 |
 |
 |
|
|
Wed, 05/16/2012
|
 |
The School Administrator, the journal of the American Association of School Administrators, devoted its entire December 2006 issue to the relationship between cognitive neuroscience research and school policy and practice. The editors asked me to identify the areas of cognitive neuroscience research that I thought would most affect K-12 education in the coming years. I identified eight: 1. Neuroimaging technology will be increasingly used in teaching/learning research, and in the diagnosis/treatment of learning disabilities. 2. The emerging understanding of the central role that the mirror neuron system plays in learning will lead to the development of instructional strategies that enhance its effectiveness. 3. The emerging understanding of how brain plasticity functions will lead to instructional strategies and technologies targeted to students with learning difficulties. The FastForward Programs are such a development. 4. The current limited perspective of emotion and attention will shift as educators develop a better understanding of the key roles that emotion and attention play in learning. 5. The conventional perspectives of the roles the hemispheres play in cognition will shift as new perspectives emerge. 6. The importance of the arts, humanities, and physical education in brain development and maintenance will become widely understood, and this will lead to an increased curricular emphasis. 7. Theories of multiple intelligences have dominated educational thought and practice during the past 25 years, but new perspectives of the nature of intelligence are emerging that will expand current beliefs. 8. Consciousness, the last major enigma in biology, is currently a very active area of research. Since teaching and learning are primarily conscious acts, the new developments in this area will have profound significance for educational policy and practice. If you want to read the entire article (and issue, for all that) click on this link: http://www.aasa.org/publications/saissuedetail.cfm?ItemNumber=7809&snItemNumber=950&tnItemNumber= So after 100 columns, I'm still intensely curious about what new cognitive neuroscience discoveries await us - and I trust that you share that curiosity. Brain Connection will keep you informed.
Robert Sylwester is an Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Oregon. He focuses on the educational implications of new developments in science and technology and has written several books and over 150 journal articles. His most recent books are The Adolescent Brain: Reaching for Autonomy (2007, Corwin Press), How to explain a brain: An educator's handbook of brain terms and cognitive processes (2004, Corwin Press),and A biological brain in a cultural classroom: Enhancing cognitive and social development through collaborative classroom management(2003, Corwin Press. second edition). The Education Press Association of America gave him three Distinguished Achievement Awards for his published syntheses of cognitive science research. He has made over 1400 conference and in-service presentations on educationally significant developments in brain/stress theory and research. What did you think of this article? Send us your comments!
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
BrainConnection.com is a Web resource from Posit Science Corporation Home | About BC | MarketPlace | Contact Us | Staff | Glossary | Privacy | Terms of Use |
