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Innovation Investigation

research

standardsd

ata

impactevaluat

ion

metrics

results

evidence

Perceptions of the role ofneuroscience in educationPaul Howard-Jones, Sue Pickering and Anne Diack


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ContentsForeword 4

1. Historical and literary contexts 8

Historical 8

Literary 10

2. Evidence 14

Initialsurveyofkeyissues 14Interviewswithteachers 15DiscussionsfromtheESRC-TLRPCollaborativeFrameworksforNeuroscienceandEducationseminars 16

3. Analysis and Discussion 17

Initialsurveyofkeyissues 17Summaryofthefindingsfromthequestionnairestudy 30

Interviewswithteachers 31Summaryofthefindingsfromtheinterviewswithteachers 45

DiscussionsfromtheESRC-TLRPCollaborativeFrameworksforNeuroscienceandEducationseminars 45

4. Conclusions 47

5. Further Consultation 48

The Innovation Unit 49

Neuroscience and Education Network 49

References 50


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ForewordAnne Diack

DirectorofMedia,CommunicationsandResearch,TheInnovationUnit

TheseriesInnovation Investigationis

publishedbyTheInnovationUnitto

makecertainresearchavailableinan

accessibleformattobothpolicymakers

andpractitioners.Perceptions of the Role of

Neuroscience in Educationisthesixthtitlein

theseries1.Othertopicscoveredareschool

effectiveness;personalisedlearning;school

councils;usingevidencefromresearchin

schools,transferandscalingupand,tobe

publishedshortly,teachersasinnovative

professionals.

InthisInnovation Investigationpublication

PaulHoward-JonesandSuePickeringofthe

UniversityofBristolpresentthefindingsof

researchcarriedoutforTheInnovationUnit.

Theresearchwascommissionedtoinforma

seriesofseminarsbetweeneducationalists

andneuroscientistsorganisedby

theTeachingandLearningResearchProgramme(TLRP)andEconomicandSocial

ResearchCouncil(ESRC)heldin2005-2006.

ThePerceptionsresearchitselfisnowto

bepublishedintheforthcomingissueof

Brain, Mind and Education,thejournalof

theInternationalMind,BrainandEducation

Society2.

TheInnovationUnitfundedthisresearch

followingapresentationPaulHoward-Jones

hadmadetoameetingofagroupofsome

ofthecountrysleadingneuroscientists,

educators,andBBCeducationpolicymakers,

andlaterTheInnovationUnit.Thisgroup

metfrom2000-2004andwaspartofamore

generaldrivetotrytobuildbridgesand

developacommonlanguage,ormodes

ofdiscussion,betweenneuroscientists

andeducators.(Otherinterdisciplinary

developmentsarecoveredinthebodyof

thisreport.)Thegroupincubatedanumber

ofinterdisciplinaryprojectsofwhichthis

particularstudywasone.

Thisreportdoesthreethings.First,itdocumentstheoveralldebateabout

neuroscienceandeducation,andit

shouldbenotedthatalthoughthisisa

developingfieldasnewscientificfindings

1 HopkinsD,ReynoldsD,Gray,J(2005),School Improvement Lessons from Research,DfESInnovationUnit.

Rudduck,J,BrownN,Hendy,L(2006),Personalised Learning and Pupil Voice: The East Sussex Project,DfESInnovationUnit.

CUREE(2007)Harnessing knowledge to practice: accessing and using evidence from research,TheInnovationUnit.

CUREE(2007) Transferring learning and taking innovation to scale: case study materials,TheInnovationUnit.

Whitty,G,WisbyE,Diack,A(2007)Real decision making? School councils in action,TheInnovationUnit.

2 Pickering,SJandHoward-Jones,PA(2007)Findings from a study of UK and International Perspectives,in:Brain,Mind and Education,1(3),109-113.

3 MaguireEAetal(2000)Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers,in:Proceedings of

the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America ,Vol.97,Issue8,4398-4403,April11,2000.


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arebeingreleasedonafrequentbasis,therearesomegeneralissuesthathave

continuingresonance.Second,itinvestigates

theperceptionsofteachersaboutthe

importanceofneuroscienceintheirtraining.

Third,itdocumentswherethissampleof

teachersobtainedtheirknowledgeabout

neuroscienceandwhatimpact,ifany,itwas

havingontheirclassroompractice.

Asthereportshows,currentteachertraining

programmesgenerallyomitthescience

ofhowwelearn,sotheinformationthat

teachersaregettingcomesfromanumber

ofsources.

Onesourceisthegeneralmedia.Thefield

ofneurosciencemakesattractivecopyfor

journalists.Thestudyofthebrainisseenas

excitingandcanlenditselftosomeheadline

grabbingclaimsorfindings.Someofthese

cancoverthesciencewithafairdegreeof

accuracyasinthestoryaboutLondontaxi

drivers3whichreportedthatcabdrivers

greymatterenlargesandadaptstohelp

themstoreadetailedmentalmapofthecity.

Taxidriversgivenbrainscansbyscientists

atUniversityCollegeLondonwerefoundtohavedifferencesinthehippocampus

comparedwithotherpeople.Partsoftheir

hippocampiwerelarger.(Thehippocampus

isthepartofthebrainassociatedwith

navigation.)Thescientistsalsofoundpart

ofthehippocampusgrewlargerasthetaxi

driversspentmoretimeonthejob.Although

notalltheindividualelementsofthe

researchwerereported,thebasicfindingsdidgetwidespreadpressattentionhelped,

also,probably,bywordofmouthfromsome

Londoncabdrivers!Notallbrainresearch

findingsoffersuchmediafriendlyhookson

whichtohangastory.

Othersourcesofinformationfortheteachingprofessionareconferences,in-

servicetrainingcourses,books,materials

andjournals(bothprofessionaland

academic).Inanumberofinstances

informationfromthesesourcesisbasedon

so-calledbrain-basedteachingmethods.

FollowingthedeclarationbytheUSin1990

forthenexttenyearstobetheDecade

oftheBrain.authorities,teachersandentrepreneursdevelopedandpromoted

anumberofbrain-basededucationideas.

Thosethataremoreevidence-based,such

asstrategiesforenhancedmemory,tendto

drawtheirevidencefrompsychology,rather

thanneuroscience.Othershavenotbeen

scientificallyoreducationallyassessedwith

anyrigour,butoftenusepseudo-scientific

explanationstosupporttheircredibility.


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In2006,theOfficeofEconomicCooperationandDevelopmentpublishedareportofan

internationalconferenceonPersonalising

EducationheldinLondon,organised

jointlybytheOCED,TheInnovationUnit

andthethink-tankDemos.Oneofthe

paperspresentedattheconferencewas

onBrainResearchandLearningOverthe

LifeCycleinwhichManfredSpitzer,head

ofthePsychiatricHospitalattheUniversityofUlminGermany,arguedthatwhilewe

mightbeinthecomparativelyearlystages

ofunderstandinghowthebrainfunctions,

weknowenoughtobetonthefruitfulness

ofpersonalisedlearning4.(Personalisation

andhowitcanberesourcedinschoolsis

oneofthestrandsofTheInnovationUnits

NextPracticeinEducationprogramme.)

Itmaywellbethatapartfromtryingto

understandsomeofthepopularideas

aboutthebrainthathaveflourishedandare

impactingonteachingandlearning,more

generalthemessuchaspersonalisation

andtheroleofemotioninlearningdeserve

furtherscientificresearchandwillprovide

fruitfullinesofenquiry.

Whatisclearisthatitisimportantforeducationalistsandteachersalongwith

scientistsandresearcherstosharetogether

whattheyarefindingoutaboutsuccessful

learninginthisnewinterdisciplinaryfield

ofneuroscienceandeducation,andifyou

wanttotakesomeoftheseissuesfurther,

logontoTheInnovationUnitwebsite

(www.innovation-unit.co.uk)tofindouthow

todebatethefindingsandimplicationsof

thisreport.

Theauthorsofthis Innovation Investigationnotethatifsuchprogrammesareeffective,

wemaynotyetunderstandwhy.These

programmesincludeinitiativessuchasBrain

Gymandmethodsintendedtoappealto

differentbrain-basedlearningstyles(eg

visual,auditoryandkinaestheticlearning

-orVAK).Althoughthescientificbasisof

thesemethodsishighlycontentious,many

teachersreportedthattheyhadfoundthemveryuseful,particularlywhenchildrenwere

lessreceptivetomoretraditionalteaching

methods.Onerespondentsaidthatsuch

approachesimprovedthesuccessofthe

teachingandlearningandledtohappier

childrenwhoaremoreengagedinthe

activities.

However,asDrPaulHoward-Jones,co-authorofthisreport,saysMuchofwhat

teachersperceiveasbrain-basedteaching,

suchaseducationalkinesiology,ispromoted

inverydubiouspseudo-scientifictermsand

westilldontreallyknowhow,andevenif,

itworks.Otherprogrammes,suchasthose

involvinglearningstyles,drawonsome

meaningfulsciencebut,whenchildrenget

labelledasavisuallearneroranauditorylearnerandareonlyevertaughtineither

avisualorauditoryway,thenthescience

isbeingseriouslyover-interpretedand

misapplied.Thegoodnews,however,is

thateffortstobridgethegapbetween

neuroscienceandeducationaredebunking

manyoftheseideas,andopeningupfresh

opportunitiesforvaluableandexciting

initiativesthatarebothscientificallyand

educationallysound.

4 Spitzer.M(2006)Brain Research and Learning over the Life Cycle in Personalising Learning (Schooling for

Tomorrow),OCEDParis.


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1. Historical and literary contexts

Historical

In1990,thedecadeofthebrainwas

launchedintheUS.Thisprompted

successfulattemptsbyauthorities,teachers

andentrepreneurstopromoteanumber

ofbrain-basededucationideassuchas

Rightbrainversusleftbrainthinking

andindividuals,BrainGymandlearning

styles.Thosebrain-basedideasthatare

moreevidence-based,suchasstrategies

forenhancedmemory,tendtodrawtheir

evidencefrompsychology,ratherthan

neuroscience(Bruer,1999).Others,suchas

thosefoundinbraingym,havenotbeenscientificallyoreducationallyassessedwith

anyrigour,butoftenusepseudo-scientific

explanationstosupporttheircredibility.

