This paper proposes a synthesis of the science of learning into a "model" teachers can follow and apply right away in their classrooms. Recent studies in neuroscience show that that our brains appear to actively and purposefully forget most of what we learn--continually clearing out old and unneeded memories to allow us to focus on more…

Emerging evidence suggests that the combination of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and reading training may provide promising benefits for dyslexia; however, the clinical effects and the role of individual differences in tDCS outcomes for dyslexia remain unclear. To this end, the present study investigated the effects of tDCS on…

For positive impact on engagement and learning, use innovative beginnings and endings for lessons. The authors provide multiple ways teachers can use visual materials, music, and movement to construct innovative sets and closures.

Frequent student processing of lecture content (1) clears working memory, (2) increases long-term memory storage, (3) produces retrograde memory enhancement, (4) creates episodic memories, (5) increases alertness, and (6) activates many brain structures. These outcomes increase comprehension of and memory for content. Many professors now…

This dissertation articulates a writing pedagogy based on a theory of "intermodality" to help writing instructors navigate the affordances and challenges of multimodal composition. Drawing from recent discoveries in neuroscience about how the brain makes meaning, I situate this pedagogy of intermodality--literally, "between the…

This study analyzes teaching strategies among the eight books in Principles and Methods of Teaching recommended for use in the College of Teacher Education in the Philippines. It seeks to answer the following objectives: (1) identify the most commonly used teaching strategies congruent with the integrated arts-based teaching (IAT) and (2) design…

Visuals play an important role in the teaching and learning of science and should be embedded within and supportive of authentic science inquiry. Both researchers and teachers believe that visuals have a great deal of potential to help students understand science, but in practice, these visuals do not always live up to their promise. Teachers need…

Visual data differs from visual information since it must be recorded, analyzed, and manipulated in some manner, whereas visual information is primarily sensory input. Our environment is constantly infused with visual inputs, and it is sometimes difficult to make sense of them or to determine how best to deal with them for instructional purposes…

How the brain learns to read has been the subject of much neuroscience educational research. Evidence is mounting for identifiable networks of connected neurons that are particularly active during reading processes such as response to visual and auditory stimuli, relating new information to prior knowledge, long-term memory storage, comprehension,…

A new neuroscience twist on a classic psychology study offers some clues to what makes one student able to buckle down for hours of homework before a test while his classmates party. The study published in the September 2011 edition of "Proceedings of the National Academy of Science," suggests environmental cues may "hijack" the brain's mechanisms…

Despite a profusion of popular misinformation about the left brain and right brain, there are functional differences between the left and right cerebral hemispheres in humans. Evidence from split-brain patients, individuals with unilateral brain damage, and neuroimaging studies suggest that each hemisphere may be specialized for certain cognitive…

Instructional interventions based on stimulus equivalence provide learners with the opportunity to acquire skills that are not directly taught, thereby improving the efficiency of instructional efforts. The present report describes a study in which equivalence-based instruction was used to teach college students facts regarding brain anatomy and…

The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of reading racetrack and flashcards when teaching phonics, sight words, and addition facts. The participants for the sight word and phonics portion of this study were two seven-year-old boys in the second grade. Both participants were diagnosed with a learning disability. The third participant…

Neurological research has discovered much about how the brain works, Dr. Willis writes, but educators need to be cautious when applying this research to teaching. Following a brief explanation of the three most important technological advances in brain research (Positron Emission Tomography, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and Quantitative…

This article discusses dyslexia (one of the many complex issues that affects students) and the ways to tackle it appropriately. Dyslexia is described as a syndrome in which a person's reading and/or writing ability is significantly lower than that which would be predicted by his or her general level of intelligence. People are diagnosed as…