1.2 What is neuropedagogy

For example, neurobiology investigates how learning occurs at the molecular, cellular, and organ and system levels, studying how the nervous subsystem acts as a physical support for learning-related phenomena. In recent decades, this discipline has benefited greatly from the possibility of “seeing” the brain of a healthy person in functioning while performing mental or motor actions, being able to appreciate which regions of the brain are activated above the usual.

Cognitive psychology is at a different level of study, which investigates how the brain obtains, manipulates, and stores information. This discipline does not study the physiology of the brain, but models its functioning from the evaluation of the changes that certain sensory or motor experiences cause in the behavior and skills of people, so it is much more capable of guiding us in educational practice than neurobiology. Cognitive psychology draws on advances in neurobiology to support its models and theories, acting as a bridge between scientific advances in how the brain works and education.

The main objective of neuropedagogy is, taking into account the individual characteristics of students and teachers, to analyze what are the optimal and most creative strategies for solving educational problems, using knowledge about the individual characteristics of brain organization and higher mental functions. For example, the different strategies between boys and girls, left-handed and right-handed and how these change in the various educational stages are analyzed.

In this way, neuropedagogy advances through some basic principles of the educational process such as:

• Offer ample opportunities for students to participate in a variety of content and forms of learning and cognitive activities, using different learning methods and techniques adapted to the age and characteristics of the students.
• Create an environment and circumstances suitable to satisfy the innate curiosity of the human being to learn (including eating and physical activity).
• Enhance the connections between what is already known and new learning. Understanding and learning occurs when the brain finds support in existing knowledge and perceptions.
• Organize the learning sequence logically so that the brain can create the connections properly. Chance and chaos complicate productive brain activity.
• Take into account emotions as a necessary element for productive brain activity. Learnings acquired in a favorable atmosphere are better remembered and establish more stable connections.
• Present the didactic material in a way that constantly interacts the general and the particular, induction and deduction. Analysis and synthesis are two thought processes in constant interaction in learning.

Have internal factors (previous experience, emotional state, level of motivation, individual characteristics of the student, etc.) and external or peripheral perception of the learning environment (general environment in the classroom, sound, light, etc.).