Brain Cells That Fire Together, Wire Together

During a study where neural imaging was employed on students and teachers while they learned collaboratively, researchers uncovered an intriguing insight into how brains can harmonize around a shared comprehension.

What’s the key takeaway? Enhanced “brain synchrony” among peers—and between students and teachers—was linked to improved academic performance on subsequent assessments, highlighting the significance of expertise and direct instruction, while also indicating potential for increased benefits from peer-to-peer and social learning.

If you’re interested in delving into the research mentioned in the video, you can explore the following links:

• Meir Meshulam, Liat Hasenfratz, Hanna Hillman, Yun-Fei Liu, Mai Nguyen, Kenneth A. Norman, and Uri Hasson’s investigation on how neural alignment anticipates learning outcomes in students undertaking an introduction to computer science course (2021)
• Ido Davidesco, Emma Laurent, Henry Valk, Tessa West, Catherine Milne, David Poeppel, and Suzanne Dikker’s examination of the temporal dynamics of brain-to-brain synchrony between students and teachers that can forecast learning outcomes (2023)

If you want to explore the most impactful research discoveries of 2023 for educators, check out The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2023.