News, events, and commentary on bridging neuroscience and education.

JOURNAL

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Volume 2, Supplement 1

Neuroscience & Education

This special supplement, supported by the Dana Foundation, will be available online for free until February 2013.

BLOG

Learning About Learning

The Dana Foundation

Neuroscientists and educators met at the Aspen Brain Forum last fall to hash out what we know and how schools might change to help every child succeed. One answer: play.

NEWS

Special Educators Borrow From Brain Studies

Education Week

Educators are using techniques drawn from brain-research studies to help students with disabilities.

REPORT

The Arts and Human Development

Framing a National Research Agenda for the Arts, Lifelong Learning, and Individual Well-Being

The National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Current evidence suggests beneficial effects of integrating the arts into health and education programs. The report recommends further research into the ways in which the arts impact human development in order to improve the efficacy of such programs.

NEWS

Brain Calisthenics for Abstract Ideas

The New York Times

Perceptual learning—which takes advantage of the brain’s ability to recognize patterns—could help students learn math and science principles more effectively.

NEWS

A Year Adds Up to Big Changes in Brain

ScienceNews

The way children process math equations changes in third grade.

NEWS

A Better Way to Teach?

ScienceNow

"A new study shows that students learn much better through an active, iterative process that involves working through their misconceptions with fellow students and getting immediate feedback from the instructor."

See also

NEWS

Improving Memory to Improve Academic Performance

“The whole function of education is to alter the brain," Nobelist Eric Kandel said at a conference for educators and scientists on learning and the brain in New York City. He and other researchers described what we know about how the brain learns.

NEWS

Visualizing How We Read

Brain imaging helps researchers decipher the intricate networks that form as people learn to read, and what may be happening when the learning goes awry.

NEWS

Why Mind, Brain, and Education Science is the "New" Brain-Based Education

This excerpt from excerpt from Mind, Brain, and Education Science: A Comprehensive Guide to the New Brain-Based Teaching provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Neuroeducation, or Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) Science

NEWS

Brain Waves Module 2

Neuroscience: Implications for Education and Lifelong Learning

A research report from The Royal Society emphasizes the importance of integrating scientific awareness of how we learn into teacher training and education policy.

NEWS

Neuro Myths: Separating Fact and Fiction in Brain-Based Learning

From Edutopia: What does new neuroscience research tell educators about how children learn and how teachers should teach?
 

NEWS

What’s the Real Deficit in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

In a Dana Foundation briefing paper, brain experts discuss attention allocation of children with ADHD. While these children might not pay attention in school, they are likely to be captivated by activities they enjoy.
 

NEWS

Busting Some of the Myths of Attention

Multitasking, ADHD, and optimal study times were among the topics as scientists and educators shared their expertise during the “Attention and Engagement in Learning” summit this week in Baltimore. The summit was held at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore on May 5 as part of the Neuro-Education Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Education.

See also

COMMENTARY

Home Is Where the Arts Are, Too

Implications of Arts Learning for Families and Parents


Susan MagsamenThe reduction and loss of arts programs in the schools puts more responsibility on families and the community to provide quality arts experiences, writes Susan Magsamen, co-director of the Neuro-Education Initiative at Johns Hopkins University School of Education. Families need to be strong educational partners with schools on behalf of their children. 

 

NEWS

Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them

From The New York Times: New research on when young brains are best able to grasp fundamental concepts could reshape early education.
 

Commentary

Six Practical Reasons Arts Education is More Than a Luxury

From Washingtonpost.com: A guest blog by cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham on the new publication from the Learning, Arts, and the Brain conference.
 

News

Neuroeducation Emerges as Insights into Brain Development, Learning Abilities Grow

As scientists learn more about how the brain grows and learns, universities are developing programs to translate those insights into practical classroom strategies.
 

News

Brain Scientists See Signs That Arts Educators Find Familiar

The latest research in neuroscience is providing evidence that supports a notion long argued by advocates: that the arts improve learning and cognition.
 

Commentary

Why the Arts Matter

Jerome Kagan Gives Six Good Reasons for Advocating the Importance of Arts in School


2009 Learning, Arts, and the Brain Summit - Jerome Kagan "It is not possible to live by rationality alone," said cognitive-research pioneer Jerome Kagan during the Learning, Arts, and the Brain conference in Baltimore. 

 

 

Commentary

The Arts Will Help School Accountability

Commentary by Mariale Hardiman

Federal and state policy makers should expand their view of what constitutes an effective school based on the evidence of science and of experience, proposes a neuroeducation specialist at Johns Hopkins University.  For example, at the school she ran in Baltimore, "as teachers designed arts-integrated lessons that fostered creative thinking, a transformation occurred in the school."


Neuroeducation: Learning, Arts, and the BrainNeuroeducation: Learning, Arts, and the Brain

This free publication focuses on the convergence of neuroscientific research and teaching and learning, with an emphasis on the arts. It is the culmination of a summit sponsored by The Johns Hopkins University School of Education’s Neuro-Education Initiative, and includes an executive summary, edited transcripts of panel presentations, and a synthesis of roundtable discussions.


Front Cover of 'Learning, Arts, and the Brain' - ThumbnailLearning, Arts, and the Brain

Learning, Arts, and the Brain, a study three years in the making, is the result of research by cognitive neuroscientists from seven leading universities across the United States. In the Dana Consortium study, released in March 2008, researchers grappled with a fundamental question: Are smart people drawn to the arts or does arts training make people smarter?

Events 

Learning and the Brain Conferences

Emotional Brains and Education
April 19, 2012
New York, NY

Web-Connected Minds
May 4, 2012 - May 6, 2012
Arlington, VA