Developmental Relations Among Mind, Brain and Education - Essay Example

Debby Zambo: Neuroscience, Ethical Questions and Education Why In a general sense, education may be defined as a form of learning that involves the transfer of skills, habits and knowledge of a group of people through generations through teaching. On the other hand, neuroscience may be defined as the study of the development of the nervous system, its structure and its function. Teaching and neuroscience have become more related in the recent years due to the development in technology concerning neuroscience, and how it affects teachers in their teaching work. There have been some fallacies about the role of science, and how it affects the learning process of various students (Pound, 2011, p. 23). According to Debbie Zambo, the 1990s saw the burgeoning of neuroscience due to the technological advances. The continued development of technology saw neuroscientists learn more and discover things they had not discovered earlier. They learnt a lot about the brain and its functions. This is attributed to the tasks they have performed over time. Technological innovations have definitely helped us a lot in many ways in our daily lives. However, they also have their challenges. The technological innovations in neuroscience have their own challenges that are more evident in education (Wasserman &Zambo, 2013, p. 8). There is an attempt by neuroscientists and other involved stakeholders to translate a once specialized field that was filled with technicalities. There are findings that can be translated into data that is comprehensible to teachers in their teaching, especially teachers of young children. The relation between these two fields has led to what is known as educational neuroscience. It is the intersection between education, the mind and the brain. It has become more common in the materials read by teachers, the curriculum used to teach them and the products they buy. One of the links drawn between neuroscience and education is that information on neuroscience has the power to help teachers learn how children learn, think and regulate themselves. However, the same information also has the power to alter the nurturing and teaching of children. The other link between the two is that it enables the teacher to learn about the different brain structures and their functions. This in turn helps the teacher in understanding how different and unique the brains of children are, and how this translates to the actions they take. The education practice engrosses the brain and the link between the two has various challenges (Ferrari, 2010, p.16). According to Debby, neuroscience opens up the mind of teachers in understanding the effects various things has on children at their infant stage, and their effects during their learning process. It also helps in understanding the biology of children making it easier for teachers to know the best way of teaching children with various conditions in order for them to understand like the children who are perceived to be normal using biological standards. Educational neuroscience has very positive contributions to education. However, there are some misconceptions by teachers who are both in pre-service and in-service (Wasserman & Zambo, p.9). Ideas from neuroscience have been misused and overextended by teachers, which has created a problem. This is a key issue because some teachers are using neuromyths to conclude certain aspects of educational neuroscience. One area that faced a problem was the area of solving learning problems in children. Most of the wrong conclusions by the teachers were based on their beliefs and not purely on neuroscience information and facts. This brought about educational and ethical issues that needed addressing. These misguided beliefs about neuroscience and education were going to affect education in that the teachers were going to treat children in the wrong way and in turn affect their learning process. This was a major concern that needed to be addressed here, but there was a need for data. This brought about an investigation on how pre-service and in-service teachers at different stages viewed education and neuroscience. It also involved a look into their beliefs and how they affected their teaching. Teachers are not experts in brain matters and therefore some of their beliefs have created a challenge in the process (Sylwester, 2010, p.29). Data was drawn from approximately eight hundred and fifty educators, and led to very interesting insights. Just the same way children have different brain structures, and respond differently, adults are the same and these individuals are no different. The data came out with one major thing which was that teachers are interested in neuroscience and are looking for information about it in all areas including the internet and workshops. A belief they share is that neuroscience will help them become better teachers especially when dealing with children who have special needs. They also believed that neuroscience should be included in their training (Pound, 2011, p.31). The research also revealed that the teachers had varied opinions when it came to believing in the value of neuroscience for teachers. There were three categories, which comprised of; those who believed in educational neuroscience, those who had reservations, and the few who believed it was not necessary. The believers did so because they see neuroscientists as experts and accept neuroscience because it relies on new technologies. This group of people had various more reasons to believe that neuroscience is necessary for education. Believers have faith in neuroscientists because they think that they can tell them how to teach and what to teach. This has led to them looking for information on neuroscience and sharing with one another. It has also led to them attending workshops and finding material that has information on the brain. They view neuroscience as a great technological advancement and something that is beneficial to every teacher currently. They also believe that neuroscience can help them know