Neuro-Systemic Applications in Learning

Book excerpt: Neuroscience research deals with the physiology, biochemistry, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons and neural circuits and especially their association with behavior and learning. Of late, neuroscience research is playing a pivotal role in industry, science writing, government program management, science advocacy, and education. In the process of learning as experiencing knowledge, the human brain plays a vital role as the central governing system to map the images of learning in the human brain which may be called educational neuroscience. It provides means to develop a common language and bridge the gulf between educators, psychologists and neuroscientists. The emerging field of educational neuroscience presents opportunities as well as challenges for education, especially when it comes to assess the learning disorders and learning intentions of the students. The most effective learning involves recruiting multiple regions of the brain for the learning task. These regions are associated with such functions as memory, the various senses, volitional control, and higher levels of cognitive functioning. By considering biological factors, research has advanced the understanding of specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and dyscalculia. Likewise, neuroscience is uncovering why certain types of learning are more rewarding than others. Of late, a lot of research has gone in the field of neural networks and deep learning. It is worthwhile to consider these research areas in investigating the interplay between the human brain and human formal/natural learning. This book is intended to bring together the recent advances in neuroscience research and their influence on the evolving learning systems with special emphasis on the evolution of a learner-centric framework in outcome based education by taking into cognizance the learning abilities and intentions of the learners.