Inter- and Transdisciplinary Work: Connecting Research on Hormones With Problems of Educational Practice

Abstract

More than ever before, leaders within the field of education are looking to research on basic processes to inform and improve educational practices. Success requires building a reciprocal relationship between the field of education and research on learning and development, similar to what exists between biology and medicine. Key to this effort is the development of an explicit conversation between researchers, practitioners, and policy makers, where the generation of basic processes research deals directly with the problems of practice. The goal of this special section of Mind, Brain, and Education is to provide a platform on which practical insight can be gained from new empirical research on hormones and behavior in development. The special section will extend across several issues to examine the hormones important for maintaining the body's critical regulatory processes, including energy balance, sleep/wake cycles, and growth. We have solicited manuscripts describing original research and we have asked an expert in each subfield to comment on the educational relevance of the findings and to vision the future and potential of basic processes research in this area to inform education.

Universal Design for Learning and elementary school science: Exploring the efficacy, use, and perceptions of a web-based science notebook.

“…UDL is a transdisciplinary framework that facilitates interaction between researchers from the learning sciences and professionals within education, focused on problems of common interest. The UDL framework can be used to reach a holistic understanding and work toward innovative solutions (Rappolt-Schlichtmann, Daley, & Rose, 2012; Rappolt-Schlichtmann & Watamura, 2010; Samuels, 2009).…”

Use of Galvanic Skin Responses, Salivary Biomarkers, and Self-reports to Assess Undergraduate Student Performance During a Laboratory Exam Activity

“…DHEA and testosterone has been linked to increased visual-spatial performance in adults [12][13][14][15][16]34 . Cortisol levels for females and males did not change pre-and post-the laboratory session (p = 0.41) possibly due to exceeding short half-life of cortisol (~45 min) during the second salivary collection 19,20,32 .These results show that student performance is differential, in this case by gender, and that hormonal biomarkers can be a useful tool in identifying these differences.…”

“…Cortisol and DHEA, measures of stress 19,20 and spatial ability [12][13][14][15][16]33 , did not show significant changes (p = 0.39 and p = 0.42, respectively), despite obtaining equal scores in their exams (data not shown). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.…”

“…On the contrary, verbal abilities have been linked to enhancement of oestrogens (e.g., estradiol) and progesterones 18 . Physiological biomarkers of stress such as cortisol, are found in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in humans [12][13][14][15][16][19][20][21] .…”

What Are Little Learners Made of? Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice, and Leptin and TNFα and Melatonin

“…Two articles in this special section introduce a set of hormones which have been shown, in basic research, to play a role in cognition and learning, but which have not as of yet reached the public eye and educators' and policy‐makers' attention. A prior special section of this journal focused on stress hormones, and in particular the stress‐sensitive hormone cortisol, and its potential role in learning (Blair, ; Bugental, Schwartz, & Lynch, ; Lisonbee, Pendry, Mize, & Gwynn, ; Rappolt‐Schlichtmann & Watamura, ). While important, and a key focus of my own research (Adam, ), cortisol is only one of many circulating hormones that are influenced by children's experience and behavior, and cross the blood–brain barrier to reach centers of the brain involved in regulation of mood, attention, alertness, and executive functioning and memory processes.…”