the nextof science 45learning years
SWITCH ON BRAINS WITH SCIENCE Educational neuroscientist Bruno della Chiesa tells Grace Lewis why learning is the key to igniting students’ brains
Brain plasticity Scientific consensus is unanimous that the brain is a very powerful lifelong learning device. We now know that our brain has the ability to change and adapt way beyond childhood, into adult life. This is great news for us all, says della Chiesa, and we should make the most of it by taking into account what we know about the ‘sensitive periods’ – the best age or ‘window 20 IBWorld
of opportunity’ to learn something specific – when designing curricula and timelines, especially at pre- and primary-school level. “We should also make sure that ‘secondchance schools’ are not only available, but are welcoming,” he says, recognizing that the conditions offered to students who wish to resume interrupted learning pathways vary greatly from one country to another. “People who drop out in their teens, for instance, should be able to go back to school, at any age, and experience the best possible conditions.”
activated when humans begin to learn: in other words, our brains love to learn. Fear, according to della Chiesa, is the worst enemy of understanding. The typical learning environment often presents plenty of reasons for children to be fearful, including bullies, teachers and exam pressure. “Schools in Finland have been leading the way in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) studies for a number of different reasons; one of them is that students are not assessed before the age of 12 or 13. They don’t experience the fear of failing until they are mature enough to handle it.”
Emotion and the brain “There is nothing better than having the brain consciously experience pleasure through understanding,” della Chiesa says. Advanced brainmapping technologies enable us to see that the reward area of the brain is “It’s a miracle that curiosity in young human beings survives school.” Albert Einstein
Illustration: Paul Frost
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euroscience – the scientific study of the nervous system – has been around for decades, but it is only now that we are making the link between its findings and education. European linguist and Harvard professor Bruno della Chiesa is championing the link between the two fields, and believes advances in brain imaging technologies are the reason for this sudden shift in focus. “We’ve known for a long time that the make-up of the brain has a profound influence on how we learn, but now we have scientific proof to show how and why this makes a huge difference to the way we teach,” he says. He stresses that neuroscience is still in its infancy, and while the findings may offer great insight into how our children acquire knowledge, “it cannot, and should not, try to offer solutions.” “Being acquainted with neuroscience can have great consequences for the perceptions of educators – teachers, researchers, policymakers and parents – and representations of learning and teaching,” he says. Understanding neuroscience and acting on the findings requires a sense of ownership and creativity, della Chiesa advises: “each teacher will benefit from such knowledge in his or her own way.” The first step is to understand the aspects that are likely to have the greatest impact on education policy.