Experts Call for Teaching Educators Brain Science

'Neuro-myths' seen permeating the field

A little knowledge about the brain can be a dangerous thing, and experts in mind, brain, and education studies are calling for more formal teacher training in the biological underpinnings of learning.

"We don't have much neuroscience in our teacher training; most of the books available are from the brain-based-learning industry, not scientists," said Paul A. Howard-Jones, a senior lecturer in psychology and neuroscience at the University of Bristol, in the United Kingdom, and the director of Neuroeducational.net , a site that analyzes new research for teachers. "In the absence of legitimate neuroscience in education," he said, "a neuro-mythology has arisen in schools."

The science of mind, brain, and education—the melding of cognitive psychology, educational neuroscience, and education—is still a nascent research field, but it has seen...

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