6

M O D U L E

Summary Key Concepts Case Studies: Reflect and Evaluate

The Relevance of Brain Research


 

Physiology of the Brain

n Brain Structure and Function

n Factors Affecting Brain Development

n Brain Activity During Learning

The Brain and Development
 

Outline Learning Goals

 

1. Describe the major arguments for and against the relevance of brain research for educators.

 

2. Identify the major factors that can lead to individual differences in brain development.

3. Identify the contributions from neuroscience to our understanding of what it means to learn.
 

Applications for the Classroom

n Current State of Research in Memory, Reading, Math, and Emotion n Evaluating Claims About Brain-based Learning
 

4. Discuss those areas in which neuroscience findings have led to implications for classroom practice.

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THE RELEVANCE OF BRAIN RESEARCH

In 1990, President George Bush officially proclaimed the 1990s the “Decade of the Brain.” From 1990 to the end of 1999, the Library of Congress and the National Institute of Mental Health sponsored a unique interagency initiative to advance neuroscience research, and federal agencies were prompted to provide increased funding for neuroscientific endeavors. In the wake of all the excitement generated about the brain, teachers now face an astounding array of news stories, books, teaching kits, and conference workshops promoting “brain-based learning.” Unfortunately, many authors and journalists have mischaracterized the findings, causing controversy and confusion about the role of the brain in learning (Bruer, 1997; Byrnes & Fox, 1998; Katzir & Pare-Blagoev, 2006). Our goals in this module are:
 

n to consider how brain research can inform educational practice and

n to help teachers understand what claims can and cannot justifiably be made about the direct connections between current lab findings and classroom applications.

Critics have argued that neuroscience data are still too new and too inconclusive to be of any real value to educators (Byrnes, 2001). Some claim that the gap between the levels of analysis in neuro-science (which examines learning and development at the cellular level) and the types of questions most important to educators is simply too large to bridge (Bruer, 1997; Pylyshyn, 1984). Advocates, on the other hand, emphasize that new research methods in neuroscience, such as those found in Table 6.1, can provide tangible evidence to support findings in traditional educational and psychological research (Kosslyn & Koening, 1992; Sejnowski & Churchland, 1989).

As a middle ground in the debate, educational decision making can be informed by the combined scientific data from the areas of psychology, education, and neuroscience, drawing on multiple research methods in different settings (Katzir & Pare-Blagoev, 2006; Lyon et al., 2001; Stanovich, 2003). Brain science has contributed to the general understanding of the physiology of the brain, but in order to better understand and interpret the biology of learning, we need to consider neuroscience data in light of psychological theory and research. We can have more confidence in research that is connected to a theoretical framework and in educational theories that are supported by interdisciplinary, multilevel research. Hence, the soundest approach is to make inferences only when multiple neuro-science methods support a claim and when this claim is also supported by findings from traditional psychological research (Byrnes, 2001; Kosslyn & Koening, 1992; Sejnowski & Churchland, 1989).

Given popular misconceptions, the immense volume of research information available, and the rapid pace of neuroscientific discoveries, teachers must be informed consumers of information, keeping current with the latest findings from neuroscience and evaluating the relevance of research findings to classroom application. Consider these statements and decide whether each is true or false based on what you think you know about the brain:
 

n Humans stop growing brain cells shortly after birth.

n Humans use only about 10% of their brains.

n There are two kinds of people, left-brained people and right-brained people.
 

Here are the facts:
 

n Belief: Humans stop growing brain cells shortly after birth. FALSE in some cases. New research is beginning to show that the brain can grow new cells and develop new connections, at least in some regions, into adulthood (Bruel-Jungerman, Davis, Rampon, & Laroche, 2006; Tashiro, Makino, & Gage, 2007; Thomas, Hotsenpiller, & Peterson, 2006).
 

n Belief: Humans use only about 10% of their brains. FALSE. There is no evidence to support this popular belief (Blakemore & Firth, 2005). Learning and thinking are widely distributed across many parts of the brain (Ornstein, 1997; Thelen & Smith, 1998). Even a single task such as recognizing a word as you read activates multiple areas of the cortex (Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky, & Seidenberg, 2001).
 

n Belief: There are two kinds of people, left-brained people and right-brained people. FALSE. While it is true that each of the brain hemispheres (the right and left symmetrical halves of the brain) is specialized for certain functions, both sides of the brain work together in almost all situations, tasks, and processes (Black, 2003; Blakemore & Firth, 2005; Saffran & Schwartz, 2003).