Ifsuchprogrammesareeffective,wemay

notyetunderstandwhy.Thepotentialease

andwillingnessbywhichneuroscientific

findingsarere-interpretedineducational

andpoliticaldomainswasdemonstrated

mostpowerfullyintheearlyyearseducationdebate.In1996,HillaryClintondecided

toemphasiseatawell-publicisedWhite

Housemeetingthatbrainresearchshowed

howtheenvironmentdeterminedwhether

childrengrowuptobepeacefulorviolent

citizens,focusedorundisciplinedworkers,

attentiveordetachedparents.Such

ideasinevitablyinfluencedattitudesabout

theimportanceofearlyyearseducation

asreflected,intheUK,bytheintroduction

oftheEarlyLearningGoalsin1999.And

yet,alaterreviewoftheneuroscience

literaturehasconcludedthatevidencefrom

brainresearchdoesnotsupportaselective

educationalfocusonchildrensearliestyears

(BlakemoreandFrith,2005,p35).

About10yearsaftertheflourishingofthis

initial,andoftenunscientific,interpretation

ofthebrainsroleineducation,asmall

numberofneuroscientistsbegan

persistentandactiveeffortstosuggest

thateducationcouldindeedbenefitfrom

greaterawarenessofourunderstanding

ofthebrain.Mostnotably,UtaFrithand

hercolleagueSarah-JayneBlakemore

werecommissionedbytheTeachingand

LearningResearchProgramme(TLRP)to

carryoutareviewofneuroscientificfindings

thatmaybeofrelevancetoeducators

(BlakemoreandFrith,2000).Thisreview

attackedanumberofmyths,includingthose

concerningcriticalperiods,andhighlighted

somenewareasofpotentialinterestto

educatorssuchastheroleofsleepin

learning.Ratherthanpointoutareaswhere

neurosciencecouldbeimmediatelyapplied

ineducation,thereviewsoughttohighlight

neuroscientificquestionsthatmightbe

ofinteresttoeducators,thusmakingan

importantinitialsteptowardsdefining

aninterdisciplinaryareaofcollaborative

research.InJanuary2001,topromotefurtherdiscussionaboutapossibleresearch

agenda,theTLRPwroteto439institutions,

1 ThereisevidencethatBrainGymimprovesreactiontime(SifftandKahlsa,1991),buttheunderlying

mechanismsandtherelevanceofthisfindingtoeducationhavenotbeenwellresearched.


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including233scientificinstitutionsand193educationdepartmentsinhigher

education,askingforcommentsonthe

reportbyBlakemoreandFrith.Inaddition

toidentifyinganyomissions,respondents

wereparticularlyaskedtoprovide(inbold)

identificationofkeyresearchquestions,

theirpriorityandestimateoftheir

tractability(intermsofreturnonresearch

effort).

Only14educationdepartmentsresponded

totherequest.Twoofthesedeclined

tocommentonthebasisofinsufficient

expertise.Theother12identifiedthe

followingareasshowninTable1.

Inthistable,thosetopicsnotmentioned

inthereviewareshowninitalics.Thus,morethanathirdofthesuggestionsmade

byeducatorshadnotbeenpromptedby

BlakemoreandFrithscollationofexisting

neuroscientificevidencebutwerecallingfor

neurosciencetoinitiatenewlinesofinquiry

intoissuesofbroadeducationalinterest.

Thereportontheconsultationconcludedthatnocollaborativeresearchagendahad

yetemerged(Desforges,2001).However,

italsoreportedhowboththeeducation

andscientificcommunitieswerevery

complimentaryaboutbothcontentsand

timelinessofthereview,and,inresponse

totheconsultation,theLifelongLearning

Foundationwentontoselectandfunda

smallnumberofpilotresearchprojects.

In1999,atthesametimeastheBlakemore

andFrithreportwasbeingcommissionedin

theUK,thesupranationalOECDprojecton

LearningSciencesandBrainResearchwas

beinglaunchedbytheOECDsCentrefor

EducationalResearchandInnovation(CERI).

Thefirstphaseoftheproject(19992002)

broughttogetherinternationalresearcherstoreviewpotentialimplicationsofrecent

researchfindingsinbrainresearchforpolicy

makers.Thesecondphase(20022006)

channelleditsactivitieson3mainissues

(Literacy,NumeracyandLifelongLearning)

within3trans-disciplinaryandinternational

Table 1Proposed area for research questions Number of respondents identifying

this area

Developmentaldisorders,includingdyslexia 4

Implicit/explicitmemory 4

Genderdifferences 3

Workingmemory 1

Sensitive/criticalperiodsandplasticity 3

Evidence for Piagetian stages of development 2

Multiple Intelligences 2

Creativity 2

Other 2


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networksco-ordinatedincollaborationwith3leadinginstitutions(SacklerInstitute-

USA,INSERM-France,RIKENBrainScience

Institute-Japan).

Anumberofkeyeventstookplacein

2005thathavesupportedfurtherresearch

collaborationbetweenneuroscience

andeducation.ProfessorUshaGoswami

openedtheCentreforNeuroscienceandEducationattheFacultyofEducation,

UniversityofCambridge.TheTLRPfunded

amajorseminarseriesCollaborative

FrameworksinNeuroscienceandEducation

thathasbeenbringingtogetherexperts

ineducationandneurosciencetodiscuss

futureresearchpossibilities.Thisseminar

serieslatergaverisetoaverypopular

commentaryaboutthearea(Howard-Jones,2007).Abroad,Japanhadalreadyinitiated

2verylargeprogrammesofresearchin

thisinterdisciplinaryareaandtheGerman

governmentbegantheNILNeuroscience

andEducationprogrammeforresearch

fromNovember2005.Blackwellsbegan

publishinganewjournalinNeuroscience

andEducationin2007.

Literary

Theworkcarriedoutatthebeginningofthis

decadebyBlakemoreandFrithhasbeen

updated,extendedandpublishedasabook

(BlakemoreandFrith,2005).TheOECDBrain

andLearningprojecthasalsopublishedasummaryofitsinterimfindings(OECD,

2002).Boththesepublications,atnational

andsupranationallevels,highlightsimilar

areasofinterdisciplinaryinterest,suchas

plasticity,emotionandtheunderstandingofcommondevelopmentaldisorderssuchas

dyslexia.

Thiscontrastswiththeemphasisfoundin

mosteducationalbrain-basedprogrammes,

whichstillreflectthetypesofunscientific

conceptsfirstpromotedinthe1990s.Some

oftheseapproachesmakefleetingclaims

ofhavingabrainbasisandthendevelopindependentlyofreferencetoneuroscience.

InHandson:HowtoUseBrainGyminthe

Classroom,CohenandGoldsmith(2000)

explain:

lateralitycooordinates the left and right sides

of the brain to communication effectively,

correlating to the midline movements;

centering co-ordinates the top and bottomareas of the brain for organisation of thoughts

and action, correlating to the Energy Exercises,

and emotions correlating to Deepening

Attitudes; focus co-ordinates the receptive

brain stem with the expressive forebrain for

comprehension and perspective, correlating to

the lengthening Activities. Brain Gym results in

thorough integration of all these dimensions

and leads to significantly improvedperformance.(Authorsemphasisincolour

toindicatetechnicaltermsspecifictoBrain

Gym.)

Thistext,andotherslikeit,expressesthe

beliefthatactivityinawiderangeofneural

mechanismscanbeinfluencedbyspecific

physicalexercises.Inthesensedescribed

here,suchideasareatoddswithpresentscientificunderstanding.

Anotherbasicconceptexpressedinthis

bookforteachersisthatwaterprovides


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energy,(eventhoughwaterisoneofthefewthingsweregularlyingestthathasno

calorificcontent).Childrenareencouraged

tosingtothetuneofFrereJacques:

Lets drink water,

I love water.

It gives me

Energy.

BrainGymhasalsopromotedtheconcept

ofbrainbuttons(Indentationsbetween

thefirstandsecondribsdirectlyunderthe

collarbone/clavicletotherightandleftof

thesternum/breastbone).Originallyfrom

acupuncture,CohenandGoldsmith(2000)

claimthatifchildrenprovidethemselves

withpressureatthesepoints,itwillhelp

re-establishtheorganisationnecessaryforreadingandwriting.Otherexercisesinclude

theCross-crawl,promotedonthebasisof

activatingleft/right,top/bottomandback/

frontareasofthebrainsimultaneously,and

varietiesofHook-upforcalmingandstress-

relievingeffects.

Approachestolearningthatcomeunder

theheadingofAcceleratedLearningareamoreeclecticmixtureofpopularly-reported

neuroscienceandpsychology,togetherwith

classroombasedobservation/expertise/

report.Booksthatpromoteaccelerated

learningoftenincludemanyclaimsthat

conceptsarescientificallybased.Indeed,

conceptsfrompsychologyandneuroscienceareoftenintroducedasameanstopromote

andexplainlearningmechanisms.AsinBrainGym,thereisastillanemphasison

thedesirabilityofbalancebetweentheleft

andrightpartofthebrain.Forexample,in

Smith(1996),weareremindedRemember

thatthesynergygeneratedincreatingnewpathwaysbetweenleftandrightresultsin

all-roundimprovement.

Acceleratedlearningalsooftenembraces

otherpopularbrainconceptsineducation:

MultipleIntelligences:Gardnerstheory

ofmultipleintelligencespromotesthe

ideaofmanyplastic,ratherthanonefixed,intelligence(Gardner,1993)

LearningStylePreferences:Here,

psychologicalevidencesupportsthe

possibilitythatindividualpreferences

existregardinghowweliketolearn.In

education,learnersmaybeallocated

tooneofthreetypesoflearningstyle

(visual,auditoryorkinesthetic-VAK).Itisbelieved,butstillunproven,that

presentationofmaterialinawaythat

suitsalearnerspreferredlearningstyle

canimprovetheirlearning.(Ofcourse,

itcouldbearguedthatthereverse

mightbemorehelpfulasaremedial

interventiontoimproveprocessing

associatedwiththeotherlearning

styles).Othervariationsonthebasicconceptoflearningpreferences/styles

canincludesortingofpupilsintomoreor

lesscategories.Forexample,sometexts

encourageteacherstodetermineifa

childisleftorrightbrained(egHoffman,

2002).

