ABSTRACT
There is probably no faster moving area of research related to education and learning than that of neuroscience and its links to psychology and learning. Gilbert (2008) tells us that it is argued that 95 per cent of what is known about the brain has been discovered in the last 15 years – which, if true, is remarkable. Since Gilbert wrote, the pace of increase in what is known about the brain – its structure, its functioning, its relationship to behaviour and learning – has, if anything, increased. Indeed, this area of research and scholarship now has a name of its own: ‘neuroeducational research’. The rapid expansion of what is known about the physical structure of the brain, and the possibilities that this has for our deeper understanding of so many aspects of life, is a result of, fi rst, the intense interest and industriousness of those involved in neuroscience, psychology and the practicalities of teaching and learning, and, second, the incredible technical developments that have taken place, and continue to take place, in the fi eld of brain-scanning techniques. These two reasons feed one into the other. Vastly improved technical ‘machinery’ allowing us to look deeper, and with more clarity, into the working brain has given insights that have in themselves raised more questions and stimulated more detailed investigations. In turn, this has created demand for even more advanced techniques in the fi eld of theoretical and applied physics, allowing for even more detailed examination of the minutiae of the brain at an incredibly high level of focus. The fi rst magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of an entire human body was undertaken in 1977. Techniques and technology have improved enormously since then, and, for some applications requiring fi ner and deeper levels of detail and accuracy, have been superseded by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The workings and history of scanning techniques is fascinating, but this is not really the place to expand on it. One of the reasons for the massively increased research effort into neuroscience generally, and neuroeducational
research in particular, is the commitment given to it by governments. The United States President Barack Obama has pledged US$3 billion (£1.96 billion) over ten years to an initiative called ‘Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN)’. The aim of BRAIN is to ‘map the individual cells and circuits that make up the human brain, a project that will give scientists a better understanding of how a healthy brain works and how to devise better treatments for injuries and diseases of the brain’ (Mason and Steenhuysen 2013). It is hoped – and, indeed, it is inevitable – that there will be big spin-offs for teaching and learning associated with this project. Similarly, in Europe, the European Commission granted €1 billion (£873 million) to a project that aims to create a model of the workings of the brain (Lee 2013, see also EC 2012). This underlines the high importance given to research in this area.