 

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Module 6 :

The Brain and Development

104 cluster two the developing learner
 

TA B L E  6 .1 New Tools for Studying the Brain

Technique What it measures

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
 

Brain waves

The electrical and magnetic activity occurring during mental processing (The spikes of activity are called event-related potentials or ERP.)

The brain’s use of oxygen during cognitive processes

Ability to locate active brain regions to within one centimeter

Positron emission tomography (PET scan)

“Fuel uptake” or activity level in various regions of the brain


 

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS)


 

CAT scans (computerized axial tomography)

Conversion of MRI information into a three-dimensional picture

Levels of specific chemicals present during brain activity

Brain chemistry analysis Levels of  neurotransmitters (hormones) produced in the brain, such as cortisol and serotonin


 

Previous methods for studying the brains were limited to animal studies and autopsies of human brains. With today’s amazing new technologies, we can study the brains of living people in ways that are non-invasive.


 

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TA B L E  6 . 2

Old Thinking Versus New Thinking About the Brain Old thinking New thinking

How a brain develops depends on the genes you are born with.

A secure relationship with a primary caregiver creates a favorable context for early development and learning.

Brain development is linear. The brain’s capacity to learn and change grows steadily as an infant progresses toward adulthood.

Module 6 :

The Brain and Development

How a brain develops hinges on a complex interplay between the genes you’re born with and the experiences you have.

The experiences you have before age three have a limited impact on later development.
 

Early experiences have a significant impact on the architecture of the brain and on the nature and extent of adult capacities.

Early interactions do not merely create a context; they directly affect the way the brain is “wired.”

Brain development is nonlinear. There are prime times for acquiring different kinds of knowledge and skills.

A toddler’s brain is much less active than the brain of an adult.
 

By the time children reach age three, their brains are twice as active as those of adults. Activity levels drop during adolescence.

Individuals are either left-brained or right-brained.
 

Both hemispheres of the brain work together closely in virtually all thinking and learning tasks.

The brain is fully developed by age five or six.

Brain changes continue throughout the lifespan.

Sources: Blakemore & Firth, 2005; Shore, 1997.


 

Table 6.2 compares older views of the brain with new views based on the most recent advances in neuroscience.

What are your initial feelings about the relevance of brain research for teachers? See whether those feelings change in any way as you continue reading this module.
 

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN
 

Brain Structure and Function

To understand and better interpret future findings from brain research, we first need a basic understanding of brain anatomy and function. The cerebral cortex, among the larger anatomical structures of the brain, is the extensive outer layer of gray matter of the two cerebral hemispheres, largely responsible for higher brain functions including sensation, voluntary muscle movement, thought, reasoning, and memory. While many learning tasks involve processing distributed across multiple areas of the brain, certain brain structures are specialized to handle particular functions, such as vision (back portion of the brain) and control of physical movements (the motor cortex). These functions may overlap or work together with other parts of the brain, as illustrated in Table 6.3.

The various parts of the brain work together through connections among brain cells. Neurons are brain cells that send information to other cells through a synapse, a gap between two neurons that allows the transmission of messages, as shown in Figure 6.1. Although neurons can vary in shape and size, they have certain features in common (see Figure 6.2):
 

n a cell body that contains a nucleus;

n dendrites, branchlike structures that receive messages from other neurons; and

n an axon, a long armlike structure that transmits information to other neurons. A single axon can branch out many times, and these tiny branches end in terminal buttons containing chemicals called neurotransmitters.


 

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Parietal lobe
 

Frontal lobe

Parietal lobe

TA B L E  6 . 3 Brain Physiology and Functions

Occipital lobe


 

Temporal lobe

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