Anotherwaythatteachersandpupils

encounterideasaboutthebrainisthroughresourcesdirectedatpupils.In

teachingyoungchildrenaboutscience,

provisionaltruthsareoftencreatedwhich

canbeexpectedtovaryintheirrelationto


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modernaccounts.However,thecommonassumptionthatthebrainistheseatof

consciousnesscanaddextradimensionsto

howprovisionaltruthsaboutthisparticular

conceptarerepresented.Someofthese

evenpossessamoraltone.InHoffman

(2002),children(aged915)aretoldavoid

sayingbadthingsaboutyourselfandabout

otherpeoplebecauseyourbrainwillbelieve

you.

Anotherselectionofbooks,intended

exclusivelyforteachers,arecharacterised

byadifferentsetoffeaturesregardingtheir

approach.Thesehave:

extensivereferencingtoscientific

literature

integrateddiscussionofcognitive,

psychologicalandneuroscientificstudies

(ieusingcognitivescienceasalink

betweenwhatweknowaboutthebrain

andwhatweknowaboutlearning)

discussionofbothwhatisandisnt

known,includingreferencetoresults

showingpossiblelimitationsofpositiveeffects

lesstosayaboutmanyofthemost

popularbrain-basededucationalideas

suchasBrainGym,learningstyles,

hydration,left-brain/right-brainbalance

etc.,andmayoftenattempttodebunk

these,someofthesetexts(egWolfe,

2001,Jensen,1998)mentiontheroleofmovementandindividualdifferencesin

learning,butthereisgenerallyadifferent

emphasisprovidedthaninthetexts

discussedabove

criticalreviewsofscientificliteraturefocusingonissuesofeducationalinterest

suchas:

attention

motivation,rewardandstress

memory

environments

mathematicsandreading.

Finally,inadditiontotextbyBlakemoreandFrith(2005)thereareotherexamples

ofscientistsattemptingtospeakdirectlyto

educators.AccountssuchasByrnes(2001)

provideaconsiderablymorecriticaland

informedexaminationofthoseareas(and

others)listedinthepreviousparagraph,

butresistprovidingdirectandpractical

classroomadvice.

Tosummarisethisreviewofthecontexts

ofthepresentconsultation,itappears

thateducatorsandscientistsareagain

payingseriousattentiontothenotionthat

educationcanbeimprovedwithinsights

fromneuroscience,andpreparationsare

wellunderwaytosupporttheflourishing

ofanewfieldwithaninterdisciplinary

researchagenda.Centraltothesuccessof

anyefforttoimproveeducationarethe

support,understandingandexpertiseof

teacherswhoremainexposedtobrain-

basedconceptsfromearlierandsometimes

unscientificenterprises.Againstthehistory

ofsuchentrepreneurialbrain-based

programmesandabackgroundofrenewed

globalefforttoconjointhesetwodisparatefields,thisconsultationreportsuponthe

viewsofteachersabouthowtheyseethe

relevance,orotherwise,ofneuroscienceto

education.


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1

2. Evidenceprogrammes;earlyscreeningforlearning

problems;provisionforindividuals

withspecialneedsofvariouskinds;and

understandingoftheroleofnutritionin

education

whereeducatorshadobtainedinformationaboutneuroscienceand

education

ideasthattheyhadcomeacrossinwhich

thebrainwaslinkedtoeducation

whethertheirinstitutionhadused

educationalinitiativesbasedonideas

aboutthebrain,andifsuchinitiatives

wereuseful

theimportanceofanumberofissues

intheapplicationofneuroscienceto

education,suchas:communication

betweeninterestedparties,relevance,

accessibilityofinformation,andethical

issues.

Theinitialsurveyofkeyissueswascarried

outduringtwoconferencesheldinJune

andJuly2005.Thefirstconferencewas

theLearningBrainEuropeconference

heldinManchester.Thisconferencewas

organisedbyagroupofheadteachers

fromtheMacclesfieldarea,followingtheir

attendanceatasimilarconferenceinthe

USA(theLearningBrainExpo-http://www.

brainexpo.com/).InthedelegatespackfortheLearningBrainEuropeeventthe

organisersstate:

The next two days represent a unique

opportunity for teachers to hear about how

3.

4.

5.

6.

Evidencefortheconsultationwascollected

intwostages.Thefirststageinvolved

thepreparationanddistributionofa

shortquestionnairedesignedtoidentify

keyissuesineducatorsperceptionsof

theroleofneuroscienceandeducation.

Thiswasthenfollowedbyanumberof

semi-structuredinterviewswithteachers.

Additionalinformationabouttheviews

ofeducatorsandothersontheroleof

neuroscienceineducationwasobtained

fromdiscussionsheldattheESRC-TLRP

CollaborativeFrameworksforNeuroscience

andEducationseminars.

Initial survey of key issues

Followingthedistributionofapilot

questionnairetolocalteachers,thefinal

versionofthequestionnairewasdeveloped

(seePickeringandHoward-Jones,2007).

Thisquestionnairewasdesignedtoask

educatorsanumberofgeneralquestions

abouttheirthoughts,beliefs,views

andknowledgeonthelinkbetween

neuroscienceandeducation.Specifically

thequestionnaireincludedbothopen

andclosedquestionsdesignedtoobtain

informationabout:

educatorsunderstandingoftheterms

educationandneuroscience

theirviewsonhowimportantan

understandingofthebrainisinarange

ofeducationalactivities(withchildren

andadults),includingthedesign,

deliveryandcontentofeducational

1.

2.


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1

the latest research on brain science can beadopted to improve the learning experience

for children and teachers.

The inspiration for the conference came from

the Brain Expo conference that teachers ...

have experienced in the USA over the past few

years. Teachers have come back inspired and

invigorated, and have instigated real change

in their classrooms.

We are determined that this fantastic

experience should be available to a wider

audience in the UK, and have invited key

speakers from the USA and the UK who,

we believe, offer a rare combination of

inspiration, practical strategies and fun!

TheconferenceactuallyformedtwoINSET

daysforteachersinLAsintheManchester

area.Attendanceforlocalteacherswas

thereforefree,andallteachersinthe

relevantLAswerereleasedfromtheir

teachingforatleastoneofthetwodays

inordertoattend.Approximately1300

teachersattendedtheconferenceforeither

oneorbothofthedaysthatitran.

Anumberofinvitedspeakersmade

keynotespeechesduringtheconference

includingAlistairSmith,SpencerKagan

andDavidSousa.Alloftheaforementioned

individualshavepublishedworkonbrain-

basedlearning.

Questionnaireswereincludedinthe

delegatespacksandteacherswere

encouragedthroughouttheconference

tocompleteandreturnthem.Thetotal

numberofcompletedquestionnairesfrom

thiseventwas270.

Aquestionnairewasalsoincludedineachofthedelegatespacksofallthose

attendingtheEducationandBrainResearch

ConferenceheldattheUniversityof

CambridgeinJuly2005.Thisthree-day

conferencemarkedthelaunchoftheCentre

forNeuroscienceinEducationatCambridge

andwasattendedbyapproximately250

delegates(includingteachersandother

educationalprofessionals).Speakersincludedestablishedacademicsintheareas

ofneuroscienceandpsychology,suchas

UshaGoswami(conferenceorganiser),Mark

Johnson,UtaFrith,KurtFischer,JohnGeake

andGuyClaxton.

Delegateswereencouragedtocomplete

thequestionnaireandreturnittousduring

theconference.Atotalof71completedquestionnaireswerecollectedfromthis

event.

Interviews with teachers

Onthebasisofthesurveyofkeyissues

carriedoutwiththequestionnaire,a

numberofsemi-structuredinterviews

werecarriedout.Someoftheinterviewswereconductedwithdelegatesatthe

EducationandBrainResearchConference

inCambridgewhileotherswerecarriedout

withlocalteachersinBristol.

Theaimoftheinterviewswastoprobein

moredetailteachersviewsabouttheroleof

thebrainineducationandtofollowupon

responsesmadeintheinitialsurvey.Thus,thestructureandcontentoftheinterviews

variedbetweenparticipants,dependingon

thenatureoftheresponsesmade.Atotalof

11interviewswerecarriedout.


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1

Discussions from theESRC-TLRP Collaborative

Frameworks for

Neuroscience and Education

seminars

TheESRC-TLRPCollaborativeFrameworks

forNeuroscienceandEducationSeminar

Seriesconsistsofsixseminars,thefirstone

ofwhichwasheldinApril2005.Theaimsof

theseminarserieswere(Howard-Jonesand

Pickering,2005):

toreviewcontemporaryworkinthe

associatedfieldsofneuroscienceand

humandevelopmentandconsiderthe

existingcontributionsofferedbythese

fieldstothestudyofkeyeducationalissues

toreviewtheextenttowhichthe

fieldsofneuroscienceandhuman

developmenthavesuccessfully

permeatededucationalthinkingandto

exploretheirpotentialandlimitationsin

influencingourthinkingaboutgeneralteachingandlearningissues

toexplorehowtheoreticalperspectives

arisingfromneuroscienceandhuman

developmentmayconjoinwith,and

enrich,currenttheoreticalframeworks

ineducation

toidentifytheissues,opportunitiesandconstraintsthatmayariseinthe

nearfutureasaresultofadvancesin

thefieldsofneuroscienceandhuman

development

toidentifymeansbywhichresearch

capacityinthisinterdisciplinaryarea

canbedeveloped,andtoexaminethe

theoretical,practicalandstrategicbasisforresearchcapacitybuilding.

Dataforthisconsultationwasgathered

fromdiscussionsheldduringthefirstand

thirdseminarsintheseries.Following

aseriesofpresentationsbyinvited

speakersduringthefirsthalfofeachof

thetwoday-longevents,delegateswere

arrangedintofourgroupsandaskedtospendonehourdiscussingissues

thatrelatetothebringingtogetherof

neuroscienceandeducation.Forthefirst

seminar,discussionswereguidedinpart

bythequestion:Whatsortofevidence

shouldinspireeducationalchange?.

