Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the British Educational Research Association, University of Exeter, England, 12-14 September 2002
The implications for Early Years education of current research in cognitive neuroscience.
Dr. David Whitebread
Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, UK
The question arises as to what, if any, are the specific questions or issues in Early Years education which might be informed by research in cognitive neuroscience. Notwithstanding the complexities of the relationships between brain physiology, cognition and learning, several commentators have already begun to make claims about implications for Early Years education (see, for example, Brierley, 1994; Shaw & Hawes, 1998; Sylwester, 1998). While some of this may easily be dismissed as oversimplification, there is a growing body of research evidence which does lend support to some general conclusions, and increasing indications of the ways in which further research may be capable of throwing light on significant questions in early education. These might include whether environments which are rich and stimulating really impact on the processes of synaptenogenesis with consequent implications for future learning, when it is appropriate for children to begin formal education, whether we can be more specific about developmentally appropriate kinds of experiences at different stages/ages, what are the precise nature of individual differences at birth (eg between boys and girls), what abilities are most susceptible to the influence of experience and learning and how and why do certain kinds of experience (eg: play) enhance learning. The role of nurturing in early development and learning will also be explored.
British Education Reasearch Association
Exeter 2002
The Brain and Education: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
The myths of John T. Bruer : the implications for Early Years education of current research in cognitive neuroscience
Dr. David Whitebread
Faculty of Education, Univeristy of Cambridge
The question arises as to what, if any, are the specific questions or issues in Early Years education which might be informed by research in cognitive neuroscience. Notwithstanding the complexities of the relationships between brain physiology, cognition and learning, several commentators have already begun to make claims about implications for Early Years education (see, for example, Brierley, 1994; Shaw & Hawes, 1998; Sylwester, 1998). Against this, and most significantly, Bruer (1997,1999) has arguedthat cognitive neuroscience cannot directly inform educational practices and, in particular, much of the speculation about implications for the early years is misplaced. While some of the more populist writings may easily be dismissed as oversimplification, there is a growing body of research evidence which does lend support to some general conclusions, and increasing indications of the ways in which further research may be capable of throwing light on significant questions in early education.
In a special edition of Educational Psychologist (1992) devoted to Brain and Education, for example, research papers by a range of well respected cognitive neuroscientists and psychologists review neurophysiological research relevant to issues such as reading and writing acquisition, metacontrol, explicit memory and generative learning processes. John Bransford, Anne Brown and Rodney Cocking (1999) have more recently edited a review of the 'science of learning' put together by the prestigious Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, which comprises 16 leading researchers in cognitive science across the United States. They conclude that there is an exciting convergence of evidence about human learning from a number of scientific fields, including developmental psychology, cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Key conclusions from this evidence include:
•learning changes the physical structure of the brain
•structural changes alter the functional organisation of the brain; in other words, learning organises and re-organises the brain
•different parts of the brain may be ready to learn at different times.
Each individual brain is different: there are individal differences in brain morphology with origins in prenatal development. The human brain in the first few years, particularly before mylenisation, is peculiarly open to environmental influence.
Bransford et al go on to review evidence about a wide range of aspects of learning to which brain studies have contributed, including memory, problem-solving and reasoning, early predispositions, metacognitive processes and self-regulatory capabilities, cultural experience, expert performance, transfer of learning, learning environments and effective teaching.
As Blakemore (2000) and McNeil (1999) review, a considerable body of neurobiological evidence supports the importance of enriched, stimulating early childhood environments. Marian Diamond has been researching in this area since the 1960's and has identified a range of features of working with young children that influence the brain's growth and development (Diamond & Hopson, 1998). These include positive emotional support, stimulation of all the senses, the presentation of novel challenges, encouraging social interaction and an active style of learning. Glaser (2000) has also reported evidence of impaired development of the hippocampus associated with high stress levels in young children and the positive effects of secure attachments on brain development. Rich experiences in particular areas of learning are also associated with growth in associated brain regions. For example, a language rich early environment has been shown to be associated with dendritic growth in the left hemisphere's language centres.
The significance of the early environment may be associated with the period of rapid synaptic proliferation (termed 'synaptogenesis') in the first few months of life and the subsequent period of synaptic elimination or pruning during which frequently used connections are strengthened and infrequently used connections are eliminated. Different areas of the brain go through these processes and stages at different rates. For example, synaptogenesis occurs later and the pruning process takes longer in the area of the frontal cortex responsible for planning, integrating information and decision-making than they do in the visual cortex. In a number of areas, periods of growth in synaptic connections have been shown to be associated with related cognitive gains (Byrnes, J. P. & Fox, N.A., 1998). There is also a well documented development during childhood from interactive systems in children involving a wide range of brain regions to more localised and modular subsystems in adults.
Whether neuroscientific research will be able to help further with a range of unresolved but important questions in early education is, however, still a matter of conjecture and debate. Some questions which might be amenable to this kind of work include:
•can we be more specific about developmentally appropriate kinds of experiences at different stages/ages?
•what are the precise nature of individual differences at birth (eg between boys and girls), and what abilities are most susceptible to the influence of experience and learning?
•how and why do certain kinds of experience enhance learning (eg: play)?
•what are the key elements in a positive, nurturing social/emotional environment and how does this impact upon development and learning?
References & further reading
Barkow, J.H., Cosmides, L. & Tooby, J. (eds) (1995) The Adapted Mind : Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture, Oxford University Press
Barnet, A. B. & Barnet, R. J. (1998). The Youngest Minds. New York: Simon & Schuster.
BBC2 (1998). Just One Chance, 10 November.
