Bridget Kabacinski

ENC 2135
Ms. Brandi Bradley
March 15, 2016

The Best (and Worst) of Both Worlds: Neuroscience and Education

Through scientific research humans have been able to study what is considered the
most complex organ in the bodythe brain. A better understanding of how the brain
works, more specifically how it functions while learning, could revolutionize the way in
which information is taught in schools. Educational neuroscience, the result of an overlap
between cognitive neuroscience and education, has advantages and disadvantages in its
application on school curriculum.
The neuroscience community is made up of scientists who study the human brain and
nervous system. Neuroscientists are dedicated to discovering new things about the brain
in order to get a better understanding of it and use their understanding to inform others.
According to Miranda Richmond, a postdoctoral fellow in the Neuroscience and Brain
Sciences Research Lab at Vanderbilt Universitys Brain Institute, members of the
community interact with each other through conferences, newsletters, and peer-reviewed
publications. These methods of communication demonstrate the purpose of the
community, which is to inform a large audience of scientists.
There are multiple branches of neuroscience consisting of scientists who specialize in
a specific area. One of these branches, cognitive neuroscience, focuses on the ways in
which the brain learns, stores, and uses the information it acquires (van Dam). Since

cognitive neuroscience relates to learning, an effort has been made to apply the findings
from this area in the classroom. The concept of educational neuroscience could prove to
be a significant benefit in learning environments, but it could also come with obstacles
for those within and outside of the neuroscience community.
Using educational neuroscience as a guideline for improving school curriculum has
its advantages. Neurosciences relevance for the social, cognitive, and emotional
development of humans makes it useful for education at this current time as well as in the
future (Martin-Loeches). The cognitive, social, and affective activities in the brain are all
involved in neuroscience and have some kind of effect on the learning process. Similarly
to cognitive neuroscience, both affective neuroscience and social neuroscience are
specialized areas of neuroscience. They both suggest that emotions are cognitive and
physiological processes that require both mind and body while also having an influence
on brain systems for cognition (Immordino-Yang 99). Emotions that are experienced
during the learning process can affect they way an individual interprets and retains the
information being taught. Educational neuroscience could have a positive effect on the
brains natural functions and the overall learning process.
Additionally, educational neuroscience could develop an improvement in programs
for students with special needs. Cognitive neuroscience and education together could help
educators to better understand the atypical performances of students with such needs
(Ferrari 31). This could lead to the formation of improved curriculums specifically for
people with disabilities in order to enhance their learning process. It is more beneficial
for students to experience this type of program during their younger years when their
brain is still developing. Young students who are not at a certain level by the time they

reach a specific grade could be better assisted by teachers and therapists who understand
how their brains processes information. Children who could potentially face extreme
difficulty in learning as they get older could be identified earlier with the application of
neuroscience in the classroom (Moats).
Understanding how the brain acquires information especially during sensitive periods
of development could also adjust the timing in which some information is taught to
students; this applies to the introduction of foreign language. A delay in language learning
may negatively impact grammatical processing in the new language (Zadina 73). In
comparison to learning language earlier on, there is not as much time provided to fully
grasp the conventions of a new language. The human brain experiences various periods
within ones life. Sensitive periods are defined as a time in which the brain is most
responsive to input from the environment (Knowland, Thomas 101). These periods can
correlate with different ages. As defined by John Geakes and Paul Cooper, adaptive
plasticity is the capacity of the brain to change at a neurophysiological level in response
to changes in cognitive environment (14). This supports the idea that early
developmental are crucial in the learning process since that is when the brain has the
most plasticity. Many students are not exposed to foreign language until they reach high
school and usually only study foreign language between two to four years. Most
information that is considered the foundation for further learning is often taught during
the younger years. In kindergarten students are taught how to write, the alphabet, and
how to form short sentences. When a student reaches first grade they learn more about
basic math operations such as adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. Once a
student goes into high school and college they will have retained the core information

that was taught to them in the early stages because that is usually when the brain
experiences the most sensitive periods. As bilingualism become a sought after skill in the
job market, this type of change could prove to be very beneficial for students.
Besides having the potential to create new programs in school curriculums,
educational neuroscience could support the need for the arts in schools. In the article
The emerging role of education neuroscience in education reform, Janet Zadina refers
to a study performed at Vanderbilt University indicated that creative thinking can be
enriched through the practice of the arts. It was also discovered that musicians had higher
IQ scores than non-musicians, a finding that supports that argument that intensive music
training is positively associated with verbal intelligence, language and executive
function (Zadina 73). Today there is a heavy emphasis on students taking STEM
courses; Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. While the four areas that make
up STEM are important especially in terms of careers, the arts implement things that are
not taught within the STEM program. The creativity that is taught from the arts could
supplement concepts and ideas pursued in science and engineering. Though some see the
arts as unnecessary and do not think of it as a big loss in budget cuts, it ultimately is
important because what is taught can be applied to anything and can be proven to be a
good tool.
Illiteracy is an issue that could be helped by the integration of neuroscience with
education. According to Victoria Knowland and Michael Thomas, illiteracy in adulthood
is estimated to be at about 800 million people in the world. This impacts the job market,
thus affecting the economy. This supports the concept of learning during the stages of

