Book review: The learning brain. Lessons for Education

Here I present you a very interesting book for parents, educators and teachers. A book which resumes the knowledge of Neuroscience and its meaning for learning and education.

Book review:
Blakemore & Frith: The learning brain. Lessons for Education (2005) Paperback, ISBN: 9781405124010, Price between 17.70 and 20 $ (deutsche Rezension im Blog Neuropädagogik)

Blakemore and Frith want to designate results of the brain research and its implications for education and instruction. The authoresses arrange in easily understandable way an overview for the reader to the conditions of the brain research and its results about "learning". In particular high expectations to the brain research, waked by individual neuro and education scientists, are analyzed on the basis the existing research. They come to the conclusion that many educational transmissions are on one side, hasty and rather speculative. The authoresses argue questions with controversies for the estimate of the research results concerning the brain development.

Interesting book structures and contence:

• development of reading-, computing and writing ability is considered
• brain processes are treated, which have to do with mathematics.
• brain systems are considered, which have to do with the reading ability.
• how to learn reading, writing weakness and its neuroscientific realizations
• disturbances of the social and emotional development.
• brain research considered development in the Adoleszenz
• remaining chapters lights up, as adult learn
  
• which views give the neuro sciences to the nature of learning.
• which brain mechanisms are appropriate for topic different learning methods

Characteristics:

• well understandably
• done to a large extent without specialized jargon (special terms are described in the glossary)
• scientifically founds a balance pulls over it which the neuro sciences of the Paedagogik have to offer at the moment at realizations
• ideal book for a risers into the topic neuro sciences and Paedagogik

RESULT:
In particular for parents, educators and teachers the book offers important background knowledge. It lights up at the possibilities and borders of neuroscientific knowledge for education and instruction and is for this a well understandable overview of the current conditions of the research. From the brain research already hastily drawn conclusions are related thereby and their actual content is presented


More book reviews:
Dr. Keith S. Taber: here
Dr. Alona Soschen, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy and the Department
of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT: here

About Sarah-Jane Blakemore:
group leader cognitive neuroscience
http://www.icn.ucl.ac.uk/dev_group/people.htm

About the book:
http://www.icn.ucl.ac.uk/sblakemore/book.htm
Study results from S.-J. Blakemore:

Ground-breaking British research has revealed that teenagers' brains change during adolescence much more than had previously been thought

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,1640240,00.html

It’s not just the hormones, says Vivienne Parry. During puberty teenagers’ brains are undergoing a radical readjustment

http://www.dimaggio.org/Eye-Openers/young_people.htm

Look inside the book by "google books": here !

Vilayanur Ramanchandran: The emerging mind

Book-Review in English for english speaking visitors:

The emerging mind

Vilaynur S. Ramachandran

Profile Books Ltd (December 4, 2003)
ISBN-10: 1861973039
ISBN-13: 978-1861973030

or the same content in another book:

A brief tour of human consciousness

The author of the book is a physician and experimental psychologist. Starting point of his lectures summarized in this book, neurological malfunctions are caused, by a change in a tiny brain region of the patients. Even if critical readers cannot divide his point of view for the range of neuroscientific research, then one does not come to it from its fascination over its realizations to neurological disturbances to be stuck on past to be able. Ramachandran introduces the reader in understandable way into the fascinating world of his patients: Humans with phantom limb, Synaesthesien, visual processing disturbances and Capgras syndrome. Skeptiker and critics of the modern neuroscience may “be pleased” with the reading about the implicitly contained contradictions Ramanchandrans: [..]now we stand before the largest revolution - which explanation of the human brain (s.17) [… ] it means, it does not give structure, which is as complex organized as the human brain in the entire universe… [… ] By the fact one calculated that the number of possible arrangements and combinations of brain activities - in other words, the number of the brain conditions - which number of the elementary particles in the well-known universe exceeds. (S.18) Sympathizers of the “no free will” find with Ramachandran an advocate. I found Ramachandran’s remarks particularly interesting to the “artistic brain”.

RESULT: An inexpensive book absolutely worth reading also for curious “laymen” well suitably. Ramnchandran preserves his readers, by doing to neurophysiological details without lengthy and fastidious. Its neurological remarks might offer for neurology still new to some specialist.

Do you want to have some "life-impressions" ? Abstract:

In a wide-ranging talk, Vilayanur Ramachandran explores how brain damage can reveal the connection between the internal structures of the brain and the corresponding functions of the mind. He talks about phantom limb pain, synesthesia (when people hear color or smell sounds), and the Capgras delusion, when brain-damaged people believe their closest friends and family have been replaced with imposters.

See the film: here

Customer reviews you find here