Neuro-Education: A Bridge between Cognitive Sciences and Education
Neuro-Education: A Translation of Mind, Brain, and Language Function
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The question of how the brain learns is still a mystery for many educators, largely because the research in mind and brain has not been translated to everyday educational practice. Ineffective practices, e.g., emphasizing auditory methods in reading ( or reading fluency equals to reading), are prevalent in today’s classrooms, despite a different result revealed in scientific research: A majority of students learn via the visual system to acquire concepts represented by language (see Arwood & Merideth, 2017).
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Arwood’s (2011) Neuro-Education Model (see the visual representation of the model to the right) aims to bridge the gap between cognitive neuroscience and psychology with education. By adding the language lens, the model helps educators translate scientific results to classroom practice that connects to the learner's learning system. The core of the model centers on a four-tier learning theory -- Neuro-Semantic Language Learning Theory (NsLLT). NsLLT emphasizes scaffolding information stage by stage for the learner: from sensory input to form perceptual patterns, which later develop into conceptual circuits and language networks. Educators should provide sufficient materials and guidance to help the student scaffold information for conceptual understanding and use of expanded language representations for higher-level thinking. All these stages can find support from current findings in cognitive sciences and language theories. For example, auditory-visual integration research, memory research, imagery, and language research. Each new finding composes a complete picture of learning which conforms to a classical tenet that the brain is more than the sum of the parts (i.e., the brain works synergistically). As educators, we need to let the truth, not assumptions or traditions, guide our path in teaching, assessment, and support of the student as a whole person.
References
Arwood, E. (2011). Language function : An introduction to pragmatic assessment and intervention for higher order thinking and better literacy. London ; Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley.
Arwood, E. L., & Merideth, C. (2017). Neuro-Education: A Translation from Theory to Practice. Portland, OR: APRICOT, Inc. ISBN: 0967972027
The Neuroeducation Model links cognitive psychology and neuroscience research with the theory and practice of language function. The interface of the model (area A) represents the way educators gain inspirations from the three disciplines to transform scientific findings and theories into an effective classroom practice, i.e., using language to help the learner acquire concepts and nurture higher-level thinking.
Current Research
