Neurosophisms - or a more 'scientific' word for neurobollocks - are something that talk on education is awash with. OK, so neuroscience can offer some unique insights into education, particularly in the uses and abuses of technology, but much of it may already confirm what educators already know. Of course, that's not to say we should dismiss the exciting and growing area of neuroscience in education - just to assess research outcomes scientifically. In other words, take everything you read with a grain of salt. Here's an extract from a top article on the subject from The Conversation. How to spot a neurosophism
The next time you read something about neuroscience and education, there are a few simple questions you can ask to inoculate yourself against ultimately meaningless propositions:
- Can I replace the word “brain” with the word “student” without losing any meaning? If so, there is no need to defer to neuroscience.
- Is this finding new? Or has it been a part of successful teaching practice for years? If the latter, there is no need to defer to neuroscience.
- What type of research is being used to prove the point? If the answer is psychological, educational or otherwise behavioural, there is no need to defer to neuroscience.
- Does the proposed outcome represent a truly meaningful and measurable value? If the answer is no, there is no need to defer to neuroscience."
Great guide on Neuroscience in education. Now the next question is, how does one define "a truly meaningful and measurable value"? Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThe article cited elaborates on this in the preceding paragraph "Most teachers will never see their students’ brains in action. So what are we to make of propositions that pair a desired educational goal (“true” students) with an outcome impossible for the majority of teachers to measure (neural network development)? Even if teachers were able to directly measure neural development, how would they ever determine if the changes produced were “maximised” or otherwise?"
ReplyDeleteSo the outcome must be observable: Can you collect evidence that learning or development has actually occurred? Does it mean something to students and teachers alike?