Brain Based Research
Amanda Sinko
Brain based research has been given much attention in its application to education over the last decade. With special education laws mandating least restrictive environments for students with disabilities, teachers have been challenged to meet a diverse range of needs in the general education classroom. Scientists are now attempting to link neurological and cognitive findings with education practice. It is hoped this will improve teaching strategies and learning outcomes for diverse learners.
Hardiman (2001) links Robert Marzano’s five Dimensions of Learning to current brain research to suggest best practices in teaching. The first dimension is Positive Attitudes, which links emotion and cognition, and explains student’s attitudes and perceptions can enhance or inhibit their learning. The second dimension is Acquiring and Integrating Knowledge which explains acquisition and integration of new information must occur within the context of what the child has already learned. The third dimension, Extending and Refining Knowledge, explains elaborating on knowledge requires the use of techniques such as comparing, classifying, inducing, deducing, analyzing errors, constructing support, abstracting, and analyzing perspectives. The fourth dimension, Using Knowledge Meaningfully, explains students learn best when they need information in order to accomplish a goal. For example, the information may be needed in order to make a decision, investigate, conduct experiments, and solve real world problems. The final dimension is Habits of Mind. This dimension posits reflection as a necessary component of learning. Students must engage in metacognitive reflection, goal setting, apply standards for their own learning, and examine their own style of learning. The following is a list of best practice suggestions for each dimension:
• Dimension One: Positive Attitudes
– Challenging yet supportive classroom environments
– Explicitly teach peer acceptance and social behaviors
– Connect emotions to learning through dramatizations, humor, movement, or arts
• Dimension Two: Acquiring and Integrating Knowledge
– Present new information within the context of previously learned content
– Allow students to repeat learning
– Use mnemonic devices
– Use visually stimulating materials and manipulatives as well as text
– Integrate art, music, and movement into learning
• Dimension Three: Extending and Refining Knowledge
– Allow students to use prior knowledge to learn new information
– Allow students to compare their work with model work to analyze their errors
– Teach students to identify patterns that underlie concepts
• Dimension Four: Using Knowledge Meaningfully
– Design hands on activities that involve problem solving and have real world applications
– Allow students to use multiple ways to demonstrate learning
• Dimension Five: Habits of Mind
– Allow students to engage in metacognitive reflections
– Incorporate reflection into lessons
Lombardi (2007) examines Mel Levine’s neurodevelopmental work. Levine is considered an innovator in neurodevelopmental approaches to learning. Levine developed a framework based on neurodevelopmental functions to understand why children struggle in school. These essential neurodevelopmental functions comprise eight constructs including, attention, memory, language, spatial ordering, sequential ordering, the motor system, higher thinking, and social thinking. Each construct has a separate role in effective learning. Levine is a co-founder of All Kinds of Minds (www.allkindsofminds.org), which is an institute for the study of differences in learning and is based on his pivotal work, A Mind at a Time (2003) he recommends the following:
Observed behaviors are windows to learning
Every student comes to school with a balance sheet of strengths and weaknesses
Labels create barriers and do not tell us what is going on when students try to tackle assignment
Students should be helped to see their special possibilities for a gratifying life
No one can be good at everything
Students need to be able to talk about their learning; if you think it is hard for the parents and teachers of children with behavior, attention, or linguistic challenges, try being the child
Helping students get better at what they are good at and interested in makes sense
Student have a right and need to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses in learning
The brain can be modified at any age or stage
Being a nonnative speaker is not a disability, yet many ELLs are misidentified at learning disabled
While linking neurological and cognitive finding to educational practices is an exciting prospect, not all researchers are on board with this movement. Kathie Nunley, an educational psychologist, questions whether we are doing a disservice to students by allowing them to only work within their learning style citing the real world is not as accommodating. Nunley recommends teachers allow struggling students to work within their personal learning styles in the beginning of the year in order to establish success. Once success is established teachers must encourage students to work within a wide range of learning styles to prepare them for real life experiences.
Other researchers have questioned the validity of the research that has linked neurological findings to educational practices. Judy Willis (2007) states “The findings of neuroimaging research for education and learning are still largely suggestive; they have not demonstrated a solid link between how the brain learns and how it metabolizes oxygen or glucose. Teaching strategies derived from well-controlled neuroimaging studies are at best compatible with the research about how the brain seems to respond preferentially to the presentation of sensory stimuli” (pg 698). Further, Kurt Fischer (2008) argues “Journalists, educators, and even brain scientists too readily leap from a brain research finding to an ‘implication’ for education – which is typically nothing more than a seat-of-the-pants speculation” (pg 145).
Resources:
Fischer, K.W. (2008) Dynamic cycles of coginitve and brain development: Measuring growth in mind, brain, and education. In A.M. Battro, K.W. Fischer & P. Lena (Eds.), The educated brain (pp127-150). Cambridge U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Hardiman, Mariale M. (2001) Connecting brain research with dimensions of learning. Educational Leadership, 52-55
Willis, Judy (2007) Which brain research can educators trust? Phi Delta Kappan, 697-699.
http://www.allkindsofminds.org/
http://help4teachers.com/learningstyles.htm
Brain based research has been given much attention in its application to education over the last decade. With special education laws mandating least restrictive environments for students with disabilities, teachers have been challenged to meet a diverse range of needs in the general education classroom. Scientists are now attempting to link neurological and cognitive findings with education practice. It is hoped this will improve teaching strategies and learning outcomes for diverse learners.
