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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2007 > March > 25 > Entry
School trouble? Let’s go to the MRI
This morning I was reading letters to the New York Times Magazine from attorneys and legal experts who were writing in about the thought-provoking story in the magazine a couple weeks ago called “The Brain on the Stand.”
The story looked at how advances in brain science are influencing legal arguments about defendants’ states of mind when they committed crimes. We’re not there yet, but there appears to be a possibility that brain scans in the future could answer for a jury questions like — “is the witness lying?” or “are these memories reliable?”
Naturally, I thought about the application of this technology for education.
If there’s one thing education is not right now it’s invasive. All information about how students think and learn is observed by teachers who interpret what they see and apply various strategies to help students overcome any learning difficulties.
But imagine what a brain scan might be able to tell you. If someday it can tell you if someone is lying or if they remember something correctly, doesn’t it seem likely that someday we also will be able to look inside the brain and see patterns in the way kids process information?
With that kind of information, could curriculum be designed to suit the particular information processing styles that are found to be common? Perhaps this could eliminate much of the guesswork for teachers?
Some might find the whole idea of peering into the brain to learn more about our children unnerving. But if there is useful information that can be gathered, is it worth trying? Should Bill Gates and other wealthy education philanthropists throw some money together to explore these possibilities?
(Image credit: Eric R. Marcotte)
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: My Favorite Posts, Teaching and Learning
Comments
By Buford
March 31, 2007 11:51 AM | Link to this
I have no problem with use of available technologies to provide information useful to a teacher, and in perhaps providing a data base for directing efforts of certain students. With the MRI, I see a piece of medical equipment whose use and function have been under the purview of medical physicians and likely to remain so. As has been mentioned by “OldProf” there might not be anything here that helps determine a specific thought process/solution by an individual. Prformance and ciriculum perception/response to classroom activities and learning, would likely vary by individuals and individually by day and circumstance. Not sure just what process could be used to definitively categorize students as gifted or challenged. For instance, one of my kids did fair in high school and fair in the undergraduate program chosen. Yet, when he did the Master’s program, he was a straight “A.” The questions is, is he gifted or not? If he IS “gifted” why wasn’t he an Honors student in his previous educational endeavors? I really suspect how the usual child does in school, in the work environment, and in their overall life, is a mixed bag of interests, determination, focus, and commitment. Don’t see an easy answer, or one from a machine.By Mary
March 31, 2007 10:24 AM | Link to this
Terri, I think research is finally being done that shows a gifted brain is and does work differently under some kinds of brain scans. However, I have told my children to avoid brain scans with MRI or magnetic resonance imaging. We carry some genes for overstorage of iron, and I, personally, do not get the feeling that the medical field takes this into account when they are scanning patients. I have concerns that small iron deposits (iron is magnetic) inside the brain, heart, etc could be displaced or agitated during the magnetic field application and damage soft body tissues in the brain, heart, etc. “Ironically”, iron is also linked with brain function, especially during fetal brain formation. Lack of iron during fetal development is linked with learning disabilties.By Terri
March 30, 2007 8:59 PM | Link to this
Let’s take a vote. Everyone who thinks Scott was seriously suggesting that school districts would pay to scan each individual student send me $1.00. I think the scan could be used by researchers to scan a representative sample to isolate the brain function of “average” “gifted” and “challenged” students to see where the differences might lie. If so, strategie for working with these “types” of students could be developed.By Buford
March 29, 2007 10:09 AM | Link to this
I do not foresee any Public School system having the extra mega-thousands required to obtain their own MRI machine. I don’t see any Public School system having the extra money to hire technicians to run the machine. I don’t see the Public School system having the extra funds to pay for Doctors to read the results and interpret them. I don’t see any Public School system having the money given to pay for MRI scans of students at existing MRI facilities. I don’t see parents of Public School students as being interested in paying the extreme cost for an MRI on their kids. I would suspect various insurance companies would have some complaint on paying for the cost. I would suspect the Public Assistance agencies would also be against paying for the cost - for those people with no insurance. I have no particular faith in such a system as regards the synapses inherit in rational though process.By Oldprof
March 28, 2007 10:23 PM | Link to this
I wonder if anyone here has anything to offer about the topic of MRI as an assessment tool—or are contentious sound-bites about the levy all we’re up to? Myself, I don’t think MRI or other scanning technology will ever be entirely reliable in detecting falsehoods or any mental state. We already know that the brain is “plastic”, different portions of it can learn to imitate other portions. While there are some general correlations between brain activity and certain broad mental states, I can’t fathom how any brain scan can detect a specific operation like 1+1=2.By Buford
March 28, 2007 9:50 AM | Link to this
DPS and Board of Ed want significantly more money from property owners, though school taxes are already at one of the highest rates in the area. They also refuse to consider other avenues of potential income/funding - such as an Earned Income or additional local sales tax. Dayton population has decreased many thousand and also the number of enrolled students has decreased (student drop is about 10,000). Fewer schools are now required for the education process. The average wage continues to drop as high paying jobs leave. Dayton and Montgomery County are close to the top in mortgage foreclosures. Dayton has a significant percentage of people on public assistance who can vote what levies they choose - secure in knowledge they will not pay any additonal cost from the levies. Senior citizens on fixed incomes are being hit from all sides for additional amounts for various services and levies - not just schools. Dayton and the County want to retain property owners, and get more into the area. Higher taxes, for whatever reason, do little to recommend this area. Vote NO on the proposed school levy.By wellwhynot
March 27, 2007 11:12 PM | Link to this
I figure since Dr. Mack has stopped all supply orders, the the board can consider the two boxes of copy paper I recently bought, along with the other money I typically spend, as my share of the levy money. The person who wrote the letter to the editor on 3/27/07 calling for teachers and others to take a paycut can also consider all the money I spend every year as my share of the paycut.By wellwhynot
March 26, 2007 9:38 PM | Link to this
My first thought was WOW! Each child could be given their own curriculum and they wouldn’t even need many teachers. Just do the MRI, input the info and out pops an individually designed curriculum. Then it began to sound like robotic children or “Stepford children”. Scary.By Terri
March 26, 2007 5:02 PM | Link to this
An even better application of the technology would be to analyze what Strickland was thinking in his doling out of the state money to school districts. Or to figure out what the Dayton Board of Education was thinking when teachers were recently asked for money to help pay for the publicity campaign for the levy. A payroll deduction form was conveniently included.