Rewiring our teaching practice

Over the past decade neuroscientists have made more breakthrough discoveries about brain function than in all previous scientific investigation. Educators see brain research as having implications and application to classroom settings by enhancing teacher practice and student learning experience. Tertiary institutions and practising teachers are implementing brain based teaching strategies to improve student outcomes. However, there is a level of disconnect between brain research discovery and current educational practice. Researchers from both neuroscience and education fields are calling for collaborative research to be conducted that would support classroom practice for the future. Researchers from neuroscience and education insist that appropriate professional development for teachers is imperative and that a serious undertaking for teaching neuroscientific facts should be included in tertiary education student programs. Pre-service teachers’ studying at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) have learned about current developments in neuroscience research during their final year of teacher training. This research investigates how these newly graduated teachers use brain research in their first year of teaching to inform their classroom practices. Findings would indicate that in order to encourage the implementation of neuroscience supported practices in classrooms, teachers need to develop an appreciation of educational neuroscience. There were a number of patterns that emerged from the research including the impact of school and community expectation and the need for professional development of pre-service teachers