how to best handle children and especially those with special needs and help in diagnosing problems (Charlesworth, 2013, p.42). Those who had reservation were less that the believers. They believed in neuroscience and had the view that it was necessary, but midway they would have doubts. There was no doubt that they also thought it should be incorporated in their learning, but they also thought that it was not enough. They felt that in addition to neuroscience, there should be educational psychiatry, psychology and child development. Neuroscience is a technical subject and in order for teachers to understand it, there is a need to come up with less technical terms. The technicality of the subject also contributed to some of the challenges (Wasserman & Zambo, p. 12). While the believers thought that neuroscience was necessary and led them in the right direction, believers with reservations thought the vocabularies and technical ideas posed were too difficult to understand. The third group of non-believers was hesitant and did not embrace the idea. They were looking more into facts and controlled studies rather than just the theory part. They believed that children were more than just their brains and needed teachers who would interact with them and learn them rather than just conclude situations based on neuroscience. The fact that not all teachers agreed was bound to have implications. The teachers were interested in neuroscience because they thought it would improve their teaching skills and make them better at their work. However, a small group thought otherwise. An experiment done brought to light the theory that neuroscience could have misleading information to the teachers especially with the involvement of an image. They believed that neuroscience confirmed the reality of learning styles and made things clearer (Ferrari, 2010, p. 47). Most of the respondents in the research believed that neuroscience would help them know how to teach and deal with children especially those with special needs. Some teachers think thought neuroscience could help them deal with children who have special needs. This group knew the characteristics of children with various conditions because they had family or friends with such children. The other group thought neuroscience would help them identify children with various conditions earlier and cater for their needs in the learning process. These two groups made it clear that neuroscience was useful but in different ways to different educators. It is also useful to parents and caregivers who deal with children especially those with various conditions. There have been myths of how the brain works and this has contributed to the various beliefs on how neuroscience can help in education. It is of significance to be conscious of the facts and misguided information in order for it to be helpful. It is also important to know that testimonials do not equal empirical facts gathered by researchers who have the proper tools (Wasserman & Zambo, p. 14). Ethical and Moral Issues Neuroscience is not only benefiting teachers, as it is included in their curriculum but also benefit many other people. Technological inventions have led to more and more research work and solutions to various problems. It has also led to early detection of various brain problems. Information about the brain has been distributed to more people, and the trend is likely to continue. Neuroscience is becoming more and more involved in our lives, and this raises ethical and moral concerns. With the continued technological advancements and innovations, there is bound to be more findings on the brain and its functions, more interest and additional treatments. This may cause some ethical and moral issues due to the need to want to find out more and do more experiments disregarding ethical and moral values. Every field has guidelines that outline the ethical values that are to be observed. In order for there to be some ethical and moral values in neuroscience, the field of neuroethics was introduced. Neuroethics is the guideline between neuroscience and the legal, social and ethical implications that may arise (Wasserman & Zambo p.16). Beliefs are very hard to change and have been a great challenge in neuroscience. This is because some of the findings make people question the person they are and what they believe in. A brain-based philosophy is important in working with neuroscience since ethics and neuroscience do not mix easily. There is a tendency to focusing on ideas in line with beliefs, and this may cloud judgment from time to time on various related issues. Therefore, one ethical issue is separating beliefs from neuroscience in offering judgment. This can be achieved by getting valid information and taking time to think about it. There are two major concerns brought about by new technological developments and the passing on of information. The first concern is what neuroscience can be used to do and its technical capabilities. This mainly deals with whether it will alter brain functions or using treatments to enhance functioning. The second concern is what people can learn from neuroscience. They can interpret either whatever they learn positively or negatively (Sylwester, 2010, p.58). According to Buller, scientific advancements need to be approached and handled with caution to avoid negative implications. Neuroscience may be used in unethical ways if not constrained. These necessitate that information, findings and treatments are handled with care in order to protect children who are the most affected. Parents, teachers and caregivers need to be careful on the kind of information they give and consider the safety of these children before and during treatment. Over the past years, children have been medicated wrongfully due to the need for them to excel academically, emotionally and socially. Neuroscience is helping in defining clearer basis for treatment and gives known side effects (Charlesworth, 2013, p. 62). Medication has been and still is very helpful to many children. However, some side effects occur. There has been a warning from