Thethirdevent,heldinOctober2005,

includeddiscussionsaroundthetopic:By

whatroutesshouldneuroscienceenter

ourclassrooms?.Summariesofthese

discussionscanbefoundattheSeminar

Serieswebsite(http://www.bris.ac.uk/

education/research/sites/brain/).


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1

3. Analysis and Discussion

Initial survey of key issues

Datafortheconsultationwasobtained

fromtheanalysisof150ofthecompleted

questionnairesdistributedatthetwobrain

andeducationconferencesheldin2005.

Thesampleincludedthe71questionnaires

fromtheEducationandBrainResearch

ConferenceinCambridgeplusarandomly

selectedsampleof79completed

questionnairesfromtheLearningBrain

EuropeconferenceinManchester.

The150respondentswhocompleted

thequestionnaireswereeducational

professionalsfromschoolsandothereducationallyrelatedinstitutions.The

majority(54%)ofrespondentswere

teachersbasedinprimaryandsecondary

schools(Primary,27%andSecondary,27%),

including17headteachers.Theremaining

46%ofrespondentsheldanumberof

differentpositionsintheworldofeducation,

includingeducationconsultants,school

inspectors,teachertrainersandassistant

teachers.

Aseparateanalysisofresponsesofteachers

(only)intermsoftheconferencetheywere

attendingandtheirphase(primaryor

secondary)wasalsocarriedout.Outcomes

fromthesurveywereessentiallysimilar

acrosstheeducationalcommunity,except

wherehighlighted.Therefore,wefirstreporttheviewsoftheentiresample

asrepresentativeoftheeducational

communityasawhole,beforefocusingin

depthuponteachersresponsesarisingfrom

theinterviews.

1. Educators understanding of the

terms education and neuroscience.

Inanyefforttounderstandeducators

perceptionsabouttheroleofneuroscience

ineducation,itisfirstimportanttoestablish

howparticipantsviewtheconceptsofeducationandneuroscience.Thus,thefirst

twoquestionsinourinitialsurveyasked:

Whatdoyouunderstandbytheterm

education?andWhatdoyouunderstand

bythetermneuroscience?.

Responsestothequestionwhatdoyou

understandbythetermeducation?were

analysedfirst,andfivemajorcategoriesofresponsewerecreatedfromthedata.Thirty-

onepercentofrespondentsgaveananswer

thatincludedthetermslearnorlearning.

Examplesofresponsesfromthiscategory

weregiving people the opportunity to learn

effectively,orall experiences of learning and

engagement.Around19%ofparticipants

feltthatthetermeducationreferredto

thedevelopmentofapersonspotential,as

illustratedbythefollowingresponse:every

child achieving their academic and social

and emotional potential.Afurther15%of

respondentsappearedtovieweducationas

beingpartofthepreparationofindividuals

forlifeintheirsociety,whereasaround7%

ofthesampleemphasisedthelife-long

natureoftheeducationprocess.Adefinitionthatinvolvedknowledgewasgivenby

8%oftherespondents.Around17%ofthe

respondentsgaveananswerthatdidnot

easilyfitintothefivecategoriesdescribed

above.Someoftheseresponsesincluded


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1

referencestocognition,forexample,thedevelopment of cognition while actively

engaging curiosity, whileotherstookamore

pragmaticstance,describingeducation

aspreschool and school based provision as

regulated by government policies ....

Respondentsunderstandingoftheterm

neurosciencewaslessvaried.Overhalf

(60%)ofthesampledescribedneuroscienceasthestudyorscienceofthebrain.Around

aquarterofrespondents(24%)indicated

thatneurosciencewasconcernedwith

learningorunderstandingaboutthebrain,

whileafurther13%thoughtthatitwas

abouthowthebrainworks.

2. Respondents views on how

important an understanding of the

brain is in a range of educational

activities (with children and adults),

including the design, delivery and

content of educational programmes;

early screening for learning problems;

provision for individuals with

special needs of various kinds, and

understanding of the role of nutritionin education.

Againstthisbackdrop,respondentswenton

toprovideinformationabouthowimportant

theyfeltanunderstandingofthebrain

wasinanumberofspecificeducational

activities.Viewsweresoughtregardingthe

educationofadultsandchildrenseparately.

Ineachcase,participantswereaskedto

givearatingfrom1to5(with1beingnot

importantand5beingveryimportant)

fortherelevanceofanunderstandingof

thebrainineachofthedifferentactivities.

Datawasanalysedbycombiningratingsof1and2intoalowratingofimportance

andratingsof4and5intoahighratingof

importance.

(a) Children

Figure1indicatesthepercentageof

respondentsgivinglowandhighratings

ofimportancetoanunderstandingof

theworkingsofthebraininthevarious

activitieswithchildren.Overall,itisclear

fromFigure1thatrespondentsfeltthat

anunderstandingoftheworkingsofthe

brainwasimportantinalloftheactivities

listed.Theareainwhichmostrespondents

(83%)feltthatthiswasimportantwas

theprovisionforchildrenwithspecial

educationalneedsofabehaviouraland/oremotionalandaphysicaland/orsensory

nature.However,otherareasreceived

almostasmanyhighratings,including

thedesign(76%)anddelivery(77%)of

educationalprogrammes,theprovision

forindividualswithspecialeducational

needsofacognitivenature(80%),early

screeningforlearningproblems(76%)and

anunderstandingoftheroleofnutritionineducationalachievement(70%).The

onlyareainwhichrespondentsgavelower

ratingsinanysignificantnumberswasthat

concerningdecisionsaboutcurriculum

content,with19%ofthesamplegiving

ratingsofonly1or2here.

(b) AdultsAsimilaranalysiswascarriedouton

responsestoeducationalactivities

concerningadults.Theresultsfromthis

analysisareshowninFigure2.Herewe


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1

Figure 1. Percentage of respondents giving either a high rating or a low rating regardingthe importance of an understanding of the workings of the brain in a range of educational

activities with children.

Designofeducationalprogrammes

Deliveryofeducationalprogrammes

Curriculumcontent

Earlyscreeningforlearningproblems

SENprovision(behavioural/emotional)

SENprovision(physical/sensory)

SENprovision(cognitive)

Roleofnutritionineducation

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Percentage

Figure 2. Percentage of respondents giving either a high rating or a low rating regarding

the importance of an understanding of the workings of the brain in a range of educational

activities with adults.

Highratingofimportance

Lowratingofimportance

Designofeducationalprogrammes

Deliveryofeducationalprogrammes

Curriculumcontent

SENprovision(behavioural/emotional)

SENprovision(physical/sensory)

SENprovision(cognitive)

Roleofnutritionineducation

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Percentage


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20

canseethatasignificantpercentageofrespondentshavegivenhighratings

ofimportancetoanunderstandingof

theworkingsofthebrainineducational

activitieswithadults.Thegreatestnumber

ofhighratingswasgiventotheprovisionfor

individualswithspecialeducationalneeds,

especiallythosewithneedsofacognitive

nature(83%).Thedesignanddeliveryof

educationalprogrammeswerealsothoughttobenefitfromanunderstandingofthe

workingsofthebrain(with79and80%

ofrespondentsgivingratingsof4or5to

theseactivities,respectively).Inasimilar

mannertothatoftheeducationofchildren,

decisionsaboutcurriculumcontentwasthe

onlyareaforwhichmorethan10%oflow

ratingsofimportancewerereceived.

Takingthesetwoanalysestogether,it

isclearthatthesampleofeducational

professionalsthattookpartinthe

questionnairestudybelievethatan

understandingoftheworkingsofthebrain

isimportantinawholerangeofeducational

activities,withbothchildrenandadults.

Respondentsfeltthateducatorswould

benefitfromknowledgeaboutthebrain,notjustinthedomainofspecialeducational

needs,wheremuchoftheneuroscientific

attentionhasbeendirectedinrecentyears,

butinactivitiesrelatedtothedesignand

deliveryofeducationalprogrammesmore

broadly.Theoneareawherethisviewwas

lessstrongconcernedthecontentofwhat

isbeingtaught.Althoughatleasthalfof

respondentsthoughtthatanunderstanding

oftheworkingsofthebrainwasimportant

forthisaspectofeducationalactivity,just

lessthanafifthofparticipantsfeltthatit

wasnotimportant.

Anadditionalanalysiswascarriedouttoexamineseparatelytheresponsesof

participantswhohadattendedthetwo

differentconferences(LearningBrainEurope

-LBEandEducationandBrainResearch

-EBR).Thepercentageofeachofthetwo

subgroupsofparticipantswhogavehighor

lowratingstotheimportanceofknowledge

aboutthebrainisshowninTable1(a)for

theeducationofchildrenandTable1(b)fortheeducationofadults.

Theanalysisofresponsestothisquestion,

byconferenceattended,revealsthatthe

generaltrendsdescribedforthewhole

samplearepresentinthedata.However,

someinterestingdifferencesbetweenthe

twogroupsofconferenceattendeesare

noticeable.Inparticular,thepercentageofhighratingsofimportanceforallofthe

educationalactivitiesissomewhatlower

fortheEducationandBrainResearch

conferencegroupthantheLearning

BrainEuropegroup.Thereasonsforthis

differencearenotclear,howeversome

possiblecontributorstothisdifference

include:differencesinthetypesof

brain-basededucationalactivitiesthatwerediscussedatthetwoconferences,

differencesintheexperienceofrespondents

inapplyingneurosciencetoeducation,

anddifferencesintheextenttowhich

participantshadbeenexposedtoideas

aboutneuroscienceandeducation.Overall,

then,theEBRgroupseemmoremoderate

intheirenthusiasmfortheroleofthebrain

ineducation,whereastheLBEgroupseem

tobeexperiencingveryhighdegreesof

enthusiasmfortheroleofthebraininthese

differenttypesofeducationalactivity.


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21

Table 1(b). Percentage of respondents giving either a high rating or a low rating regarding

the importance of an understanding of the workings of the brain in a range of educational

activities with adults, by conference attended.

LBE EBR

low

rating

high

rating

low

rating

high

rating

Designofeducationalprogrammes 0 85 11 72

Deliveryofeducationalprogrammes 0 90 10 69

Earlyscreeningforlearningproblems 8 77 25 46SENprovision(cognitive) 1 90 6 76

SENprovision(physical/sensory) 0 87 3 75

SENprovision(behavioural/emotional) 0 89 11 73

Roleofnutritionineducation 4 80 13 58

Table 1(a). Percentage of respondents giving either a high rating or a low rating regardingthe importance of an understanding of the workings of the brain in a range of educational

activities with children, by conference attended.

