Blog Post 1

> This module focuses on the brain and it's development. It talks about both sides of the argument of whether neuroscience and brain research can have an impact on education. It discusses how we "learn" by creating and strengthening neural connections in our brains. It also gives explanation of the parts of a neuron and their function. Along with this we also learn about the major differences that impact brain development (genetics, environmental stimulation, plasticity, nutrition, and teratogens). In looking at how neuroscience can help educators in the classroom one major contribution is that it can provide back up evidence for studies that have already been done. Specifically, there has been studies done on attention where brain images show that certain areas of attention are affected in a preschoolers brain more than other areas. As educators if we know that preschoolers have a harder time filtering out unimportant information than they do attending to something when directed then ew can use this information to our advantage. In this instance neuroscience does contribute to education. Reading seems to be another area that neuroscience can contribute to. Brain imaging has shown that dyslexic individuals show a deficit in the area of phonological processing, which can helps us to better understand why they are having problems. Overall the module seems to prove that neuroscience contributes to education.

>This module made sense to me because I am a psychology major and have taken courses involving cognitive development. It was nice to have that framework to fit the new perspective of education into. The most interesting part for me was the part about applying findings from neuroscience in the classroom. The rest of the chapter was review of information I've already learned, so the classroom application was new and interesting for me. I was interested to read about the brain image differences in the novice and expert brain, which further explains why repetition and practice are vital for learning. It was also interesting to learn about how brain imaging has helped us to understand dyslexia better and how to provide appropriate interventions and education. I don't really have any specific questions other than to be intrigued to learn more about specific neuroscience findings that are applicable for educational purposes. I like being able to have physical evidence that support scientific studies and allow us to have reliable information that will help us as educators.

> The picture below shows the synaptic connections of neurons within a brain at three different ages. The picture at birth shows few neurons with few connections to one another. By age 6 there has been much neural growth and synaptic connections are at their peak. At age 14 there are less neurons and synaptic connections due to pruning of the neurons that aren't firing due to lack of use. This pruning allows for remaining neurons and synaptic connection to become more efficient. Differences in how many neurons and synaptic connections are present amongst different individuals and within the same individual at different times are due to genetics, environmental stimulation, nutrition, and teratogens.