"My Teacher Said I'm a Visual Learner": Educator Conceptions of Neurocognitive Topics

• In Event: Exploring the Interaction Between Neuroscience and Educational Research

Abstract

Misinterpretation of complex, empirically studied, neuroscience and cognitive phenomena often result in practitioners inadvertently endorsing and implementing teaching practices that have been discredited by researchers. In this paper, a Piagetian and Vygotskian perspective of the construction of knowledge is used to frame the development of educators’ neurocognitive conceptions through meaningful interactions with other humans and their environment. A single case study design using semi-structured, open-ended interviews was employed to understand ten pre-service teacher residents’ and seven of their instructors’ conceptions of neurocognitive topics that are often misrepresented in the classroom. Findings indicate that educators’ conceptions of neurocognitive topics form through educational interactions, vary based on training and role, and are complex, ambivalent, and non-binary.

Authors

• Amanda Seccia, University of Chicago

• Claire E Cameron, University at Buffalo - SUNY