LBE EBR

low

rating

high

rating

low

rating

high

rating

Designofeducationalprogrammes 1 82 10 69

Deliveryofeducationalprogrammes 1 89 14 65

Earlyscreeningforlearningproblems 3 87 13 63Curriculumcontent 13 63 25 41

SENprovision(cognitive) 3 90 7 69

SENprovision(physical/sensory) 0 92 3 73

SENprovision(behavioural/emotional) 0 94 11 72

Roleofnutritionineducation 4 82 13 56

3. Where have educators obtained

information about neuroscience and

education?

Inordertoestablishhowparticipantshave

obtainedinformationaboutneuroscience

andeducation,weaskedthequestion:

Which,ifany,ofthefollowingsourceshave

providedyouwithinformationaboutthe

roleofthebrainineducation?.Wealso

askedparticipantstoratetheimportance

ofeachsourcetothem(usingthe1to5

scaledescribedearlier).Figure3showsthe

percentageofparticipantswhoratedthe


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22

differentsourcesaseitherveryimportant(ratingsof4and5)ornotimportant(ratings

of1and2).

ThegraphinFigure3indicatesthe

significantnumberofhighratingsof

importancegiventobothconferences(71%)

andbooks(62%).Incontrast,onlyaround

20%ofparticipantsgavecommercial

productsandthemediahighratingsofimportance,withthemediareceiving

morelowratingsofimportance(27%)

thanhighratings.Itisnotablefromthe

resultspresentedabovethatin-service

trainingwasthoughttobeanimportant

sourceofinformationaboutneuroscience

andeducationbymorethanhalfofthe

respondents.Journalswerealsolisted

assourcesofinformationonthistopic,althoughrespondentsappearedtothink

thatprofessionaljournalswereofgreater

usethanacademicjournals,forthispurpose.

Aswellasratingsourcesofinformation

alreadylistedonthequestionnaire,

respondentswerefreetoaddothersources

andratingsoftheirimportance.Eleven

respondentslistedadditionalsourcesas:theinternet(5responses)anddiscussionwith

others(6responses),includingcolleagues,

friendsandchildren.Mostratedthese

sourcesasimportant,althoughsome

viewedtheirdiscussionsaslessimportant

providersofinformationaboutneuroscience

andeducation.

Figure 3. Percentage of respondents giving either a high rating or a low rating regarding

the importance of a number of potential sources of information about neuroscience and

education.



Commercialproducts

Books

Professionaljournals

Academicjournals

Conferences

INSET

Media

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Percentage


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23

InordertoexploretheresponsesoftheLBEandEBRconferencegroupsonthis

issueseparately,ratingsofusefulnessfor

thedifferentsourcesofinformationwere

collatedforeachsubgroupofrespondents.

Thepercentageofparticipantsattending

thetwoconferencesthatgaveratingsof1

and2(lowratingofimportance)or4and5

(highratingofimportance)tothevarious

informationsourcesisshowninTable2.

Notabledifferencesinthepercentageof

participantsgivinghighandlowratingsof

importanceareseenparticularlyforbooks

(moreoftheEBRparticipantsfeltthatbooks

wereanimportantsourceofinformation

thantheLBEparticipants)andin-service

training(wherethistrendwasreversed).

AstheLBEconferencewasactuallyanin-servicetrainingdayfortheparticipantsat

thisconference,itisperhapsnotsurprising

thatmoreofthisgroupratedINSETasan

importantsourceofinformationthanthe

EBRgroup.Thereasonforthemuchhigher

numbersofparticipantsfromtheEBR

conferenceratingbooksasveryimportantcomparedtotheLBEparticipantsisless

clear.Itisevidentfromthisdatathat

informationinwrittenform(booksand

journals)seemstobeviewedasamore

importantsourceofinformationoverallby

theEBRsubgroupthantheLBEsubgroup.

4. What ideas had educators heardof in which the brain was linked to

education?

Inordertogetasenseoftheknowledge

thatparticipantsalreadypossessedabout

neuroscienceandeducation,theywere

askedtolistanyideasthattheyhadheard

ofinwhichthebrainislinkedtoeducation.

Usingthe1to5scaledescribedearlier,participantswerealsoaskedtoratethe

usefulnessofsuchideas.

Astheparticipantswereattendingone

oreitherofthetwoconferenceson

neuroscienceandeducation,thereissome

Table 2. Percentage of respondents giving either a high rating or a low rating regarding

the importance of a number of potential sources of information about neuroscience andeducation, by conference attended.

LBE EBR

low

rating

high

rating

low

rating

high

rating

Media 20 28 35 15

INSET 9 67 20 34

Conferences 6 71 4 72

Academicjournals 23 24 10 49

Professionaljournals 18 33 6 56

Books 13 46 1 80

Commercialproducts 16 19 15 21


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2

inevitablementionoftheideasthathadbeenpresentedduringtheconferences.

Thisisevidentinresponsesthatmention

theworkofkeyspeakers,suchasDavid

Sousa,AlistairSmith(AcceleratedLearning)

andSpencerKagan(CooperativeLearning,

KaganStructures)andBlakemoreand

Frith.However,italsoseemsclearthat

manyparticipantscametotheconferences

withpriorknowledgeofbrain-relatededucationalconceptsandinitiatives.

Theideasprovidedweregroupedinto

sixcategoriesasfollows:educational

kinesiology(includingBrainGym),

learningstyles(includingmultiple

intelligences,VAK,andleft-brain/right-

brainlearning),ingestionandthebrain

(includingnutrition,wateranddrug-use),emotionandlearning,teachingand

learningapproaches(suchasmindmaps,

cooperativelearningandaccelerated

learning)andmorespecificcognitive

andneuropsychologicalknowledge.The

numberoftimesthatideasinthesesix

domainswerelistedbyrespondentsis

indicatedinTable3.

FromTable3wecanseethatrespondentsmentionedideasaboutbrain-based

teachingandlearningapproaches64

times.Examplesofinstancesfromthis

categoryofresponsesinclude:mindmaps,

cooperativelearning,acceleratedleaning,

wholebrainlearning,thinkingskills,brain-

friendlylearningandKaganStructures.As

notedabove,anumberoftheseideaswere

presentedtoparticipantsattheLearningBrainEuropeconference,soitislesseasy

todeterminewhetherthehighincidenceof

thistypeofresponseisdependentuponthis

recentexposureorifitreflectsknowledge

thatparticipantshadbeforeattendingthe

conference.Analternativeexplanationfor

thedominanceofthistypeofresponse

isthatideasthattranslatedirectlyinto

practicearetheonesthatrespondents(as

educators)aremostlikelytobeawareof,

andpayparticularattentionto.

Thisviewgainssomeadditionalsupport

fromthefindingthatideasrelatedto

educationalkinesiologywerementioned

atotalof48timesbytherespondents.In

mostcasesthetermBrainGymwasactually

Table 3. Six categories of brain-based ideas listed by respondents, the number of times each

was mentioned, and the number of ratings of very useful (5) or not useful (1).

no. of times

mentioned

very useful

(5)

not useful

(1)

Educationalkinesiology 48 16 6

Learningstyles 45 17 4

Ingestionandthebrain 13 7 2Emotionandlearning 14 9 0

Teachingandlearningapproaches 64 29 1

Cognitiveandneuropsychological

knowledge

49 23 2


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2

used.Educationalkinesiology,andmorespecifically,BrainGym,appearstoshare

somecommonfeatureswiththeteaching

andlearningapproachesmentionedabove,

namelyabrain-basisissuggested,andthe

conceptreadilytranslatesintopractice.

Ideasconcerningdifferencesinstylesof

learningwerealsomentionedover40times,

althoughhereanumberofdifferentspecificconceptswerenoted,including:learning

styles;multipleintelligences;preferred

learningstyles;Visual,Auditory,and

Kinaesthetic(VAK)learners;rightandleft

brainthinkers;andmultisensorylearning.

Responsesgroupedinthesixthcategory

(cognitiveandneuropsychological

knowledge)werethoseresponsesthatindicatedawarenessofideasthatemanated

fromcognitiveorneuropsychological

academicresearch,suchasknowledgeof

neuropsychologicaltechniques,brain-based

disorders,cognitiveskillsorbrainprocesses.

Ideasofthiskindwerelisted49timesbythe

sample.

Participantsmentionedideasthatwerelinkedtotheingestionofaparticular

substance13times,includingissuessuch

asprenatalnutrition,drinkingwater,fish

oilsupplementsandtheimpactofalcohol

anddrugs.Knowledgerelatingtotherole

ofemotioninneuroscienceandeducation

wasevidentin14oftheresponses.These

includedmentionofemotionalintelligence

andtheroleofemotioninlearning.

Notallrespondentsgaveratingsof

usefulnessfortheirresponses.Inthecases

wherethisdidhappen,someinteresting

variationsoccurred.Ideasineachofthecategoriesattractedarangeofratings

from1(notuseful)to5(veryuseful).Table

3indicatesthenumberoftimesthateach

ofthesetworatingswasgiveninthesix

categoriesofresponse.Thegreatestnumber

ofratingsofveryusefulwasfoundinthe

teachingandlearningapproachescategory

(29)whilethenumberofnotusefulratings

inthisgroupofresponseswasjust1.

Ideasgroupedinthecategoryofcognitive

andneuropsychologicalknowledgealso

receivedahighnumberofratingsasvery

useful(23)andonly2ratingsofnotuseful.

Overallthenumberofveryuseful

ratingsforeachcategoryofresponse

significantlyexceedsthenumberof

notusefulresponses.However,the

numberofnotusefulratingsforthe

educationalkinesiologyisthelargest.Here

6respondentsindicatedthatthattheydid

notthinkthatthiswasuseful,justoverone

thirdofthenumberofrespondentswho

feltthatitwasveryuseful.Clearlyopinions

aredividedonthisaspectofeducational

practice.

5. Have respondents institutions used

educational initiatives based on ideas

about the brain, and if so, were such

initiatives useful?

