Appraisal

last updated:April 2009

Robustness

This literature review is an output from the project 'Learning Sciences and Brain Research' which was launched by the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) in 1999. The project was set up to encourage collaboration between learning sciences and brain research on the one hand, and researchers and policy makers on the other hand. It aimed to help teachers, policy makers and other education professionals understand how the brain learns and how learning can be fostered through nurture, training and adapted teaching processes and practices.

The content of the literature was gathered through three trans-disciplinary networks set up in 2002 to focus on literacy, numeracy and lifelong learning. In 2004, a fourth activity area on emotions and learning was set up in parallel to the three networks.

The review has two parts. The first and larger part is entitled "The Learning Brain" and is based on a wide range of research and other literature identified during the project. Much of the literature focuses on scientific and clinical studies, such as those reporting on imaging technologies that offer the opportunity for observation of the working brain, and provide insights into perceptual, cognitive, and emotional activities relevant to education. The second part of the review is structured on three articles about the "learning brain" in early childhood, adolescence and adulthood, respectively. These were written, in each case, by three experts.

The review methods also involved trans-disciplinary meetings of participants from the United States, Spain, Japan, Finland, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Denmark.

Relevance

Many teachers are fascinated by brain science and its application to learning and it has recently been the subject of a number of media articles. But teachers are not always able to access bona fide research (as distinct from the quick fixes and populist notions that abound), a need which this study aimed to meet. Whilst the review authors acknowledged that their findings cannot generate a universal, prescriptive pedagogical approach they can inform planning for teaching and learning. The review authors suggest neuroscience is already making an important educational contribution: providing new perspectives on longstanding challenges, raising new issues, or reinforcing existing practices.

Applicability
    
This literature review shows how neuroscientific research is contributing to education, for example:

• lifelong learning – one of the most powerful set of findings relates to the brain's 'plasticity' – the ability to adapt and grow and to also prune itself. The demands made on the individual and on his/her learning are key to plasticity – the more you learn, the more you can learn
• addressing dyslexia and dyscalculia – neuroscience shows that a balanced approach to literacy instruction may be the most effective and that mathematics instruction should build upon students' existing informal understandings
• assessment – many conventional forms of assessment, where success can be boosted by cramming, have been shown to be 'brain unfriendly' with low retained comprehension, and
• development and learning in early childhood and adolescence.

The review also outlines and refutes a number of "neuromyths" including ideas about left-side and right-side thinking, influencing developments in infancy, gender differences, and multilingualism, which are not underpinned by science.

Writing

It is quite a long review although it is well-sign-posted with chapters on the different types of learning activity mentioned above. The language is accessible for the most part with glossaries of key words in the text. Despite its length, the writing is lively and the inclusion of quotes from a number of prominent thinkers adds interest. A basic knowledge of biology, as it relates to the brain and nervous system, is helpful, but not essential.