Elwick, A (Ed). (2014) An awareness of neuroscience in education. CfBT Education Trust: Reading, UK.

Text An awareness of neuroscience in education.pdf - Published Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff Download (1MB)

Abstract

This research was commissioned by CfBT Education Trust and carried out in conjunction with the Institute for the Future of the Mind at the University of Oxford. The project sought to establish whether teaching pupils about the brain could impact upon their beliefs about their own intelligence (amongst other motivational measures) and ultimately positively impact on their academic performance. The central aims of this research were: • To assess whether teaching pupils about their own brains (neuroscience training) has an effect on their motivation to learn. • To assess whether teaching pupils about their brain has an effect on their actual academic performance. • To assess whether the mode of teaching pupils about the brain (either by a teacher or a computer programme) impacts upon any outcomes of the training. A randomised controlled trial with Year 7 pupils showed that neuroscience training can positively change pupils’ views of their own intelligence, encouraging them to see their own intelligence as flexible. The study did not show any positive impact on actual academic performance itself, but this was tested over a relatively short time period and within just one subject (mathematics). The study also tested the mode of delivery, comparing content delivered by a teacher with identical input delivered through an interactive software program. That delivered by the teacher was seen to have a greater impact on pupils’ motivation, in both the short and the longer term. The study makes the following recommendations: • Additional research is needed to explore the effect of neuroscience teaching on academicbperformance. • Neuroscience workshops should be used to positively improve pupils’ beliefs about their ownbintelligence. • Further research should be undertaken to explore how neuroscience workshops can be used tobtry and combat the Year 7 learning ‘dip’.

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