Blakemore, S.J. (2000) Early Years Learning, Post Report 140, Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology
Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R (eds) (1999) How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school, National Academy Press
Brierley, J. (1994) Give me a child until he is seven: Brain Studies and Early Education, 2nd Ed., Falmer
Bruer, J. T. (1994). Classroom Problems, School Culture, and Cognitive Research. In K. McGilly (ed.) Classroom Lessons: Integrating Cognitive Theory and Classroom Practice. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press
Bruer, J. T. (1997). Education and the brain: A bridge too far. Educational Researcher, 26, 4-16.
Bruer, J. T. (1999) The Myth of the First Three Years: a new understanding of Early Brain Development and Lifelong Learning. New York: the Free Press.
Byrnes, J. P. & Fox, N.A. (1998) The educational relevance of research in cognitive neuroscience, Educational Psychology Review, 10, 297-342
Byrnes, J. P. (2001) Minds, Brains & Learning: understanding the psychological and educational relevance of neuroscientific research, The Guilford Press
Cairns-Smith, A. G. (1996). Evolving the Mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Calvin, W. H. & Ojemann, G. A. (1994). Conversations with Neil's Brain: The Neural Nature of Thought and Language. New York: Addison-Wesley
Calvin, W. H. (1996). How Brains Think. London: Phoenix.
Carter, R. (1998) Mapping the Mind London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Diamond, M.C. & Hopson (1998) Magic Trees of the Mind, NY: Dutton
Developmental Science (2001) Special Issue: the Developing Human Brain, Vol4, Issue 3
Educational Leadership (1998) Special Edition: How the Brain Learns, 56, 3
Educational Psychologist (1992) Special Edition: Brain and Education, 27, 4
Edelman, G. M. & Tononi, G. (1995). Neural Darwinism: The brain as a selectional system. In J. Cornwell (ed.) Nature's Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Goldblum, N. (2001) The Brain-Shaped Mind, Cambridge Univ Press
Gopnik, A., Meltzoff, A. & Kuhl, P. (2000) How Babies Think, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Greenberg, M. T. & Snell, J. L. (1997). Brain development and emotional development: The role of teaching in organising the frontal lobe. In P. Salovey & D. Sluyter (eds.) Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence. New York: Basic Books.
Greenfield, S. (1997). The Human Brain: A Guided Tour. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson.
Huettner, M. I. S. (1994). Neuropsychology of Language and Reading Development. In P. A. Vernon (ed.) The Neuropsychology of Individual Differences. London: Academic Press.
Johnson, M.H. (ed) (1993) Brain Development & Cognition. Oxford: Blackwell
McNeil, F. (1999) Brain research and learning - an introduction, SIN Research Matters No. 10, London: Institute of Education
O'Boyle, M. W. & H. S. Gill (1998). On the relevance of research findings in cognitive neuroscience to educational practice. Educational Psychology Review10(3), 397-409.
Pinker, S. (1997). How the Mind Works, Penguin Books.
Shaw, S. & Hawes, T. (1998) Effective teaching and learning in the Primary classroom: a practical guide to brain compatible learning. Leicester: the Services Ltd.
Sylwester, R. (1998) Educational Leadership, 56, 3,
The Daily Telegraph (1998). Learning test results from a brainwave, 8 September.
The Sunday Times (1998). How to Improve Your Child's Brain Power, 18 October.
BERA
Exeter 2002
The Brain and Education: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
The myths of John T. Bruer : the implications for Early Years education of current research in cognitive neuroscience
Dr. David Whitebread
Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge
Bruer: 'a bridge too far'
first bridge: instruction to cognition
second bridge: cognition to neural circuitry
reductionism/explanations at different levels/physiological/functional
deductive pitfalls/overinterpretation/ oversimplification eg: popular notions about left-right brain differences and male v. female brains.
sliding from an association to a presumed causal relationship; behaviour of mental states can influence brain physiology as well as vice versa
The implications for Early Years education of current research in cognitive neuroscience
Bruer: Myth of the first 3 Years
synaptogenesis and early development
critical periods
enriched environments and synaptic growth
Some oversimplistic inferences
eg:Brierley, 1994; Shaw & Hawes, 1998; Sylwester, 1998).
But also some serious and indicative research findings:
Educational Psychologist (1992) Brain and Education: neurophysiological research concerned with
- reading and writing acquisition
- metacontrol
- explicit memory
- generative learning processes.
John Bransford, Anne Brown and Rodney Cocking (1999): extensive review of American literature on early brain development:
•learning changes the physical structure of the brain
•structural changes alter the functional organisation of the brain; in other words, learning organises and re-organises the brain
•different parts of the brain may be ready to learn at different times.
UK: Blakemore (2000) and McNeil (1999): neurobiological evidence supports the importance of enriched, stimulating early childhood environments.
Glaser (2000): evidence of impaired development of the hippocampus associated with high stress levels in young children and the positive effects of secure attachments on brain development.
Rich experiences associated with growth in associated brain regions eg: language rich early environment associated with dendritic growth in the left hemisphere's language centres
Neurological readiness:
synaptogenesis later and pruning longer in the area of the frontal cortex responsible for planning, integrating information and decision-making than in the visual cortex.
periods of growth in synaptic connections associated with related cognitive gains (Byrnes, J. P. & Fox, N.A., 1998).
development during childhood from interactive systems in children involving a wide range of brain regions to more localised and modular subsystems in adults.
Questions relevant to Early Education about which Neuroscience can help:
•can we be more specific about developmentally appropriate kinds of experiences at different stages/ages?
•what are the precise nature of individual differences at birth (eg between boys and girls), and what abilities are most susceptible to the influence of experience and learning?
•how and why do certain kinds of experience enhance learning (eg: play)?
•what are the key elements in a positive, nurturing social/emotional environment and how does this impact upon development and learning?