Mind+Brain+and+Education

Althoug not everyone agrees, some people believe that neuroscience has great potential to improve education. It's not exactly a surprising idea - the brain is after all a learning machine. Knowing more about it may help us improve teaching techniques and learning environments. On this page (scroll down) you'll find links to some resources that will help you learn about the brain. Before getting to those, take a moment to read the following brief description of the debate about whether neuroscience and education have anything to say to each other.


 * Some educators doubt that neuroscience has much to offer them because it is so technical. A number of neuroscientists have acknowledged that to communicate new developments in ways that reach teachers requires skills that are not usually acquired in neuroscience training. One result of this is that there is a gulf between brain researchers and teachers - a gulf that is sometimes filled by people offering programs of questionable value.
 * At the same time, some neuroscientists have been working very hard to reach across that gulf, to communicate with teachers, both to tell them about new developments and to learn from them about the processes of learning and teaching.

The OECD Directorate for Education has a very useful website devoted to five neuromyths - ideas that have some currency among educators and parents but have no scientific basis. These are described at the OECD website, with relevant reference materials. They are described in more detail in the OECD report, Brain and Learning, in the chapter on neuromyths.

Neuromyth 1: The brain is only plastic for certain kinds of information during specific ‘critical periods’-thereby the first three years of a child are decisive for later development and success in life.

Neuromyth 2: 'Enriched environments’ enhance the brain’s capacity for learning

Neuromyth 3: There is a visual, auditive and a haptic type of learning

Neuromyth 4: We only use 10% of our brain

Neuromyth 5 - actually three separate myths about multi-lingualism:
 * Myth 1: Two languages compete for resources
 * Myth 2: Knowledge acquired in one language is not accessible in the other language
 * Myth 3: The first language must be spoken well before the second language is learned

The prevalence of these neuromyths is a good argument for the importance of increasing coverage of neuroscience in teacher training programs. As Donna Coch and Daniel Ansari wrote, in their article in the scientific journal, //Cortex//:

"While it is not our argument that initial teacher training should mirror neuroscientist training, we would argue that training teachers in neuroscience basics will be useful in developing teachers who can be informed and critical consumers of so-called ‘‘brain based’’ strategies and programs and the neuroscience research on which they are purportedly based" (//Cortex//, 2009, 45, pp. 546-547)

The Annenberg Foundation has an online course for teachers and teachers-in-training. It was put together by Mary Helen Immordino-Yang of USC and others. Some course elements, including some interesting videos, are available free here. The course package can also be purchsed from Annenberg or in Canada from Visual Education Centre

Some references you might find useful:

Ansari, D. and Coch, D. (2006). Bridges over troubled waters: education and cognitive neuroscience. //Trends in Cognitive Sciences//, 10, 146-151 Goswami, U. (2006). Neuroscience and education: from research to practice? //Nature Reviews Neuroscience//. 7 (5), 2-7

Goswami, U. (2004). Neuroscience and education. //British Journal of Educational Psychology//, 74, 1–14

Sylvan, L. & Christodoulou, J. (2010). Understanding the role of neuroscience in brain based products: A guide for educators and consumers. //Mind, Brain, & Education//, 4 (1), 1 - 7.

Other resources:

Society for Neuroscience [|website]
 * SfN's free primer [|Brain Facts]
 * NERVE: Neuroscience Education Resources Virtual Encycloportal

Neurobiology and Behavior Community Outreach program run by graduate students at the University of Washington
 * The Brain Question website

The OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation