|
|
|
What does brain science have to do with education? The question is at the heart of a pioneering collaboration we have launched between Seattle Pacific University and renowned developmental molecular biologist John Medina.
Medina is founding director of Talaris Research Institute, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that translates its scientific findings into tools for parents of young children. He is the first to admit that until now brain scientists have had little engagement with educators. “The disciplines of brain science and education haven’t had a lot to say to each other — mostly because they live in isolation,” he explains. “If brain scientists and educators are allowed to work together, they will turn both disciplines upside down.”
This revolutionary vision led Seattle Pacific to open the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research in 2005 and to appoint Medina as director. He and SPU faculty members in education, psychology, and physics are now exploring how the brain learns, and the implications of this research for the classroom. The results will have profound effects for K–12 teacher education, not only at SPU, but also regionally and nationally. “What we are working toward,” says Medina, “is the creation of a research environment where educators and brain scientists figure out how to optimize learning environments.”
• Brain scientist John Medina meets with students, discussing lessons learned from the experiences of stroke victims. He is particularly interested in how this research might be applied to our understanding of how the brain learns.
• The Brain Center’s offices include a variety of research and teaching tools related to the brain and how it functions.
Previous | Next |
