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This collection of essays on neuroscience offers a glimpse into how the other half educates, says Megan Dixon, director of research and development at the Aspire Educational Trust.
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| The 'BrainCanDo' Handbook of Teaching and Learning: Practical Strategies to Bring Psychology |
Prince Harry has reported how he has learned a huge amount about unconscious bias since being married to Meghan Markle. In a moment of honesty, he recalled that he had been raised in a context of luxury and privilege, and it had taken him many years to recognise his own prejudices.
This prejudice, or unconscious bias, creeps in whether we like it or not. We are born with a predisposition to prefer the sorts of people we are familiar with, and this colours our behaviour and attitudes towards others..
What has this got to do with a review of a book about the translation of educational neuroscience into teaching and learning practice?...
Swayed by the use of scientific language
Refreshingly, the book starts with a philosophical exploration of the elusive concept of scientism: the dogmatic excessive belief in the power or value of science. We have, it suggests, “a dogmatic assumption that scientific methods or findings can be immediately or straightforwardly applied in education”. This is where schools and practitioners are misled.
We are wrong to consider it easy or to be easily swayed by the use of scientific language or concepts. It is perfectly possible to be a good teacher without a deep knowledge of educational neuroscience.
Source: TES News
