a brief history of the science of learning

8/9/2019 A Brief History of the Science of Learning

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING: Part 1 (3500 B.C.E.-1970C.E.)

r. Tra!"# T$%&'aa-E*+,$a P'..

Director of IDEA (Instituto de Enseñanza y Aprendizaje or Teaching and Learning Institute), and

Professor of Education and Neuropsychoogy at the of the !ni"ersity of #an $rancisco in %uito, Ecuador

The foo&ing is an e'cerpt fro Mind, Brain, and Education Science: A comprehensive guide to the new brain-based teaching (** Norton)

a +oo +ased on o"er -,.// studies and &ith contri+utions fro the &ord0s eaders in 12E #cience*

/,$+, '$ $"t'+, $r++,at"2 $t", + t'" 4"t !&" t$ '$ +t $r%.

3Terrence Deacon, The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution o !anguage and the Brain (4556, p* 78)

#oe 9uestions ha"e faced teachers for centuries* hat is iportant to no&: ho is prepared to

teach: ho shoud +e taught and ho&: ;ints at ans&ers to these 9uestions can +e found throughout

history, and these ans&ers point repeatedy to ey concepts that are the cornerstones of the ne& science

of teaching and earning*

Fr$ t'" E#*t+a, t$ t'" Gr""% t$ t'" 1100: T'" R$$t $ F$ra E2&!at+$,

;uans are a !$*+!at"2 *"!+"s, and e'act records of any aspects of our coon de"eopent

are not so &e no&n* The 2"6"$*",t $ r+t+, #t" around 3500 B.C.E. aided in recording

these essons and ser"ed as a concrete record, repacing reiance on purey ora history* #oe of the

eariest &ritten records sho& that fora education, in &hich 4a+! !$&,+!at+$, %+, a,&a",

tra2+, !&t$, and ar+!&t&ra and r"++$& *ra!t+!" &ere taught, +egan in Egypt soe tie+et&een 3000 a,2 500 B.C.E* The eariest i+rary no&n to an, +, Ba4#$,+a, &as +uit +y

Ashur+anipa, the %+, $ t'" N"$-A#r+a, E*+r" (<=.><76 2*?*E*)* Te'ts in this i+rary docuented

ad"ances in at', r"a2+,, and r+t+,, as &e as coon practices of arar" and '&,t+,*

During the '$& #,at# (551879 B.C.E.), ?onfucius, the faed ?hinese phiosopher, greaty ipacted

the o"era curricuu focus of $ra "2&!at+$, and shaped educationa "aues e"en through present3

day systes* Though no&n +etter for $ra and *+r+t&a teachings, ?onfucius0s focus on persona

"aues deterined &hat &as iportant to teach as &e as ho& this teaching &as achie"ed in fora

education settings* $or e'ape, sef3contro and respect &ere incorporated as aspects of the

de"eopent of ogica thining* Additionay, ?onfucius &as perhaps one of the first to thin of

differentiated instruction@ T"a!' a!!$r2+, t$ t'" t&2",t a4++t#B (as cited in ?hin, 7//6, p* 4)* This

eans that 7,.// years ago ?onfucius ne& a+out the "aue of differentiated instruction and its &orth not

ony to the indi"idua +ut aso to society*

The content of fora education shifted &ith the Gr""%, &ho sought to +aance utiitarian sis &ith oftier

contepations a+out the origins of thought* H+**$!rat" (c* -</ >86/ 2*?*E.), S$!rat" (c* -6/>855

2*?*E*), and Ar+t$t" (c* 8=->877 2*?*E*) a specuated a+out &hat dri"es huan &i, oti"ation, and

http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/Winter2011/Contributor%20Biographies




earning* hie educators since the Gr""% ha"e contepated ho& to infuence huan actions through

$ra "2&!at+$,, it is reati"ey recent in huan history that the focus has turned to 4ra+, &,!t+$,

t'at !a, 4" a,+*&at"2 t$ ",'a,!" the teaching and earning process* According to odern

educationa theorist ;o&ard Cardner, Cree phiosophers ay ha"e +een the first to raise 9uestions

a+out the nature of atter, i"ing entities, no&edge, &i, truth, +eauty, and goodness* In recent

centuries, ho&e"er, phiosophy has steadiy +een yieding ground, enthusiasticay or reuctanty, to

epirica scienceB (Cardner, 7///, p* 4)*

T'" 10t'817t' C",t&r+": T'" S"," a,2 L"ar,+,

#tarting in the 4/th century, huanity gained a fundaenta understanding a+out ho& sensoriotor

perceptions are interpreted in the +rain and transated into thought* A'a;", (or A3;aytha 5<.>4/85

?*E*) &as perhaps one of the greatest physicists of a ties and a product of the Isaic Coden Age or

Isaic R",a+a,!" (6th>48th centuries)* ;e ade significant contri+utions to anatoy, astronoy,

engineering, atheatics, edicine, ophthaoogy, phiosophy, physics, psychoogy, and "isuaperception and is priariy attri+uted as the in"entor of the scientific ethod, for &hich author 2radey

#teffens (7//<) descri+es hi as the +rt !+",t+t. Ahazen recorded soe of the first ideas a+out

e'perienta psychoogy and optica iusions and coud +e considered a 1idde Eastern da Finci*

Ahazen0s &or heped o"e *'+$$*'+!a *$,2"r+, a+out inteigence to the r"a $ 'ar2

!+",!"* Ahazen esta+ished that earning is generated +y $&r ",$r# *"r!"*t+$, $ t'" $r2 (e"en

if ony through eories of those perceptions and not actua perceptions these"es)* Gur senses feed

inforation to our eory, and &e !$*ar" ," +t' $2, 2"t"!t *att"r, a,2 ,$6"t#, and +ase ne&

earning on past associations ne& inforation is earned +ased on our past e'periences*

Fr$ t'" P'#+!a B$2# t$ t'" L"ar,+, Bra+,

Henaissance researchers posed siiar phiosophica 9uestions to the Crees, +ut sought ans&ers +ased

in physica e"idence* Itay0s Leonardo da Finci0s rendition of the huan +rain (4./=) and 2egiu0s

Andreas Fesaius0s (4.-8) su+se9uent anatoica dra&ings not ony created precise "isua records, +ut

they aso +egan to nae specific areas of the +rain, creating consistent references and a shared

"oca+uary for future research* Da Finci ne& &hat current researchers today sti strugge &ith@ ithout

coon ters of reference and "oca+uary, it is ipossi+e to copare findings (see $igures -*4 and

-*7)*

"igure #$%$ !eonardo da &inci's rendition o the human brain, %()*



Source: http://www.drawingsofleonardo.org

"igure #$+$ Andreas &esalius' depictions o the human brain %(#

http://www.drawingsofleonardo.org/

http://www.drawingsofleonardo.org/



Sources:

(Left)https://www.countway.harvard.edu/chm/rarebooks/exhibits/gilt/images/vesa

lius.pg

(!op right)

http://www.as.miami.edu/english/wiki"#$/images/e/e%/&ndreas'esaliusase*f!h

erain.pg

(bottom right) http://exstatic.files.wordpress.com/+##,/#%/andreas-

vesalius.gif

These creati"e scientists i"ed in an e'citing era in Europe* The first haf of the se"enteenth century sa&

the eergence of scientific groups &hose e+ers gathered to proote discussion and to disseinate

the ne&0 phiosophy,B (2ecer (7//<, para* 4)* &hich incuded study of earning and the huan +rain* In

4<<-, one of the ost copete eary "ersions of the +rain &as dra&n +y C'r+t$*'"r <r", (iis,

4<<-), &ho ater designed #t* Pau0s ?athedra in London ($igure -*8)* It is poignant that the supree

e'ape of huan design, the +rain, re9uired a &ord3reno&ned architect to do justice to its for*

"igure #$$ Christopher ren.s rendition o the human brain, %//#



Source:

https://eee.uci.edu/clients/bbecker/atureand&rtifice/willisbrainb.pg

HenJ Descartes0 procaation ?ogito, ergo suB (I thin, therefore I a) in 4<86 triggered a ne&

refection a+out the roe of the indi"idua and his or her ind and understanding of a &ord"ie& that hasfore"er infuenced estern concepts of education* Thining, not just +eing, constituted the definition of

one0s purpose in the &ord* This idea ipied that a'iizing one0s indi"idua potentia to thin, create,

and produce inteectuay justified one0s e'istence* In 4<58, Kohn Loce0s #oe Thoughts ?oncerning

Education esta+ished the in +et&een de"eopenta psychoogy and huan de"eopent* Loce ade

cas for a phiosophy of education that encouraged a deeper sef3reguation of etacognition and earning

and that continues to ipact the &ay students are taught and ho& &e o+ser"e &hat is earned e"en

today* Loce suggested that a ey to good teaching is to hep students refect ore a+out their o&n

thining processes* 2y articuating their o&n enta steps in so"ing a pro+e, for e'ape, Loce

+eie"ed that earners &oud +ecoe +etter thiners* This refecti"e process is a odern cornerstone of

critica thining in &hich certain ha+its of ind hep students rehearse such refecti"e processes are

+asics of odern 9uaity education*

T'" 1=t' a,2 19t' C",t&r+": <+2"*r"a2 F$ra E2&!at+$,

ith the e'ception of the Isaic &ord, &hich had distinct acadeic institutions as eary as the 4/th

century, a coon phenoenon around the &ord &as the use of reigious institutions as ocations for

fora education* $or the ost part, churches and tepes ser"ed as the first cassroos and, &ith fe&



e'ceptions, generay ony catered to the eite* ?athoic schoos &ere the first fora educationa

institutions in Nor&ay around 44.7, for e'ape, and the Third Lateran ?ounci (4465) officiay andated

free education for the poor in Engand, though the casses &ere priariy de"oted to reigious readings* It

&asn0t unti the 4.//s, ho&e"er, that &idespread education +egan soe reigious schoos &ere

con"erted into Latin schoos (as in Nor&ay and Denar), and each aret to&n &as re9uired to ha"e a

schoo*

2eginning in the <//s the trend to&ard the uni"ersaization of education +ecae ore deocraticay

a"aia+e, a+eit &ith se"era shortcoings* Throughout the 46th century en 2uddhist tepes ser"ed as

the educationa structures in Kapan* #iiary, in India in the 4=th century, schoos and tepes &ere

physicay one and the sae* reading, &riting, arithetic, theoogy, a&, astronoy, etaphysics, ethics,

edica science, and reigion &ere taught to students of a casses in these institutions* 1ost educationa

institutions in the !nited #tates that &ere founded +et&een 4<-/ and 46./ &ere started +y reigious

denoinations* ;o&e"er, +eginning in the 4<//s, any reigious institutions ga"e &ay to

nondenoinationa fora education around the &ord*

In 4<88 the Pariaent of #cotand appro"ed a ta' to pro"ide for pu+ic education* Across the Atantic in

the ate 46//s, Thoas Paine prooted the idea of free pu+ic education, though it &asn0t unti 4=86 that

;orace 1ann anaged to successfuy create a ta' to support pu+ic schoos in the !nited #tates* In the

4==/s pu+ic education +ecae the nor in $rance, and +y 4=5/ Kapan aso had fu copusory

education* In 4545 copusory and free education +ecae standard in Iperia Hussian and the current

#o"iet !nion* #ince 45./ ?hina has had 5 years of copusory education* Latin Aerica +egan refors

in the 45</s to re9uire +et&een < and 5 years of +asic education* In Africa, in 7//5, ess than </M of a

students &ere currenty enroed in fora education, despite its gro&ing "aue in oca counities and

any countries0 coitent to the 1ienniu De"eopent CoasB for education, &hich incude

copusory priary schoo copetion as a iniu*

Put in this conte't it is easy to see ho& pedagogy, or the art of teaching, has had a reati"ey short history*

