ETEC 512: Thought Paper #2

Sam Zimmer

Understanding and having exposure to the evolving discourse on basic neurology is

incredibly valuable to educators. Insight into the neural processes taking place in a student’s

brain allows teachers to look inside the ‘black box’ left by behaviourism. This background

enables educators to strategically craft their teaching approach (and then iterate) instead of

taking a longer route of relatively blind trial and error (Coch and Ansari, 2009).

The clarity that an understanding of Mind, Brain and Education (MBE) can provide might

be akin to a surgeon seeing an X-Ray of a patient before they operate. While there are still

many variables and unknowns, the doctor (or teacher) is better prepared as they have a clearer

picture of what they can expect. No one would ever expect a surgeon to operate without first

gathering information on the patient. Why then are educators expected to teach without first

getting a firm grasp on how the brain of a learner works?

In a pragmatic sense, it is unlikely in many settings that teachers receive the time and

support to undertake this pursuit on their own. It would be fantastic if aspiring educators

established some of this foundational knowledge through their teaching certifications.

However, even teachers with an understanding of MBE will not be experts – nor do they need

to be. The missing link can be bridged by specialists who distil current studies and research into

a digestible and concise format. Instead of asking teachers to interpret long journal articles and

scientific jargon, why not make the information more accessible? This step would help to

mainstream the findings of neurology as it applies to education by removing some of the

barriers that make this information difficult for non-specialists to decode.

ETEC 512: Thought Paper #2
Sam Zimmer

Works Cited

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