Modern advancements in neuroscience have resulted in increased comprehension and understanding of the brain mechanisms that relate to behavior and cognition. This understanding has, in turn, led in an increasing interest in the significance of neuroscience to education. From the 90s, there have been a growing number of societies, journals, courses, funding calls, and online communities that aimed to find out what aspects of neuroscience can be used to improve learning and teaching. Evidence shows that there exists a relationship between neuroscience and education. The association is through the intersection of many courses in the science of teaching. The most significant discipline that links education and neuroscience is psychology. The study of the mind and behavior analyzes how social skills and cognitive abilities are formed through development. In connecting these disciplines, together with other appropriate scientific disciplines, psychology aims to achieve an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms and processes that form learning, with a focus on improving teaching practices and, eventually, learning outcomes ( Brookman-Byrne & Thomas, 2018) . This paper, therefore, examines the impacts of neuropsychology on effective teaching.
Brain imaging tools with sophisticated statistical analyses and methodological designs can be very robust tools in research. Technologies such as the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) measure the flow of oxygenated blood through the brain regions that consume more energy ( Brookman-Byrne & Thomas, 2018) . This tool provides an accurate visual image of the areas of the brain associated with specific functions. For example, although the brain is said to be actively functioning at all times, the FMRI can help identify areas of the brain that are most active during specific tasks such as mathematical reasoning. Such technologies, like Electroencephalography (EEG), is used to measure small voltage alterations in the human scalp that lead to coordinated neural firing. The tool can recognize when certain regions of the brain respond during specific tasks. Therefore, when applied in a classroom setting, both these tools can enable teachers to identify which tasks should be given to students at what time ( Dekker et al., 2012) . The tools can also help educators to identify the strengths and weaknesses of students in the class. By identifying the areas of strength and weaknesses, the teacher can reinforce the strengths, and maximize on improving the weaknesses.
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Although these technologies that directly show activities in the brain are useful for teaching, other technologies that do not measure activity in the brain are also helpful for teaching. For example, the eye tracking device allows researchers and neuroscientists to record movements of the eye over a screen ( Brookman-Byrne & Thomas, 2018) . By establishing how people make eye movements towards certain concepts, features, or ideas can indicate how the brain functions in processing information ( Brookman-Byrne & Thomas, 2018) . For example, Teachers may realize the children stare at the same section of a mathematical problem for a long time, and still, they get the answer wrong. This observation would help teachers to try out a different equation to see whether a different concept would lead to better solutions and academic success.
Studies on the relationship between neuroscience and education reveal that these two have positive correlations. Neuroscience informs theories and frameworks about behavior and cognition, which can create ideas for practice that can be applied practically in the classroom. Sometimes, it can take a long time for teachers to effectively integrate the findings of neuroscience into their class because it requires a team of researchers and teachers working in collaboration ( Muthukrishnan et al., 2018) . The process of integrating neuroscience into education and be tiring and frustrating to teachers who want to see immediate results. However, with patience, resilience, and collaboration, teachers will be able to reap the teaching benefits offered by neuropsychological concepts and observations.
Additionally, studies into the development of the adolescent brain give examples of how neuroscience can be connected to education. Results obtained from neuropsychological studies show that adolescence is a highly sensitive development period for the brain ( Fuhrmann et al., 2015). Such a hypothesis has experimented in a large research study, where relational learning reasoning increased during the adolescence period (Knoll et al., 2016). These results indicate that adolescence is a significant period for students to learn new skills, although the law requires that compulsory education stops at 16 years ( Muthukrishnan et al., 2018) . From these neuropsychological studies, teachers and parents can use this period to ensure that children learn the most. Educators can design school curriculums to include the most fundamental units to be taught to students during their adolescence years.
Similarly, research has also found that a person’s IQ score- measured using standard verbal and non-verbal tests, fluctuate during the teenage period (Ramsden et al., 2012). Neuropsychological studies showed that changes in the structure of the brain reflected the changes in IQ scores, thus showing that the IQ of a person cannot just be determined by how they perform in an examination test. Results show that performances in exam tests are influenced by brain alterations and changes that may cause fluctuations in the IQ of students. These findings have significant implications for education. With this knowledge, teachers may better be able to understand how students may perform better in one exam and perform poorly in another exam ( Dekker et al., 2012) . This understanding will help teachers formulate teaching strategies that will better address the needs of students at different levels. Findings from this study, together with the findings related to sensitive periods, suggest that learning ought to continue through adolescence for students to maximize the window of opportunity during this period.
Neuropsychological studies show that during adolescence, the brain shows heightened sensitivity to incentives and rewards as compared to adults and children (Crohn & Dahl, 2012). Educational research has found that during this period of development, teachers can use increased rewards and incentives to encourage students to study and learn effectively. Studies in neuroscience show that levels of dopamine in the brain increase during uncertain incentives or rewards, and this may improve attention as well as learning (Howard-Jones & Jay, 2016). This study, therefore, establishes the effectiveness of classroom rewards within science and mathematical lessons ( Brookman-Byrne & Thomas, 2018) . Teachers can use these findings to design games and reward activities to enhance and improve learning. For example, teachers may group students into several teams and quiz them over a mathematical concept ( Ramsden et al., 2012) . The promise of extra points or just the mere thought of emerging as leaders will incentivize children to be more attentive and active in getting the correct answers. Also, neuroscience studies indicate that adolescents will be more productive when they anticipate social rewards such as peer acceptance. Therefore, if a student believes that getting excellent results will get their peers to like them more, they are more likely to put more effort into academics (Crone & Dahl, 2012).
In conclusion, collaboration and communication between psychologists, neuroscientists, and educators will be useful in producing positive teaching outcomes. In areas where psychology and neuroscience suggest a finding, teachers can apply these findings practically in their classroom to establish their feasibility — teachers who are merely prescriptive risk losing their professional autonomy. Similarly, teachers who provide new information and tools derived from evidence-based methods will be able to yield significant outcomes in their classrooms. Educational neuropsychology will help to understand better all the factors that affect the ability of a child to learn, from the social, to biological, to foster improved teaching and learning.
References
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Muthukrishnan, P., Phang, A., Rui, Y., & Ling, L. B. (2018). Engaging Early Childhood Learners: Effectiveness of Whole Brain Teaching in Mathematics Classroom. Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 24(3), 1-5. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Priyadarshini_Muthukrishnan/publication/332401734_Engaging_Early_Childhood_Learners_Effectiveness_of_Whole_Brain_Teaching_in_Mathematics_Classroom/links/5cb1fcf4299bf1209762bbfe/Engaging-Early-Childhood-Learners-Effectiveness-of-Whole-Brain-Teaching-in-Mathematics-Classroom.pdf
Ramsden, S., Richardson, F. M., Josse, G., Thomas, M. S., Ellis, C., Shakeshaft, C., ... & Price, C. J. (2012). Addendum: verbal and non-verbal intelligence changes in the teenage brain. Nature , 485 (7400), 666.
