Interesting articles on Information Processing and the Brain

The internet and academic libraries are wonderful things but... boy oh boy... they can be more complex to navigate than the Minotaur's maze! Fortunately, and unlike the fabled maze, you rarely lose your life there but you certainly can lose whole days at a time searching for the perfect website, journal or article. At any rate, I finally settled on a couple of invaluable assets.

After several long hours of trawling and refining the Walden Library Online, I came upon the Journal: Mind, brain and education by Blackwell Publications Inc.
It contained many articles pertaining to this week's studies and I spent time digesting Bob Samuels (2009) "Can the Differences Between Education and Neuroscience be Overcome by Mind, Brain, and Education?" in particular.
This particular article reiterated many of the points studied this week but also discussed the possible links between neuroscience research and classroom application. In my profession it is of little use to know of great theories without comprehending their practical implications and/or limitations.

Websites
Thus inspired, I moved onto "googling" the internet. At Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University, I read National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2007) "The timing and quality of early experiences combine to shape brain architecture. Working Paper #5.
A fascinating insight into what shapes the child's early brain formation and addresses the policy implications for early intervention.

And luckily for me I happened upon a fantastic website source quite early on. The Education Psycholgy Interactive site seemed limited at first glance but this was a big misapprehension. Most notably, the Directory of Ed Psyc Links contained a vast array of interesting articles. A few of my favorites were:

• A research article from the Journal of Young Investigators.
• Some practical design principles based on brain-based learning inside and outside the classroom.
• And a great site full of games and quizzes Neuroscience for Kids which my students will love!

Once I started, I couldn't stop. Sometimes one has to remember to pull one's head out of the books and get on with the practical demands of life!