Intuitively, I feel my students’ experiences, reflections, and actions influence who they are and what they do. However, the more I learn about neuroscience, the more research released on brain plasticity and metacognition, the more I realize these intuitions that have guided my work over the past twenty years as a Learning Specialist, and Proctor’s work over the past seventy, are based in scientific fact. Adolescent brain development is a biological process, but it is also a dynamic process that is enhanced through experiences. In other words, what teenagers learn, practice, and think develops neural pathways, which fundamentally restructures their brains over time. 

Mountain Classroom director, and former instructor, Annie MacKenzie shares the story of how one Proctor Academy family's life was shaped by Mountain Classroom.

The other day, someone asked me to explain the magic that is Mountain Classroom. My first thought was that Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom changes student’s lives. However, knowing that in my gut is one thing, proving it is another. Here’s some proof.