Brain based education

Introduction

Today's learners need to be critical and creative thinkers, and Brain-Based Learning lays the foundation
for this.

Brain-Based Education is the purposeful engagement of strategies that apply to how our brain works in
the context of education. Brain-based learning has hatched a new discipline now entitled by some as
educational neuroscience, or by others as mind, brain, and education science (Sousa, 2011). Whatever
we call this "not really new discipline," it is a comprehensive approach to instruction using current
research from neuroscience. Brain-based education (aka educational neuroscience) emphasizes how the
brain learns naturally and is based on what we currently know about the actual structure and function of
the human brain at varying developmental stages.

Brain-based learning refers to teaching methods, lesson designs, and school programs that are based on
the latest scientific research about how the brain learns, including such factors as cognitive development
—how students learn differently as they age, grow, and mature socially, emotionally, and cognitively.

Brain-based learning is motivated by the general belief that learning can be accelerated and improved if
educators base how and what they teach on the science of learning, rather than on past educational
practices, established conventions, or assumptions about the learning process. For example, it was
commonly believed that intelligence is a fixed characteristic that remains largely unchanged throughout
a person’s life. However, recent discoveries in cognitive science have revealed that the human brain
physically changes when it learns, and that after practicing certain skills it becomes increasingly easier to
continue learning and improving those skills. This finding—that learning effectively improves brain
functioning, resiliency, and working intelligence—has potentially far-reaching implications for how
schools can design their academic programs and how teachers could structure educational experiences
in the classroom.

Related terms such as brain-based education or brain-based teaching, like brain-based learning, refer to

instructional techniques that are grounded in the neuroscience of learning—i.e., scientific findings are
used to inform educational strategies and programs. Other related terms, such as educational
neuroscience or mind, brain, and education science refer to the general field of academic and scientific
study, not to the brain-based practices employed in schools.

A great deal of the scientific research and academic dialogue related to brain-based learning has been
focused on neuroplasticity—the concept that neural connections in the brain change, remap, and
reorganize themselves when people learn new concepts, have new experiences, or practice certain skills
over time. Scientists have also determined, for example, that the brain can perform several activities at
once; that the same information can be stored in multiple areas of the brain; that learning functions can
be affected by diet, exercise, stress, and other conditions; that meaning is more important than
information when the brain is learning something new; and that certain emotional states can facilitate
or impede learning—among many other findings.
Given the breadth and diversity of related scientific findings, brain-based learning may take a wide
variety of forms from school to school or teacher to teacher. For example, teachers may design lessons
or classroom environments to reflect conditions that facilitate learning—e.g., they may play calming
music to decrease stress, reduce the amount of time they spend lecturing, engage students in regular
physical activity, or create comfortable reading and study areas, with couches and beanbag chairs, as an
alternative to traditional desks and chairs. They may also encourage students to eat more healthy foods
or exercise more—two physical factors that have been shown to affect brain health.

The principles of brain-based learning are also being introduced into teacher-preparation programs, and
an increasing number of colleges and universities are offering courses and degrees in the field. For
example, Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education now offers a Mind, Brain, and Education
master’s-degree program.

The Brain-based Learning Theory assumes that when the brain fulfills its normal processes, learning will
occur. Proper nutrition, clean air and rested bodies are all normal processes. In education, many
students lack a basic need, and learning cannot occur. Brain-based learning theory is based on current
research about the structure and function of the brain. Brain-based teaching is all about understanding
the principles of brain research and using strategies in a purposeful way based on these principles. What
we know about how the brain works has a significant impact on curriculum, instruction and assessment.

Brain theory in the 1970s spoke of the right and left-brain. Later, Paul MacLean developed a concept of
the Triune Brain which refers to the evolution of the human brain in three parts. In this theory MacLean
hypothesized that survival learning is in the lower brain, emotions were in the mid-brain, and higher
order thinking took place in the upper brain. Currently, brain-based education embraces a more holistic
view of the brain -- one that is more systems-based and gestalt -- the whole being greater than the sum
of its parts.

Brain-based Learning is the newest in educational theories. It encompasses past theories, such as
multiple intelligences, meta-cognitive reflection and cooperative learning. The brain based learning
movement is based upon advancements in technology, which have permitted researchers to analyze the
brain with greater precision than in generations prior to the development of high-performance
computers. In accordance with neuroscientists’ suggestions classroom practices can be modified by
teachers applying new theories of teaching and learning based on recent findings in cognition.

