On the Relevance of Research Findings in Cognitive Neuroscience to Educational Practice

Abstract

In their target article, Byrnes and Fox (1998) argue that many of the recent findings from the field of cognitive neuroscience have particular importance for education. In our commentary, we lend support to their contention by reporting on some of our work that has potential relevance to the proposed interface between cognitive neuroscience and education. Specifically, we discuss the findings from several studies investigating the neuropsychology of intellectual giftedness, and sex differences in the brain, each of which suggest a unique functional organization that differentiates gifted from average ability adolescents, as well as males from females. We further propose that the translation of cognitive neuroscience findings into specialized classroom instructional methods which capitalize on the plasticity of the brain, as well as the apparent individual differences in its functional organization, may be the most significant challenge facing those in the front-lines of educational practice.