EDUCATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE: BASIC IDEAS TO UNDERSTAND AND ENHANCE LEARNING

EDUCATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE: BASIC IDEAS TO UNDERSTAND AND ENHANCE LEARNING

Desiderio J. García Almeida University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Neuroscience is increasingly serving as a comprehensive field that tackles essential questions about human development, such as the acquisition of complex cultural skills, the motivations behind human behaviour, decision-making processes, and the influence of emotions (Ansari et al. 2017). In recent years, the significance of understanding physical and mental processes has become central to enhancing learning, focusing on the brain and mind. Consequently, terms like neuroeducation, educational neuroscience, and the field of mind, brain, and education have gained popularity (Brault Foisy et al. 2020). This emerging field aims to integrate research from biology, cognitive science, and education to develop a multidisciplinary science of learning that informs educational policies and practices (Hinton et al. 2012). Sigman et al. (2014) observe that as neuroscience becomes more socially prominent and gains media attention, the idea that education can benefit significantly from brain research is increasingly accepted.
Advancements in brain science have uncovered an extensive array of brain areas, cell types, molecules, cellular states, and mechanisms for information processing and storage (Marblestone et al. 2016). Poch Olivé (2001) noted that the nervous system is the material foundation for knowledge, emotions, and behaviour, with neurobiology studying its development, which involves anatomical changes, genetics, and the integration of functions through learning. The connection between neuroscience and education was initially based on three findings from developmental neurobiology (Bruer, 1997): In early and later childhood, there is a significant increase in synapses connecting neurons in the brain, and later a synapse elimination follows; sensory and motor system development occurs during critical, experience-dependent periods; and tests with mice show that enriched environments lead to the formation of new synapses (Cristian, 2022).
Südhof (2021) explains that synapses form neural circuits, transferring and transforming information between neurons. The detailed processes by which synapses organize into circuits and achieve specific synaptic connections are still largely unknown. The human brain contains over 100 trillion synaptic connections that form its neural circuits (Eroglu & Barres, 2010). Neuroscientists have long been interested in how this complex network develops and is remodelled during learning and disease. Evidence shows a critical period for learning in early childhood, linked to the growth and pruning of synapses, established between birth and age ten (Bruer, 1997).

Childhood experiences reinforce and maintain frequently used synapses, while unused ones are eliminated (Bruer, 1997). These periods of high synaptic density represent critical moments in cognitive development when the brain is especially efficient at acquiring skills, benefiting most from stimulating learning environments.
Since the late 1990s, it has been necessary to temper the initial excitement about neuroscience findings with three clarifications: (1) there is no significant connection between synaptogenesis and learning ability or rate; (2) critical periods do not constrain experience-dependent brain changes in social and educational contexts; and (3) enriched environments in animal research do not directly correlate to human learning, even in rodents where enrichment affects the brain throughout life (Bruer, 2016). Sigman et al. (2014) argue that the bridge between brain research and education is cognitive psychology, not neuroscience.
Nevertheless, neuroscience research continues to grow. Ansar et al. (2017) indicates that the first two decades of the 21st century have seen significant advances in understanding how the brain functions and its relation to thinking, feeling, and learning. Technological progress has made biology and cognitive science research more relevant to education (Hinton et al. 2012). Organizations like the OECD have called for using brain research to influence classroom practices (Ansari, et al. 2017). Hinton et al. (2012) explain that learning experiences alter electrical and chemical signals in the brain, gradually modifying neural connections. Over time, these changes can lead to significant reorganisation of brain areas involved in specific types of learning. Each neuron receives multiple stimuli, and during learning, certain connections are activated while others are not. Over time, the more active connections are strengthened, and the less active ones are weakened or eliminated, forming the basis of memory and learning (Hinton et al. 2012). This highlights the importance of experience-dependent learning identified in neurobiology research. Educational neuroscience is thus increasingly becoming a promising field for the development of education, so that soon it will be necessary to plan and develop the teaching-learning process with a greater chance of success.

References

• Ansari, D., Koning, J., Leask, M., & Tokuhama-Espinosa, T. (2017). Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: Implications for Teachers’ Pedagogical Knowledge. En S. Guerriero (Ed.), Pedagogical Knowledge and the Changing Nature of the Teaching Profession. Paris, France: OECD Publishing.
• Brault Foisy, L. M., Matejko, A. A., Ansari, D., & Masson, S. (2020). Teachers as orchestrators of neuronal plasticity: effects of teaching practices on the brain. Mind, Brain, and Education, 14(4), 415-428.
• Bruer, J.T. (1997). Education and the brain: A bridge too far. Educational Researcher, 26(8), 4-16.
• Bruer, J.T. (2016). Neuroeducación: un panorama desde el puente. Propuesta Educativa, (46), 14-25.
• Cristian Mihai Gabriel, 2020. “An Overview On Tourism’S Contribution To Gdp,” Revista Economica, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 72(2), pages 19-26, July.
• Eroglu, C., & Barres, B. A. (2010). Regulation of synaptic connectivity by glia. Nature, 468(7321), 223-231.
• Hinton, C., Fischer K.W. & Glennon, C. (2012). Mind, brain, and education. Boston, USA.: Jobs for the Future.
• Marblestone, A.H., Wayne, G., & Kording, K.P. (2016). Toward an integration of deep learning and neuroscience. Frontiers in computational neuroscience, 10, 94, 1-41.
• Sigman, M., Peña, M., Goldin, A. P. & Ribeiro, S. (2014). Neuroscience and education: prime time to build the bridge. Nature Neuroscience, 17(4), 497-502.
• Südhof, T.C. (2021). The cell biology of synapse formation. Journal of Cell Biology, 220(7), 1-18.

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