Activating the Child’s Own Natural Desire to Learn: Educational Neuroscience and the Development of Meaningful Learning Experiences

Abstract

Educators are on a constant quest for the ideal environment that is conducive to learning. In fact, at times, educators still encounter challenges related to the understanding of a lack of child’s learning engagement or understanding of concepts presented to them, and the possible underlying reason for this. Many a time, educators resort to the assumption that the reason is that the student is intrinsically unmotivated or disinterested in learning. One area of study that could provide fresh knowledge in this regard is neuroscience. The design and configuration of the brain commence early in life and so learning opportunities offered in the early years of a child’s life could have profound effects on the architecture learning facility of the brain. Hence, this provides educators with the opportunity to reflect on their pedagogy to understand how this can be improved to better suit the needs of the child in relation to how their brain is developing. The research presented in this paper provides educators with a clear picture on how their pedagogy can be improved to give the brain what it needs to prevent children from becoming disenchanted and disengaged in their learning environment. This paper combines two perspectives: desk research offering an understanding of brain plasticity and the biochemical interactions which connect learning and fun, and a narrative inquiry focused on delineating the connection between educational neuroscience and the development of purposeful learning experiences for young students.