neuroeducation
n. the study of the activities that occur in the brain when individuals learn and the application of this knowledge to improve classroom instructional practices and optimize curriculum design. This emerging field represents the intersection of the broader areas of neuroscience, psychology, and education, integrating research on neuronal functioning with educational improvement to understand how the brain enables learning, working memory, intelligence, and creative thinking. For example, a neuroeducational investigation of the relationship between young children’s insight into spatial structures and the development of spatial and number sense might result in a series of classroom activities to stimulate children’s acquisition of spatial and number skills. However, such investigations are not without their critics. Many researchers point to the gap separating microscopic neural processes from macroscopic classroom behaviors as a major obstacle to
establishing the neuroscience–education bridge. Prominent among these critics is U.S. philosopher and cognitive scientist John T. Bruer, who argues that the study of brain–behavior relationships is too far removed from the development of learning strategies and teaching methods to offer any useful benefits. Also called brain-based learning; educational neuroscience; mind–brain–education (MBE); neurodidactics; neuropedagogy.