Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Neuroscience and Education
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English
Teaching staff
Dra. Anna Carballo Márquez (acarballo@uic.es)
Students will be attended after classes and/or by making an appointment.
Introduction
The field of cognitive neuroscience has advanced significantly in recent decades, mainly due to the technological development of neuroimaging techniques that have made it possible to study the human brain in vivo and at different ages while carrying out various types of cognitive tasks. Many of these studies have focused on the processes of learning and memory. They have allowed us to explore how the brain encodes, develops, retains and retrieves information, and how some factors intervene or interfere in these neurobiological processes that support learning and cognitive development.
On the other hand, today the educational field is experiencing a strong renewal and pedagogical change based on reflective practice due, above all, to the important and accelerated social and technological changes that accompany the new century. The alarming statistics regarding school failure also clearly indicate that the current educational system does not meet the social, cultural and educational needs of today's children and adolescents.
In this quest to find a theoretical framework that can justify and support pedagogical change and improvement from a scientific and rigorous point of view, educators have become increasingly interested in the implications that an empirical field such as neuroscience, which allows the study of the biological basis of behaviour and cognition, can contribute to the design of teaching-learning situations.
From this growing interest, educational neuroscience has emerged as a new inter-discipline oriented towards the study and improvement of teaching-learning processes from a scientific perspective and based on the functioning of the brain, from the interaction between three different areas of knowledge: neurosciences, psychology and education.
Pre-course requirements
Students should have completed and passed the subjects related to Psychobiology:
- Psychobiology
- Psychophysiology
- Neuropsychology
Objectives
- To understand the possible applications of neurosciences to the educational field, from a scientific, critical and rigorous perspective.
- To identify the main stages of neuro-development and their possible implication in the design of educational practices.
- To describe the neurobiological bases that support the different learning and memory processes.
- To differentiate the different elements and factors that can intervene and interfere in the teaching-learning processes and take them into account in the design of educational practices.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CB04 - Students must be able to convey information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- CB05 - Students must have developed the necessary learning skills to undertake subsequent studies with a high degree of autonomy.
- CE08 - Awareness of the professional reality of psychologists in a specific field of application.
- CE09 - The ability to identify the biological basis of the functions of Psychology and human behaviour, with an understanding of how they work and their influence on other aspects of a person.
- CE18 - The ability to identify the structures and processes involved in basic psychological functions and recognise the nature of individual differences.
- CG01 - Capacity for critical and creative thinking, and capacity to investigate and adopt a scientific and ethical approach in distinct professional settings.
- CG03 - The ability to read scientific literature in a critical, well-founded manner, take into account its provenance, situate it within an epistemological framework and identify and contrast its contributions in relation to the disciplinary knowledge available.
- CT03 - The capacity for analysis and synthesis.
- CT07 - The capacity to learn autonomously
- CT08 - The ability to put theoretical knowledge into practice
- CT09 - The ability to communicate adequately, both orally and in writing
Learning outcomes of the subject
- The student understands the possible applications of neuroscientific advances in the educational field, as well as their most important limitations.
- The student identifies the different milestones in neurodevelopment from birth to the end of adolescence, as well as their possible implications in the design of pedagogical practices.
- The student recognises the different types of learning and memory of the brain, as well as their corresponding neurobiological correlations.
- The student identifies the different factors (body-mind, emotions, social brain, language, executive functions, etc.) that intervene and interfere in the learning and memory processes.
- The student is able to design educational practices adapted to neuro-scientific knowledge about how the brain learns.
- The student is able to design learning material based on neuroscientific knowledge about how the brain learns.
