Wk 2 Assignment: Find & Critique 2+ Websites on Brain Research and Brain-Based Learning

Trying to understand so many perspectives about brain research can be very confusing as observed by several students, including myself, this past week commenting on the reading assignments.  Partly the problem is that the authors of the textbook are providing a historical perspective as well as focusing on current theory and studies.  In one way that’s good because it provides depth to our understanding by comparing theories.  The disadvantage, though, is that one is tracking a great deal of information, losing the historical framework, and reaching “system overload.” 

I’ve observed difficulties in Chapter 4, for example, in comprehending the material because the authors hadn’t always provided a definition for some terms, often didn’t give examples that would concretize a concept, or didn’t explain a concept sufficiently.  Some paragraphs began to look simply like a collection of unrelated sentences.  

Because the topic of brain research and learning theories is both abstract and complex by nature, I wonder if visual and auditory support wouldn’t perhaps be desirable.  Listing conclusions from research in bullet form would provide an easy summary.  I personally also like a site that provides links to outside sources as well.  It suggests the author isn’t afraid to acknowledge that there are others out there in the field.  So these are criteria I used in selecting this week’s suggestions of internet sites on brain research and its application for education and the classroom.

The first site is  Funderstanding.com .  I’m suggesting this one specific article from the website but by all means check out the other categories on the site.  Although Funderstanding doesn’t have the visual and auditory scaffolding to help better understand the topic of brain research, this article is short and readable; it uses a listing format; and it provides a connection to education for those of us who teach.  It certainly reads easier than our textbook and so would make a great supplemental resource.

The next site is  Teacher Tap .  Click on the site name and it takes you to one short summary on brain-based learning.  The strength of this site, however, is the plethora of outside sources that are available – not necessarily on the topic of brain-based learning - but of interest to teachers.  Take a look at the Internet Resources link in the index.

The next two sites provide more substance to the topic of brain-based learning; so they’re already providing the connection to education.  Both sites provide ample linkage to outside resources but watch out for the skepticism toward brain research’s connection to education.

The first of these sites is  DesignShare .  Although the site focuses more on school design for the 21^st century, this particular article provides a refreshing look, compared to the scholarly objectivity of our textbook, about brain research.  The author is a bit skeptical and confrontational about the current status of educational application of brain research and concerning how we design schools in the 21^st century.  I’ll suggest, though, whether the skepticism is valid or not, it’s good to change perspective in order to better view the topic. How can we make an informed decision for ourselves without having the benefit of comparative understanding?   I don’t know if you recall the movie Dead Poet Society (1989) with Robin Williams as private high school English teacher John Keating.  There are 2 scenes especially appropriate here.  I’ve linked 2 clips from YouTube that provide scenarios for different perspectives and commitments: 
The universe is wider than our views  and  O Captain, My Captain!     


 I have saved the most interesting site for last -  IllinoisLoop.org  - if you prefer a stronger sense of skepticism about brain research and its proven connection to best practices in brain-based learning.  Be careful, though.  Don’t get sucked in to the confrontational perspective without good reason.  Look at all this topic from all sides and decide for yourself.  Are the critics right? Think back to what Dr. Jean Ormrod stated in the second class-video for Week 2 and consider all the remarks make in our text concerning limitations of brain research.  This is not to close the door on what the future may hold for research, learning theorists, school divisions, or product manufacturers in this area.   Check out the pages on In-Service Workshops and Education Research, both under the Teaching tab.  The website provides many links to outside resources which together with other readings can help provide counter thoughts to balance the debate on this complex topic.