Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

How Can Brain Research Inform Academic Learning and Instruction?

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Educational Psychology Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper explores the potential of neuroscience for improving educational practice by describing the perspective of educational psychology as a linking science; providing historical context showing educational psychology’s 100-year search for an educationally relevant neuroscience; offering a conceptual framework for the connections among neuroscience, cognitive science, educational psychology, and educational practice; and laying out a research agenda for the emerging field of educational neuroscience.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson, J. R. (2007). How can the human mind occur in the physical universe? New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, L. W., Karthwohl, D. R., Airasian, P. W., Cruikshank, K. A., Mayer, R. E., Pintrich, P. R., Raths, J., & Wittrock, M. C. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: a revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battro, A. M., Fischer, K. W., & Lena, P. J. (2008). The educated brain. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Beauchamp, C., & Beauchamp, M. H. (2013). Boundary as bridge: an analysis of the educational neuroscience literature from a boundary perspective. Educational Psychology Review, 25, 47–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blakemore, S.-J., & Frith, U. (2005). The learning brain. Malden: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Hill, W. H., Furst, E. J., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Handbook I: cognitive domain. New York: David McKay Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowers, J. S. (2016). The practical and principled problems with educational neuroscience. Psychological Review, 123, 600–612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruer, J. T. (1997). Education and the brain: a bridge too far. Educational Researcher, 26(8), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruer, J. T. (2002). The myth of the first three years. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruer, J. T. (2014). Afterword. In D. Mareschal, B. Butterworth, & A. Tolmie (Eds.), Educational neuroscience (pp. 349–363). Malden: Wiley Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrnes, J. P. (2001). Minds, brains, and learning. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronbach, L. J. (Ed.) (2002). Remaking the concept of aptitude. Mahwah: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronbach, L. J., & Snow, R. E. (1977). Aptitudes and instructional methods. New York: Irvington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damaria, S. R., & Just, M. A. (2013). Decoding the representation of numerical values from brain activation patterns. Human Brain Mapping, 34(10), 2624–2634.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delazer, M., Ischebeck, A., Domahs, F., Zamarian, L., Koppelstaetter, F., Siedentopf, C. M., Kaufmann, L., & Benke, T. (2005). Learning by strategies and learning by drill—evidence from an fMRI study. NeuroImage, 25, 838–849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eden, G., Jones, K., Cappell, K., Gareau, L., Wood, F., Zeffiro, T., Dietz, N., Agnew, J., & Flowers, D. (2004). Neural changes following remediation in adult developmental dyslexia. Neuron, 44, 411–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, J. D. (2016). Great myths of education and learning. Malden: Wiley Blackwell.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • James, W. (1899/1958). Talks to teachers. New York: Norton.

  • Kucian, K., Loenneker, T., Dietrich, T., Dorsch, M., Martin, E., & von Aster, M. (2006). Impaired neural networks for approximate calculation in dyscalculic children: a functional MRI study. Behavioral and Brain Functions, 2(31), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mangels, J. A., Butterfield, B., Lamb, J., Good, C. D., & Dweck, C. S. (2006). Why do beliefs about intelligence influence learning success? A social-cognitive-neuroscience model. Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience, 1, 75–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mareschal, D., Butterworth, B., & Tolmie, A. (Eds.) (2014). Educational neuroscience. Malden: Wiley Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massa, L. J., & Mayer, R. E. (2006). Testing the ATI hypothesis: should multimedia instruction accommodate verbalizer-visualizer cognitive style? Learning and Individual Differences, 16, 321–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (1992). Cognition and instruction: their historic meeting within educational psychology. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 405–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (1998). Does the brain have a place in educational psychology? Educational Psychology Review, 10, 405–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (2002). Rote versus meaningful learning. Theory Into Practice, 41, 226–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (2003). E. L. Thorndike’s enduring contributions to educational psychology. In B. J. Zimmerman & D. H. Schunk (Eds.), Educational Psychology: a century of contributions (pp. 113–154). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Boston: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrino, J. W., Chudowsky, N., & Glaser, R. (Eds.) (2001). Knowing what students know. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Posner, M. I., & Rothbart, M. K. (2007). Educating the human brain. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sousa, D. A. (2011). Educational neuroscience. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Stokes, D. E. (1997). Pasteur’s quadrant: basic research and technological innovation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorndike, E. L. (1926). Educational psychology (Vol. vol. 1). New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittrock, M. C. (1980). The brain and psychology. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard E. Mayer.

Ethics declarations

Funding

This study was funded by grant N00014162046 from the Office of Naval Research.

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mayer, R.E. How Can Brain Research Inform Academic Learning and Instruction?. Educ Psychol Rev 29, 835–846 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9391-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9391-1

Keywords

Navigation