early development and how it should be practiced from there on. However, it is important
to keep in mind that not everyone has the same brain and everyone learns differently.
According to Victoria Knowland and Michael Thomas, education is a special case of
learning where skills and experiences of previous generations are passed on (100). The
education system today is a result of trial and error from past experiences. Another
example of the passing from generation to generation is when parents give advice to their
children about what helped them when they were in school whether it regards writing an
essay or completing a math problem. Students themselves also apply their past
experiences to their learning process. For example, if a student had previously not done
as well on a test as they wanted to because of the notes they took then the next chapter
they cover he student may want to try a different method of note-taking since the one
before was not helpful.
Although there are advantages in implementing educational neuroscience in the
classroom, there are some disadvantages. Perhaps the major disadvantage would be the
difficulty in communication between neuroscientists and educators. The application of
neuroscience in education would first come from experiments by neuroscientists followed
by teachers applying their results in the classroom. A common language established
between both neuroscientists and teachers would be more effective in applying
neuroscience rather than the results from the laboratory following directly into the
classroom (Ansari, Coch, Smedt). In order to effectively incorporate neuroscience into
the classroom, both neuroscientists and educators need to understand each other in order
to communicate their ideas. Until there is a neutral language in which both sides can
communicate, the integration of neuroscience and education will not be as seamless as

hoped for. It has been questioned how the results from the findings from cognitive
neuroscience will be translated to the education community. Having individuals who are
trained in both fields would make the communication between neuroscientists and
educators somewhat easier.
Educators should embrace an understanding of developments in cognitive
neuroscience (Geake, Cooper 11). In order to see successful outcomes in bridging
neuroscience and education together, both neuroscientists and teachers would have to do
their part. Both would have to be taught something from the other, scientists would have
to undergo a student teaching practicum whereas teachers would take part in a
specialized neuroscience program (Zadina 74). This would potentially improve the
communication between neuroscientists and teachers since they would both learn more
about the other side.
It is also argued that it may be too soon for neuroscientists to inform curriculum.
Janet Zadina argues that education neuroscientists should be the ones who integrate their
field with education and not the government. Neuroscientists have a better understanding
of the topic at hand, therefore they are better suited to inform people within and also
outside of their community.
There are some misconceptions about neuroscience that might complicate the
bridging of neuroscience and education. Dr. Hammock has seen a misconception that
regards the validity of research. One trend I see is that sometimes people tend to have a
bias in their logic that leads them to believe that a research finding is "more true" or
"more important" because a neuroscience-related variable was included in the research
(Hammock). Sometimes research is given too much credit than it deserves because it

includes a brain-level explanation (Hammock). Miranda Richmond has come across

the misconception that sees neuroscience as completely too hard to understand.
Neuroscience is something that everyone can relate to as it impacts all of us, and I think
that is what makes neuroscience accessible (Richmond).
People within the community as well as people outside of the community have their
own views of the motivation that lies behind educational neuroscience. Some
neuroscientists are solely interested in studying and contributing to educational
problems associated with teaching and learning whereas some educational researchers
and policy makers take interest in understanding ways in which findings from
neuroscience may be relevant to improving education (Campbell). Neuroscience is
considered to be a hot topic in the current day and the application of neuroscience in
education should be active now since there is a strong interest.
According to Miranda Richmond, communication between neuroscientists and
educators could turn out to be a resolves issue, but the same is not said for how the
neuroscience community interacts and shares information with outsiders. It is an area
Richmond believes could probably use some improvement in terms of a industry-wide
standard communication (Richmond). Information is usually relayed to parents through
newsletters, field trips, and occasional forums with neuroscientists and educators. Dr.
Hammock believes in a need for clear communication between neuroscientists and
educators. Because the disciplines are so different, it is possible that a message could be
distorted/misinterpreted, or perhaps research mis-applied (Hammock).
People outside of the neuroscience community support the establishment of a bridge
between neuroscience and education because they want to see a better future for students

with learning disabilities. Organizations such as the International Dyslexia Association,

