Neuroeducation : do educators value neuroscience research?

Abstract

Created from the Cognitive Revolution of the 1950s, the field of neurology has discovered research that suggests the way the brain best learns, stores and retrieves information. However, this knowledge is making its way into the field of education at a snail's pace (Jensen, 2005). Recently there has been a call for educators to learn neuroscience to best meet the demands they are held to in today's society. Furthermore, understanding the brain's neuroplastic potential brings a sense of optimism to the learning process for both teachers and students, which will ultimately empower students to take control of their own learning (Willis, 2012). Specifically the change agents are asking that educators be taught basic neurology to select strategies, techniques and policies that will maximize student learning potential. However, if taught basic research in the field of neurology will educators value and recognize its applications to their practices? I conducted a neuroeducation workshop for teachers and administrators (n=43) at a high school in August of 2014 to make these determinations. I surveyed the participants with closed and open ended questions after the workshop. The survey results were tabulated, charted and graphed, using Google Forms. Lastly, the workshop was evaluated by two assistant principals. The results indicated that educators do in fact value neuroscience and can make applications to their own classrooms. While the results did not indicate a dearth of neuroscience in teacher undergraduate programs; they did suggest that these educators desire to learn more in future professional development workshops.