Hardiman (2001) links Robert Marzano’s five Dimensions of Learning to current brain research to suggest best practices in teaching. The first dimension is Positive Attitudes, which links emotion and cognition, and explains student’s attitudes and perceptions can enhance or inhibit their learning. The second dimension is Acquiring and Integrating Knowledge which explains acquisition and integration of new information must occur within the context of what the child has already learned. The third dimension, Extending and Refining Knowledge, explains elaborating on knowledge requires the use of techniques such as comparing, classifying, inducing, deducing, analyzing errors, constructing support, abstracting, and analyzing perspectives. The fourth dimension, Using Knowledge Meaningfully, explains students learn best when they need information in order to accomplish a goal. For example, the information may be needed in order to make a decision, investigate, conduct experiments, and solve real world problems. The final dimension is Habits of Mind. This dimension posits reflection as a necessary component of learning. Students must engage in metacognitive reflection, goal setting, apply standards for their own learning, and examine their own style of learning. The following is a list of best practice suggestions for each dimension:
• Dimension One: Positive Attitudes
– Challenging yet supportive classroom environments
– Explicitly teach peer acceptance and social behaviors
– Connect emotions to learning through dramatizations, humor, movement, or arts
• Dimension Two: Acquiring and Integrating Knowledge
– Present new information within the context of previously learned content
– Allow students to repeat learning
– Use mnemonic devices
– Use visually stimulating materials and manipulatives as well as text
– Integrate art, music, and movement into learning
• Dimension Three: Extending and Refining Knowledge
– Allow students to use prior knowledge to learn new information
– Allow students to compare their work with model work to analyze their errors
– Teach students to identify patterns that underlie concepts
• Dimension Four: Using Knowledge Meaningfully
– Design hands on activities that involve problem solving and have real world applications
– Allow students to use multiple ways to demonstrate learning
• Dimension Five: Habits of Mind
– Allow students to engage in metacognitive reflections
– Incorporate reflection into lessons
Lombardi (2007) examines Mel Levine’s neurodevelopmental work. Levine is considered an innovator in neurodevelopmental approaches to learning. Levine developed a framework based on neurodevelopmental functions to understand why children struggle in school. These essential neurodevelopmental functions comprise eight constructs including, attention, memory, language, spatial ordering, sequential ordering, the motor system, higher thinking, and social thinking. Each construct has a separate role in effective learning. Levine is a co-founder of All Kinds of Minds (www.allkindsofminds.org), which is an institute for the study of differences in learning and is based on his pivotal work, A Mind at a Time (2003) he recommends the following:
Observed behaviors are windows to learning
Every student comes to school with a balance sheet of strengths and weaknesses
Labels create barriers and do not tell us what is going on when students try to tackle assignment
Students should be helped to see their special possibilities for a gratifying life
No one can be good at everything
Students need to be able to talk about their learning; if you think it is hard for the parents and teachers of children with behavior, attention, or linguistic challenges, try being the child
Helping students get better at what they are good at and interested in makes sense
Student have a right and need to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses in learning
The brain can be modified at any age or stage
Being a nonnative speaker is not a disability, yet many ELLs are misidentified at learning disabled
While linking neurological and cognitive finding to educational practices is an exciting prospect, not all researchers are on board with this movement. Kathie Nunley, an educational psychologist, questions whether we are doing a disservice to students by allowing them to only work within their learning style citing the real world is not as accommodating. Nunley recommends teachers allow struggling students to work within their personal learning styles in the beginning of the year in order to establish success. Once success is established teachers must encourage students to work within a wide range of learning styles to prepare them for real life experiences.
Other researchers have questioned the validity of the research that has linked neurological findings to educational practices. Judy Willis (2007) states “The findings of neuroimaging research for education and learning are still largely suggestive; they have not demonstrated a solid link between how the brain learns and how it metabolizes oxygen or glucose. Teaching strategies derived from well-controlled neuroimaging studies are at best compatible with the research about how the brain seems to respond preferentially to the presentation of sensory stimuli” (pg 698). Further, Kurt Fischer (2008) argues “Journalists, educators, and even brain scientists too readily leap from a brain research finding to an ‘implication’ for education – which is typically nothing more than a seat-of-the-pants speculation” (pg 145).
Resources:
Fischer, K.W. (2008) Dynamic cycles of coginitve and brain development: Measuring growth in mind, brain, and education. In A.M. Battro, K.W. Fischer & P. Lena (Eds.), The educated brain (pp127-150). Cambridge U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Hardiman, Mariale M. (2001) Connecting brain research with dimensions of learning. Educational Leadership, 52-55
Willis, Judy (2007) Which brain research can educators trust? Phi Delta Kappan, 697-699.
http://www.allkindsofminds.org/
http://help4teachers.com/learningstyles.htm
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