Neuroscience and the Classroom: Making Connections

Unit 6: Implications for Schools

Coalition of Essential Schools (CES)

An organization focused on educational reform and practice following the perspective of Theodore (Ted) Sizer as expressed in his books, including Horace's Compromise.

constructivism

A theory and perspective that describes how an individual learns as a function of building (constructing) knowledge from existing ideas and new information. Salient themes include an active role of the learner; learners do not come to tasks as clean slates; and context plays an important role. Major early contributors included Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky.

Csíkszentimihályi's theory of optimal experience

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's theory of optimal experience describes the concept of "flow" as an optimal state of experience in which attention, effort, and motivation are focused on a task such that the individual is engaged and at a steady state of comfort between being challenged and threatened.

Dewey, John

Prominent figure in education, psychology, and philosophy in the 20th century with prominent achievements in advancing child-centered and progressive education, highlighting the interconnectedness of society and education, and advocating pragmatism, among many other contributions.

differentiated instruction

Approach to (or philosophy of) teaching that allows for individual students' learning needs and interest to dictate the educational direction to allow for different learner profiles to be successful in a classroom.

Dweck's theory of intelligence

Carol Dweck advanced a theory of intelligence with two broad categorizations of how people perceive intelligence explicitly or implicitly. Incremental theorists subscribe to a concept of intelligence that is dynamic, changeable, and responsive to efforts toward improvement. Entity theorists attribute intelligence to a fixed property of the person that is static.

Forbes, Esther

Esther Forbes was an American novelist, historian, and children's writer. She received the Pulitzer Prize in History for her 1942 biography, Paul Revere and the World He Lived In; and the 1944 Newbery Medal for her novel, Johnny Tremaine.

metacognition

A term describing personal knowledge about one's thinking processes, often in relation to learning. Metacognitive strategies target ways to self-scaffold and improve learning purposefully.

Ryan and Deci's self-determination theory (SDT)

Edward Deci and Richard Ryan put forth SDT as a theory of motivation and personality that highlights the role of intrinsic beliefs, abilities, knowledge, and desires of individuals in the context of environmental influences.