An Educator's Guide to the Human Brain , believes that schools need to be more aware of the climate they produce for children. Positive social contacts such as hugging, supportive comments from friends, music, etc., may elevate endorphins. In animal studies, it was discovered that social interaction was crucial to learning. Without social relationships, animals showed no brain growth despite training. Studies of infants raised in orphanages with minimal human contact tends to confirm this finding in humans as well.
Social interaction is essential to human learning and well-being.
In practice, this translates into many opportunities for children to interact with other children and adults in the classroom. The brain is an association machine. It calls on associations to make sense of the world. Material memorized by rote is not transferable or usable unless it is tied to an association or experience. Schools need to provide young students with many opportunities to build their repertoire of concrete experiences upon which more abstract learning can be hooked.