Followingonfromquestionsaboutideas

thatrespondentswereawareofinwhich

thebrainwaslinkedtoeducation,we

wantedtogaininformationaboutthe

extenttowhichbrain-basedteachingand

learningtechniqueshadactuallybeenused

intheirinstitutions.Tothisend,weasked


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2

participantstolistanyeducationalinitiativesbasedonideasaboutthebrainthathad

beenusedintheirschools,collegesand

otherteachingandlearninginstitutions.

Onehundredandeightofthe150

respondentsinthesampleindicatedthat

theyhadusededucationalinitiativesintheir

institutionsthatwerebasedonideasabout

thebrain.Nineteenparticipantsindicatedthattheyhadnot.Someparticipantsdid

notmakeanyresponsetothisquestion,

whileothersmadearesponsetoindicate

theirviewsonthematter,butnotwhether

theyhadusedtheinitiativeassuch(eg as

a member of the LA, I am concerned that staff

in schools have too many initiatives - they

need ideas that will make their work easier).

Asmallnumberoftheresponsesrevealedthatwhileparticipantshadnotusedsuch

initiativesyet,moveswereunderwayto

incorporatethistypeofapproach(egtutors are finally taking on board some of

the ideasandwhole school staff training in

progress).

Ofthe108positiveresponsestothis

question,manyincludedreferencesto

initiativesthathadbeenmentionedin

answertothepreviousquestion.Twenty-

fourrespondentsindicatedthattheyusedBrainGymintheirschools;thesame

numberlistedinitiativesthatwereearlier

groupedundertheheadingoflearning

styles(suchasVAK,multipleintelligences,

leftbrain/rightbrain,andvisualthinking).

Afurther42respondentsnotedexamples

oftheteachingandlearningapproaches

describedabove,includingmindmapping,

learningtolearn,cooperativelearning,mind-friendlylearning,KaganStructures,

brain-friendlylearning,cognitive


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2

acceleration,assessmentforlearning,andthinking/questioning/criticalskills.

Onlyonerespondentmentionedthatthey

hadusedinitiativeslinkedtothebrainthat

concernedemotionandlearning(emotional

intelligence)andsimilarly,onlyone

respondentindicatedthattheyspecifically

usedwaterintheirinstitution.Initiatives

notfittingintothecategoriesderivedintheanalysisofthepreviousquestionincluded:

angermanagement,self-esteem,dyslexia-

friendlyapproach,multi-sensoryteaching

schemeforreading,gender,cognitive

interventionprogrammes,neurofeedback

andworkingmemorytestbattery.

Responsestothisquestiongosomewayto

describingtherangeofperspectivesthateducatorshaveonthisissue.Forexample,

somerespondentswereclearlyvery

enthusiasticabouttheuseofsuchinitiatives,

asevidencedbycommentssuchas:

yes, massive whole local authority

development

not yet, but soon!

we are undertaking whole school staff

training at the moment

not to the extent needed

whereasothersclearlyreflectedamore

scepticalapproach:

not yet - management sceptical of new ideas

as a member of the LA, I am concerned that

staff in schools have too many initiatives - they

need ideas that will make their work easier

Detached CPD. Engagement of all staff in

having a clear understanding.

Thislastcommentisquiteinterestinginthatitappearstoconveyasensethatthe

schoolhasmadeadecisiontotakeacritical

stanceinitsdealingswithinitiativessuch

asthosediscussedhere.Thecomment

aboveitindicatesanawarenessthatbrain-

basedinitiativesarejustoneofanumber

ofdifferentideasthatarepresentedto

educatorsforinclusionintotheirpractice.

Anadditionalquestionaskedrespondentsif

they(orothersintheirinstitution)hadfound

theinitiativestheyhadmentioneduseful,

andifso,how.Ninety-sixrespondents

indicatedthatthey,orothers,hadfound

theinitiativesmentionedaboveuseful;two

saidtheydidnot.Afurther12respondents

gaveanswersthathavebeenbroadly

characterisedhereasnotsure,howevertheindividualresponsesinthiscategoryappear

tocommunicateanumberofdifferent

viewpoints.Somerespondentsindicated

thattheyhadnotfoundtheinitiatives

usefulyet,whileothersfeltthattheydid

notknowiftheyhadbeenuseful.Some

degreeofuncertaintywascommunicated

byrespondentsinthenotsuregroup,as

evidencebyresponsessuchas:

I am now confused as to the usefulness of

learning styles

lack of clarity about theories behind

approaches have prevented full scale

adoption

dont know if directly linked to brain research.

Yetothershaverespondedinsuchasaway

astosuggestthattheinitiativeshavebeen

ofmoderateuse,orthatwhilesomeintheir

institutionhavefoundthemuseful,they

personallyhavenot.


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2

Manyoftherespondentswhohadgivenapositiveresponsetothequestionofthe

usefulnessoftheinitiativesthathadbeen

usedprovidedanexplanationoftheir

response.Instrongevidencehereisthe

issueofmotivationandenjoymentofthe

learners.Responsessuchas:

motivates children

see the pupils faces - they tell us every time!

yes - the fun element is particularly useful

within the tight structures of the literacy and

the numeracy flow

yes, helps motivation, decreases depression

revealthedegreetowhicheducatorsseem

tofindinitiativesusefulinincreasingthe

positivefeelingsthatthelearnershaveabouttheirstudies.Yetanotherthemethat

emergesfromtheseresponsesisthatof

havingmoreoptionstodrawuponinthe

teachingofbothmainstreamandspecial

needschildren.Thisviewisillustratedbythe

followingresponses:

yes, better choice of teaching strategy to

match learning styles

yes as part of a rich and varied pull down

menu of strategies and techniques available

to our teachers

yes in teaching literacy to dyslexic pupils

Afurthersetofresponsessuggeststhatsome

of the initiatives used help the children to

workmore

effectively:yes, students more engaged in own learning

improved the success of the teaching and

learning, happier children who are more

engaged in the activities

gets engagement which leads to improvedbehaviour and greater understanding of

lesson content

yes, the class seems more animated and they

concentrate better

Overall then, it appears that a significant

number of the questionnaire sample had

usedteachingandlearningtechniquesbased

onideasaboutthebrainandhadfoundsuchtechniquesuseful.

6. How do educators view the

importance of issues arising in

the application of neuroscience to

education, such as: communication

between interested parties, relevance,

accessibility of information, andethical issues?

Thefinalmatterexploredinthe

questionnairestudyconcernedarange

ofissuesthatmightariseinthecourse

ofapplyingneurosciencetoeducation.

Respondentswereaskedtoratethe

importanceofeachoftheissues(using

the1to5scaledescribedearlier).Aswithpreviousquestionsthataskedforaratingof

importance,responsesweregroupedintoa

highratingofimportance(ratingsof4and

5)andalowratingofimportance(ratings

of1and2).Thepercentageofrespondents

givinglowandhighratingsofimportance

forthefiveissuesisshowninFigure4.

ThegraphinFigure4veryclearlyillustratesthehighdegreeofimportanceascribed

toeachoftheissuesarisingfromthe

applicationofneurosciencetoeducation.

Around80%ofrespondentsfeltthata


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2

two-waydialoguebetweeneducatorsandneuroscientists,relevancetothereal

classroom,avoidingthemisinterpretation

ofscienceandeasilyaccessibleinformation

wereveryimportantaspectsofthismulti-

disciplinaryventure.Ethicalissuesinbrain

researchwereratedasveryimportantby

only51%ofrespondents,however,and12%

ofrespondentsratedthelevelofimportance

ofthisissueaslow.

Thesampleofparticipantswhotookpart

inthisquestionnairestudyclearlyvaluea

genuinedialoguebetweenbrainresearchers

andeducationpractitioners.Similarly,

respondentsappeartofeelthatworkthat

linksneuroscienceandeducationshould

berelevanttowhatactuallygoesonin

theclassroomandbeeasilyaccessibletoeducators.However,itisapparentthatthe

misinterpretationofscienceintheprocess

ofitsapplicationisalsoofconcerntothisgroup.Whyethicalissuesshouldnotbe

ofasgreataconcerntoeducatorsisnot

clearfromthisanalysis.

Analysisoftheimportanceratings

forthetwosubgroupsofconference

attendeesrevealedfewdifferences,

exceptintheareaofethicalissues(see

Table4).Theoverallpatternofresponsesisverysimilaracrossthetwogroups,

withonlyoneexception.Thisconcerns

thepercentageofrespondentswho

ratedethicalissuesasnotimportant.

Althoughthenumberofhighratingsof

importanceforthisissueisverysimilar

acrossthetwosubgroups,substantially

moreoftheEBRsubgroupratedthis

issueasnotimportant.Asindicatedabove,theprecisereasonforthelarger

percentageoflowratingsofimportance

Figure 4. Percentage of respondents giving either a high rating or a low rating regarding the

importance of different issues arising from the application of neuroscience to education.



Ethicalissuesinbrainresearch

Informationiseasilyaccessibletoeducators

Avoidingmisinterpretationofscience

Relevancetorealclassroom

Two-waydialoguebetweeneducatorsandneuroscientists

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Percentage


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intheCambridgeEBRconferencedelegates

isunclear.Perhapsthetwoexamplesof

ethicalissuesthatweregivenwiththis

question(useofanimals,scanningchildren)werenotperceivedasbeingespecially

relevanttothetypeofneurosciencethatis

beingappliedtoeducationatthepresent

time.

Summary of the findings from the

questionnaire study

Responsestothequestionnairestudy

indicatethedegreeofinterestthat

neuroscienceandeducationholdsfor

manyeducationprofessionals.Asignificant

proportionoftheparticipantsappearto

feelthatknowledgeoftheworkingsof

thebrainisimportantinboththedesign

anddeliveryofeducation.Thisistruefor

theeducationofchildrenandadults,bothinmainstreamandspecialeducational

domains.Theonlyareaofeducation

wherethisknowledgewasthoughtto

belessimportantwasindecisionsabout

curriculumcontent.

