Abstract
This chapter explains the current trends in higher education, the overview of neuroscience, the multifaceted applications of neuroscience, the overview of knowledge management (KM), the perspectives of KM, the significance of neuroscience in higher education, and the significance of KM in higher education. Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary science that is concerned with the study of the structure and function of the nervous system. KM is the practice of organizing, storing, and sharing vital information, so that individuals can benefit from its use. The achievement of neuroscience and KM is required in higher education institutions (HEIs) in order to serve school administrators and students, increase educational performance, sustain competitiveness, and fulfill expected accomplishment in higher education. The chapter argues that encouraging neuroscience and KM has the potential to improve educational performance and reach educational goals in higher education.
TopBackground
In the late 1980s, the advent of cognitive science brought cognitive psychologists and neurologists together for scientific collaboration for studying intelligence (Posner & Raichle, 1994). The development of neuroeducators was first proposed 30 years ago, based on the belief that brain science might transform and improve the practice of teachers (Cruickshank, 1981). Theories on cognition should be connected directly with brain and its functioning (Rumelhart, 1989). There are many efforts to connect neuroscience to education (Willingham, 2009). Neuroscience can offer the obvious understanding of how the brain learns new information and manage this information throughout life (Shonkoff & Levitt, 2010).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Neuroscience: The field of study encompassing the various scientific disciplines dealing with the structure, development, function, chemistry, pharmacology, and pathology of the nervous system.
Organizational learning: The organization-wide continuous process that enhances its collective ability to accept, make sense of, and respond to internal and external change.
Education: The wealth of knowledge acquired by an individual after studying particular subject matters or experiencing life lessons that provide an understanding of something.
Brain: The soft convoluted mass of nervous tissue within the skull of vertebrates that is the commanding and coordinating center of the nervous system and the seat of thought, memory, and emotion.
Higher Education: The education at a college or university where subjects are studied at an advanced level.
Knowledge Management: The strategies and processes designed to identify, capture, structure, value, obtain, and share an organization's intellectual assets to enhance its performance and competitiveness.
Nervous System: The system of nerves and nerve centers in an animal or human, including the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and ganglia.
Knowledge Creation: The formation of new ideas through interactions between explicit and tacit knowledge in the individual's human minds.