Task 1 Flashcards
Johnson proposes three viewpoints development.
What is the maturationalist point of view on development?
Cognitive functions develop when its underlying brain regions reach maturity
What is the interactionist point of view on development?
Specialization of particular brain regions are the result of interaction and competition with other brain regions over the course of development (embrainment).
What is the skill learning viewpoint on development?
- The brain activations during skill learning in development is similar to the ones activated during skill acquisition in adulthood.
- Skill acquisition activates other networks of neurons
What do the Johnson’s three viewpoints say about the role of genes in development?
Maturationalist: - deterministic epigenesis: development is a predetermined phenomenon. It is dependent on brain development
Interactionist: probabilistic epigenesis: interactions of environment and biology
What do the three viewpoints assume on the relation of function and structure of the brain?
Maturationalist: One-to one mapping between brain regions & structure
Skill learning: Continuity: regions retain similar functions across development but can respond with dynamic changes to learning
interactionalist: Functions emerge through interactions/competition between other brain regions
What are the three viewpoints’ assumptions on plasticity?
Maturationalist: Plasticity is the activated mechanisms following brain injury
Skill learning: Plasticity may be similar to that of adults during their skill acquisition
Interactionist: Plasticity is simply the fact that there is no region specificity during development
What are the three viewpoints’ assumption on skill learning?
- Maturationalist: brain maturation -> function -> new skill
- Interactionist : specialization -> function -> new skill
- Skill learning: activated skill acquisition networks -> new skills
What are the three viewpoints’ assumptions on mapping of patterns of brain activity?
- Maturationalist: identical performance should activate identical brain regions
- Interactionist: activation is dependent on the degree of specialization
- Skill learning: reactivation of skill circuit at onset of task, then a different pattern of activation once skill is acquired.
What are the three viewpoints’ assumptions on prenatal brain damage?
- Maturationalist: plasticity is activated
- IS: reorganization of networks to compensate
- Skill learning: plasticity is lifelong so it will have long lasting effects if the general skill acquisition circuit is damaged. If specific areas for specific skill acquisitions are damaged then there may be specific damage.
What evidence is there to support the maturationalist viewpoint?
- PFC Maturation: some executive function skills emerge as the PFC matures
- Eye movements: early saccade eye movements are related to more subcortical involvement than cortical.
What evidence is there to support the interactionist viewpoint?
- Face processing & word recognition: ERPs show that face/word processing are associated with wider brain activations than older infants who have more specializations due to more exposure to stimuli.
Give three reasons why Bowers 2016 assumed that neuroscience has not influenced teaching practices.
Neuroscience use trivial justifications for education neuroscience. For example, they state things that was already known and in place (e.g. learning continues throughout life which is true but this was already known without neuroscience’s involvement).
They give misleading justifications and often use behavioural data and try to interprete it as if it is backed up by neuroscience.
The try to make unwarranted uses of neuroscience to motivate teaching.
To what extent should neuroscience influence teaching according to Bowers?
It should not, but rather they should study the impact of learning on the brain.
Insufficient neuroscience knowledge to be applied to education