Manyofthesamplethattookpart

inthisstudyhadgainedinformation

aboutneuroscienceandeducationfrom

conferences.Thisisperhapsunsurprisingasthequestionnairestudywascarriedout

duringtwoconferencesonthesubject

ofthebrainandeducation.Respondents

gavethegreatestnumberofhighratings

ofimportancetothissourceofinformation,

howevertheyalsoappearedtoplace

considerablevalueonbooksandin-service

trainingdays.Whilesomerespondentsfelt

thatcommercialproductsandthemediawereimportantsourcesofinformation

aboutthebrainanditsroleineducation,

almostasmanyparticipantsfeltthatthese

sourceswerenotuseful.

Mostrespondentshadheardofideas

inwhichthebrainhasbeenlinkedto

education.Sixcategoriesofresponse

werederivedfromthedata:educational

kinesiology,learningstyles,ingestionand

thebrain,emotionandlearning,teaching

andlearningapproaches,andcognitive

andneuropsychologicalknowledge.A

Table 4. Percentage of respondents giving either a high rating or a low rating regarding theimportance of a different issues arising from the application of neuroscience to education, by

conference attended.

LBE EBR

low

rating

high

rating

low

rating

high

rating

Two-waydialoguebetweeneducatorsand

neuroscientists

1 66 0 97

Relevancetotherealclassroom 0 84 4 82Avoidingthemisinterpretationofscience 4 66 3 87

Informationiseasilyaccessibletoeducators 1 76 1 87

Ethicalissuesinbrainresearch 5 54 20 48


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furthercategoryofotherwascreatedtocoverresponsesthatdidnotfallinto

thesixcategorieslistedabove.Practical

strategiesforuseintheclassroom(including

educationalkinesiologyandteaching

andlearningapproaches)dominated

theresponses.However,ideasfrom

theacademicworldsofcognitionand

neurosciencewerealsoinevidencehere

too.Overall,mostoftheideaslistedwereratedasveryuseful,howeveropinionwas

clearlydividedinsomecases(egregarding

BrainGym).

Manyoftherespondents(108ofthe

150)reportedthateitherthey,ortheir

institutions,hadusedteachingandlearningtechniquesbasedonideasaboutthebrain;

96respondentshadfoundthesetechniques

tobeuseful-forimprovingtheaffectof

learners,increasingtheeffectivenessof

teachingandlearning,andprovidinga

greaterrepertoireofteachingoptionsfor

educators.

Respondentsratedissuesrelatingtocommunicationandrelevancetopractice

andpractitionersasveryimportantin

bringingneuroscienceandeducation

together.Theyappearedtobeless

concernedabouttheissueofethicsinbrain

research,however.


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Interviews with teachersElevensemi-structuredinterviewswere

carriedoutwithteachers.Fourofthe

teacherswerefromLAschoolsintheBristol

andsurroundingareaandsevenwere

fromarangeofschoolsandLAs,buthad

attendedtheEducationandBrainResearch

conferenceinCambridge,whereinterviews

werecarriedout.

Interviewsweretranscribedandthen

examinedforkeythemes.Threekeythemes

emerged:

Whatteachersknowaboutthebrainand

howtheycametoknowit.

Teachersviewsonhowbrain-based

informationshouldbeusedineducation.

Issuesinbringingtogetherneuroscience

andeducation:pitfalls,problems,barriers

andchallenges.

Thesethemesarediscussedingreaterdetail

belowinthecontextoftheresponsesof

participantsduringtheinterviews.

(a) What teachers know about the

brain and how they came to know it.

Anumberoftheteachersappearedalmost

embarrassedtoadmitthattheyhadspent

manyyearsasteacherswithoutthinking

aboutthebrainatall.Forexample:

... its an awful thing to say, being a teacher,but I think youd probably find a lot of people

in the same boat - Id never really given

the brain much thought, because its just

something that you take for granted.

a)

b)

c)

However,nowthattheyhadbeguntothinkaboutthebrain(asaconsequence

ofcoursesorconferencesthattheyhad

attended,thingsthattheyhadread,etc.)

theybelievedthatconsiderationofthe

workingsofthebrainwasimportantto

education:

And Ive gone from one extreme to the other,

from not thinking about it at all to suddenlythinking, oh my God, its crucial for everything,

its really, really important ... the impact that

it might have on our thought processes, and

then also our physical actions.

I think its incredibly important, because

particularly now I find its affecting my

teaching already and particularly my reading

groups ...

Manyoftheteachersthatwereinterviewed

indicatedthattheyknewaboutsomeof

theeducationalinitiativesdescribedinthe

analysisofquestionnaireresponses,such

asBrainGym,thinkingskills,learningstyles

acceleratedlearning,learningdifficulties

(suchasdyslexia,autisticspectrumdisorders

andADHD),multi-sensorylearningandwater/fishoil.However,otherideasabout

theroleofthebrainalsoemerged.One

participantattendingtheCambridge

conferencetoldus:

I was told that if you tilted your head it would

release a chemical into the brain that prepared

it for learning more.

Whenaskedaboutwhereparticipantshad

obtainedinformationabouttheroleof

thebrainineducation,responsesagain

echoedthosemadeinthequestionnaire


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study.Anumberofparticipantsindicatedacentralroleforin-servicetrainingorteacher

conferences.

In-service training Ive found very beneficial,

particularly training that we did in conjunction

with the educational psychologist when they

ran things for us like Brain Gym and teaching

thinking skills, they were really, really good.

... the rest of the school had an INSET day the

other day and they were talking about Brain

Gym, which is the latest thing ...

Anumberofparticipantswere,orhadbeen,

SENCOs,andthisseemedtoplayarolein

theirabilitytoattendspecifictrainingdays:

... I got to choose my INSETs, so therefore Iwould choose INSET which would help or

would move me just a little bit closer. But I

wouldnt have been offered those had I not

been a SENCO ... I think it should be more

widely available to classroom teachers, I dont

think you need to be a SENCO for it to be

important really.

In-servicetrainingseemstohavetakenanumberofforms.Insomecases,interested

stafformembersoftheseniormanagement

teamhavereceivedtrainingonatopicand

thenmadedecisionsaboutwhethertorelay

thisbacktotherestoftheschoolstaff:

... I think it was one of the teachers had gone

to a conference or something and they just ...

gave the information about [Brain Gym].

Bits and bobs from INSET, bits and bobs that

other people have been on and theyve come

back and theyve cascaded to other teachers.

... I think that as a headteacher I should knowabout all of the different ways ... and then its

up to me to work out how we can share it in

the school ...

Inothercases,classroomteachershad

attendedconferencesorformsoftraining

thathavebroughtthemintocontactwith

knowledgeabouttheroleofthebrainin

education.

... as a dyslexia tutor you get a certain amount

of training but its probably not deep enough,

and obviously as an individual we try to

pursue it a bit more.

Othersourcesofknowledgeaboutthe

brainwerealsomentioned.Theseincluded

theInternet,TV(forexample,theBBC

programmeChild of Our Time),andfrom

books.Professionaljournalsandnewspapers

suchastheTimes Education Supplement

werealsomentionedaspotentialsourcesof

informationforteachers.Someinterested

teachershadreadpapersinacademic

journals,butatleastoneparticipantmade

thepointthatthiscanbe: quite challenging,

particularly if your previous educationalexperience has not been scientific.

Oneviewpointthatdidseemtoemerge

fromtheinterviewswithteachersconcerned

theabilityoftheinformationsourceto

beaccessible,inspirationaland,aboveall,

abletodealwiththepracticalneedsofthe

teachersrole.

Where did I get that? I think it may have beenfrom Alistair Smith or somebody like that,

who was brilliant. I suppose this is where I

got a few of my ideas from, when you go and

see someone who puts what theyre talking


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about into practice, they try it out on you, soinstantly its more memorable anyway - you

think, oh yeah, I remember that INSET, he had

us standing up and trying to rub our tummy

and pat our head at the same time ... you

remember it more.

InreferencetotheLearningBrainEurope

conferenceinManchester,oneparticipant,

whohadattendedboththatconferenceandtheCambridgeconferencenoted:

I did feel, though, that [the Learning Brain

Europe] conference helped people to leave

with practical strategies that they could use

tomorrow in their classrooms. This [Education

and Brain Research] conference will require

teachers to be able to interpret whats been

said to them - which is fine for those teachers

that are so interested that they will have given

up 3 days of their holiday to come to it ... But

for the teachers who would rather sit at the

back of the training session with their arms

folded and say Ive been teaching for 25 years,

what can you tell me about teaching, this

format [Cambridge conference] would not be

acceptable to them, they would vote with their

feet and walk out.

Onthesubjectofwhatteachersknowabout

thebrainandhowtheyknowit,itisclear

thatresponsesmadeduringtheinterviews

maponto,andextend,thosefromthe

questionnairestudy.Teachersareawareofa

numberofbrain-relatededucationalissues

includingteachingandlearningapproaches

andeducationalkinesiology,plussomeknowledgefromtheacademicworldsof

psychologyandneuroscience.Theprocess

bywhichthisinformationreachesteachers

seemstoinvolveinterestedteachers

(includingspecialneedsco-ordinatorsand

headteachers)goingoutfromtheschooltoeventssuchasconferencesandtraining

days.Ideasthatlinkneuroscienceand

educationseemtohaveconsiderableappeal

andhavebeentakenbackintoschoolby

theinterestedteachers.Theprocessof

knowledgedisseminationisquitecomplex,

therefore,andanumberoffactorsseem

toplayaroleinwhetheraschooltakeson

neuroscienceandeducation,andhow.Oneimportantfactorseemstobetheextentthat

theknowledgecomesfromasourcethat

ismemorableandthatprovidesteachers

withpracticalstrategiesforworkingwith

learners.However,itisclearthatsome

educationalprofessionalsarekeentomake

themselvesawareofthescientificbasisof

neuroscienceandeducationinitiatives,even

thoughthismeansthattheywillberequired

toengagewithconferencepresentations,

journalpapersandbooks,whichare

perceivedasmorechallengingtoconsume:

Because if I read in the TES that theres

something going on that Im interested in, then

Ill write it down ... for instance, a few years ago

somebody had done some really big research

on spelling and I sent off for the book, and that

was from reading about some research that

had been done and who to get the book from

... I think it was one of the universities ... And I

sent off for it.

