For a long time, the focus of education was on rote learning and was geared toward a homogeneous group of students, without giving due attention to their specific needs, individuality, and the way each one learns.

The information was “conveyed” by the teacher, and the students received and accepted it without question. The problem is that this information was lost without being assimilated, since the students were unable to relate it to their prior experiences or knowledge.

Furthermore, the learning process does not unfold in the same way for every individual; each person has their own pace, their own abilities, and their own learning style—not to mention external influences that can play a decisive role in this process.

Over time, the teaching-and-learning process has become more complex than was thought a few decades ago, and schools have had to adapt. Today, there is a wide array of resources, as well as scientific studies and research, that can guide educators’ practice.

Among the valuable resources available to educators, neuroscience stands out as a powerful ally. It brings to the classroom insights into memory, forgetting, time, sleep, attention, fear, mood, emotion, movement, the senses, language, how we interpret images in our minds, the images that shape our thoughts, and child development itself.

Mirror neurons, which enable humans to make progress in communication, understanding, and learning. Brain plasticity—that is, the understanding that the brain continues to develop, learn, and change until death—also contributes to the concept of learning and education. This information is essential for educational practice and prompts us to reexamine learning difficulties and their countless possibilities.

See also:

Learning Networks: The Challenge of the Contemporary World

Healthy Relationships: How to Combat Violence in Schools

Managing Cultural Interaction Between Teachers and Students

Neuroscience is the science of the brain, and education is the science of teaching and learning; both are closely related to the learning process.

Understanding how the brain learns, how neural networks are formed during the learning process, how stimuli reach the brain, how memories are consolidated, and how we access this stored information is essential to understanding each student.

When we talk about education and learning, we are talking about neural processes, networks that form, neurons that connect and create new synapses—a complex process through which the brain reacts to environmental stimuli, activates these synapses (connections between neurons through which stimuli pass), and makes them more “intense.”

With every new stimulus, with every repetition of a behavior we want to consolidate, we have neural circuits that process the information, which must then be consolidated. This occurs throughout our entire lives—to a greater extent during childhood and adolescence and to a lesser extent in adulthood—although the adult brain continues to undergo changes and development, it has less plasticity; the number of neurons decreases. This ongoing plasticity of the brain suggests that it is designed for learning and adaptation, which can lead to changes in its structure in response to new challenges.

An educator's understanding of neurodevelopment enables the use of pedagogical theories and practices that take into account the biological basis and neurofunctional mechanisms, thereby optimizing the student's abilities.

Understanding that insights from neuroscience are important for education is still a new paradigm and requires a shift in perspective. Certainly, teachers can make learning more effective when they create or select teaching strategies grounded in neuroscience. Embracing this new and fascinating knowledge is essential and of fundamental importance for a modern, active, and contemporary pedagogy that is effective and geared toward the demands of learning in our globalized, fast-paced, complex, and increasingly demanding world.

Thanks to the neuroscience of learning, behavioral and learning disorders have become easier for educators to understand, as it provides more insights for developing strategies better suited to each individual case. A qualified and trained teacher, an appropriate teaching method, and a family that supports this learning process are fundamental factors in ensuring that all the knowledge neuroscience provides is effective, interacting with the characteristics of our students’ brains.

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