NEUROEDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES: COGNITIVE FOUNDATIONS AND PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION IN CONTEMPORARY SCHOOLING

Abstract

The emergence of Neuroeducation has significantly expanded contemporary debates on teaching and learning by proposing the integration of findings from Neuroscience, contributions from Cognitive Psychology, and foundations from Education. It is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to provide greater scientific rigor to educational research, connecting knowledge about brain functioning with pedagogical practices and the development of educational technologies. Zaro et al. (2010) argue that Neuroeducation represents a new paradigm capable of supporting more effective teaching methodologies, especially in contexts marked by the intensification of digital and multimodal resources. In this scenario, educational technologies such as videos, multimedia tools, virtual learning environments, and gamified strategies require critical reflection on their impacts on students’ cognitive, emotional, and motivational processes. Tokuhama-Espinosa (2008) emphasizes that no two brains are identical, since biological factors and sociocultural experiences produce unique learning configurations, which reinforces the need for differentiated and mediated pedagogical practices. Hardiman and Denckla (2009) argue that the next generation of educators must consider evidence produced by brain sciences when designing educational experiences, without reducing teaching to biological determinism. This chapter discusses the emergence of Neuroeducation as a new scientific paradigm for educational research, presents its epistemological foundations and core principles—highlighting emotion, motivation, attention, and memory—and analyzes its interfaces with contemporary digital educational technologies, including innovation and gamification strategies. Finally, it problematizes the limits and ethical challenges involved in applying neuroscientific knowledge to educational contexts, arguing that technological innovation, in order to be truly formative, must be articulated with teacher mediation, educational ethics, and the understanding of learning as a complex, situated, and deeply human process.