“Neuro-educational Approaches”: Optimizing Classroom Teaching with Neuroscience Insights

Abstract

Although many teachers base their pedagogies on neuromyths, there is limited information on how to successfully integrate modern neuroscience discoveries into education. In this research, we used a technique for teacher training known as a "learning study" to look at how teachers picked up the skills necessary to incorporate neuroscience into their lessons. As part of their study in the classroom, the teachers worked together to develop, implement, and assess classes with a neuroscience theme. The study's theoretical framework was derived from theories of brain plasticity, such as the hierarchical relational binding theory, the memory, learning, attention, and awareness models of neural networks. We used a number of data sources and phenomenographic techniques to create categories that represented the instructors' involvement with neuroscience. The results showed how crucial a role analogy played in instructors' application and understanding of neuroscience material. We used the analogies of the "rose," "butcher on the bus," "deepening the trenches," and "walking the pathway" to show how teachers' newfound knowledge led to changes in their pedagogical practices, including a move away from more traditional, lecture-based methods and toward those that make greater use of multiple modalities in instruction and the creation of more cohesive learning experiences for their students. Findings point to how neuroscience may help instructors create theoretical consistency in their conceptions of teaching and learning. Discussed are the implications.