Brains learn in many ways, even through late adulthood. Constructive feedback (rather than rote corrections) on schoolwork employs young minds as agents in their own learning. Neuroscientists and educators teamed up to show that lessons in map reading and other spatial skills boost verbal thinking in high school students. New views on how to evaluate and support kids with dyslexia and dyscalculia—like dyslexia, but with numbers—are energizing research into the different ways that brains process information. The better children understand how their minds work, the more enthusiastic they are about learning and the more academic success they achieve.