Feb. 28 - Article Review #2

New educational research era: Educational neuroscience technology

Citation:  Bigdeli, S. (2012). New educational research era:educational neuroscience technology. 14 * Shoaleh Bigdeli E - mail address : shb555@yahoo.com International Journal of Learning and Teaching, 4(1), 14-25. Retrieved from www.world - education - center.org/index.php/ ijlt

Summary:  Stress is everywhere, especially in education.  Stress is not always bad: the concept of bad stress vs. good stress has been around for a long time.  The concept of neuroscience is fairly new in education.  There have been studies over the years but suddenly the idea of how the brain works and how that fits into education has become quite a hot topic.  This article defines stress and how it can be measured as it relates to education.  While this study does not include instructional technology per se, it describes the use of medical technology in measuring stress as it occurs in education.  Electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiography (ECG), electrooculography (EOG), galvanic skin response (GSR), electromyography (EMG) and tachistoscope were the neuroscientific methods used to assess stress in the brain, heart, eye, skin, muscle, and visual perception and conduct educational research.  

Reflection:  The first part of the article reminded me of my first stint as an APSU student back in the 80s when I took anatomy and physiology.  I learned all those cool things about the brain, but I didn't use them too often until I started teaching anatomy and physiology myself.  I am also certified in electrocardiography, so I knew exactly how that worked, and I've had three or four sleep studies over the years, so I knew how the EEG worked.  So, when I read the article, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see any statistics on how all these technological devices measured stress.  Reading it, however, made me think that there could be a future for me in neuroscience.  This is not the first article I've read that hints at inclusion of educational neuroscience in teacher education programs, but this one suggests that it would be a good way for teachers to learn how stress affects students.