Oxford Cognitive Neuroscience - Education Forum
Convenor: Professor John Geake
[http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/education/staff/geake.html]
The Oxford Cognitive Neuroscience - Education Forum is an informal group of
neuroscientists, psychologists and educationists who meet to explore and develop their
common interest in the implications and applications of research in cognitive neuroscience for
educational theory and practice.
The Oxford Cognitive Neuroscience - Education Forum was founded in July 2001 by
Professor Colin Blakemore (University of Oxford) and Professor John Geake (Oxford
Brookes University).
The two main objectives of the Oxford Cognitive Neuroscience - Education Forum are:
1. to design cognitive neuroscientific experiments that could address important
educational concerns;
2. to inform the education profession of relevant cognitive neuroscientific research,
while providing informed counter-arguments to the plethora of neuro-myths that are
promulgated within educational circles.
The Oxford Cognitive Neuroscience - Education Forum is supported administratively by the
Oxford Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience [http://www.cogneuro.ox.ac.uk/]. Meetings
are held once a term in the Oxford University Laboratory of Physiology, Parks Road, Oxford.
Next meeting: Wednesday 6th October 2004
To join the Forum’s email list, please contact:
Sally Harte
Administrator, Oxford Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience
sally.harte@physiol.ox.ac.uk
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Forthcoming conferences of the Forum
Cognitive neuroscience and educational psychology [programme “neuroscience
& edu psychology” PDF + booking form .doc - email attached]
Friday 16 July 2004
Westminster Institute [http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/education/],
Harcourt Hill campus
Oxford Brookes University
Cognitive neuroscience in the school classroom
Monday 25 - Wednesday 27 July 2005
Faculty of Education
Homerton College
University of Cambridge
Publications on educational neuroscience
Hansen, P. C., Azzopardi, P., Matthews, P. M. & Geake, J. G. (2003). Neural Correlates of
Creative Intelligence: An Fmri Study of Fluid Analogies. Poster at The Society for
Neuroscience Annual Conference, New Orleans, 8-12 November. [PDF Geake SfN attached]
Geake, J. G., & Cooper, P. W. (2003). Implications of cognitive neuroscience for
education. Westminster Studies in Education, 26(10), 7-20.
[
attached]
Abstract: Research into the functioning of the human brain, particularly during the past
decade, has greatly enhanced our understanding of cognitive behaviours which are
fundamental to education: learning, memory, intelligence, emotion. Here we argue the case
that research findings from cognitive neuroscience hold implications for educational practice.
In doing so we advance a bio-psycho-social position that welcomes multi-disciplinary
perspectives on current educational challenges. We provide some examples of research
implications which support conventional pedagogic wisdom, and others which are novel and
perhaps counter-intuitive. As an example, we take a model of adaptive plasticity that relies
on stimulus reinforcement and examine possible implications for pedagogy and curriculum
depth. In doing so, we reject some popular but over-simplistic applications of neuroscience to
education. In sum, the education profession could benefit from embracing rather than
ignoring cognitive neuroscience. Moreover, educationists should be actively contributing to
the research agenda of future brain research.
Geake, J. G. (2003). Adapting Middle Level educational practices to current research on brain
functioning. Journal of the New England League of Middle Schools, 15(2), 6-12. [doc file
attached]
Abstract: The 1990’s were labelled, “The decade of the brain” by a U.S. Presidential
Committee (Rennie, 2002). Certainly more has been learned about brain functioning in this
past decade than in the entire history of human enquiry. However, unfortunately for those
hoping for immediate research outcomes, which could be used for political solutions to social
problems, the more that is understood about the brain, the more of its mystery is revealed.
Are there new insights about brain functioning, which can be applied to education? Does a
better understanding of how our students’ brains function help us in our classroom work as
teachers? This article outlines a positive response to these questions by considering how
some vexatious educational issues could be informed by viewing the research evidence
including studies at Oxford University in Great Britain, on how brains manage intelligence.
Nature Neuroscience 7(1) January 2004. Editorial: Better reading through brain research
[Nneuro_ed.pdf attached]
Usha Goswami (2004). Neuroscience and education. British Journal of Educational
Psychology 74(1), 1-14.
Abstract: Neuroscience is a relatively new discipline encompassing neurology, psychology
and biology. It has made great strides in the last 100 years, during which many aspects of the
physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology and structure of the vertebrate brain have been
understood. Understanding of some of the basic perceptual, cognitive, attentional, emotional
and mnemonic functions is also making progress, particularly since the advent of the
cognitive neurosciences, which focus specifically on understanding higher level processes of
cognition via imaging technology. Neuroimaging has enabled scientists to study the human
brain at work in vivo, deepening our understanding of the very complex processes
underpinning speech and language, thinking and reasoning, reading and mathematics. It
seems timely, therefore, to consider how we might implement our increased understanding of
brain development and brain function to explore educational questions. © The British
Psychological Society 2004
Byrnes, J. P. & Fox, N.A. (1998). The educational relevance of research in cognitive
neuroscience. Educational Psychology Review,10, 297-342.
Abstract: The benefits of incorporating finding s from cognitive neuroscience into the field
of educational psychology are considered. The first section begins with arguments against the
idea that one can ignore the brain when positing a model of student learning or motivation.
The second section describes limitations in the methods used to reveal brain-cognition
relations. In the third section, properties of the brain and brain development are described.
The fourth section summarizes the cognit9ive neuroscience research on attention, memory,
reading and math. Finally, areas of future research in cognitive neuroscience are suggested
that would help answer important questions about individual differences and developmental
differences in student learning.
O'Boyle, M.W. & Gill, H.S. (1998). On the relevance of research findings in cognitive
neuroscience to educational practice. Educational Psychology Review,10, 397-40
Abstract: In their target article, Byrnes and Fox argue that many of the recent findings from
the field of cognitive neuroscience have particular importance for education. In our
commentary, we lend support to their contention by reporting on some of our work that has
potential relevance to the proposed interface between cognitive neuroscience and education.
Specifically, we discuss the findings from several studies investigating the neuropsychology
of intellectual giftedness, and sex differences in the brain, each of which suggest a unique
functional organization that differentiates gifted from average ability adolescents, as well as
males from females. We further propose that the translation of cognitive neuroscience
findings into specialized classroom instructional methods which captialize on the plasticity of
the brain, as well as the apparent individual differences in its functional organization, may be
the most significant challenge facing those in the front-lines of educational practice.
Other centres of neuroscience and education
Centre for Neuroscience in Education
Faculty of Education
University of Cambridge [http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/]
Crucible Group, UWE Bristol, Chair Sir Christopher Ball [no link]
Talaris Institute, Seattle [http://www.talaris.org/index.htm]
University of Washington, Seattle [http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html]
Scientific Learning Corporation [http://www.scilearn.com/]
OECD Centre for the Transfer of Neuroscience and Learning, University of Ulm
[http://www.oecd.org/topic/0,2686,en_2649_14935397_1_1_1_1_37455,00.html]
Presentation files from previous conferences
BERA Symposium 2002 abstracts [BERA Symposium Abstracts_Brain_Geake
attached]
Archived notes of past meetings of the Forum
[attached 9 doc files of Forum meeting notes from July 01 to April 04]
2001
July
2002
January
March
June
December
2003
April
July
December
2004
April