Education and the Brain Essay

Given the emerging challenges surrounding the practice of education, many scholars and researchers are trying to establish a particular framework that is dedicated towards the enhancement of information and intensifying facilitation. With these processes, there is one important and vital determinant of this situation – the man’s brain. In the advent of new capabilities, focus is now related on discovering and creating opportunities that seeks to enhance the relationship between the brain and education. The article of Bruer offers a comprehensive insight about the strength and weaknesses of such field. Tracing from the past, he emphasized how the discipline has evolved from a mere scientific study to reaching out in the realm of child development and education. As individuals and groups try to unearth the processes involved, it branched out to several unique disciplines that correlate with the concept of education; namely cognitive psychology and neuroscience (Bruer, p. 3). Operating on this scheme, there are two ways in which this can be recognized namely (1) the period of synaptic elimination and (2) critical periods (Bruer, p. 3). In the first part, Bruer points out the relevance and relative link between neuroscience and education. In this process, he mentions that there are various brain activities that are stimulated by synapses that affect the way a child can cope with numerous functions that are expected for him/her to perform in a classroom setup (Bruer, p. 4). At the same time, the document made mention the importance of the experiment concerning critical periods. With numerous ways for this case to be applied, researchers have focused on the idea that these actions are vital in the early advancement of an individual. Bruer argues that â€Å"cultural variations in child rearing suggest that there are many equally successful way to provide the normal environment needed for brain development† (p. 5). The next section caters in looking into environments that are vital for a child’s advancement during the early stages of his/her life. It fosters the claim that stimulating and active surrounding does contribute to the overall capability of an individual to function accordingly with the desired objectives and goals of an institution. However, there is a lapse in neuroscience as it fails to include and elaborate on how such process can be vital in the overall goal of education and growth (Bruer, p. 7). This remains to be the missing link in trying to determine that guidance of the brain functions in classroom instruction and learning. On the other hand, Bruer cites the capability of creating a bridge that will enable the brain to relate its functions towards cognitive functions. In this process, there are two ways that such idea can be recognized. Bruer mentions that â€Å"the first connects educational practice with cognitive psychology, and the second connects cognitive psychology with brain science† (p. 7). In here he cites numerous advancements in technology and equipments available nowadays to help study and examine the progression of mental activity happening in an individual. Similarly, using the mind-brain interface, many researchers and scientists are able to conduct tests that can determine which part/areas are vital in particular function that are used and applied in the educational sector (Bruer, p. 8). In the last part, it seeks to elaborate these bridges by pointing out two viable approaches in dealing with it; namely (1) instruction to cognition and (2) cognition to neural activity. The first part looks into the way cognition has been used by educators and scientists to determine appropriate ways to enhance neural activities. At the same time, it focused on several studies and findings that try to relate these instances. In the second part, Bruer points out the use of â€Å"cognitive models and brain recording techniques to trace the neural circuitry involved in a skill like numerical comparison† (Bruer, p. 10). It is in here that they were able to find the connection between the two. In the end, the article argues that the brain can greatly affect the way individuals respond to the education. Therefore, future studies must guide researchers in addressing the loopholes in the current literatures. As the demands for educational policy continues to increase significantly in the practice, a good basis for such study can be made by relating to one important factor that shapes learning and development – the brain. It is in here that we can find appropriate strategies to increase competency and skill acquisition needed to make students dynamic and vibrant in practice. Work Cited Bruer, John T. Education and the Brain: A Bridge too Far in ‘Educational Researcher’ 26 no. 8 1997. accessed 12 November 2008. 4-16.