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REVIEW ARTICLE
How Can Brain Research Inform Academic
Learning and Instruction?
Richard E. Mayer
1
Published online: 7 November 2016
#Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract This paper explores the potential of neuroscience for improving educational practice
by describing the perspective of educational psychology as a linking science; providing
historical context showing educational psychology’s 100-year search for an educationally
relevant neuroscience; offering a conceptual framework for the connections among neurosci-
ence, cognitive science, educational psychology, and educational practice; and laying out a
research agenda for the emerging field of educational neuroscience.
Keywords Educational neuroscience .Brain-based learning .Brain research .Cognitive
neuroscience
Educational Psychology as a Linking Science
Educational neuroscience is a scientific field that attempts to connect education—e.g., under-
standing how instruction affects learning of school subjects such as reading or arithmetic—and
neuroscience—e.g., understanding how the nervous system works. Consider whether you
agree with each of the following statements about the relation between education and
neuroscience:
Educ Psychol Rev (2017) 29:835–846
DOI 10.1007/s10648-016-9391-1
This paper is based on a symposium on BBrain Science and Education: Is It Still a Bridge Too Far?^organized by
Ray S. Perez, Danielle S. McNamara, Gregg Solomon, and Wayne D. Gray and presented at the 2016 Annual
Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society.
*Richard E. Mayer
mayer@psych.ucsb.edu
1
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106,
USA
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.