Principles & Implications for Education Educators who become aware of recent research on how the
brain learns will gain exciting ideas about conditions and environments that can optimize learning.

The brain performs many functions simultaneously. Thoughts, emotions, imaginations operate
concurrently. They interact with other brain processes such as health maintenance and the expansion of
general social and cultural knowledge. *** Implications for Education; - Teachers need a frame of
reference that enables them to select from the vast array of methods and approaches that are available.
That is because this leads to a good teaching which should orchestrate all dimensions of parallel
processing.

Like the heart, liver or lungs, the brain is a complex physiological organ functioning according to
physiological rules. - Learning is as natural as breathing, and it is possible to either inhabit or facilitate it.
- Neuron growth, Nourishment, Happiness, Stress and Threat affects the brain. - The actual writing of
the brain is affected by school and life experiences. Anything that affects our physiological functioning
affects our capacity to learn. *** Implications for Education; - Brain-based teaching must fully
incorporate stress management, nutrition, exercise, drug education, and other facets of health into
learning process.

Making sense of our experiences is survival oriented and basic to the human brain. The brain
automatically registers the familiar while searching for the novel stimuli. People are meaning makers.
*** Implications for Education; - Brain-based education must furnish a learning environment that
provides familiarity and stability. - Educators should be able to satisfy the brain's enormous curiosity and
hunger for novelty, discovery and challenge.

The brain is both scientist and artist, attempting to discern and understand patterns as they occur and
giving expression to unique and creative patterns of its own. - Learners are patterning all the time in one
way or another, searching for meaning. *** Implications for Education; - Teacher should not stop
learners from patterning, but they can influence the direction. - Teacher should provide learners with
problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Emotions & Cognition cannot be separated. - Emotions are crucial to memory because they facilitate the
storage and recall of information. - What we learn is influenced and organized by emotions and mind-
sets involving expectancy, personal biases and prejudices, self esteem, and the need for social
interaction. *** Implications for Education; - Teachers should make sure of that the emotional climate is
supportive and marked by mutual respect and acceptance. The cooperative approaches to learning
support this notion. Reflection & Metacognitive approaches should be encouraged.

There are differences between the left and the right hemisphere of the brain. - The value of the two-
brain doctrine is that it requires educators to acknowledge the brain's separate but simultaneous
tendencies for organizing information. - One is to reduce such information into parts, the other is to
perceive and work with it as a whole or series of wholes. *** Implications for Education; - Good teaching
builds understanding and skills over time because it recognizes that learning is cumulative and
developmental. - Teachers should have to know that vocabulary and grammar are best understood and
mastered when they are incorporated in genuine, whole language experience.

The brain absorbs the information of which it is directly aware and to which it is paying attention. It also
absorbs information and signals that lie beyond the immediate focus of attention. - Peripheral
perception; the brain responds to the entire sensory context in which teaching or communication
occurs. (For example; changes in body postures - Our inner states show in skin color, muscular tension
and posture, rate of breathing, eye movements, and so on.) - Peripheral information can be organized to
facilitate learning. *** Implications for Education; - The teacher can and should organize the materials
that will be outside the focus of the learner's attention. - Teachers should engage the interests and
enthusiasm of students through their own enthusiasm, coaching and modeling.

Reflection

Because educational neuroscience is still a relatively young field, the methods and technologies of
cognitive science are still being developed and tested. That said, people are often predisposed to view
scientific findings as incontrovertible “facts” rather than complex and evolving theories, so it’s possible
that some educators may view scientific findings as being more “solid” than they actually are, or they
may misinterpret scientific evidence and act upon findings in ways that would not be recommended by
the research. In addition, “neuroscientific myths”—widespread misinterpretations of scientific evidence
—can potentially give rise to educational practices of dubious value.

Another point of potential debate is how educators should balance the findings of neuroscience with the
practicalities of teaching. For example, some neuroscientists might argue that teachers shouldn’t lecture
for longer than ten minutes, but it is probably more practical to interpret that recommendation as a
guideline, not a strict instructional prescription. Other findings might support the use of treadmills in
classrooms—because the brain is more stimulated during physical activity—but such options may be
impractical, unworkable, inadvisable, or financially infeasible in many school settings.

Curriculum –Teachers must design learning around student interests and make learning contextual.
Instruction –Educators let students learn in teams and use peripheral learning. Teachers structure
learning around real problems, encouraging students to also learn in settings outside the classroom and
the school building. Assessment –Since all students are learning, their assessment should allow them to
understand their own learning styles and preferences. This way, students monitor and enhance their
own learning process