The concept of creating fora education and the odern needs that ha"e arisen due to the no& "aried

student +ody are enorous* hereas ony a fe& hundred years ago fe& of our reati"es &ere iterate, it is

no& the nor that students of a socioeconoic and cutura +acgrounds attend schoo* To ae the

setting ore cope', it can +e "entured that a &ider "ariety of earning potentias (+rains) aso enters the

odern cassroo* hen education +ecae the nor, no onger &ere schoos fied &ith o+edient and

reigiousy dri"en, &eathy students, as in the 1idde Ages, +ut rather, they are no& fied &ith students

&ho are sipy noraB or e"en those &ith specia needs &ho ne"er &oud ha"e +een attended schoo a

hundred years ago* The e"oution of &idespread educationa access &as paraeed +y disco"eries in

neuroscience that fored ne& +eiefs a+out earning that ipacted in these ore &idey di"ersecassroos*

L$!a+;at+$,+

Locaizationais is the +eief that si is ocated in O part of the +rain* This idea is rooted in eary

studies, ainy in the 46//>4=//s, &hich sought an association +et&een certain parts of the +rain and

+rain functions, as in anguage +eing in the eft heisphere* Locaizationis ipies that if, for soe



reason, is daaged, then O is ost fore"er* e no& no& that this is not necessariy true* ;o&e"er, in

the 45th century the focus &as on deciphering the ap of +rain functions &here patterns &ere found,

generaizations a+out the +rain &ere ade* This had soe good and other du+ious resuts*

The 4=th and 45th centuries &ere ridded &ith fase con"ictions a+out the +rain, for e'ape* These

incuded the +eief in phrenoogy, in &hich the +ups and cre"ices of the su &ere easured to

deterine strengths and &eanesses of +oth acadeic pro&ess and personaity traits* hen it &as found

that e'terna traits of the +rain did not refect inteect, neuroscientists turned to the inner &orings of the

+rain* In the id345th and eary 7/th centuries significant and highy credi+e ne& findings a+out the

+rain0s functionaity eerged*

Disco"eries reated to specific doain functions, such as anguage +y Pau 2roca (4=<7) and ?ar

ernice (4=6-), a genera charting of the +rain areas +y or+inian 2rodann (45/5), and findings a+out

the roe of indi"idua synapses or ins +et&een neurons in the +rain +y #antiago HaQn y ?aja (4544)

generated a ne& and asting e'citeent in the fied* 2roca and ernice esta+ished that ost peope

(5.M of right3 handed peope and 6/M of eft3handed peope) ha"e t&o ain anguage areas in their eftfronta (2roca) and parieta (ernice) o+es ($igure -*-)* 2rodann de"ised an eegant syste for

charting priary "isua otor and auditory path&ays in the +rain ($igure -*.)* 2rodann0s conteporary,

HaQn y ?aja, ade a asting ipact +y sho&ing that the neuron &as the +asic functiona and structura

unit in the +rain* Each of these disco"eries contri+uted to ne& definitions of the physica nature of earning

and the +rain* The turn of the 45th century +rought a food of ne& scientific theories of earning, incuding

the no& faous nature "ersus nurtureB de+ate*

"igure #$# Broca and ernic0e.s Areas

Source: ramwell for !okuhama-spinosa

"igure #$( Brodmann's Areas



Source: Bramwell for

Tokuhama-Espinosa.

T'" B+$$# $ L"ar,+, a,2 t'" Nat&r" 6"r& N&rt&r" "4at"

Kust as fora education &as getting under&ay around the &ord in the ate 4=//s, $rancis Caton, the

father of eugenics (4=<5), spared the origina de+ate on the nature "ersus nurture infuence on earning

and inteigence* Are you &ho you are, and as inteigent as you are, +ased on the genes you recei"ed

fro your parents, or +ased on ho& you &ere raised: This 9uestion continues to +e ased today and is at

the root of any educationa poicy decisions* Are schoos o+iged to support a chidren, no atter ho&+right or du (+ecause it is not their faut, it0s their genes or +ecause it is oray right to do so), and

therefore re9uired to in"est resources into specia education and progras for a earning differences

(disa+ed, chaenged, or gifted): Caton &as instruenta in caing attention to the roe of +ioogy in

earningRa roe that reains a ajor part of 12E science*

The theories of e"outionary psychoogy and socio+ioogy &ere gi"en proinence +y 1ar 2ad&in in the

ate 4=//s in a theory that is no&n today as the 2ad&in Effect, a proposed echanis for specific



e"outionary seection for genera earning a+iity (2ad&in, 4=5<)* The 2ad&in Effect +asicay suggested

that &hen earning occurs that is +eneficia to the sur"i"a of a species, then it &oud +e ree+ered in

the genes passed on to the future descendents* This theory had profound infuence on the +eief that +oth

+ioogy and e'perience utuay ipact earning outcoes* $or e'ape, in her eo9uent +oo Proust and

the #9uid, 1aryanne of (7//6) iustrates ho& reading has changed the huan +rain through draatic

e"outionary processes, a concept that is reinforced +y #tanisaus Dehaene0s (7//5) +eief in neurona

recycing, or the reuse of e"outionariy oder areas of the +rain for ne& needs (as in reading, &hich has

ony +een re9uired for the past ./// years or so)* 2y the start of the 45//s there &as a rush to in

+eha"ior to +ioogy at e"ery turnRfor e'ape, in studies of eotion and de"eopenta psychoogy*

T'" 190081950: N"&r$, T'at F+r" T$"t'"r <+r" T$"t'"r

Donad ;e++ ade a daring in +et&een +rain science and earning through his ground+reaing +oo

The Grganization of 2eha"ior (45-5)* In this +oo, ;e++ &rote a+out ho& +rain organization reates to

+eha"ior and posited the no&3faous ;e++ian synapse rue, a core of odern neuroscience@ Neurons

that fire together, &ire together* This finding e'pained in +ioogica ters &hat psychoogists had&itnessed for decades in +eha"ior* In cassica conditioning, associati"e earning resuts &hen a neutra

stiuus is associated &ith conditioned stiuus, a concept first deonstrated +y I"an Pa"o" (&ho &on

the 45/- No+e prize in physioogy and edicine for his &or on the digesti"e syste) &hen he

disco"ered the +asic principes of conditioning +y the sipe act of feeding his dogs@ ;e typicay rang a

+e caing dogs to their food he reaized that soon after the first fe& rings of a +e, the dogs &oud +egin

sai"ating erey at the sound of the +e, &ithout the food* In ;e++0s ters, this &as e'pained +y the fact

that the stiuus of the +e and the usua dei"ery of food created neurona firings ining +e and food*

The ;e++ian synapse concept is fundaenta to our current understanding of pasticity and earning as a

&hoe*

The ;e++ian synapse concept aso e'pains an'ieties reated to earning* $or e'ape, if a student

reates a negati"e eotion to a teacher of certain su+ject, such as ath, he or she ay e'perience ath

an'iety, independent of the teacher, in the future due to the &iringB of the negati"e e'perience &ith the

su+ject atter* Athough soe teachers ha"e +egun to e'perient &ith soe of these concepts +ased on

psychoogica odes, &idespread no&edge and use of the ;e++ian synapse concept is sti foreign to

ost teacher training progras* Gther psychoogica theories of cogniti"e de"eopent &ere ore

successfu in aing their &ay into the cassroo, ho&e"er*

Sta" $ C$,+t+6" "6"$*",t

Kean Piaget, a conteporary of ;e++, aso ade profound contri+utions to the conceptuaization of thene& science of teaching and earning found today* Piaget &as one of the ost reno&ned de"eopenta

psychoogists of the 45//s and is sti recognized as one of its ain figures today* Piaget &as originay

trained in the areas of +ioogy and phiosophy and considered hisef a genetic episteoogist0*B

Throughout his career, Piaget strongy grounded his &or in +ioogy and tied it to education* Piaget0s

research &as instruenta in defining four stages of cogniti"e de"eopent (sensory>otor stage,

preoperationa period, concrete operationa stage, and fora operationa stage) and aso recognized the

indi"idua differences in reaching these iestones*



To understand Piaget0s contri+utions, it is iportant to grasp the &ay in &hich he en"isioned huan

de"eopent* Piaget percei"ed huan de"eopent as a continuu &ith se"era su+3eeents in each

stage* The first of the four stages of de"eopent, the sensory>otor stage (/>7 years od), has si' su+3

stages@ (4) sipe refe'es (7) first ha+its and priary circuar reactions (8) secondary circuar reactions

(-) coordination of secondary circuar reactions (.) tertiary circuar reactions, no"ety, and curiosity and

(<) internaization of schees* The eticuous di"ision and description of each of these stages can no&

+e correated to specific changes in the ner"ous syste and particuary in +rain de"eopent*

In the second stage of cogniti"e de"eopent Piaget acno&edged t&o su+3stages@ the eergence of a

sy+oic function (a+out 7>- years od) and intuiti"e thought (a+out ->6 years od)* These are ore

cope' to correate to specific neuroscientific findings, +ut there is gro&ing e"idence of the aturation of

certain +rain areas reated to cope' thought (fore+rain echaniss) that e'perience a arge aount of

gro&th during these years*

In the third of Piaget0s stages (the concrete operationa stage), there are se"era processes, +ut no su+3

stages* The cope'ity of huan thought and de"eopent +ecoe e"ident in this stage, and any aneuroscientist has grapped &ith the ipications of this di"ision to date* These processes incude@

• Seriation, or the a+iity to sort o+jects in an order according to size, shape, or any other

characteristic

• Transitivity , or the a+iity to recognize ogica reationships or the reati"e reationship +et&een

o+jects

• Classiication, or the a+iity to nae and identify sets of o+jects in ters of their "arying

characteristics

• 1ecentering , in &hich the chid approaches the pro+e fro se"era anges in order to find the

right soution

• eversibility , in &hich the aturing chid coes to understand that nu+ers or o+jects can +e

changed, then returned to their origina state

• Conservation, in &hich the chid grasps the idea that 9uantity, ength, or nu+er of ites is

unreated to the arrangeent or appearance of the o+ject or ites (as &hen &ater is poured fro

a short fat cup into a ta si gass) and,

• The eiination of egocentrism and the possi+iity of +ecoing epathic (i*e*, the a+iity to "ie&

the &ord fro othersS perspecti"es)*

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The +eauty of Piaget0s &or is that &e no& no& that a of these processes, &hich a chid noray

de"eops +efore the age of 47, reate to different enta tass that can, indeed, +e isoated in the huan

+rain* That is, the systes needed to conduct seriation, transiti"ity, cassification, etc*, are a different(though soeties o"erapping) neura circuits in the +rain* This eans that they pose indi"idua

chaenges for students as they de"eop*

The fourth stage of Piaget0s conception of cogniti"e de"eopent is caed the fora operationa stage*

This stage noray occurs as chidren o"e into adoescence (on a"erage, around 48 years od or so)

and +egin to thin ore a+stracty, &hich is reated to their a+iity to reason ogicay and dra& on e'isting

inforation to de"eop hypothetica suppositions a+out situations* Piaget noted that an adoescent0s

"er+a pro+e3so"ing a+iity &as paraeed +y the ogica 9uaity of his or her thought at this stage (as

opposed to earier stages &hen chidren &or +y a tria3and3error ethod)* In the fora operations stage,

huans +egin to use a greater aount of hypothetica>deducti"e reasoning and systeaticay deduce,or concude, choices as opposed to rando guessing* In an interesting e'ape, Piaget suggested that

any first o"esB occur during eary adoescence principay +ecause teenagers are no& a+e to

contepate possi+iities +eyond their iediate oent* The fora operations stage +egins in

adoescence, &hich e'pains teenagers0 fascination not ony &ith &here they cae fro, +ut aso &ith

&hat they can possi+y +e in the future* In the 45</s Piaget &as actuay coser to the reaity of the

teenage +rain than any odern theories (&hich suggest that horones are to +ae for their fice

