Royal Society Publishes Report on the Implication of Neuroscience to Education.
At the beginning of March this year the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, invited comments from experienced teachers on how neuroscience evidence can be used to inform teaching methods, behaviour management and teacher training. The invitation follows publication of the report, ‘Neuroscience: implications for education and lifelong learning’, the second series of reports by the Royal Society on developments in neuroscience and their implications for society and policy.
The Montessori movement welcomes this kind of exchange with professionals from the world of Neuroscience. The Montessori approach to education is based on the premise that education is about helping children to develop their natural capacities to learn – the child that has a logical, flexible, creative mind, can persevere and has self-control can not only learn anything but also grows into an adult who is a socially aware, empathetic, participating member of society. In the Montessori approach this is done by preparing a supportive environment and training an adult who is also prepared to take a different approach with the child – that is, to guide rather than teach – so that the child becomes the active one, as compared to the traditional approach where the teacher is the one who educates the child by telling him what he needs to know and finding out if he has learned it by testing him. When the developmental approach is taken the child learns how to learn because the environment is dedicated to facilitating what Neuropsychologists would call the development of cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control and working memory. The chair of the AMI Global Research committee is a neurospychologist, Dr Steve Hughes – he is an ardent supporter of the Montessori approach to education saying that a Montessori environment is exactly what a talented neurospychologist would design as the perfect environment for optimal child development.
As Montessori practitioners we need to become actively involved in this discussion; the future of Montessori lies in evidence-based findings from the field of Neuroscience. Keeping up to date with the latest developments and discussion is the first step for all Montessori practitioners. Taking time out to respond to such requests helps to widen the number of Montessori voices represented, thereby encouraging feedback and hence the start of an informed and productive dialogue.
Visit this link to find out more and comment
