Brain Based Learning Debated

Have two interesting articles on Brain-Based Learning (BBL) that approach BBL from opposite sides of the spectrum. J. Diane Connell (2009) is very positive about BBL. She believes that since the research continues to expand there will be greater and greater opportunities to apply BBL in our local schools (p. 31). In spreading out to local schools educators will now be able to design curriculum around brain functions (p.37). The best thing about her article is a brief annotated list which she refers to as the 11 principles of BBL (p. 30). Unexpectedly, at least for me, were more nebulous principles such as “the search for meaning is innate,” and “emotions are critical to patterning,” among the more concrete statements such as “the brain is a parallel processor,” and “the brain processes parts and wholes simultaneously,” (p. 30).


While Connell is very positive about BBL, Andrew Davis (2004) is a different story. Very succinctly he states that “Neurophysiology cannot tell us what matters in terms of human flourishing” (p. 23). He uses an example of a scientist saying that lifelong learning is limitless because the brain continues to grow dendrites in an enriched environment. The problem with that scientist’s statement avers Davis is that the vision of lifelong learning does not necessarily follow from the observation that physiologically, dendrites grow in an enriched environment (p. 23). In a lengthy article Davis goes on to declare that what BBL supporters have done is to make a category mistake. As he says, “Might it even be the case that they [BBL supporters] believe neurophysiological connections sometimes actually are connections between psychological items such as beliefs? If so, is this not a blatant example of a category mistake?” (p.26).

So the field of BBL does not necessarily have unanimous support. I don’t have the academic chops to be able to make an unqualified decision as to who’s right and who isn’t. So I think I’ll just keep reading both sides of the debate.

Connell, J.D. (2009). The global aspects of brain-based learning. Educational Horizons, 88(1), 28-39.


Davis, A. (2004). The credentials of brain-based learning. Journal of Philosophy and Education, 38(1), 21-  
                35.