Science education studies have revealed that students often have misconceptions about how nature works, but what happens to misconceptions after a conceptual change remains poorly understood. Are misconceptions rejected and replaced by scientific conceptions, or are they still present in students' minds, coexisting with newly acquired scientific conceptions? In this study, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare brain activation between novices and experts in science when they evaluate the correctness of simple electric circuits. Results show that experts, more than novices, activate brain areas involved in inhibition when they evaluate electric circuits in which a bulb lights up, even though there is only one wire connecting it to the battery. These findings suggest that experts may still have a misconception encoded in the neural networks of their brains that must be inhibited in order to answer scientifically.

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Students' behavioral outcomes are often used by both researchers and teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of pedagogical interventions. Extensive research using behavioral metrics has found that some interventions are more effective than others in certain contexts. However, there has been less focus on how different interventions impact the processing of academic skills at a neural level. To explore this question, we conducted a narrative review of literature examining two or more interventions related to the same subject of learning. We discuss five main themes that encompass different pedagogical practices: (1) orienting attention toward particular features; (2) teaching a particular strategy; (3) changing the level of cognitive engagement; (4) setting an educational context; and (5) interacting with the learner. We provide examples of how these pedagogical practices lead to changes in both brain and behavior. This review provides insights into how teachers orchestrate neural plasticity through different pedagogical choices. In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the idea that understanding the brain may be important for education (

Although a number of papers have already discussed the relevance of brain research for education, the fundamental concepts and discoveries connecting education and the brain have not been systematically reviewed yet. In this paper, four of these concepts are presented and evidence concerning each one is reviewed. First, the concept of neuroplasticity is proposed as a sine qua non for linking education and the brain. Then, the concepts of neuronal recycling and inhibition are presented as two fundamental mechanisms of school learning that emphasize the importance of knowing the initial brain structure of learners and, finally, the concept of attention is discussed as a central concept for linking teaching and the brain.Bien qu’un certain nombre d’articles aient déjà discuté de la pertinence des recherches sur le cerveau pour le domaine de l’éducation, les découvertes et les concepts fondamentaux reliant l’éducation et le cerveau n’ont jamais fait l’objet d’une analyse systématique. Dans cet article, quatre de ces concepts sont présentés et, pour chacun de ces concepts, une brève synthèse de la littérature est proposée. Premièrement, le concept de neuroplasticité est proposé comme une condition sine qua non pour établir des liens entre l’éducation et le cerveau. Ensuite, les concepts de recyclage neuronal et d’inhibition sont présentés comme deux mécanismes fondamentaux liés aux apprentissages scolaires qui mettent l’accent sur l’importance de connaître la structure initiale du cerveau des apprenants et, enfin, le concept d’attention est présenté comme un concept central pour établir des liens entre l’enseignement et le cerveau

Learning counterintuitive scientific concepts can be difficult for students because they often have misconceptions about natural phenomena that lead them to commit errors. Recent studies showed that students with advanced scientific training recruit brain regions associated with inhibitory control and memory retrieval to avoid committing errors for questions related to counterintuitive scientific concepts. However, the brain mechanisms used by novices in sciences to overcome errors are still unknown. In this study, novices in electricity and mechanics answered a scientific task in an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner before and after having corrected their errors. Results show that rostrofrontal and parietal brain areas were more activated after correcting errors than before. These findings suggest that error-correction mechanisms of novices, induced by presenting to learners the correct answers at the very beginning of their learning process, are associated with memory retrieval but not inhibitory control.International surveys, such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), regularly show

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