Anatomy studies are an essential part of medical training. The study of neuroanatomy in particular presents students with a unique challenge of three-dimensional spatial understanding. Virtual Reality (VR) has been suggested to address this challenge, yet the majority of previous reports have implemented computer-generated or imaging-based models…

"Marvel" at the neuroscientific reasons why smart teens make dumb decisions! "Behold" the mind-controlling power of executive function! "Thrill" to a vision of a better school for the teenage brain! Whether you're a parent interacting with one adolescent or a teacher interacting with many, you know teens can be hard…

This is the second edition of the seminal text designed to empower educators with an innovative and inspiring conceptual framework for effective teaching. This bestseller is grounded in the synergy of five big ideas for connecting mind, brain, and education research to classroom practice: neuroplasticity, potential, malleable intelligence, the…

Cultural stereotypes rooted in both antiquated data and misinterpretation of data have long perpetuated the belief that older adults are unable to learn new concepts because they are doomed to lose brain cells at an alarming rate during their geriatric years. However, advances in neurophysiological technologies that allow researchers to observe…

The way special education is carried out in U.S. schools must change. Special education has become weighed down by its emphasis on deficits and disorders: As regular education has opened to new ways of thinking about brain neuroplasticity, growth mindsets, and other innovations, special education has held fast to its diagnostic categories,…

Medical schools in the United States continue to undergo curricular change, reorganization, and reformation as more schools transition to an integrated curriculum. Anatomy educators must find novel approaches to teach in a way that will bridge multiple disciplines. The cadaveric extraction of the central nervous system (CNS) provides an…

Many concepts have been published relevant to improving the design of PowerPoint[TM] (PP) presentations for didactic purposes, including the redundancy, modality, and signaling principles of multimedia learning. In this article, we review the recent neuroimaging findings that have emerged elucidating the neural structures involved in many of these…

There is considerable interest in the cultivation of student graphic literacy among educators and researchers, especially in the sciences. Previous research, however, has shown that many students manifest difficulties in using diagrammatic representations. One explanation that has been proposed to account for these difficulties is that certain…

The current study examined the impact of mobile applications or apps on student learning in an introduction to psychology course. Students were assigned to complete a learner-centered worksheet activity on the brain and central nervous system using either an interactive 3-D Brain app or their online course textbook. We measured student learning…

The goal of this research was to determine whether there is a generation effect for learner-created keyword mnemonics and real-life examples, compared to instructor-provided materials, when learning neurophysiological terms and definitions in introductory psychology. Students participated in an individual (Study 1) or small-group (Study 2)…

Practice is a major element in cultivating musical skill. Some psychologists have proposed that deliberate practice, a specific framework for structuring practice activities, creates the kind of practice necessary to increase skill and develop expertise. While psychologists have been observing behavior, neurologists have studied how the brain…

An essential understanding about brain-based education is that most neuroscientists don't teach and most teachers don't do research. It's unrealistic to expect neuroscientists to reveal which classroom strategies will work best. That's not appropriate for neuroscientists, and most don't do that. Many critics could cite this as a weakness, but it's…

New research provides an altered direction with more promising educational outcomes for students with autism spectrum diagnoses and is beginning to unravel the perplexing variety of learning differences and behavioral issues these children exhibit. Since the turn of the century newer technologies are enabling views of the brain at work--functional…

Research Findings: Research on the effect of experience on the structure and function of the brain across the lifespan pertains directly to the concerns of professionals involved with children's early development and education. This paper briefly reviews (a) the role of experience in shaping the developing brain, (b) individual adaptation to the…

Many have warned against a direct "brain scan to lesson plan" approach when attempting to transfer insights from neuroscience to the classroom. Similarly, in the effective design and implementation of learning technology, a judicious interrelation of insights associated with diverse theoretical perspectives (e.g., neuroscientific,…