AKA:Neuro-education or

Brain-based Learning

(Wait! Is there another

kind?)

Education Neuroscience

An interdisciplinary field that

combines neuroscience,

psychology and education to

create improved teaching

methods and curricula.

Source: www.dana.org/Publications/ReportDetails.aspx?id=44335

What it is……

Neuroeducation refers to creating specific interventions whose purpose is to impact the brain’s structures so there is a positive outcome such as: increased intelligence, improved memory, or a better ability to pay attention.

Neuroeducation is based on the finding that the brain can change and that the connections inside the brain are not “fixed”, a concept called neuroplasticity.

By discovering how we can educate, teach or interact with a student so their brain’s structures are enhanced and improved, it is possible to not just impart skills or knowledge but to increase their capacity to learn in the first place.

Source: www.dana.org/Publications/ReportDetails.aspx?id=44335

Is a growing area of study, not a short-cut to learning.

Effectively using neuroscience in the classroom requires much more explanation to get from theory to practice.

See more at: ttp://blog.oup.com/2013/01/neuroscience-education/#sthash.d1fiKIvv.dpuf

But, neuro-education …

James Zull

Carolyn Dweck

Two names to know…

David A. Kolb:

Kolb's Learning Styles model has four-stages:

Concrete Experience (feeling)

Reflective Observation (thinking)

Abstract Conceptualization (doing)

Active Experimentation (watching)

James Zull:

Used Kolb’s Experiential Learning Styles to make a connection between learning and neuroscience!

Neuro-education: Kolb to Zull

Zull’s Learning Cycle

So, how do we apply Zull’s ideas to adult education?

(1) create an environment for discovery, (2) include modeling by experts, (3) provide challenges that require creative actions, (4) apply all available senses to learning, (5) promote joy from learning, (6) use practice and experimentation to extend memory for future problem-solving, (7) allow individualized paths to learning, and (8) promote ongoing development of learning skills, or metacognition. Zull (2011)Want to know more about Zull’s ideas?

Read: The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching the Practice of Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning and From Brain to Mind: Using Neuroscience to Guide Change in Education

Carol S. Dweck:

A fixed mindset is one defined by a belief that talent and intelligence are innate.  

Students with a growth mindset believe that innate talents and intelligence are just the starting point, and can be cultivated through hard work (Mindsets, p.7).

Dweck’s research has shown that over time individuals with a growth mindset are more likely to outperform those with a fixed mindset.

Check out the website at: http://www.mindsetworks.com!

Mindsets: Fixed & Growth

Both mindsets can motivate someone to succeed, but Dweck’s work shows it occurs for different reasons and with different outcomes.

Those with a growth mindset learn for the love of learning, while those with a fixed mindset are motivated to reveal their identity as talented and/or intelligent.

Students with a fixed mindset are vulnerable to failure – criticism can lead them to shut down. A fixed mindset “creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. If you only have a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character – well, then you had better prove you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics” (Mindsets, p.6).

Dweck’s Mindsets

If a growth mindset is more likely to lead to deeper learning and lasting

outcomes, how can we help our students

to adopt a growth mindset?

Dweck suggests teachers can shape their students’ mindsets through the following….

Set high expectations – Students need to be challenged.

Praise the process – Feedback shapes a student’s mindset.

Create risk-tolerant learning environments – allow students to fail and experiment.

When appropriate, expose students to basic neuroscience research.

(Blackwell, L., Trzesniewski, K., & Dweck, C.S., 2007).

METACOGNITIONStudents transform themselves from receiver to producer:

Receiving information vs producing knowledge

Use neuroscience to help people engage in the learning cycle by increasing their awareness of the very nature of the learning process.

Teaching metacognitive strategies—how to learn more effectively based on the way that brains learn—could optimize learning by creating more conscious learners.

To be metacognitive is to be constantly “thinking about one’s own thinking”—and, in the process, deepening learning. By helping learners consciously adopt more effective learning strategies and giving them insight into the power of those strategies we can affect the quality of day-to-day learning.

Source: http://chronicle.com/article/MetacognitionStudent/130327/

What it all means…….

CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT

THE FACT IS THIS……

Learning and thinking about your brain

increases your brain’s ability to learn!

NeuroeducationBrain-based Learning

MetacognitionNeuroawareness

Ansary, D., De Smedt, B. & Grabner, H. (2011). Neuroeducation: A critical overview of an emerging field. Neuroethics , 5(2):105-117.

Dweck, C.S. (2006). Mindset. New York: Random House Elliot, A., & Dweck, C.S. (Eds.) (2005).

Lee, H.W., & Juan, C.H. (2013). What can cognitive neuroscience do to enhance our understanding of education and learning? Journal of Neuroscience and Neuroengineering, 2(4): 393-399. doi:10.1166/jnsne.2013.1064

OECD, Understanding the Brain: Towards a New Learning Science, OECD, Editor. 2002.

Zull, J. E. (2011). From Brain to Mind: Using Neuroscience to Guide Change in Education. Stylus Publishing. Sterling, VA.

Zull, J. E. (2002). The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching the Practice of Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning. Stylus Publishing. Sterling, VA.

 

References