Mind, brain and learning

by James P. Byrnes

Mind, brain and learningIt is very important to understand their minds in order to understand the interactions between the teacher and the learners that occur in educational settings. To understand human minds, many educators have recently started to show interest in brain research results. The topic of whether the unit for understanding the human mind should be the brain of an individual is of course important. It is equally important to understand the process of how humans interpret the situation and process the information. Research on the brain provides a key clue. There are three kinds of readers that this book intends. First, it is a psychologist who has a meeting about brain research or is curious. Secondly, it is confusing teacher or education-related worker because it is information about brain that is poured in a book for teachers or a professional seminar related to development. Third, I would like to know about the brain, but I am afraid because of the vastness and intricacy of the neuroscience literature. People in the psychology field will be able to read the book and have a meeting about brain research, and furthermore, educators will be able to distinguish between the unfounded search and the possible application of brain research through this book. In addition, those who are simply interested in the brain will learn a lot through this book, and they will be motivated to continue their interest in research on the brain.

Paperback

Published January 20, 2008

About the author

James P. Byrnes, PhD, is Professor of Educational Psychology and Applied Developmental Science in the College of Education at Temple University. He was a Fellow of Division 15 (Educational Psychology) of the American Psychological Association between 2002 and 2018, has served as Vice President of the Jean Piaget Society, and was Associate Editor of the Journal of Cognition and Development. Dr. Byrnes has published over 100 books, chapters, and articles on areas of cognitive development, including language development, logical reasoning, and mathematical learning. His most recent work has focused primarily on developing and testing a comprehensive theoretical model of academic achievement (the opportunity–propensity model) in order to provide insight into ways to eliminate or substantially reduce gender, ethnic, and racial gaps in achievement. Dr. Byrnes has received awards for his teaching and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students.