+eha"ior)*

2oth the theory of the stages of cogniti"e de"eopent as &e as the indi"idua "ariation &ith &hich

students go through the stages are core eeents of odern 12E science ($igure -*<)* Piaget0s een

o+ser"ations ao&ed hi to en"ision ho& de"eopentay o+ser"a+e +eha"iors are ined to changes in

the +rain o"er tie* Through Piaget0s e'perients &ere +ased on o+ser"a+e +eha"ior, his theories, ie

$reud0s, presued anaogous physica changes in the +rain that refected the changes*

"igure #$/ 2iaget.s Stages o 1evelopment



Source: Bramwell for Tokuhama-Espinosa

S$!+a8H+t$r+!a P#!'$$# a,2 C'+2 "6"$*",t

Another ey contri+utor to the 12E science discipine &as Le" Fygotsy, &hose no"e ideas on cogniti"e

de"eopent and earning concepts (e*g*, the one of Pro'ia De"eopent, in &hich &ithin a group

there &i a&ays +e soeone &ho no&s just a +it ore than the others and through a scaffoding

teaching>earning structure they &i instruct one another) &ere fundaenta in shaping odern pedagogy

as &e as su+se9uent theories of chid de"eopent* T&o of Fygotsy0s core contri+utions, sti +eing

de+ated today, are reated to cutura ediation and internaization as reated to an indi"idua0s inner

"oiceB (Fygotsy, 458-)* ?utura ediation +egs the 9uestion as to &hether there are uni"ersasB reatedto huan earning, "ersus the concept that a earning is fitered through one0s cuture (and therefore

uni9ue to each)* Fygotsy0s inner "oice concept 9uestions &hether or not thining is +ased on the &ords

&e no&Rthat is, can &e thin &ithout &ords: 2oth ideas are sti points of contention in odern

educationa theory* Fygotsy0s &or &as transated into curricua structure for schoo3age chidren +y

Fasii Da"ido", &hose &or is aso noted as infuentia in the eerging discipine reated to its

contri+utions of socia attri+utes and earning*

Gne of Fygotsy0s discipes, Ae'ander Luria (457-), ade +reathroughs in his &ritings reated to

cutura>historica psychoogyB and its infuences on thought* hie short i"ed as a su+3discipine of

psychoogy, the conceptua frae&or de"ised +y these eary thought eaders esta+ished the foundations

for understanding ho& cuture, especiay as ediated through anguage, infuenced thining* Luria0s

second arge contri+ution &as docuentation of The 1ind of a 1neonist@ A Litte 2oo a+out a Fast

1eory (Luria, 45<=), &hich &as the catayst for a great nu+er of studies reated to the huan eory

syste and 9uestions on ho& eory ipacts earning* Luria0s &or &as iportant +ecause +y

docuenting the curse of a fa&ess, synaesthetic eoryB he &as a+e to deonstrate that there are

"arious eory systes in the +rain, not just a singe entity caed eory* B In this &or, Luria

docuents the case of a an &ho &as una+e to forget, causing terri+e difficuties in his ife, such as the



ine"ita+e association of rando concepts, &hich distracted hi for noraB e'changes &ith the peope

around hi* Luria0s docuentation of eory ed to a +reathrough concept for teachers, &ho +egan to

understand that inforation coud +e recorded in different foratsB "ia distinct neura path&ays and that

eory is a "ast and utiayered syste, &hich can ha"e any different types of fa&s*

Gne e'treey fascinating "ie& of eory and different eory systes is reated to synesthesia, or the

a+iity to reate different types of inforation to different senses (e*g*, soething "isua can +e

ree+ered through se or te'ture a taste can +e ree+ered through a coor or sound)* $indings of

soe of the studies that &ere spared +y Luria0s inspirationa &or incuded the acno&edgent that

pro+es &ith eory can occur during stages of encoding (getting this inforation into the +rain),

storage (aintaining ins to the encoded inforation), or retrie"a (+eing a+e to access and use

eories stored in the +rain)* Gther studies noted that different eory systes (e*g*, short3ter "s*

ong3ter) ha"e different, though often o"erapping, neura path&ays* Keroe 2runer, one of the 7/th

century0s eading cogniti"e psychoogists in educationa psychoogy, ent his sis and insight to the

fore&ord of Luria0s &or in a reprint in 45=6 and heped reinforce the iportance of the consideration of

eory in a aspects of ife and earning (Luria W 2runner, 45=6)* These contri+utions fro psychoogyand education &ere copeented +y stunning findings in the neurosciences around the sae tie*

Fr$ t'" 19>0 t$ t'" 19=0: E,r+!'"2 E,6+r$,",t?

In 45.=, 1ar H* Hosenz&eig and coeagues pu+ished resuts of rat e'perients that opened a ne& fied

of discussion reated to the neuro+ioogica +asis for +eha"ior and the infuence of enriched en"ironents*

2uiding off of Hosenz&eig0s findings at the !ni"ersity of ?aifornia, 2ereey, coeague 1arian DiaondSs

&or e'ained differences +et&een ratsS +rains (dendrites and synaptic gro&th) +ased on a coparison

of ipo"erished "ersus enriched en"ironents* Hosenz&eigSs and Diaond0s &or started the discussion

of ho& enriched earning en"ironents coud enhance neurona gro&th in huans and the su+se9uent

de+ate as to &hether increased synaptic gro&th transated into +etter earning (see $igure -*6)* The

authors of the origina studies no& +eie"e that the enrichedB a+oratory en"ironents &ere actuay ore

ie noraB rat en"ironents (i*e*, se&ers), &hich does not pro"e that enriched en"ironents are +etter,

+ut rather that poor en"ironents are &orse than nora en"ironents* Despite this ne& no&edge,

there is a iion3doar industry dedicated to training parents and teachers to design enrichedB

en"ironents*

"igure #$3$ Enriched 4at Environments and Synaptic 5rowth



Source: arbro . 0ohansson and 1avel '. elichenko (+##") nvironmentalnrichment on 2ntact and 1ostischemic 3at rain

E,6+r$,",ta E,r+!'",t $, I,ta!t a,2 P$t+!'"+! Rat Bra+,

iia Creenough, in turn, +uit off of Diaond0s &or as he e'pored ho& e'perience affects the

de"eoping and the ature +rain* Creenough understood that pasticity, coony no&n in the fied

today +ut ne& a dozen years ago, reated to the +rain0s capacity to change and +uid ne& synapses &ith

e'perience* e no& that synapses for in situations in &hich anias are earning synapses typicay

do not for as a resut of non3earning3reated neura acti"ityB therefore, ore synaptic acti"ity is an

indication of earning* ;is current &or focuses on upon ceuar echaniss underying earning and

eory and other +rain inforation storage processesB using his no&edge of ho& pasticity &ors*

The discussion a+out &hat constitutes an enriched en"ironentB continues today and is accopanied +y

a "i+rant de+ate as to &hether +a+ies and chidren shoud or shoud not +e sent to eary stiuation

casses* As Creenough and others sho&ed, &hie there is no dou+t that enriched en"ironents change

the +rain and that ne& earning occurs, the ain discussion reated to enrichent re"o"es around the

definition of the ter@ &hat ay +e enrichent to one person (or rat) ay not +e enrichent to another*

Enrichent is discussed in the foo&ing chapters &hat is iportant to note here is that the e'citeent in

the eerging discipine at the end of the 45</s ed to a nu+er of acadeic initiati"es*

T'" Pr"-@BE !+",!" Sta"

Dartouth ?oege0s doctorate progra in psychoogica and +rain science &as started in 45<=, and

Dartouth0s undergraduate educationa degree in educationa neuroscience is aso one of the odest in

the nation, founded in 455/* The Dartouth progra continues to gro& today as ore and ore

appicants see acadeic progras that proote 12E science principes* 2oth the undergraduate and

graduate progras erged no&edge +ases fro psychoogy and neuroscience and su+se9uenty



education +efore others recognized the truy copeentary nature of the fieds* Dartouth &as an eary

starter ost other progras did not foray +egin unti the eary 7///s*

A nu+er of acadeic researchers +egan e'picity ining +rain functioning to earning and education

starting in the 456/s* 1ichae Posner, author of soe 7=/ +oos and artices on attention and eory,

&rote his eariest &ors +eginning in the 456/s* Posner has +een a ey contri+utor to the continua

e"oution of the discipine of 12E science, and his ost recent &or has +een fundaenta in +ridging

psychoogy and neuroscience for the appication in education* The &or at Dartouth and +y peope such

as 1ichae Posner in the 456/s cae principay fro de"eopenta neuropsychoogy and can +e caed

a pre312E stage*B

2et&een 4568 and 4565 there &as a rise in interest in defining and prooting educationa

neuropsychoogy, another forerunner to 12E science* The discipine of educationa neuropsychoogy

sees to erge education, neuroscience, and psychoogy, +ut unie 12E science, ephasizes the study

of earning rather than teaching* $or teachers, educationa neuropsychoogy &as a eap for&ard in

erging the coon goas of education &ith those of de"eopenta psychoogy in the schoo setting, +utsti did not ser"e teachers0 needs copetey (ho& to teach +etter)* Educationa neuropsychoogy &as an

ipro"eent o"er sipe de"eopenta psychoogy +ecause neuroscientific studies &ere gi"en ore

proinence* The ac of neuroscientific support for soe of the studies in de"eopenta psychoogy

eant than any studies &ere a+out the indB rather than the +rain,B &hich soe argued detracted

fro their appica+iity in teaching* ;o&e"er, educationa neuropsychoogy is 9uicy gi"ing &ay to 12E

science at the tie of this &riting for t&o priary reasons* $irst, as noted a+o"e, 12E science studies

teaching, not just earning processes, and second, due to the synta' of the ter educationa

neuropsychoogy, in &hich education and neuroscience are considered a su+fied of psychoogyR

&hereas in 12E science there is e9ua input fro a three parent fieds* #e"era studies in this pre312E

stage considered ife sis, such as the roe of oti"ation or eotions, and ho& they ipact earning*

E$t+$, a,2 L"ar,+,

Gne of the first ins +et&een eotions and earning &as introduced in the anguage conte't in the for of

the affecti"e fiter hypothesis , &hich +asicay suggests that ho& &e fee infuences &hat &e are a+e to

earn* That is, eotions ipact ho&, &hat, and &hy &e earn* ?urrenty this hypothesis is correated &ith

aygdaar neuroiaging studies that, in soe cases, sho& ho& stress and eotiona states infuence

earning* hat is iportant for teachers to accept is that eotions ipact decision3aing and that

decision3aing is core to earning*

In the 45</s, Aerican pu+ic education &ent into an e'istentia crisis* 1yron Lie+eran0s +oo The$uture of Pu+ic Education &as representati"e of a genera re"ie& of core concepts reated to educationa

practice, incuding teacher education of the +asics of earning* The Nationa Education Association, the

argest professiona organization of teachers in the !nited #tates, +egan to tae interest in the appication

of neuroscience findings to the cassroo in the ate 456/s* In 456=, 2rain Hesearch and Learning

(Nationa Education Association, 456=), and ?ha and 1irsy0s &or Education and the 2rain (456=) &ere

+oth pu+ished* These t&o +oos &ere serious and &e3researched attepts to integrate neuroscience

and education and rode on the hees of any +reathroughs a+out huan earning* This &as to +e the



+eginning of a genera popuarization of inforation on neuroscientific research for teachers and a

genera arriage of neuroscience, education, and psychoogy, and it cae at a tie &hen poicy aers

