What if everything we “know” as educators is wrong?
Thanks to advances in neuroscience, we are likely to be exposed to revolutionary new ideas about how the brain actually learns that will fundamentally alter the way we do our jobs each day.
Sigh.
And I was just getting used to the new curriculum….
The good news is in University of Alabama writer David Miller’s article on neuroscience research on learning. According to researchers at the University of Alabama is that it will probably take ten years for the research to make its way to the classroom level, according to assistant professor, Dr. Firat Soylu- so don’t delete those slide shows just yet!
The even better news, is that much of this research will hopefully take the guess work out of how we think students learn and make differentiated instruction seem quaint, as we hopefully will be able to truly individualize instruction, so each student can learn the way they learn best.
In an ideal world, this will allow computers to handle the basic knowledge acquisition of memorization, solving basic formulas, understanding vocabulary and allow teachers to focus on developing research literacy through critical thinking, project based learning, labs, and other more cognitively complex classroom activities.
Now is a great time to introduce your students to the basics of neuroscience and the fMRI gear that are the tools of the trade.
Who knows, maybe your principal will get you that EEG machine after all?
For additional information on Dr. Soylu’s work, which includes an insightful review of educational neuroscience research and discusses several lesson designs which can likely enhance student learning, please see the article The Thinking Hand:Embodiment of Tool Use, Social Cognition, and Metaphorical Thinking and Implications for Learning Design. The learning design method of perspective taking as exemplified in the section “Being the Sensor” as great utility for a wide variety of classroom settings.
Questions for Discussion
- What does fMRI stand for?
- How does it work?
- How is it different than a traditional MRI?
- How much does it cost?
- What is tDCS?
- Are you a skeptic- does this seem like just another research “fad?” What evidence do you base your skepticism on?
- What teaching practices are you doing now, that are likely a bit behind the times?
- What do you want to know about neuroscience to help you be a better educator?
- How can you use this information to inspire your students?
Wide Open Research 