Educational Neuroscience
Unlike behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism, educational neuroscience is not really a framework for learning. It is a field of education that is theory-driven, but the theories that define the field attempt to explain what might be happening in the brain when learning occurs. Education neuroscience attempts to answer the question “how do people learn” exclusively from an internal perspective.
Neuroscience (or neurobiology) is the scientific study of the nervous system. It combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developmental biology, cytology, mathematical modeling, and psychology to understand the fundamental and emergent properties of neurons and neural circuits. Educational neuroscience is a sub-field of neuroscience focusing on discovering and understanding the biological basis of learning, memory and behavior. Though a relatively new branch of psychology, educational neuroscience has made many discoveries in the past 25 years that have shaped and informed the science of learning. Foremost in this effort is the discovery that learning seems to occur as a result of changes in the structure of the brain, specifically changes in the network of nerve cells (neurons) that comprise the brain.
For example, the image below details growth in nerve cell fibers, depicted in yellow. Scientists have observed such growth during instances of stimulation and learning in animals.
To help understand the biological nature of learning, neurological activities occurring within different components of the information processing system are presented.
6.1 Describe the neurological activity occurring within different components of the information processing system.
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1. Sensing
All sensory input (except for smells, apparently) goes directly to the thalamus, where at least some of it then is sent to the appropriate part of the cerebral cortex for processing (e.g., the outer layers of the lobes presented in the image below). 
2. Selecting Sensory input received by the thalamus is not sent into the cerebral cortex in the same form in which it was received; rather, it is sent as a neural “perception” of that input. For example, an auditory stimulus received by the thalamus will be transformed into the neural equivalent of the perception of that stimulus. 
Part of what makes perception meaningful is that the brain’s reticular activating system filters information to exclude trivial information and focus on important material. This process is adaptive because if we tried to attend to every input, we would never be able to focus on anything. There are several factors that influence this filtering. Perceived importance, such as teachers announcing that material is important (e.g., will be tested), is apt to command students’ attention. Novelty attracts attention; the brain tends to focus on inputs that are novel or different from what might be expected. Another factor is intensity; stimuli that are louder, brighter, or more pronounced get more attention. Movement also helps to focus attention. Although these attentional systems largely operate unconsciously, it is possible to use these ideas for helping to focus students’ attention in the classroom, such as by using bright and novel visual displays. 3. Transfer to Working Memory Sensory inputs are transferred to the hypothalamus and sensory memories portions of the brain for processing. The temporal and occipital lobes are associated with sensation and are thus involved in sensory memory. Sensory memory is the briefest form of memory, with no storage capability. Memories are active in these sites for seconds at most before either passing working memory or disappearing. Working memory seems to reside in multiple parts of the brain but primarily in the prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe. Information is lost from working memory in a few seconds unless it is rehearsed or transferred to long-term memory. For information to be retained there must be a neural signal to do so; that is, the information is deemed important and needs to be used. The parts of the brain primarily involved in memory and information processing are the cortex (outer layers of the frontal, parietal and occipital lobes) and the temporal lobe. 4. Storage in Long-Term Memory It appears that the brain processes and stores memories in the same structures that initially perceive and process information. At the same time, the particular parts of the brain involved in long-term memory vary depending on the type of information. With declarative information (facts, definitions, events), information in working memory resides in the hippocampus and the nearby temporal lobe. The hippocampus is not the ultimate storage site; it acts as a processor and conveyor of inputs. Inputs that occur more often make stronger neural connections. With multiple activations, the memories form neural networks that become strongly embedded in the frontal and temporal regions. It appears that declarative information in long-term memory resides in the frontal and temporal cortex. Much procedural information becomes automatized such that procedures can be accomplished with little or no conscious awareness (e.g., driving a car, riding a bicycle, solving math in your head). Initial procedural learning involves the prefrontal cortex, the parietal lobe, and the cerebellum, which ensure that we consciously attend to the movements or steps and that these movements or steps are assembled correctly. With practice, these areas show less activity and other brain structures, such as the motor cortex, become more involved. With nonmotor procedures (e.g., decoding words, simple addition), the visual cortex is heavily involved. Repetition can change the neural structure of the visual cortex, allowing us to recognize visual stimuli (e.g., words, numbers) quickly without consciously having to process their meanings. As a consequence, many of these cognitive tasks become routinized. |
6.2 Define learning from an educational neuroscience perspective.
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Learning is the forming and strengthening of neural connections (synapses) in a process called consolidation.
Neural connections are formed when an axon on one nerve cell (neuron) gets close enough to a dendrite on another nerve cell to allow an electrical signal to pass through: 
Consolidation can be considered part of the encoding or storage process. Scientists believe it occurs in two distinct processes:
Synaptic consolidation |
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Occurs primarily in the hippocampus (see diagram below) within the first few hours after learning
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System consolidation
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Hippocampus-dependent memories become independent of the hippocampus over a period of weeks to years, finally residing in various lobes of the cerebrum.
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6.3 Describe neuroplasticity and explain its significance in teaching and learning.
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Neurologically, the process of consolidation utilizes a phenomenon called long-term potentiation, which allows a synapse to increase in strength as increasing numbers of signals are transmitted between the two neurons. Potentiation is the process by which synchronous firing of neurons makes those neurons more inclined to fire together in the future. Long-term potentiation occurs when the same group of neurons fire together so often that they become permanently sensitized to each other. As new experiences accumulate, the brain creates more and more connections and pathways, and may “re-wire” itself by re-routing connections and re-arranging its organization.
As such a neuronal pathway, or neural network, is traversed over and over again, an enduring pattern is engraved and neural messages are more likely to flow along such familiar paths of least resistance. This process is achieved by the production of new proteins to rebuild the synapses in the new shape, without which the memory remains fragile and easily eroded with time. In this way, the brain organizes and reorganizes itself in response to experiences, creating new memories prompted by experience, education or training. The ability of the connection, or synapse, between two neurons to change in strength, and for lasting changes to occur in the efficiency of synaptic transmission, is known as synaptic plasticity or neuroplasticity. The following brief video summarizes this process: Because neural connections and the strength of neuronal pathways can and do change, deep processing of information can lead to more enduring learning. Deep processing can be affected by the following teaching and learning strategies:
It is noteworthy that the process of forming and strengthening synaptic connections (learning) changes the physical structure of the brain and alters its functional organization. Learning specific tasks produces localized changes in brain areas appropriate for the task, and these changes impose new organization on the brain. We tend to think that the brain determines learning, but in fact there is a reciprocal relationship because of the “neuroplasticity” of the brain, or its capacity to change its structure and function as a result of experience. |
The following excellent video presents an excellent general overview of learning by focusing on the act of thinking. It was produced by one of my favorite science video bloggers Derek Muller (Veritasium).
Do yourself a favor and watch it before moving the final part of Act 3: Instructional Technology.
Do yourself a favor and watch it before moving the final part of Act 3: Instructional Technology.