+egan to focus on reaching a students in a ore e9uita+e &ay* ;o& can &e ser"e not ony the highest3

achie"ing students, +ut aso respond to the needs of the o&er3 achie"ing ones: Aerica and any other

countries around the &ord +egan to reaize that a chain is ony as strong as its &eaest in pu+ic

education had to do ore to reach a of the e+ers of society*

The 456/s sa& a huge surpus of teachers in the !nited #tates as +udget cuts eant that casses gre&

arger and ony core su+ject3area teachers &ere hired* The arger cass sizes eant ess indi"iduaized

attention for students, +ut aso dre& focus to attention3reated difficuties on the &hoe* Disco"eries a+out

neurotransitters reated to attention echaniss in the +rain ed to the introduction of Hitain in 4564,

&hich &as eant to aid to genera treatent of inia +rain dysfunction, &hich anifested itsef in the

for of hyperinetic acti"ity* * The end of the 456/s &itnessed the crystaization of any concepts a+out

earning reated to attention and eory, and to other areas as &e* Perhaps t&o of the ost iportant

de"eopents eerged fro 1ichae Cazzaniga0s ca to +ring functiona neuroscience to the forefront of

teaching in his te't Neuropsychoogy@ ;and+oo of 2eha"iora Neuro+ioogy, and 1ichae Posner0s o"eto&ard the integration of neurosciences and psychoogy for the +enefit of understanding earning in a

ore hoistic fashion* 2oth of these efforts tried to put a ore utiitarianB face on neuroscientific findings

and +rought the inforation out of a+oratories and into cassroo settings* The +ac3to3+asics approach

in pu+ic education &as irrored in the ephasis of &hat &as considered iportant in the science a+ if it

coud not +e appied in authentic settings, there &as ess funding a"aia+e for research* Cazzaniga and

Posner contri+utions in the ate 456/s to the appica+iity of science findings for cassroo +ecae nors

for future studies, and their earier &ors reain iportant for researchers today*

S$" P+$,""r+, I,t+t&t+$,

Three pioneering neuroscience societies &ere aso foraized in the ate 456/s* In 4566, the Kapan

Neuroscience #ociety &as founded as an acadeic organization of scientists &ho study the +rain and

ner"ous syste and &ish to pu+ish their findings in order to proote the &efare and cuture of huans*B

Aso in 4566, the ?entre for Neuroscience (?N#) &as esta+ished as an institute of $inders !ni"ersity in

Adeaide in #outh Austraia, and &as the first such utidiscipinary centre in the neurosciences to +e

esta+ished in an Austraian uni"ersity*B ?N# e+ers &ere instruenta in esta+ishing the Austraian

Neuroscience #ociety ater in 4565* These societies prooted ne& findings a+out the +rain that &ere

fueed +y gro&ing inforation fro ipro"ed iaging techni9ues* These Austro>Asian institutions &ere

eary eaders ost other such institutions cae aong in the ate 455/s*

(PART IN NET ARTICLE)*

R""r",!"

2ecer, 2* (7//<)* Nature and artifice ecture@ ;istory 48.E Lecture 47, !ni"ersity of ?aifornia, Ir"ine*

Hetrie"ed Kune 7, 7//6, fro https@XXeee*uci*eduXcientsX+j+ecerX NatureandArtificeXecture47*ht*

http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/Winter2011/Tokuhama5

http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/Winter2011/Tokuhama5



2o&e, T*, W ep, C* (7//7)* ?ritica thining* Engand, !@ Internationa L*T*D*

2uer, 1* (7//8)* $rancis Caton@ Pioneer of heredity and +ioetry* 2atiore, 1D@ Kohns ;opins

!ni"ersity Press*

?hin, A* (7//6)* The authentic ?onfucius@ A ife of thought and poitics* Ne& Oor@ #cri+ner*

?eents, #*D* (45<<)* 1inia +rain dysfunction, terinoogy and identification* NIND2 1onograph

8(4-4.)* ashington, D?@ !*#* Departent of ;eath, Education and efare*

?ri"eato, E*, W Hi+atti, D* (7//6)* #ou, ind, +rain@ Cree phiosophy and the +irth of neuroscience*

2rain Hesearch 2uetin, 64(-), 876>88<*

Dartouth* (7//=)* !ni"ersity degree progras* Hetrie"ed Apri 7, 7//=, fro

http@XX&&&*dartouth*eduXYpsychXgraduateXdescription*ht*

Dehaene, #* (7//5)* Heading in the +rain* Ne& Oor@ Penguin Fiing*

Diaond 1*, ?onnor, K*H*, Gren+erg, E**, 2isse, 1*, Oost, 1*, W rueger, A* (45=/)* En"ironenta

infuences on serotonin and cycic nuceotides in rat cere+ra corte'* #cience, 74/, <.7><.-*

Diaond, 1* (4556)* #ignificance of enrichent* Hetrie"ed Kuy 78, 7//6, fro

http@XX&&&*ne&horizons*orgXneuroXdiaondZenrich*ht*

Diaond, 1* (7//4+)* Hesponse of the +rain to enrichent* Hetrie"ed #epte+er 4<, 7//6, fro

http@XX&&&*ne&horizons*orgXneuroXdiaondZ+rainZresponse*ht*

Diaond, 1*, Creer, E*H*, Oor, A*, Le&is, D*, 2attro, T*, W Lin, K* (45=6)* Hat cortica orphoogy

foo&ing cro&ded3enriched i"ing conditions* E'perienta Neuroogy, 5<, 7-4>7-6*

Diaond, 1*, rech, D*, W Hosenz&eig, 1*H* (45<-)* The effects of an enriched en"ironent on the rat

cere+ra corte'* Kourna of ?oparati"e Neuroogy, 478, 444>445*

Duay, ;*, W 2urt, 1* (4566)* Hears on creati"ity in anguage ac9uisition* :In 1* 2urt, ;* Duay, W 1*

$inocchiaro (Eds*), Fie&points on Engish as a second anguage (pp* <.3=5)* Ne& Oor@ Hegents*

$acione, P* (7//6)* ?ritica thining@ hat it is and &hy it counts* Hetrie"ed 1ay ., 7//6, fro&&&*austhin*orgXcritica*

Cardner, ;* (7//4)* Inteigence refraed* Ne& Oor@ 2asic 2oos*

Cazzaniga, 1* (Ed*)* (4565)* Neuropsychoogy@ ;and+oo of +eha"iora neuro+ioogy (Fo* 7)* Ne& Oor@

Penu Press*



Cazzaniga, 1*, #teen, D*, W Fope, 2*T* (4565)* $unctiona neuroscience* Ne& Oor@ ;arper W Ho&*

Creenough, * (45=6)* In N*A* rasnegor, E*1* 2ass, 1*A* ;ofer, W *P* #otheran (Eds*), Perinata

de"eopent@ A psycho+ioogica perspecti"e (pp* 45.>774)* London@ Acadeic Press*

Creenough, * (n*d)* $acuty Profie* !ni"ersity of Iinoise3!r+ana3?hapaigne, Psychoogy Departent*

Hetrie"ed on 47 1arch 7/4/ fro http@XX&&&*psych*uiuc*eduXpeopeXsho&profie*php:id[<4

;a, K* (7//.)* Neuroscience and education* Education Kourna, =-, 76>75*

;e++, D* (45-5)* The organization of +eha"ior* Ne& Oor@ iey*

;uitt, *, W ;ue, K* (7//8)* Piaget0s theory of cogniti"e de"eopent* Educationa Psychoogy

Interacti"e* Fadosta, CA@ Fadosta #tate !ni"ersity* Hetrie"ed Apri 7//= fro

http@XXchiron*"adosta*eduX&huittXcoXcogsysXpiaget*ht*

ra, F*, W 1acean, P*D* (4568)* A triune concept of the +rain and +eha"iour@ The ;incs 1eoria

Lectures* Toronto@ !ni"ersity of Toronto Press*

Long, (7//<)* The ind of a neonist@ II* Hetrie"ed Gcto+er 7., 7//5, fro

http@XX&&&*dr+iong*coX?urrentE"entsFIX1neonistII*ht*

Luria, A*, W 2runer, K* (7//<)* The ind of a neonist@ A itte +oo a+out a "ast eory (L* #ootaroff,

Trans*)* ?a+ridge, 1A@ ;ar"ard !ni"ersity Press* (Grigina &or pu+ished 45<=)*

Nationa Education Association* (456=)* 2rain research and earning* ashington, D?@ Author*

GSeefe, K*, W Nade, L* (456=)* The hippocapus as a cogniti"e ap* Ne& Oor@ G'ford !ni"ersity Press*

Grganisation for Econoic ?o3Gperation and De"eopent* (7//7)* !nderstanding the +rain@ To&ards a

ne& earning science* Paris@ GE?D* A"aia+e onine at &&&*oecd*org*

Piaget, K* (457=)* The chidSs conception of the &ord* London@ Houtedge W egan Pau*

Piaget, K* (45.8)* The origins of inteigence in chidren* London@ Houtedge W egan Pau*

Piaget, K* (45..)* The chidSs construction of reaity* London@ Houtedge W egan Pau*

Piaget, K* (4564)* 2ioogy and no&edge* ?hicago@ !ni"ersity of ?hicago Press*

Piaget, K* (456<)* To understand is to in"ent@ The future of education* Ne& Oor@ Penguin*

Posner, 1* (45=5)* $oundations of cogniti"e science* ?a+ridge, 1A@ 1IT Press*



#antroc, K* * (455=)* ?hidren* Ne& Oor@ 1cCra&3;i*

#eye, ;* (456-)* #tress &ithout distress* Phiadephia@ Lippincott*

#teffens, 2* (7//<)* I+n a3;aytha@ $irst scientist* Daas, H@ 1organ Heynods*

Trai, H*H* (456=)* 1oecuar e'panation for inteigence, incuding its gro&th, aintenance, and faiings*

1aster0s thesis, 2rune !ni"ersity, !'+ridge, 1iddese', !* A"aia+e onine at

http@XXhd*hande*netX7-8=X675*

!nited Nations* (7//4)* 1ienniu de"eopent goas* Hetrie"ed Apri 4., 7/4/, fro

&&&*un*orgXienniugoasX*

Fygotsy, L* (45=6)* Thought and age (re"* ed*, A* ozuin, Trans*)* ?a+ridge, 1A@ 1IT Press* (Grigina

&or pu+ished 458-)*

of, 1* (7//6)* Proust and the s9uid@ The story and science of the reading +rain* Ne& Oor@ ;arper*

B$$% $, t'+ t$*+! 4# Tra!"# T$%&'aa-E*+,$a:

Touhaa3Espinosa, T* (7/4/)* The ne& science of teaching and earning@ !sing the +est of ind, +rain,

and education science in the cassroo* Ne& Oor@ ?ou+ia !ni"ersity Teachers ?oege Press*

Touhaa3Espinosa, T* (7/4/)* 1ind, 2rain, and Education #cience@ The ne& +rain3+ased earning* Ne&

Oor, NO@ *@ Norton*

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING: Part (1970-*r"",t)

r. Tra!"# T$%&'aa-E*+,$a P'..

Director of IDEA (Instituto de Enseñanza y Aprendizaje or Teaching and Learning Institute), and

Professor of Education and Neuropsychoogy at the of the !ni"ersity of #an $rancisco in %uito, Ecuador

The foo&ing is an e'cerpt fro Mind, Brain, and Education Science: A comprehensive guide to the new brain-based teaching (** Norton)

a +oo +ased on o"er -,.// studies and &ith contri+utions fro the &ord0s eaders in 12E #cience*

N"&r$+a+, B$$t /,$"2" a4$&t t'" Bra+,

Technoogy funding &as gi"en a +oost in response to the first odern coputer de"eopents in the

456/s* The use of autoated ro+ots on asse+y ines in Kapan in the 456/s triggered ne& disco"eries in

other fieds, such as edicine* In the 45=/s ipro"eents in neuroiaging and e"entuay the

de"eopent of in "i"o iaging techni9ues ena+ed o+ser"ation of the earning +rain, pro"iding insights

into the +rain0s perceptua, cogniti"e, and eotiona functions, &ith cear ree"ance for education* Despite





the e'istence of eectroencephaographs (EECs) since 4575 and eary coputerized a'ia toography

(?AT) scans and agnetic resonance iaging (1HI) (+oth 4568), neuroiaging did not reach +road use

unti the introduction of positron eission toography (PET) scans in 4565, transcrania agnetic

stiuation (T1#) in 45=., and functiona agnetic resonance iaging (f1HI) in 455/, &hen there &as an

e'posion of studies* ith ore refined neuroiaging toos, ore and ore &or &as done on heathy

patients, not ony those &ho had suffered trauas or esions* 1uch of the earier &or &ith +rain iaging

techni9ues on heathy patients focused on the areas of anguage and attention* The e'citeent o"er

increased epirica e"idence on earning echaniss triggered further interest fro teacher practitioners

in education*

<r+t+, a,2 Ear# Att"*t at @BE S!+",!"