Theissueofhowbesttodisseminate

informationaboutneuroscienceand

educationwasastrongthemethroughoutmanyoftheinterviewsandregardlessof

howtheteacherswhotookpartinthis

studyhadobtainedknowledgeaboutthis

topic,manyofthemhadstrongviewson

howtheprocessofdisseminationmightbe


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handledinthefuture.Inparticular,teachersstressedtheimportanceofaccessibility

ofknowledge.Twokeyissuesemerged

inrelationtothispoint:thelackoftime

availabletoteacherstofindoutabout

scientificinitiativeslikeneuroscience,and

themismatchbetweenthenatureofthe

informationdisseminatedbyacademics

andtheexistingknowledgeandneedsof

teachers.Inrelationtotheissueoftime,oneinterviewparticipanttoldus:

I feel ... inspired to find out the truth really,

and not so readily believe what you read in the

TES or any other article, where you just blindly

believe it and dont actually find out the facts

for yourself. But like lots of people have said

today, there isnt the time, I barely ever read

the TES, let alone any other publication, letalone finding journals in libraries, etc. And I

know that seems like an excuse, but teachers,

unless theyre in the Summer holidays - theydont have the time to pursue things like that

- whether theyre interested or not, they just

dont have the time.

Thisviewpointwascommonintheinterview

responses.Althoughmanyoftheinterview

participantshadobtainedinformationabout

neuroscienceandeducationfromacademic

sources,theywerescepticalabouthowthisprocesswouldworkforallteachers.

I feel very privileged that Ive got the time ...

[to read], but when youre teaching youre too

tired.

Im just trying to be realistic and thinking

about lots of teachers that I know within the

profession, there are some that are really,really enthusiastic and will go out of their way

to take on new ideas and learn about new


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3

things, but then there are a lot more who aresimply trying to keep up with things and trying

to keep a balance between their home life and

their school life, so they dont really have the

time, or feel that they have the time, to look

into these things in a lot of depth.

HereweseethatalthoughINSEThadbeen

seenasagoodwayofprovidingteachers

withknowledgeaboutneuroscienceandeducation,therewerealsolimitstotherole

thatthisformofdisseminationmightplay:

... with [teaching and learning] products, what

happens is, oh, right, weve got an INSET day in

3 weeks time ... And then when [the teachers]

turn up at the INSET day and the subject is

presented to them, thats when theyll maybe

start thinking about it and then maybe theyll

make links with what theyve heard before, or

maybe what theyve read somewhere but not

really taken on board.

... when you go to in-service training for those

sort of conditions [eg ADHD], the real causes

and what might be able to be done about

those causes are skimmed over, I think, very,

very quickly, because usually what teachers

are concerned about is how they deal with

the outcomes, its not sort of considered that

its our job to think about why its actually

happening ...

... I think INSET days are a really good

opportunity ... but they tend to be quite short

and theres so many things that the school

wants to cover. ... Ive always thought that theinformation they give you is very good, but

its never in-depth enough. And what youre

wanting is to be able to read something and

digest it and understand it and then have an

opportunity to talk about it afterwards.

Manyrespondentsseemedtofeelthatthelanguage,toneandmessageofsomeofthe

moreacademicinformationonneuroscience

andeducationwasnothelpfultoteachers.

The neuroscientists ... some of them have

got a fantastic wealth of knowledge, but its

difficult for them to translate that knowledge

into a format that is comprehensible to the

teachers and relevant to the teachers.

Thisviewpointwascommonamongstthe

respondents,someofwhomappearedto

feelthatthiswasaproblemcreatedbythe

academicsthemselves,whileothersputit

downtotheirownignoranceandinability

tounderstand.Indeed,someteachers

appearedtodiscountthemselvesfrom

beingabletodealwithneuroscientificknowledgeinitsacademicform.

I did a few of those conclusions myself

listening to [academic researchers] results,

Id say, oh well, that must mean that I can

do this in the classroom, when actually

they concluded it in a completely different

way because ... Id misread the result, or

misinterpreted it, or overgeneralised it.

I wouldnt like to know all of [the brains]

ins and outs, because I probably wouldnt

understand it, to be honest, knowing my

limitations.

Someofthosewhotookpartinthe

interviewsacknowledgedthattherewasa

bigdifferenceintheskillsofcommunication

betweenmanyacademicsintheworldof

neuroscienceandtheindividualsassociated

withtheteachingandlearningapproaches.

Therewasasenseamongstsometeachers

thatasuggestedlackofscientificbasis


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tosomeoftheteachingandlearningapproacheslentweighttoaviewofthe

individualsthatpromotedtheseassnake

oilsellers.Despitethis,onerespondentfelt

thatthemorepopulistdisseminatorshadan

advantageovertheacademicsintermsof

theirabilitytocommunicateeffectivelywith

teachers:

... [the academics are] not seen ascommunicators always, whereas the snake oil

sellers are often gifted communicators, and

theyre the ones that the teachers take home to

come and teach them on their INSET days.

Thecommentsinthissectionpaintan

interestingbutcomplexpictureofthe

extenttowhichtheneedsofteachersare

beingmetintermsofthedisseminationofknowledgeaboutneuroscienceand

education.Althoughasignificantnumber

ofeducationprofessionalsdoseemto

haveacuriosityaboutthebrainanditsrole

inteachingandlearning,itwasfeltthat

notallteachersareinterested,certainly

atthisstage,infindingoutmoreabout

neuroscienceandeducation.Muchof

theinformationthatdoesfinditswaytoteacherscomesviaINSETdays,and

oftenconcernsteachingandlearning

approaches,suchasBrainGym,which

translateeasilyintopractice.Someteachers,

particularlythosewitharesponsibility

forpupilswithspecialeducationalneeds,

mayhaveencounteredinformation

aboutcognitiveandneuroscientificbasis

oflearningproblemsthroughtraining

courses,conferencesandtheirownreading.

However,mostteachersfeelthatacademics

arenotalwayswellplacedtodeliver

informationinawaythatisaccessibleand

usefulforthem.Thisisdespitethefactthatasmall,butapparentlygrowing,number

ofteachersarebeginningtofeelaneedto

establishascientificbasisforsomeofthe

teachingandlearningtechniquesthatthey

havebeenusing.

Onepossibleroutefordisseminating

knowledgeaboutneuroscienceand

educationisthroughteachertraining.Thisideawasdiscussedduringanumberofthe

interviews.Regardlessofwhethertheyhad

undertakenaBEdorPGCE,respondents

reportedthattheyhadnotreceived

informationabouttheworkingsofthebrain

duringtheirtraining.Thisisunsurprising,

asmostrespondentshadtrainedatatime

whenrelevantneuroscientificknowledge

wasunlikelytohavebeenavailable.Moretellingperhapsisthelackofpsychological

inputreportedbyrespondents.Although

oneoftheteachersdidfeelthatshe

hadbenefitedfromtraininginchild

development,othersindicatedthatthey

wouldhavelikedtohavelearnedmore

aboutpsychologicalandneuroscience

issuesastheyrelatetoteaching.Participants

certainlyfeltthat,asknowledgefromthesedomainswasnowdevelopingwell,itshould

beincludedintoinitialteachertraining.

I think that as a start it should be more of an

important issue in terms of teacher training,

because ... I just find with the education system

that youre ... almost like a rat in a wheel once

you get into the system, because theres never

enough time for anything ... Whereas I thinkif its something that is kind of embedded at

teacher training level, so when people start

on their career at that stage they think, oh

yes, this is really, really important and this is


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3

something which needs to have an impactthroughout my teaching career, because its

something thats always going to be influential

in terms of maybe how children are learning

and responding to what Im doing.

Participantsnotedthatteachersalready

inpostmightbenefitfrominputon

neuroscienceandeducationthrough

ContinuingProfessionalDevelopment,althoughaswehaveseen,ifthistakes

theformofINSETdays,thereareissues

regardingtheeffectivenessofthe

disseminationprocessthatmayrequire

furtherattention.

(b) How might knowledge from

neuroscience be used in education?

Animportantissueinthebringing

togetherofneuroscienceandeducation

concernsteachersviewsonhowbestto

usethegrowingbodyofknowledgethatisdevelopingfromacademicresearch

inneuroscienceandrelateddisciplines.

Anumberofthemesemergedfromthe

discussionswithteachers.Thefirstmadea

linkbetweenneuroscientificknowledgeand

specialeducationalneeds.However,itwas

clearthansometeachersfeltverystrongly

thatneuroscienceshouldbeinaposition

toinformtheteachingofalllearners,notjustthosewithpurportedneurological

differences.Afurtherthemewasthat

ofthedevelopmentofabroad-based

understandingofhumanlearningprocesses,

whichmightthenenableteacherstowork

confidentlyandflexiblytomeetthevarying

needsoflearners.Theseideasareexamined

inmoredetailbelow.

Indiscussingtheroleofneuroscientific

knowledgeintheeducationofchildren

withspecialeducationalneeds,oneteacher

commented:


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3

I think what I would really like to find out ishow you can take the information that youve

got about problems within the brain and turn

that into practical ways of overcoming those

problems.

Interestingly,theemphasishereisonthe

translationofknowledgeintopractice:

Because at the moment I feel that I am sortof beginning to get an understanding of why

things for some children are not going right,

but having that knowledge doesnt make me

know what to do to help them in practical

terms. So its kind of linking the knowledge

about specific difficulties with specific ways of

teaching to overcome those difficulties.

Thesameparticipantalsopointsout:

If you go into schools and say, right, weve

identified that this is happening within the

brain and it affects children in this way, we

now know why children are having problems

with, say, literacy or numeracy, because such

and such is occurring in the brain, weve

scientifically proved that its happening in all

of them ... I dont think that thats enough for

teachers, because what theyre looking for you

to say is ... what do we have to do to make

sure we can help children, that we can help the

children to overcome that problem?

Thus,fromthisrespondent(andothers)

comestheviewthatitisnottheroleof

theteachertocarryoutthetranslation

ofknowledgefromacademicresearch

inneuroscienceintospecificteaching

strategies.Thisprocessneedstohave

occurredbeforeteachersbecomeinvolved.

However,anotherperspectivestressesthe

collaborativenatureofthedevelopmentofeducationalpracticefromneuroscientific

knowledge:

...

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