neuroscientists and other experts involved that it is not enough to use medication alone in treating attention challenges. This means that in addition to medication, there is a need for social, emotional and behavioural support. This brings out another key issue; interaction is very important as told by neuroscience. In addition to medication, there needs to be interaction with a child in order to build their self-esteem and worth (Pound, 2011, p. 32). Ethics and Morals Based on Education It is believed that teaching is a moral enterprise. According to an investigation by Bullough, teachers have some power over children’s lives. This is because they can either impact them positively or negatively. This in turn manifests itself in how these children carry themselves in their childhood and adulthood. In order for teachers to be moral, they need to listen to and respect their students, and care about every area in their development (Sylwester, 2010, p.59). This is quite challenging considering the political effects on teaching and being in a world full of uncertainties. However, neuroscience is helping in changing the perception to children. The challenges faced by teachers ten years ago are not the same ones faced today. The challenges have increased in number and have become more complex. This is mainly contributed by the fact that technological advancements and innovations increase by the day and children are more exposed to more information and face more challenges. Today’s teachers have to care for each child’s free will, and this is not an easy task considering that all teachers are different and handle situations differently. Considering that teaching brings about power and the demand for ethical thinking, various issues need to be considered. One issue is whether ethics should be incorporated in teacher training and if so, how it should be taught. It was thought that every stage of teacher training should involve ways of developing moral and ethical reasoning. Bullough reached a conclusion on this matter that a number of ethical issues were not addressed; the complex moral issues teachers faced were not captured, and there was a failure in translating theory into practice (Pound, 2011, p. 65). Nell Noddings has also contributed towards ethics and education by advocating focusing on each child’s development in all areas. To him the purpose of education is to produce thoughtful citizens who think and act with care. Every stage of a child’s development should be embedded in the learning process. This will enable children to learn and have practical examples of the kind of people they ought to be and the consequences of their actions. Creating awareness in children that they also have influence helps them in making the right decisions. The best way of teaching values is through actions. Children learn a lot from what they see rather than what is right. It is thus essential for teachers to teach good morals and also walk the talk. Teachers can be able to teach values and good morals by respecting each child, their strengths and weaknesses, their family and their community. Teachers who do this go out of their way to ensure that the child is comfortable in and out of the learning environment and helps them where necessary. By doing this, they inspire the children to do the same (Wasserman & Zambo, 2013, p. 17). Neuroscience, Teachers and Ethics Teaching in the school, at home or at a community centre calls for high moral values. Science continues to advance, and this will pose more challenges for parents, teachers and caregivers. Neuroscience is changing how children are viewed. It is, therefore, clear that neuroscience and child rearing are linked, and the tie is bound to get stronger. Parents, teachers and caregivers, in understanding children and making decisions that affect them, are currently using neuroscience facts. These decisions are both in their social and academic fields. It is quite challenging for parents, teachers and caregivers to know what to believe and what to use from neuroscience. It is also difficult to know the right steps to take when dealing with a specific child. With regard to this, neuroethics has come up with various questions and approaches that can help in dealing with them. These approaches are there just to help in dealing with different children with a more clear view of what is happening, the measures to be taken and the consequences (Wasserman &Zambo, p. 19). The approaches include a utilitarian approach to moral decisions, a rights approach, fairness or justice approach, a common-good approach and a virtue approach. According to Debby, neuroscience is here to stay, and it is necessary for today’s education. It has its own challenges, but there are ways to minimize them and ensure that it brings more help than harm to all the parties involved. There is a need to carefully think and look into all the facts before making a decision on what step to rule out negative implications (Wasserman & Zambo, p. 20). Neuroscience cannot replace the work of parents, caregivers and teachers, but it is there to help. Given the complex issues faced by children and the ever-changing times, it is important to be able to understand their mindset, their reactions and how to help them in different situations. It is also clear that there is a need to be moderate and not to oversimplify or overextend findings. Some matters have not been actualized, and it is clear that neuroscience cannot work on its own instead it needs other forms of support. References Charlesworth, R. (2013). Understanding Child Development. Boston: Cengage Learning. Ferrari, M. (2010). Developmental Relations Among Mind, Brain and Education: Essays in Honor of Robbie. Berlin: Springer. Pound, L. (2011). Influencing Eraly Childhood Education: Key Themes, Philosophies and Theories. London: Open University Press. Sylwester, R. (2010). A Child’s Brain: The Need for Nurture. New York: Corwin. Wasserman, H. L. &Zambo, D. 2013. Early Childhood and Neuroscience – Links to Development and Learning (Educating the Young Child). Berlin: Springer. Read More