The first dissertation on 12E science &as &ritten in 45=4 (G0De, 45=4), entited Neuroeducation@ 2rain

?opati+e Learning #trategies* G0De &as ahead of his tie and pro+a+y una&are that his "isionary

"ie& of the teaching and earning process &oud +ecoe the nor 8/ years ater* #pecuation a+out

neura echaniss in"o"ed &ith cognition and consideration of appications to education +egan inearnest in the eary 45=/s* The ipications of seecti"e +rain research on the phiosophy of education

aso hinted at the f irst considerations of &hat is no&n today as neuroethics@ ho& choices are ade &ith

ne& no&edge a+out +rain functions* The in to educationa practice &as encouraged further +y the

attept to a+e the eerging earning science as appied educationa psychoogyB in the eary 45=/s* It

can +e specuated that the reason this tite did not enjoy popuar support is due to the ac of

neuroscientific +acing used to support cais*

Education is disco"ering the +rain and thatSs a+out the +est ne&s there coud +e* * * * Anyone &ho does

not ha"e a thorough, hoistic grasp of the +rainSs architecture, purposes, and ain &ays of operating is as

far +ehind the ties as an autoo+ie designer &ithout a fu understanding of engines*B

RLesie ;art, ;uan 2rain, ;uan Learning, (45=8X4555, p* 'i )

T&o popuar +oos for educators that &ere pu+ished at this tie &ere ;o&ard Cardner0s $raes of 1ind

(45=8) and Lesie ;art0s ;uan 2rain, ;uan Learning (45=8)* These t&o +oos are considered

infuentia in educationa circes +ecause they ared the start of interest in the +rain>earning connection

in the teaching profession* Though Cardner &as inspired +y his &or &ith shattered +rainsB at 2oston

Feteran0s ;ospita in the 456/s, he did not cai that his theory of utipe inteigences reated to specific

+rain areas, nor that it &as supported +y neuroscience, though he has ceary docuented that at east

soe of the inteigences (anguage, usic, arithetic) can +e isoated +y a neurona esion* Cardner0s

&or struc a cord &ith teachers, parents, and educationa psychoogists +ecause he chaenged theaccepted "ie& of inteigenceB and, in doing so, Cardner in"ited a genera 9uestioning of &hat &e +eie"e

to +e true a+out a educationa easureents* In contrast, ;art0s &or &as, indeed, focused on ho& the

+rain earns* ;art &as one of the first to ca attention to the ac of attention gi"en to the +rain in

educationa practice* ;art said that designing educationa e'periences &ithout an understanding of the

+rain &as ie designing a go"e &ithout an understanding of the huan hand (45=8), and he caed on

teachers to +ecoe sa""ier in their practice* ;art0s &or &as onuenta in ephasizing the &hyB as

&e as the ho&B of teaching* If there is one +oo that iey aid the ground&or for a ne& genre in &riting



a+out the +rain and earning, it &as ost iey ;art0s*

C$,,"!t+6+t# C$,+t+6+ a,2 C$,tr&!t+6+t @$2"

In parae &ith the ne& "ie& of the +rain and earning offered +y ;art, and the ne& understanding of

inteigence proposed +y Cardner, the id345=/s ared the +eginning of discussion on the connecti"ist

ode in psychoogy* These odes +egan to offer a ore sophisticated "ie& of the +rain as a cope'

integration of "arious systes (thus the connecti"ist idea), rather than just the sipe ocaization theories

of the past (&hich +eie"ed that function &as ocated in O spot of a +rains)* The 45=/s aso noted a

shift fro +eha"iora studies in educationa psychoogy to those of cogniti"is and constructi"ist theories*

The genera idea of cogniti"is is that enta functions can and shoud +e e'pained +y e"idence of +rain

acti"ities that can +e easured through e'perientation* Gn the other hand, the constructi"ist ode of

earning, often attri+uted to Piaget, suggests that peope construct their o&n no&edge +ased on their

e'periences* Fie&ed together, cogniti"is and constructi"ist odes of earning pointed to the

increasingy cope' understanding of ho& huan enta capacity gro&s o"er the course of one0s

ifetie, and ho& this gro&th can +e easured +oth in reati"e and a+soute ters* #ince this earyo"eent a&ay fro +eha"ioris (the +eief that a things organiss do can and shoud +e regarded as

+eha"iors) to&ard cogniti"is, psychoogy too a turn to&ard the hard, rather than soft, socia sciences*

The interdiscipinary "ie& of earning and its natura counterpart of teaching &ere firy esta+ished in the

45=/s*

N" Ora,+;at+$,

The interdiscipinary nature of 12E science &as refected in the ission stateents of any ne&

organizations in the 45=/s* In 45=8 the Econoic and #ocia Hesearch ?ounci (E#H?) in the !nited

ingdo and the 1edica Hesearch ?ounci (1H?) &ere founded to encourage inno"ati"e and

utidiscipinary research proposas that in +asic or heath3reated neuroscience to socia factors and

socia +eha"iour*B The E#H? focuses on ins +et&een the ind, +rain, innate traits, society, cuture and

+eha"iour, &hether nora or a+nora*B The socia research ange prooted +y these groups &as

copeented +y a return to an appreciation of the natura sciences in the id345=/s* The infuence of

genetics and herita+iity on genera inteigence refocused attention on the roes that +oth nature and

nurture pay in earning, aintaining a fir spotight on the in +et&een +ioogy and pedagogy*

T'" B+rt' $ N"&r$!+",!"

2et&een 45=- and 45=5 the +irth of neuroscience +egan &ith the projection of the ne& fied, and then

+oos a+out neuroscience itsef* $or soe, neuroscience, rather than educationa neuropsychoogy, is thetrue +irth other of 12E science* Neuroscience &as one of the first truy transdiscipinary fieds, and

soe authors, such as Cardner (45=6), incuded fieds as o+"ious as psychoogy and as distant as

inguistics, artificia inteigence, and phiosophy* Neuroscience ga"e theorists a arge conceptua u+rea

under &hich they coud posit hypotheses a+out the +ioogica foundations of thining at a e"es* The

eergence of neuroscience &as not ost on educators, &ho 9uicy unified around the ne& inforation*

E2&!at+$, I,t"r"t +, t'" Bra+,



hereas education had +een discussed in socia>poitica ters during the greater part of the 45</s and

456/s, in the 45=/s the focus changed fro e9uityB to e'ceence,B and in doing so, there &as a

stronger ephasis on earning echaniss in the +rain ore than on egisation* The 2rain,

Neurosciences, and Education #pecia Interest Croup (#IC) of the Aerican Educationa Hesearch

Association (AEHA) &as fored in 45==* This #IC of the AEHA &as originay fored as the

Psychophysioogy and Education #IC and is the odest organizationa entity specificay dedicated to

ining research in the neurosciences and education in the !nited #tates* It &as once the ony

organizationa group in the &ord that hosted an annua peer3re"ie&ed "enue for authors to present

papers ining research and theory in the neurosciences and education* The purpose of the current #IC

reains to proote an understanding of neuroscience research &ithin the educationa counity, and it

achie"es this goa +y prooting neuroscience research that has ipications for educationa practice and

+y pro"iding a foru for the issues and contro"ersies connecting these fieds* In any &ays the AEHA0s

esta+ished focus on the psychophysioogy of earning &as sighty ahead of its tie &hen founded*

#horty after the #IC0s founding, an a"aanche of findings ared the Decade of the 2rain*

T'" Ear# 1990: T'" "!a2" $ t'" Bra+,

The 1ecade o the Brain (455/>4555) spurred the de"eopent of thousands of ne& findings and

dozens of theories a+out the +rain and earning* T&o +asic types of earning theories &ere strengthened

at this tie@ oduar, doain specific "ersus go+a theories*

Modular, domain-speciic theories ainy focus on e'paining the neura echaniss of sis such

as atheatics, reading, attention, and eory* These studies tend to +e "ery precise studies of "ery

specific sis, such as ho& the +rain percei"es phonees, or ho& a specific aspect of the +rain is

responsi+e for huan face eories* These are discussed in further detai in ?hapter < on Topics in

12E #cience*

5lobal theories of earning pro"ide o"erarching +eiefs a+out ho& the +rain earns +est* urt $ischer

and others, for e'ape, recognized the "aue of neuroscience research in education and +egan to

en"ision an independent fied at this tie* ?ogniti"e neuroscientists such as 2ruce 1c?andiss and #ay

#hay&itz and researchers at the !*#* Nationa Institutes of ;eath (NI;) and the !*#* Nationa Institute of

?hid ;eath and ;uan De"eopent (NI?;D) +egan doing e'perients in neuroscience a+s that had

ore direct appications to education +ased on go+a theories of ho& the +rain &ored in ters of

teaching and earning e'periences*

The 455/s &ere aso the +eginning of the o"e to +ring ore accounta+iity to Aerican education* ho&as responsi+e for good (or +ad) educationa efforts: ere the states indi"iduay responsi+e for the

country as a &hoe: ;o& a+out teachers: Accounta+iity easures put a great dea of pressure on oca

educationa systes to find the root causes of success or faiure in their schoo syste* hat +egan as

finger3pointing fro the acro3e"e e"entuay reached the ost icro3e"e possi+e@ the indi"idua

student and his or her +rain* 1any states +egan taing a hard oo at their oca popuations and

considered ho& certain characteristics, such as o& socioeconoic status, po"erty, poor nutrition, and

ac of eary educationa support ipacted the genera earning e"es achie"ed +y their students* E"en



&e3off states reaized that, once again, the chain &as ony as strong as its &eaest in* Educationa

inter"entions o"ed fro the state e"e to the indi"idua, &hich created the deand for increasingy

personaized easures*

Eary attepts +y scientists to o"e coser to teacher3friendy inforation and products +egan to escaate

in the eary 455/s* E'perienta psychoogist Paua Taa, originay at ?a+ridge !ni"ersity (no& at

Hutgers), and neurophysioogist 1ichae 1erzenich, originay fro Kohns ;opins !ni"ersity (no& at

!ni"ersity of ?aifornia at #an $rancisco), +egan organizing +rain3+ased conferences for educators

through their #cientific Learning ?orporation (+est no&n for the $ast $orord anguage progra)* These

eetings resonated &e &ith teachers and schoo districts aie &ho caored for inter"entions that &ere

coser to their reaRthat of the indi"idua student* Teacher enthusias ed to ore inno"ations in the

cassroo* Though soe of this &or &as of high 9uaity, in soe cases inno"ationB &as not tepered

+y reaity checs in research, and in others it eant prooting neuroyths*

I,t"r,at+$,a C$$*"rat+$, +, @BE S!+",!" a,2 N" I,t+t&t+$,

The eary 455/s aso sa& internationa, interdiscipinary cooperation in the discipine increase* In 455/ the

Kaes #* 1cDonne $oundation, +ased in #t* Louis, and the Pe& ?harita+e Trusts of Phiadephia,

heped found the ?entre for Neuroscience at the !ni"ersity of G'ford* The ?entre encourages &or in a

areas of neuroscience across a ree"ant discipines and e+races research on e'perienta, theoretica,

and cinica studies of perceptua anaysis, eory, anguage, and otor contro, incuding phiosophica

approaches to cognition*B In 455- The 1a' Panc Institute for ;uan ?ogniti"e and 2rain #cience (1PI

?2#) in Cerany &as founded and re"o"es around huan cogniti"e a+iities and cere+ra processes,

&ith a focus on anguage, usic, and action*B According to the 1PI &e+site@ In 4546, the first

interdiscipinary +rain research institute in the &ord &as esta+ished in 1unich, the 1eutsche

"orschungsanstalt 6r 2sychiatrie0 (Ceran Hesearch Institute of Psychiatry)*B 2oth of these

centers are pioneers in the study of neuroscience and its appication in education* $or the first tie there

&as significant funding a"aia+e to focus on the +rain in educationa settings* ;o&e"er, &ith increased

research and foraization of the discipine cae dou+ts a+out the ofty goa to in education and

neuroscience, and aong &ith these dou+ts, a good dea of septicis*

Lat" 1990: H"at'# S%"*t+!+ $ t'" E"r+, +!+*+," $ @BE S!+",!"

