Putting students at risk for the sake of education Thought paper #2

Donna Forward-Houriet University of British Columbia #64664865 Dr. Janet McCracken ETEC 512 64B September 30th, 2012

If we could read our students minds, then we could select the appropriate teaching methods that would help them learn. Unfortunately, scientific technology is not that far advanced. Nevertheless, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is being used to study brain activation patterns (Zamarian et al., 2009) which could possibly provide teachers with the key that will help them understand how their students brains function. The question is; do I agree that teachers will be empowered with this neural understanding? My main concern is for the students safety. Are perfectly healthy children being coerced into being guinea pigs just for the sake of education? MRIs have been performed on normal, diseased and injured brains since the 1980s (Radiology info.org, 2012) but we cant be sure that this procedure is truly without risk. Being anaesthetized and having a contrast material injected into the bloodstream surely doesnt always end well. Furthermore, according to (Davidson et al., 2003), children experience far more anxiety when being tested than adults. Unless the brain has been damaged, I strongly believe that children shouldnt undergo neural exams simply for the benefit of teachers. I am still very sceptical as to how these studies can help my teaching. For example, (Zamarian et al., 2009) believe that language and culture might also have an influence on the involvement of the brain areas, underlying number processing. If I am a language teacher, will this work the opposite way? Uncertainties like this only solidify that fact that teachers will not be empowered and should not meddle in the complexities of neuroscience, nor should neuroscientists be trained in the basics of education (Coch et al, 2009). There are too many assumptions that cant be proven and the study of gray matter in the brain leaves me in a gray area of incertitude.

References Coch, D., & Ansari, D. (2009). Thinking about mechanisms is crucial to connecting neuroscience and education. Cortex, 45(4), 546-7.

Davidson, M., Thomas, K., & Casey, B. (2003). Imaging the developing brain with fMRI. Mental retardation and developmental disabilities research reviews, 9, 161-167

RadiologyInfo.org. The radiology information resource for patients. American College of Radiology & Radiology Society of North America. Retrieved September 29, 2012 from http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/cfm?pg=fmribrain

Zamarian, L., Ischebeck, A., & Delazer, M. (2009). Neuroscience of learning arithmetic: Evidence from brain imaging studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 33, 909-925