the American Federation of Teachers, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association want to see a change in the way that teachers and therapists work with these
students (Moats). These organizations may have been informed about educational
neuroscience through informational brochures or they may have come across research
studies or articles about the topic, sparking their interest to support the bridge between
neuroscience and education. Since they all support people with disabilities, their interest
in educational neuroscience implies that they want younger students to have a better
future because of the programs that can be created as a result of the fusion of
neuroscience and education. If methods that incorporate neuroscience into the classroom
were to be implemented, it could relay the message to students that such an idea could
really benefit their learning process throughout their school years as well as teach the
connection between the mind and the body.
In a report of teacher and parent surveys in 2014, there is some interesting data found
during the research period. Nine out of ten teacher respondents said their understanding
of neuroscience influences their practice and eight out of ten teacher respondents said
they would collaborate with scientists (Simmonds). Those willing to collaborate with
scientists would have to realize in advance that it would be much better for them if they
understood what was being talked about. Otherwise, there may be a misinterpretation of
information because it may be hard to comprehend the cognitive neuroscience language.
The neuroscience community aims to inform outsiders such as educators, parents and
students of their purpose and their message. Overall, educational neuroscience seeks to
improve the learning process by actually being aware of how an individuals brain works

and how it responds to new information. Not everyone has the same brain so some
methods that work really well for others may not be the case with other people. In a way
that kind of adds to the beauty of the process because it feels as though through having an
understanding of the brain everyone will be able to customize a learning plan for
themselves. That is, people may be able to learn things better because they better
understand how their brain learns new information.
Those interested in neuroscience may have come across it newspapers or magazines
pertaining to health or even education. Parents would then begin to converse amongst
each other about the research that has been done so far and start a group that is really
interested in getting educational neuroscience to their students schools. Interested parents
may have to be open to allowing their child to take part in some lab tests to check the
progress of educational neuroscience. These tests would have to be completely safe and
not put students in any harm whatsoever.
Perhaps one of the important things that will make the integration of cognitive
neuroscience and education successful is having trained experts who know what they are
doing. Teachers and scientists could learn things from each other especially if they really
wanted to take up implementing neuroscience methods in their classrooms but it would
be better for there to be specialists implementing these practices. In order to strengthen
the relationship between neuroscientists and educators, they should get to know each
other before collaborating. Not necessarily a question and answer session, but get to
know how much experience they have had with using such methods in the classroom and
how much background knowledge they have about neuroscience. Neuroscientists and

educators could even attempt to regularly check in with each other via social media. It
should be a collaborative process, both have to be willing to put forth the effort.
It is important for people outside of this community to gain a better understanding of
what educational neuroscience is and what goes into the process, thus the community
aims to inform those on the outside through reports and informative brochures. A
potential method of communication that could be utilized in order to provide more
information to those outside of the neuroscience community, more specifically parents
and students, would be to launch a social media campaign. Almost everyone gets their
information from social media, and creating this kind of informative campaign would
make the information easily accessible. Perhaps a social media campaign would expand
the target audience and grab more peoples attention. Facebook and Twitter are examples
of social media outlets that could be used in the campaign since most people have both or
either. Through this outsiders of the community can interact with each other while also
interacting with neuroscientists who use the accounts. This campaign could initiate a
convention of some type where parents and students can meet face to face with
neuroscientists. Communication between both neuroscientists and educators is key in
successfully bridging the two fields together.
In addition to potentially putting together a social media campaign, schools can have
small programs that allow for all students and teachers to get involved in during the
school day. Rather than overwhelming everyone with information, it would probably be
best to introduce concepts in parts.
Although some believe that educational neuroscience methods should be
implemented in the classroom during a students first few years of schooling, it is never

too late to learn more about the brain. According to Miranda Richmond, it is best if
educational neuroscience is taught to students that are in middle school al the way up to
high school but in terms of curriculum changes it is best to implement those during the
elementary years (Richmond). Once students familiarize themselves with how brains
work and general and the mannerisms of their own brain, they can apply what they learn
on their own time such as when they are studying or when they are having to make a
decision.
The application of neuroscience in education has the potential to be a success and
possibly serve as the future for education. There are some things that have to fall into
place first, such as establishing a good communication between educators and
neuroscientists. Both educators and scientists would have to learn more about the
opposite community in order to make it more of a smooth process. Educational
neuroscience can help students with learning disabilities and inspire programs that are
designed to accommodate for the students needs.

References
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Neuroscience: Where Will The Journey Take Us? Educational Philosophy &
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Campbell, Stephen R. Educational Neuroscience: Motivations, Methodology, And

Implications. Educational Philosophy & Theory 43.1 (2011): 7-16. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 25 Feb 2016.

Ferrari, Michel. What Can Neuroscience Bring To Education? Educational Philosophy

& Theory 43.1 (2011): 31-36. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Feb 2016.

Geake, John, and Paul Cooper. Cognitive Neuroscience: Implications for Education?
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Hammock, Elizabeth. E-mail interview. 27 February 2016.

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