;eathy septicis of the discipine &as faed +y Kohn T* 2ruer0s artice Education and the 2rain@ A

2ridge Too $arB (4556), &hich &as foo&ed +y a discussion of the educationa ree"ance of research in

neuroscience +y Kaes 2yrnes and Nathan $o' in t&o seina artices@ The Educationa Hee"ance of

Hesearch in ?ogniti"e NeuroscienceB (455=a) and 1inds, 2rains, and Education@ Part II* Hesponding tothe ?oentariesB (455=+)* 2yrnes and $o'0s artices and the peer coentary that foo&ed stiuated

the +eginning of a "i+rant de+ate a+out &hat coud and shoud in neuroscience and education*

Educators &ho agreed &ith 2ruer (4556) noted that teachers coud not transate neuroscience research

directy into practice* 1any of those in agreeent &ith 2ruer +eie"ed that teachers shoud rather

e+race cogniti"e psychoogy to enhance their understanding of earning or other pree'isting fieds* ?as

for aing neuroscience educationay ree"antB and the need for creating +idirectiona coa+orations

+et&een educationa psychoogy and neuroscienceB &ere nuerous at the end of the 455/s* $acuty



seinars, such as the one hed in 455= at the !ni"ersity of ?a+ridge, considered the ipications of

neuroscience for education, and ore and ore teachers +egan to +ecoe ore directy in"o"ed in

12E, rather than sipy +eing +ind consuers of neuroscience pu+ications, &hich often did not ha"e

direct appication in the cassroo*

E2&!at+$,a D" $ @BE T$$

In 455= the Education ?oission of the #tates pu+ished a consideration of ho& neuroscience coud

ha"e educationa poicy ipications* There &as a +oo in pedagogica rethining at the end of the

455/s, incuding attepts to unite teachers around a set of accepted best-practice teaching eeents

and curricuuXesson panning* hie these ethods &ere not the product of neuroscientific research,

they no&ingy or not appied 12E standards, thus gi"ing the credi+iity +eyond the fied of education*

This point is "ery iportant +ecause it aes the distinction +et&een inforation produced +y the ne&

12E discipine and inforation that is used in the fied of education that adheres to 12E principes* $or

e'ape, it is iportant to note, that curricuu panning in iggins and 1cTighe0s 7nderstanding by

1esign is structured around attention spans and eory, t&o aspects that are fundaenta to 12Escience, though the authors do not cai to +ase their theory on 12E principes*

#oe teachers +egan hearing certain essages fro neuroscience, such as the +eief that there are no

t&o +rains aie, and +egan foruating their practice around these neuroscientific findings* $or e'ape,

there &as a o"eent to differentiate instruction +ased on the recognition of indi"idua earning a+iities

and needs* Gne of the ost infuentia +oos reated to earning &as sponsored +y the Nationa Hesearch

?ounci and updated in 7//8 +y 2ransford, 2ro&n, and ?ocing* Their 8ow 2eople !earn (7//8)

reains an in"aua+e reference for teachers* Gther high39uaity research &as aso produced at this tie,

resuting in teaching inter"entions that &ere pro"en in the a+ and appied in cassroos and hoes

around the !nited #tates* $or e'ape, ne& neuroscientificay +ased reading curricua, such as the $ast

$orord, and HAFE3G (retrie"a, autoaticity, "oca+uary, engageent &ith anguage, orthography),

&ere de"eoped +y neuroscientists and ha"e +een appied in the cassroo successfuy since the ate

455/s (see ?hapter 6)* The initia e"auations of these progras indicated "ery fa"ora+e resuts,

deonstrating that coa+orati"e endea"ors +et&een neuroscientists and educators can, indeed, pro"e

fruitfu* 2y the ate 455/s go+a earning theories sought to offer an o"erarching e'panation of the huan

teaching>earning process* Gne such concept &as the universal design or learning (!DL), &hich is

defined +y research on di"ersity, +rain3+ased research, utipe inteigences, and the fe'i+iity of digita

edia,B (Cray #ith, 7//=, p* "ii)* !DL is eant to guide the creation of fe'i+e earning en"ironentsB

that are conduci"e to differentiated earning structures in the cassroo* !DL not ony joins neuroscience

and education +ut aso integrated technoogy as &e as ha"ing an eye to&ard the psychoogica &e3

+eing of a students in the cassroo*

P$*&ar Pr" Tr+" t$ F+ t'" $+2 +t' ar#+, "r"" $ S&!!"

Teacher interest in the +rain gre&, +ut fe& professiona progras in uni"ersities offered courses in this

discipine, and thus popuar3press +oos a+out +rain3+ased earning fourished to fi the "oid at the end of

the 455/s* Gne of the +est seing +oos of a tie aied at teachers, Teaching with the Brain in

Mind , &as pu+ished in its first edition at this tie* In 4555 the first Learning 2rain EPG in #an Diego



gathered o"er 6// teachers and scientists, attesting to the popuarity of anything a+eed brain-based at

the tie*

The first Learning W the 2rain ?onferenceB too pace on the ;ar"ard !ni"ersity and 1IT capuses in

4556 and sought to ee"ate the cai+er of teacher>neuroscientist encounters and +egan fora eetings

at the end of the 455/s* The 7<th conference in this series too pace in 1ay 7/4/ and dre& o"er 7,///

peope in attendance, osty educators, pointing to an increasing interest +y teachers in the eerging

discipine* The current conference series is cosponsored +y the 1ind, 2rain, and Education Progra at

;ar"ard Craduate #choo of Education, the #choo of Education at Kohns ;opins !ni"ersity, the ?oer

#choo De"eopent Progra (Oae !ni"ersity #choo of 1edicine), the Neuroscience Hesearch Institute

(!ni"ersity of ?aifornia, #anta 2ar+ara), the #choo of Education at #tanford !ni"ersity, the ?enter for

the #tudy of Learning at Ceorgeto&n !ni"ersity, the Dana Aiance for 2rain Initiati"es, the ?ogniti"e

?ontro and De"eopent La+ (!ni"ersity of ?aifornia, 2ereey), the Nationa Association of Eeentary

#choo Principas, the Nationa Association of #econdary #choo Principas, and others* The &ide range

of high39uaity sponsors of this conference series deonstrates a deep interest +y earning institutions to

incorporate ore neuroscience understanding into their teacher education*

The gro&th in pu+ications during the 455/s sho&s the ipact that the Decade of the 2rain had on

encouraging research in the discipine, as &e as the great ipact that technoogy has payed in pro"iding

continuay ipro"ed eans of o+ser"ing heathy, functioning heathy, huan +rains* 2y 7/4/ the nu+er

of iportant &or directy reated to 12E scienceRrather than that deri"ed fro the parent fieds of

neuroscience, psychoogy, or pedagogyR&as nuerous signaing gro&ing interest, research, and

appication of concepts in the eerging discipine* ;o&e"er, any 9uestioned the 9uaity of the

inforation to &hich teachers &ere +eing e'posed*

N" A!a2"+! Pr$ra +, @BE S!+",!"

In the ate 455/s any fora associations &ere aunched around the eerging discipine in order to try

and put paraeters on 9uaity3contro 9uestions* ?orne !ni"ersity0s #acer Institute for De"eopenta

Psycho+ioogy &as founded in 455= and has increasingy focused on educationa neuroscience* Across

the Atantic, the 2egian #ociety for Neuroscience &as founded in the sae year, sho&ing that the interest

in the +rain and earning &as, indeed, an internationa phenoenon* Acadeic progras aso +egan to

gro& at this tie* After se"era years of panning (455637//4) ;ar"ard !ni"ersity aunched its 1aster0s

Progra in 1ind, 2rain, and Education in 7//4>7//7* In a ie fashion, the !ni"ersity of ?a+ridge0s

Progra in Psychoogy and Neuroscience in Education started in 7//-* The Transfer ?entre for

Neuroscience and Learning in !, Cerany (7//-), 2risto !ni"ersity0s ?entre for Neuroscience and

Education (7//.), and the start of The Learning La+ in Denar (7//.) &ere a andar +eginnings inan attept to structure the eerging discipine* Gther progras a"aia+e in 12E science +y 7//.

incuded those at the !ni"ersity of Te'as at Arington, the !ni"ersity of #outhern ?aifornia, 2eijing Nora

!ni"ersity, and #outheast !ni"ersity in Nanjing*

T'" 000: (@+)I,t"r*r"tat+$, $ N"&r$!+",!" +, E2&!at+$,

$ro 7/// to 7//. there &as a refineent of no&edge a+out the de"eopenta processes of earning,



&hich ed to a proiferation of neuroscientific inforation &ritten for and +y educators* hie soe

educators shared easured, 9uaity ad"ice to teachers, soe popuar press &riters prooted

coerciay attracti"e +ut neuroscientificay inaccurate cais* $or e'ape, discussions a+out r ight-

brained children in a let-brained world ,B or guides on ho& to use right-brain styles or

con9uering clutter, mastering time, and reaching your goals,B &hich &ere popuar in the

455/s, continued to +e +ought in the thousands, as in the case of Boost our Brain 2ower ee0by ee0: (+ Techni9ues to Ma0e ou Smarter * This easy acceptance of fase inforation

earned any teachers a +ad reputation in hard science circes* Teachers &ere accused of ooing for

9uic fi'esB rather than respected as 9uaity researchers these"es* This poor reputation ed to the

rejection of the a+e +rain3+ased educationB +ecause it &as associated &ith any fase cais a+out the

+rain and earning*

C&tt+,-E2" T"!',$$#

2rain iaging technoogy too a eap at the turn of the century &ith ;ideai oizui0s de"eopent of

Gptica Topography\, &hich &as announced in 455. and coerciaized +y ;itachi 1edica ?orporationin 7//4 as a safe, patient3friendy +rain iaging techni9ue that uses ight to easure heodynaic

changes in the +rain*B This technoogy &as re"outionary in that there is no need for a specia easuring

en"ironent or patient restraint during e'ainations, ]so^ +rain functions can +e easured in a natura

state*B This technoogy ade it possi+e to iage +rain functions of +a+ies, for e'ape, pre"iousy

thought ipossi+e, &hich opened a yriad of possi+e appication]s^ in studies of earning and

education*B This technoogica ad"ance &as a huge steppingstone aong the path to&ard +etter ins

+et&een the a+oratory and the cassroo* oizui0s in"ention is a great o"e to&ards o"ing

a+oratory accuracy into reaistic cassroo settings*

"igure $* 8idea0i ;oi<umi and 8itachi.s new Brain =maging Technology: >pticalTopography



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T'" B+rt' $ a N" +!+*+,": @BE S!+",!"

