The Learning Success Blog

Educators and schools around the world are increasingly using the knowledge, techniques, and programs developed from a new understanding of how our brains learn. They are applying neuroscience in their classrooms.

Why?

As an educator, you might be asking yourself why would I do this in my school?

Here are some reasons why. Educational neuroscience can:

Is educational neuroscience a legitimate area of knowledge which can help teachers and students, or is it mostly "neurobabble" as some articles in the Melbourne Age and in The Conversation have recently suggested?

The authors of both these articles correctly point out that there is an increasing amount of brain-based language in education discussions. And also that much of the 'brain' and 'neuro' language being used has little scientific basis.

But that does not mean all discussion of the role of neuroscience in education should be dismissed as useless "neurobabble". In fact educational neuroscience is now a recognised scientific discipline which is being studied in some of the world's leading universities including Stanford, Columbia and Vanderbilt in the USA and Cambridge University in the UK.

Many children struggle with reading, but there are ways parents can help prevent reading difficulties.

Reading researcher, Dr Jennifer Buckingham estimates that as many as 1 million children in Australia are at risk of reading failure.

We know from scientific research that the ability to read is one of the most complex skills we can learn.

According to reading research organisations in Australia and overseas, including The Centre for Independent Studies in Australia, the National Reading Panel (USA), and the USA National Institute for Literacy, there are some critical skills for learning to read.  

How do educators sort through the hype surrounding brain-based "neuroscience" learning programs?

Parents and educators have been seeing the benefits for students using well designed, research based brain training programs to improve their learning capacity. This has led more and more distributors of educational products to jump on the bandwagon and promote their products as "neuroscience based".

So if you have been noticing more advertisments, emails and other promotions using the terms "neuroscience" and "brain-based" as a basis for their products, how do you know what are valid claims and what is simple opportunistic use of these labels?

What's artificial intelligence got to do with learning and education? Actually, as it turns out quite a lot and in the future it may have an even bigger impact on how teachers teach and how students learn.

I was fortunate to attend the Australian Tutoring Association 2019 annual conference in Melbourne, where I heard educator Moya Gibb Smith give a presentation about the role of artificial intelligence (or AI as its generally known) in education and learning and how it's going to affect students, teachers, and tutors.

According to Dr David Bach, a Harvard-trained scientist, physician and serial entrepreneur, the rapidly developing “neuro-performance” industry will change what we understand about the limits of human performance in sport, business and learning.

As a parent or teacher, why should you care about this?  And what is neuro-performance anyway?

Neuro-performance is the practice of improving brain function to achieve a higher level of human performance...including speed, strength, decision-making, learning, thinking and the ability to perform under pressure by training the brain so it’s messages are clear, accurate and fast.

It is now being used in elite sports and in business to enable participants to achieve greater levels of performance.

Discovering new cultures is one of the top reasons why people travel, according to Nomads World, and if you are doing so with children, there's no reason why you can’t make learning a priority.

Vacations wield many benefits whose magnitude is difficult to quantify, and they don’t have to be expensive or exotic to teach kids a thing or two.

New, unfamiliar surrounds can inspire creativity and other positive qualities. They can also help children understand their world and environment, learn more about art and architecture, and expand their palate.

My brother, a primary school Principal, told me he often noticed the kids who did well at school had families who were very engaged in their education and in the school community. 

That's not to say children can't achieve at school if their families are not involved.

But it's an interesting observation.

So I thought I would explore the impact of family involvement on a special category of students - those struggling with their learning.  And I spoke with Anne-Marie O'Hagan, a former teacher and now a tutor working with struggling students for her perspective on this issue.

We recorded our conversation for an episode of The Learning Capacity Podcast.

Earlier intervention for children at risk of reading problems, and strengthening the area of their brains that distributes sound will probably prevent a lot of reading failures.

These are some of the conclusions from the latest (2019) research into dyslexia, according to Dr Martha Burns when she presented Scientific Learning Corporation's 5th annual webinar on updates to dyslexia research to mark Dyslexia Awareness Month, in October.

Dr Burns referenced many of the articles about dyslexia which were published in 2019.

Here are highlights from just two of the 2019 articles (courtesy of Amy Takabori from the Science of Learning Blog).

Around a fifth of 15-year-olds in Australia do not have basic financial literacy, according to a new financial literacy assessment results report.

While in no way is debt solely dependent on poor money management, it can certainly be exacerbated by it and it is never too early to learn about the importance of sound financial strategy. Follow these tips and ensure the process is as fun as it is informative!

Money Talks

Money somehow seems to be a slightly taboo subject in many homes, with few parents discussing money matters with their children.