A neurobiologist, Zull also serves as the director of the teaching center at Case Western Reserve University. His quest to understand learning from the standpoint of the brain's physiology culminated in this book—rigorous enough to get the brain science across but written for people who teach, specifically in higher education. Using stories and examples from his own teaching and learning experience, Zull discusses the physical process of learning, the importance of emotion, and the absolute necessity of connecting learning to students’ knowledge and experience.