Why should teachers care about cognitive neuroscience?

45 Pages·2014·12.03 MB·English

Why should teachers care about

cognitive neuroscience?
!
Daniel Ansari

Numerical Cognition Laboratory

Department of Psychology & Brain and Mind Institute

University of Western Ontario

‘Teachers as Learning Specialists - Implication for Teachers’ Pedagogical Knowledge & Professionalism

OECD-CERI & Flemish Department of Education and Training

Brussels, June 18th 2014
Why?
•
Education changes the brain

•
Experience-dependent plasticity

•
Teachers as ‘Orchestrators of neuronal
plasticity’

•
Understanding the brain - changes in
practice?
Surge of interest

2014
New funding initiatives
Teachers are interested
•
286 pre-service teachers from Western University
I"am"interested"in"learning"about"
brain"research"
45%#
140#
120#
30%#
100#
80#
60#
13%#
9%#
40#
4%#
20#
0#
1# 2# 3# 4# 5#
Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree
What kind of evidence
is driving the new field?
Evidence

Plasticity
Maguire et al. (2000)
Lederbogen et al. (2011)
Dehaene et al. (2010)