11)
- [October 2014 (20)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2014/10)
- [September 2014 (17)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2014/09)
- [August 2014 (6)](https://blogs.proctoracademy.org/archive/2014/08)

see all

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Located in  Andover, NH,  Proctor Academy is a private coeducational day and boarding school for grades 9–12. Students benefit from a rigorous academic program, experiential off-campus programs, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.

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