Introduction
The twenty-first-century workforce requires students to be equipped with generic skills to meet the challenges of modern living in a globalized world. Evidence-based research continues to be drawn on to develop education curriculums. Recently, with the government’s goal of the No Child Left Behind Act, 2001, brain-centered teaching practices are emphasized to enhance the learning experiences of students across ages (Beamon, 2004; Blank et al., 2007; Churchland, 2007; Grobstein, 2007; Martinez, 2004). The literature points to the importance of teacher understanding of brain development and its interaction with student learning. This is critically important to know for students who experience a learning disability, such as dyslexia. The following paper aims to present a critical review of current research into brain-centered teaching. It is anticipated that the review will find brain-centered teaching as effective for students in primary and secondary school.
Review of the Literature
In 1995 the Santa Fe Institute collected a series of essays into a book titled, The Mind, the Brain and Complex Adaptive Systems, which identified a mismatch between emerging research into learning theory and education best practices at the time (Zull, 2004). It appeared that research into the development of the intellect in children pointed to children below the age of three years as being heavily dependent on encouragement from socially significant others and external stimulation for the brain to develop optimally with basic social skills, such as being able to collaborate and to have a broad perspective of situations. Further, the collection of essays indicated that unless skills are stimulated at a very early age, trying to develop these skills later in life was shown to be increasingly difficult.
Later research also supported the idea of elementary schools delivering learning materials to classes of 10-12 students to optimally engage the mind of young students (Newman & Dickonson, 2006). It was also becoming more apparent that teachers needed to develop learning programs that provided ongoing learning for themselves, as well as students. The understanding of content and process in ways in which a child would view the material would enable children to see for themselves how their minds work. Provided with the foundation for self-learning and would prepare young students’ for ongoing professional development in their adult years (Buszaki, 2006). As such the role of teachers had to change so that they could model learning techniques to students to enable the children to learn for themselves (Abbott & Ryan, 1999; Thomas & Arhmed, 2004).
More recent literature contends that adolescents can also benefit from a brain-centered teaching approach at school. Neurocognitive research using fMRI scans shows that teenagers have not fully developed their frontal lobes, and as such skills in reasoning and decision-making tend to not be comparable to those of most adults (Beamon, 2004). This can be a challenging situation for teachers as well as frustrating for teen students trying to take on board necessary socio-emotional skills and intellectual material for use later in life. Knowledge of how these brain areas in teens can be fully activated, and engaging other brain areas of teens that are predominantly active at this stage in their development, allows the teacher to develop “how-to” strategies for; problem-solving; awareness of the relevance of materials; and cultivation of collaborative skills (Churchland, 2007). An ideal method to achieve these goals is to motivate teenage students with authentic events that are happening in their lives at this time. However, Beamon (2004) does not go into detail as to how this can be achieved by teachers. Forrest Primary School suggests that a Life Skills program for teens can enhance their understanding of how their brain functions and that this can have numerous positive implications for personal development and learning. This can include activities such as brain gym and circle time (Forrest Primary School, 2006).
Overall, it is recognized that any brain-focused teaching methods need to incorporate a whole school approach and not be limited to individual classrooms implementing evidence-based practices at a teacher’s initiative. Current best practices draw on neurocognitive and constructionist theories and models to enhance the National Teaching Standards (Cain, Cain, McClintic & Klimeck, 2005). More congruent classroom instruction can be developed with a “brain compatible” curriculum. This means moving beyond textbooks to meet the needs of survival in a globalized and highly technological society, where information is abundant. Seeing human beings as living systems and so materials that are relevant to the dynamic and complex experiences of the student are likely to have a much greater impact than materials that are abstract or too simplistic (Grobstein, 2007).
For teachers to achieve such a state of mind with their students there needs to be “in the moment” teaching, or the active process (Motschnig-Pitrik, & Dernt, 2003). Teacher-student and peer questioning can engage students in conversations about what they are learning. Self-reflective journals are another method of encouraging students to think more deeply, to identify specific features of what they are learning, and to recognize relationships and patterns amongst the information as they practice critical analysis. Thinking on their feet allows students to develop goal-setting approaches to problem-solving and this entails establishing timelines. The communication of their ideas will be clearer and more comprehensive as they will have personalized their learning experiences (Martinez, 2004).
Discussion
In conclusion, the hypothesis for this research was supported in that the literature supports the use of a brain-centered approach to teaching, within primary as well as secondary schools. It appears that students who start early to model learning approaches exhibited by their significant others and interact with a high stimulation in their environment have much better life skill chances later in life. The modeled learning approaches however must encompass learning about one’s brain structure and function so that young students can develop their self-learning strategies. Furthermore, later in life as teenagers, students can benefit from a brain-centered approach in learning self-reflection and critical analysis to gain a deeper insight into characteristics and patterns amongst the information they are learning.
The research into brain-centered teaching can positively influence learning curriculums to ensure that “no child is left behind” in that the approach focuses on multiple methods of delivery of materials, often in an active way to engage students with “in the moment” learning experiences. This encourages independent as well as collaborative learning skills for the student. Neurocognitive research has contributed immensely to current best practices of teaching. And a whole school approach must be taken to ensure that the students absorb a systems approach to learning about themselves, and how to navigate life’s challenges, now and in the future.
References
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