It can +e said that the 12E discipine &as +orn in se"era different paces at once, a across the go+e*

At the turn of the 74st century fora attepts to unify interdiscipinary concepts in earning and teaching

&ere nuerous* In 7/// the Austraian Nationa Neuroscience $aciity &as founded to synthesize and

integrate "arious institutiona findings in order to ee"ate the e"e of neuroscience and education

research* In 7/// the Neurosciences India Croup &as aso founded &ith the ission to epo&er through

educationB +y pursuing cutting3edge research on earning* 2oth reaized the usefuness of 12E research

for cassroo purposes* 1any uni"ersities, such as the !ni"ersity of 1e+ourne in its 1ind, 2rain and

2eha"iour foru series, ed go+a refection on the reationship +et&een inteigence and education fro



a neuroscientific perspecti"e*

#oe of the eariest fora organizations prooting 12E +eiefs around the &ord incuded IN#EH10s

($rench Nationa Institute of ;eath and 1edica Hesearch) ?ogniti"e Neuroiaging !nit in $rance

(7//4), and the G'ford Neuroscience Education $oru (7//4) in the !nited ingdo* 2ut perhaps the

greatest eader in this o"eent &as the consorted effort of the Grganisation for Econoic ?o3operation

and De"eopent (GE?D), &hich conducted three internationa conferences at this tie to synthesize

opinions and concerns and to design agendas for research in the eerging discipine at the intersection

of neuroscience, psychoogy, and education* These conferences too pace in Ne& Oor (7///), Cranada,

#pain (7//4), and Toyo (7//4) and ser"ed to identify eaders, as &e as the ajor chaenges facing

the* The -//th anni"ersary eeting of the Pontifica Acadey of #ciences in No"e+er 7//8 aso

focused on ind, +rain, and education and pro"ided historica conte't for understanding the significant

changes in education that &oud resut fro the +irth of this ne& earning science*

G$6"r,",t E$rt t$ D,+t" t'" Bra+, a,2 L"ar,+, I,+t+at+6"

#e"era go"ernent progras reated to the eerging discipine started in the eary 7///s as &e* The

Kapan Hesearch Institute of #cience and Technoogy (7//4) and the su+se9uent creation of the HIEN

Institute in Kapan (7//7) ephasized fe'i+e, interdiscipinary research a+out the +rain and earning* At

the end of 7//7, the Dutch #cience ?ounci, in consutation &ith the Dutch 1inistry of Education, ?uture

and #cience, set up the 2rain and Learning ?oittee* The Dutch #cience ?ounci undertoo initiati"es

to stiuate an acti"e e'change aong +rain scientists, cogniti"e scientists, and educationa scientists

a+out educationa practices* This e'change cuinated in a +oo of state3of3the3art findings, Learning to

no& the 2rain (Dutch #cience ?ounci, 7//.)* The trend to&ard appying neuroscientific concepts in

educationa settings &as paraeed +y an increasingy recepti"e society, eager for ne& toos to co+at

pro+es in education*

T'" F+rt I,t"r,at+$,a S$!+"t# R"at"2 t$ @BE S!+",!"

In 7//- the foration of the Internationa 1ind, 2rain, and Education #ociety (I12E#) &as announced at

the conference on !sa+e no&edge in 1ind, 2rain, and Education at ;ar"ard !ni"ersity* #ince its

inception, I12E# has hed increasingy arger society eetings, a fact that speas to the &iingness of

e+ers to &ear the 12E hat,B as opposed to reaining soey in their fied of foration (as educationa

psychoogists, cogniti"e neuroscientists, or other&ise)* In 7//. the 1e'ican #ociety for the

Neurosciences &as founded, deonstrating the spread of 12E "aues in paces other than Europe,

Kapan, and the !nited #tates* This &as foo&ed +y an inno"ati"e doctorate progra in the sae year@

The Koint Internationa Neuroscience Ph*D* Progra united "arious &ord perspecti"es on the eergingdiscipine and &as sponsored +y the !ni"ersity of 2oogna (Itay), !ni"ersitJ ?aude 2ernard (Lyon,

$rance), !ni"ersity ?oege of London (!**), !ni"ersity of 2angor (aes, !**), and ae $orest

!ni"ersity, #choo of 1edicine (North ?aroina, !*#*A*)* Inno"ations in the discipine +egan to sno&+a +y

7/4/s*

T'" N" C'a",": Tra,2+!+*+,ar# C$&,+!at+$,



These "arious initiati"es con"erged to create the go+a transdiscipinary discipine of 12E science*

2et&een 7//- and 7//< any concrete suggestions circuated a+out ho& to ipro"e interdiscipinary

counication in the eerging discipine* Acti"ists prooting a fora union caed attention to the ac of

coon "oca+uary and the chaenges different &ord"ie&s paced on ad"anceents in the discipine*

This chaenge &as faced, head on, +y a handfu of professionas &ho studied &ithin t&o, if not a three,

of the parent fieds (soe of their suggestions are found in ?hapter 5)* An increasing nu+er of

indi"iduas &ho &ere foray trained in +oth pedagogy and neuroscience +egan to pu+ish &or that is

accepta+e to neuroscientists, usefu to educators, and &ith an appea to psychoogists as &e* !sha

Cos&ai and Kudy iis are e'apes of neuroscientists turned educators in the ne& profession of 12E

science* Their e'pertise on the +rain and their cear and coherent friendy &riting styes +rought any a

teacher to the 12E foc* #iiary, Patricia ofe and Da"id #ousa &ent fro teacher status to 12E

e'perts* They, too, pro"ide coherent and easy3to3read e"idence3+ased inforation to teachers and hep

neuroscientists "ie& earning pro+es in the ore practica ight of the cassroo setting*

Institutes and organizations de"oted e'cusi"ey to the goas of the eerging discipine continued to gro&,

as &ith the G'ford !ni"ersity Institute for the $uture of the 1ind (7//<), e"idence of the continuaforaization of the discipine* The short +ut eegant +oo, The Birth o a !earning Science (GE?D,

7//6), added to the go+a recognition of a ne& discipine as a shared "ie& +y the 8/ GE?D e+er

countries (Austraia, Austria, 2egiu, ?anada, ?zech Hepu+ic, Denar, $inand, $rance, Cerany,

Creece, ;ungary, Iceand, Ireand, Itay, Kapan, orea, Lu'e+ourg, 1e'ico, Netherands, Ne& eaand,

Nor&ay, Poand, Portuga, #o"a Hepu+ic, #pain, #&eden, #&itzerand, Turey, !nited ingdo, !nited

#tates)* In a andar e"ent, the ne& discipine of 12E science aunched the f irst issue of the

internationa Mind, Brain, and Education ?ournal in 1arch 7//6, thans to efforts +y urt $ischer

and Da"id Danie* This schoary journa anaged &hat fe& pu+ications +efore had done@ Esta+ish a

readership that incuded cogniti"e neuroscientists, teachers, and educationa psychoogists a in one*

D,+t+, t'" +!+*+,": T"a!'"r P#!'$$+t a,2 N"&r$!+",t+t <$r%+, T$"t'"r

#tarting a+out 7//6 there &ere any concerted efforts to further integrate teachers into the research

process through conferences and society eetings, as &ith #ue Picering and Pau ;o&ard3

Kones0s Educator.s &iews on the 4ole o @euroscience in Education: "indings rom a

Study o 7; and =nternational 2erspectives (7//6), and the first Internationa 1ind, 2rain, and

Education #ociety conference in 7//6 in $ort orth, Te'as, organized +y 1arc #ch&artz and the

#outh&est ?enter for 12E at the !ni"ersity of Te'as at Arington* De"eopenta psychoogy,

neuroscience, and earning theory +ecae a ore coon co+ination in pu+ications such as 8uman

Behavior, !earning, and the 1eveloping Brain: Typical 1evelopment (?och, $ischer, W

Da&son, 7//6), and The?ossey-Bass 4eader on the Brain and !earning (iey, 7//=)* Thesecond conference of the Internationa 1ind, 2rain, and Education #ociety &as hed in Phiadephia in

1ay 7//5, &ith e+ership steadiy on the rise* ith +oth pu+ications and society eeting attendance

increasing, it sees that 12E professiona foration is gro&ing* ith increased acceptance, ho&e"er,

coes an increased responsi+iity* #tarting around 7//- 9uestions of neuroethics +egan to eerge*

N"&r$"t'+! a,2 S"-Cr+t+!+ +, @BE S!+",!"



As the discipine +ecae ore esta+ished, conse9uences of its &or &ere considered and there &as a

gro&ing concern a+out neuroethics* ?as for neuroethica decisions +egan to increase as the proper

use of inforation a+out indi"idua +rains +ecae ore pu+icy a"aia+e* $or e'ape, there are

increased cas for position stateents on eory3 enhancing drugs, the +enefits and potentia

dra&+acs of scanning students0 +rains for defects,B and the responsi+iities that teachers and parents

ha"e for the proper care of chidren0s +rains* A of these different ethica areas pose cope' chaenges

to practitioners in the future* The discipine as a &hoe, as &e as each indi"idua professiona, &i ha"e

to refect upon these issues*

Lined to ethica concerns &ere artices that chaenged findings in the 455/s reated to earning concepts

in the de"eoping discipine* Ne& sef3criticiss are refecti"e of aturation, &hich is no& od enough to

oo +ac at its o&n research and criti9ue itsef* Nuerous artices +egan to appear ga"e a sap on the

&rist to those &ho dared to proote haf3truths and neuroyths a+out the discipine* This heathy

judgent of research in the discipine heped to ee"ate standards, +ut it aso increased tensions in the

reationships fored +y professionas in education, psychoogy, and neuroscience* Peas fro a sides

caed for ipro"ed counication and sharing +y the eary 7///s* Teachers +egged neuroscience to tethe &hich inforation &as goodB and &hat &as +adB during the I12E# conferences (7//6)*

Neuroscientists reacted to criticiss that their &or reated to a+oratory anias, not to teachers and their

students, and ased teachers for rea3ifeB pro+es upon &hich to structure future research*

Psychoogists +egan to react to educators0 cas to ground theory in ore practice*

A P",2&& S+, r$ t'" @+,2 t$ t'" Bra+, a,2 Ba!% Aa+,

2y the end of 7//6 it +ecae cear that 12E science had e'perienced a penduu s&ing* $ro the tie

of the Crees through the Decade of the 2rain in the 455/s there &as an deand to ground teaching in

science, or ore specificay, in inforation a+out the +rain* Around the start of the 74st century, there

&as a change, ho&e"er* 1any scientists reinded the discipine that it &as osing its ind in fa"or of the

+rain,B and that a o"e to&ard +ioogica deterinisB &as un+aanced, at +est, and dangerous, at

&orst* These o+ser"ations returned a ore huan face to the eerging discipine and deanded a

happy ediu +et&een research and practice as &e as +et&een the a+oratory and the cassroo* This

penduu s&ing +rings the +aance +ac to the idde and "aues +oth the science as &e as the art of

teaching*

In 7//= an internationa Dephi pane of 7/ e'perts in the eerging discipine sought to create a

frae&or for standards* The concerted efforts +y neuroscientists, psychoogists, and educators on this

pane +rought any ey 9uestions fro the +ac+urner into the spotight* ho shoud teach and ho& and

&hat shoud +e taught to tae ad"antage of no&edge a+out the +rain +ecae the ey issues ineducation* These issues incuded the creation of standards and a shared anguage as &e as core topics

and thees in the ne& science of teaching and earning, a of &hich is discussed in the foo&ing

chapters*

2y the end of the first decade in the ne& ienniu the nu+ers in 12E science increased fro a

handfu of enthusiasts to thousands* Internationa gatherings such as E'porations in Learning and the

2rainB Learning and the 2rainB The Internationa 1ind, 2rain, and Education ?onferenceB Learning



2rain EuropeB Priary Teacher !@ Learning 2rain Europe ?onference,B and the 2eha"ior and 2rain

?onferenceB &ere just a fe& of the society eetings that too pace in the !nited #tates and the !nited

ingdo in 7//=* $or the first tie, +oos used the ind, +rain, and educationB a+e in their tites@The

1evelopmental 4elations between Mind, Brain and Education: Essays in 8onor o

4obbie Case Mind, Brain, and Education in 4eading 1isorders and The @ew Science

o Teaching and !earning: 7sing the Best o Mind, Brain, and Education Science in the

?assroo &ere a pu+ished +et&een 7//5 and 7/4/*

12E science has its roots in thousands of years of acadeic refection* This +rief history of 12E science

tracs its parae de"eopent around the &ord in psychoogy, education, and neuroscienceRa

de"eopent that +ecae an integrated effort in the 455/s and a ne& acadeic discipine around 7//->

7//<* Gnce unified, the ne& discipine ased soe o+"ious 9uestions of its e+ership@ 1ost

iportanty, &hat are the goas of the ne& discipine, and +y &hat standards are e+ers +ound: These

9uestions are e'pored inMind, Brain, and Education Science (Touhaa3Espinosa, 7/4/)*

R""r",!"

