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Sunday, April 4, 2010

NEUROSCIENCE EDUCATION



INTRODUCTION


There is a paradigm shift in teaching and learning process mainly due to the new theories and approaches (e.g. constructivism, multiple-intelligence, active learning, and inquiry-based learning) which have eliminated the impediments and limitations of the traditional way of teaching and to improve the quality of instruction. In the recent past, various theoretical propositions( Taber, 2006; Wink,2006; von Glaslersfeld,1995; Gardner,1993) and empirical studies(Akkus, Gunel & Hand,2007;Barrington,2004;Sivan,Leung,Woon & Kember,2000; Watts,1999;Cho,Yager,Park & Seo,1997) are carried out to come up with different views for teaching. One of these views is brain-based learning (Ozden & Gultekin, 2008). "Learning is innately linked to the biological and chemical forces that control the human brain" (Hileman, 2006, p. 18). Although few people would argue with this statement, the educational and science communities have sometimes overlooked the role of the brain in the learning process. The connection has received increased attention in recent years because scientists are now better equipped to study the brain. The concept of brain-based learning is primarily neuro-scientific explanations of how human brain learns and its implications in the field of education, and therefore called as neuroscience education (Das, 2010). The roots of brain-based learning principles are in neurological research, particularly during the 1990s. In fact, the 1990s was themed "the decade of the brain" (Bush, 1990; Roberts, 2002; Sousa, 2001).