Syllabus
1. Introduction to Educational Neuroscience:
1.1 Possibilities and limitations.
1.2 Neuromyths and neurophilia.
2. Neurodevelopment:
2.1 Brain maturation and sensitive periods.
2.2 Adolescent brain.
2.3 Aging
3. Brain and learning:
3.1 Neural plasticity.
3.2 Types of memory.
4. Elements that intervene in the learning and memory processes:
4.1 Body-mind relationship.
4.2 Emotional brain.
4.3 Social brain.
4.4 Brain and language.
4.5 Executive functions.
4.6 Design of learning spaces.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
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TRAINING ACTIVITIES |
METHODOLOGY |
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Lectures will be the setting in which students will learn and use the terminology and linguistic structures on this subject, for the purpose of practising and developing oral and written communication skills and becoming familiar with the literature and teaching materials provided to better integrate the curricular content. Case studies are a learning technique in which the subject is given the description of a specific situation that poses a problem, which must be understood, assessed and resolved by a group of people through discussion. Case studies are generally resolved in groups to promote student participation and develop their critical thinking skills. They also prepare students to make decisions, teaching them how to support their arguments and contrast them with the opinions of the other group members. The guided reading of texts aims to develop the students’ critical thinking skills, which play a fundamental role in creating citizens who are both aware and responsible. A non-classroom activity in which students undertake exercises independently, without the presence of the lecturer. This is the stage in which most questions arise, but, as the option to immediately ask the question does not exist, students are forced to make an additional effort. |
This is the method whereby students work on their own. In each subject, the students will complete assignments that reflect their independent learning experience. The students will also prepare themselves for lifelong learning by learning to use educational materials and multimedia resources independently. This will be where they learn to manage their own learning and develop their time management skills. Session in which the lecturer presents and explains the course content. This learning methodology allows for the use of audiovisual methodologies that support the content description. Students may interact and actively participate in this session. Debates and discussion in large and small groups, which help to develop the students’ critical thinking and judgement skills. This method encourages participation and initiative, the asking of constructive questions and the presentation of new problems that promote critical thinking. Group work encourages the convergence of ideas, work and common proposals by students in order to carry out a project taking into account the interpersonal and intrapersonal skills of students and cooperative work. With individual work, through study, researching information, data processing and internalisation, the student can consolidate their learning. |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
First examination sitting:
- 50% Portfolio
- 30% Team work
- 20% Class participation
A minimum mark of 5 will be required in the portfolio in order to calculate the average of the subject and pass. In case of non-completion of that part, it must be repeated in the second sitting.
Second examination sitting:
- 50% Portfolio
- 30% Team work (same mark as in the first examination period)
- 20% Class participation (same mark as in the first examination period)
A minimum mark of 5 will be required in the portfolio to move to the average. The subject will be approved with a minimum average of 5 taking into account all the parts evaluated (passed and failed).
The evaluation will always respect the general regulations established in the Degree of Psychology regarding spelling mistakes, redaction and plagiarism.
Students who repeat the subject:
Repeat students can waive the continuous assessment and go directly to the subject's final exam (whose mark will represent 100% of the subject's mark), as long as they have all the activities and works approved, a high level of attendance and the approval of the responsible teaching staff.
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ASSESSMENT SYSTEM |
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The students’ active attendance in class reflects their degree of involvement through their level of interest and their interaction with the lecturer and the rest of their classmates. An individual written test that includes the most general and relevant aspects of the subject matter under evaluation. These exams will assess the students’ ability to listen to and understand the main ideas of the course content, as well as their ability to understand the literature specific in their area of study and use the relevant terminology. The written exams will also assess concepts specific to the degree programme’s various subjects. They will be structured into partial and/or final exams, final exercises, online questionnaires and the analysis of scientific articles. Students will be asked to deal with case studies, in order to apply the theoretical content learned in class in a real or simulated situation. |
Bibliography and resources
Basic:
- Carballo, A. & Portero, M. (2018). 10 ideas clave Neurociencia y Educación, aportaciones para el aula. Barcelona: Graó.
Complementary:
- Blakemore, S.J. & Frith, U. (2007). Cómo aprende el cerebro. Las claves para la educación. Barcelona: Ariel.
- Bueno, D. (2017). Neurociència per a educadors. Barcelona: Rosa Sensat.
- Howard-Jones, P. (2011). Investigación neuroeducativa. Neurociencia, educación y cerebro: de los contextos a la práctica. Madrid: La Muralla.
- Mora, F. (2013). Neuroeducación. Madrid: Alianza.
- Morgado I. (2014). Aprender, recordar y olvidar. Claves cerebrales de la memoria y la educación. Barcelona: Ariel.
- Sousa, D. (2014). Neurociencia educativa: Mente, cerebro y educación. Madrid: Narcea.
- Tokuhama-Espinosa, T. (2011). Mind, Brain, and Education Science: A comprehensive guide to the new brain-based teaching. New York: W.W. Norton.
Evaluation period
- E1 18/01/2023 A04 10:00h
- E2 26/06/2023 A04 12:00h