AEHA (Aerican Educationa Hesearch Association) 2rain, Neurosciences and Education* (7//=)*

Hetrie"ed Apri -, 7//=, fro http@XX&&*Tc*!n* EduXYAthe///6X2nesigX*

Anderson, K* (455.)* Learning and eory@ An integrated approach* Ne& Oor@ iey*

Ansari, D* (7//.a, No")* Pa"ing the &ay to&ards eaningfu interactions +et&een neuroscience and

education* De"eopenta #cience, =(<), -<<>-<6*

Ansari, D* (7//.+)* Tie to use neuroscience findings in teacher training* Nature (#cientific

?orrespondence), -86(6/..), 7<*

2erninger, F*, W ?orina, D* (455=)* 1aing cogniti"e neuroscience educationay ree"ant@ ?reating

+idirectiona coa+orations +et&een educationa psychoogy and cogniti"e neuroscience* Educationa

Psychoogy He"ie&, 4/(8), 8-8>8.-*

2ransford, K*, 2ro&n, A*L*, W ?ocing, H*H* (7//=)* 1ind and +rain* In The Kossey32ass reader on the

+rain and earning (pp* =5>4/=)* #an $rancisco@ iey*

2ransford, K*, 2ro&n, A*L*, W ?ocing, H*H* (Eds*)* (7//8)* ;o& peope earn@ 2rain, ind, e'perience andschoo* ashington, D?@ Nationa Acadey Press*

2ransford, K*, 2ro&n, A*L*, ?ocing, H*H*, Dono"an, 1*#*, Peegrino, K** W Nationa Hesearch ?ounci*

(Eds*)* (4555)* ;o& peope earn@ 2ridging research and practice* ashington, D?@ Nationa Acadey

Press*

2ruer, K* (4556)* Education and the +rain@ A +ridge too far* Educationa Hesearcher, 7<(=), ->4<*



Cazzaniga, 1* (Ed*)* (45=-)* ;and+oo of cogniti"e neuroscience* Ne& Oor@ Penu Press*

Ceae, K* (7///)* noc do&n the fences@ Ipications of +rain science for education* Principa 1atters,

Apri, -4>-8*

Ceae, K* (7//.a)* Educationa neuroscience and neuroscientific education@ In search of a utua idde

&ay* Hesearch Inteigence, 57, 4/>48*

Ceae, K*, W ?ooper, P* (7//8)* ?ogniti"e neuroscience@ ipications for education: estinster #tudies

in Education, 7<(4), 6>7/*

Cia, H* (4555)* ?oputer3assisted anguage inter"ention using $ast $orord@ Theoretica and

epirica considerations for cinica decision3aing* Language, #peech and ;earing #er"ices in

#choos, 8/(-), 8<8>86/*

Cannon, * (Ed*)* (7//6)* Defining right and &rong in +rain science@ Essentia readings in neuroethics*Ne& Oor@ Dana Press*

Cos&ai, !* (7//-)* Neuroscience and education* 2ritish Kourna of Educationa Psychoogy, 6-, 4>4-*

Cos&ai, !* (7//.a)* The +rain in the cassroo: The state of the art* De"eopenta #cience, =(<),

-<=>-<5*

Cos&ai, !* (7//<)* Neuroscience and education@ $ro research to practice* Nature He"ie&s

Neuroscience 6(.), -/<>-48*

;art, L* (4555)* ;uan +rain and huan earning (.th ed*)* ent, A@ 2oos for Educators* (Grigina

pu+ished in 45=8)*

;o&ard3Kones, P* (7//.)* An in"aua+e foundation for +etter +ridges* De"eopenta #cience, =(<), -6/>

-64*

;o&ard3Kones, P*, W Picering, #* (7//<)* Perception of the roe of neuroscience in education@ #uary

report for the DfE# Inno"ation !nit* Hetrie"ed Kanuary 4-, 7//=, fro

http@XX&&&*+risto*ac*uXeducationXresearchXnet&orsXnenet*

Ies, K* (7//.)* Neuroethics in the 74st century* G'ford, !@ G'ford !ni"ersity Press*

Ies, K* (7//.)* Neuroethics in the 74st century* G'ford, !@ G'ford !ni"ersity Press*

Ies, K*, W Haffin, T (7//7)* Neuroethics@ A ne& discipine is eerging in the study of +rain and cognition*

2rain and ?ognition ./(8), 8-4>8--*

Kensen, E* (455=+)* Teaching &ith the +rain in ind* Ae'andria, FA@ Association for #uper"ision and



?urricuu De"eopent*

Kensen, E* (7//<a)* Enriching the +rain@ ;o& to a'iize e"ery earner0s potentia* #an $rancisco@ iey*

ein, H*, W 1c1uen, P* (Eds*)* (4555)* ?on"erging ethods for understanding reading and dyse'ia*

?a+ridge, 1A@ 1IT Press*

La"in, E* (7//.)* !sing technoogy to de"eop phoneic a&areness and auditory processing sis to

enhance acadeic perforance@ A 9uaitati"e anaysis of the $ast $orord anguage product* 1aster0s

thesis, 2an #treet ?oege of Education, Ne& Oor, NO*

Le"ine, 1* (7///)* A ind at a tie* Ne& Oor@ #ion W #chuster*

Loe+, D*, #tore, ?*, W $ey, 1*E* (7//4)* Language changes associated &ith $ast $orord3anguage@

E"idence for case studies* Aerican Kourna of #peech>Language Pathoogy, 4/(8), 74<>784*

Lucas, 2* (7//<)* 2oost your +rain po&er &ee +y &ee@ .7 techni9ues to ae you sarter* London@

Duncan 2aird*

Luhuh, D* (4558)* Grganizing for the creati"e person@ Hight3+rain styes for con9uering cutter,

astering tie, and reaching your goas* Ne& Oor@ Three Hi"ers Press*

1c?eand, K*, $edan, K*, Adeson, 2*, 2o&er, C*, W 1cDerott, D* (45=<)* ?onnectionist odes and

cogniti"e science@ Coas, directions, and ipications* ashington, D?@ Heport to the Nationa #cience

$oundation*

1cDonnod, L* (45=4)* Ipications of seecti"e +rain research for the phiosophy of education* Doctora

dissertation, !ni"ersity of Gahoa, Noran, G* AAT =475-/7*

G0De, K* (45=4)* Neuroeducation@ 2rain copati+e earning strategies* Doctora dissertation, !ni"ersity

of ansas, La&rence, #* AAT =74==7<*

Posner, 1* (45=4)* ?ognition and neura systes* ?ognition, 4/, 7<4>7<<*

Posner, 1* (45=5)* $oundations of cogniti"e science* ?a+ridge, 1A@ 1IT Press*

Posner, 1*, W Hoth+art, 1** (455=a)* Attention, sef3reguation and consciousness* PhiosophicaTransactions of the Hoya #ociety of London, 8.8(4866), 454.>4576*

Posner, 1*, W Hoth+art, 1** (455=+)* De"eoping attention sis* In K* Hichards (Ed*), ?ogniti"e

neuroscience of attention@ A de"eopenta perspecti"e (pp* 846>878)* ;isdae, NK@ Er+au*

Posner, 1*I*, Hoth+art, 1**, W Hueda, 1*H* (7//=) 2rain echaniss and earning of high e"e sis

(pp4.434<.)* In 2attro, A*1*, $ischer, ** W Lena, P*K* eds* The Educated 2rain* ?a+ridge



!@?a+ridge !ni"ersity Press*

#chun, D* (455=)* An educationa psychoogistSs perspecti"e on cogniti"e neuroscience* Educationa

Psychoogy He"ie&, 4/(-), -44>-46*

#cientific Learning ?orporation* (7//5)* #cientific earning@ $ast$orord* Hetrie"ed August -, 7//5, fro

http@XX&&&*sciearn*coX*

#heridan, *, incheno, E*, W Cardner, ;* (7//.)* Neuroethics in education* In K* Ies (Ed*), Neuroethics

(pp* 7=4>8/=)* G'ford, !@ G'ford !ni"ersity Press* Hetrie"ed #epte+er 4/, 7//6, fro

http@XX&&&*tc*un*eduXYathe///6X2NEsigXpapersXNeuroethics*

#iege, D* (7//6)* The indfu +rain@ Hefection and attuneent in the cuti"ation of &e3+eing* Ne& Oor@

Norton*

#ousa, D* (7///)* ;o& the +rain earns* Thousand Gas, ?A@ ?or&in Press*

Touhaa3Espinosa, T* (7//=+)* #uary of the internationa Dephi e'pert sur"ey on the eerging fied

of neuroeducation (1ind, rain, and EducationXeducationa neuroscience)* !npu+ished anuscript*

Toinson, ?* (4555)* The differentiated cassroo@ Hesponding to the needs of a earners* Ae'andria,

FA@ Association for #uper"ision and ?urricuu De"eopent*

eiss, H* (7///a)* 2rain3+ased earning* Training and De"eopent, .-(6), 7/*

est&ater, A*, W ofe, P* (7///)* The +rain3copati+e curricuu* Educationa Leadership, .=(8), -5>

.7*

iggins, C*, W 1cTighe, K* (455=X7//.)* !nderstanding +y design* Ae'andria, FA@ Association for

#uper"ision and ?urricuu De"eopent*

iis, K* (7//<)* Hesearch3+ased strategies to ignite student earning@ insights fro a neuroogist and

cassroo teacher* Ae'andria, FA@ Association for #uper"ision and ?urricuu De"eopent*

of, 1* (7//=)* A triptych of the reading +rain@ E"oution, de"eopent, pathoogy, and its inter"entions*

In A* 2attro, * * $ischer, W P*K* LJna (Eds*), The educated +rain (pp* 4=8>456)* ?a+ridge, !@

?a+ridge !ni"ersity Press*

ofe, P* (7//4a)* 2rain atters@ Transating research into cassroo practice* Ae'andria, FA@

Association for #uper"ision and ?urricuu De"eopent*

underich, *, 2e, A*, W $ord, A* (7//.)* Ipro"ing earning through understanding of +rain science

research* Learning A+stracts, =(4), -4>-8*



eean, #*, Danies, ;* W ;yde, A* (7//.)* 2est practice@ Ne& standards for teaching and earning in

Aerica0s schoos, (8rd ed*)* Ne& ;apshire@ ;eineann*

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B$$% $, t'+ t$*+! 4# Tra!"# T$%&'aa-E*+,$a:

Touhaa3Espinosa, T* (7/4/)* The ne& science of teaching and earning@ !sing the +est of ind, +rain,

and education science in the cassroo* Ne& Oor@ ?ou+ia !ni"ersity Teachers ?oege Press*

Touhaa3Espinosa, T* (7/4/)* 1ind, 2rain, and Education #cience@ The ne& +rain3+ased earning* Ne&

Oor, NO@ *@ Norton*

a brief history of the science of learning

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