Learning and the brain

Learning and the brain is a topic that is characterized by a plethora of information, diverging views and questionable practices. Some of the valuable peer-reviewed journal articles on the topic are indicated below.

What does the brain have to do with learning?

This article by Worden, Hinton & Fischer, (2011) bemoans the undesirable lack of collaboration between neuroscientists and educationists resulting in the precipitation and proliferation of brain-based learning programs founded on numerous neuroscience myths. 

Brain-(not) Based Education: Dangers of Misunderstanding and Misapplication of Neuroscience Research

Alferink and Farmer-Dougan (2010) also highlight a number of neuroscience myths and sound a warning on the “dangers of misunderstanding and misapplication of neuroscience research” findings in education. While the authors suggest that neuroscience has the potential to be applied in special education, they call for more research.

Mind, Brain, and Education: Building a Scientific Groundwork for Learning and Teaching

In this article, Fischer (2009) explains that “the emerging field of Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) aims to bring together biology, cognitive science, development, and education to create a strong research foundation for education” (p. 3). This collaboration is supported by a number of researchers such as Tommerdahl (2010), author of A model for bridging the gap between neuroscience and education, and Goswami (2004), author of Neuroscience and education.

It is only through collaboration that education will reap the benefits of neuroscience research.

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References

Alferink, L.A. & Farmer-Dougan, V. (2010). Brain-(not) based education: dangers of misunderstanding and misapplication of neuroscience research and brain based education. Exceptionality, 18(1),42-52.

Fischer, K.W. (2009). Mind, brain, and education: building a scientific groundwork for learning and teaching. International Mind, Brain, and Education Society  and Wiley Periodicals, Inc, 3(1), 3-16.

Goswami, U. (2004) Neuroscience and education. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 31, 175–183.

Tommerdahl, J. (2010). A model for bridging the gap between neuroscience and education. Oxford Review of Education, 36(1, 97–109.

Worden, J.M., Hinton, C. & Fischer, K.W. (2011). What does the brain have to do with learning? Phi Delta Kappan, 92(8), 8-13.

Some useful blogs about Instructional Design

Here are some blogs that I found to be useful and informative.

Experiencing E-learning

This blog is written by Christy Tucker, an instructional designer and former teacher. Although Christy only started blogging five years ago, this is a useful blog especially for people who are getting into the field of instructional design. The blog contains information on topics such as the work of an instructional designer and how to get into instructional design. Christy’s blog also provides a point of reference to various sites with useful information on instructional design such as an overview of Instructional Design in E-learning by George Siemens and Instructional Systems Design model ADDIE by Don Clark.

The Rapid e-Learning Blog

This blog is written by Tom Kuhlmann, an instructional designer with over fifteen years experience. The blog is not only visually engaging but also very educational. The posts are extremely helpful and provide tips and resources on a wide range of topics such as the effective use of instructional design software tools, designing the right courses and managing e-learning projects. All of Tom’s posts are so useful and helpful that it is difficult to single out an outstanding post. However, I found the post Here Are Ten Rules to Create Engaging Elearning to be amongst my favorites.

eLearning Technology

This blog is written by Tony Karrer who is an expert on the innovative use of technology and has wide experience in both business and education spanning more than thirty years. The blog is frequently updated with a variety of educational content that is useful to many professionals. Tony’s blog includes links and references to other useful sites such as eLearning Learning which collects and aggregates the best content on elearning from various sources. I found the post eLearning Learning Adds Personalized Subscriptions to be very informative.