A 6 page research paper that examines current research on the human brain and the process of learning. The writer demonstrates that research into how the brain develops has revealed some fascinating facts that have serious implications for early childhood educators relative to such areas as developmentally appropriate practices, active learning, reading readiness, and phonological awareness. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: KE9_99braedu.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
ways, this research verifies the observations and experience of many teachers as to what constitutes good teaching practice, it also raises questions that may well have ramifications for classroom instruction
and curriculum. For example, there is clear evidence that learning actually begins in utero when the developing fetus hears its mothers voice. Studies have shown that babies who are
tested shortly after birth can discriminate their mothers voice from those of other women (Eisenberg, 1999). Moreover, it has also been shown that language development starts prior to birth as
well. Four-day-old French newborns will suck harder listening to recordings of spoken French vs. recordings of other languages, such as Russian. This implies that they begin to acquire a "feel"
for the sound of their own native language while in utero (Eisenberg, 1999). Two decades of experimentation and brain research have shown that electrical activity of neurons in the
brain can shape the patterns of synaptic interconnections during early childhood development (Smith, 1999). The nerve impulses in the pathways of the brain that carry sensory information actually influence how
the functional maps of the brain areas that receive these impulses develop and function (Smith, 1999). In other words, brain research has shown that environment and experience shapes brain development
more then previously thought possible. In the beginning of life?just after conception?the brain-to-be is made up of only a few "advance scouts breaking (the) trail" (Lindsey, 1998, p. 98). Within
a week after conception, the cells of the embryos "neural tube" extend from the head to the tail (Lindsey, 1998). As the embryo develops, the new brain adds an incredible
250,000 neurons per minute during the period of gestation (Lindsey, 1998 While brain development before birth is crucial, its primary purposes are largely biological?i.e., it functions to control involuntary