The Neuroscience of Learning and Development: Enhancing Creativity, Compassion, Critical Thinking, and Peace in Higher Education ed. by Marilee J. Bresciani Ludvik (review)

The Neuroscience of Learning and Development: Enhancing Creativity, Compassion, Critical Thinking, and Peace in Higher Education, edited by Marilee J. Bresciani Ludvik, offers connections between research on neuroscience and psychology and students' experiences in higher education for the purpose of improving student learning and success. The volume, which includes 12 chapters from 20 contributors with expertise in neuroscience, psychology, higher education, and student affairs, provides an overview of research on learning and the human brain with recommendations for using this research in designing student learning experiences in higher education. According to Ludvik: "Neuroscience has shed light on how the neurological system interwoven throughout one's entire body learns best and on how to create the optimum conditions for learning and development" (p. 13).

The introduction, written by Ludvik, includes a review of the literature on student success and suggests that student learning experiences in higher education are often not aligned with how students actually learn. This section provides a framework for the book, which broadly discusses student learning and development in the context of what neuroscientists and psychologists have come to understand about the human brain and learning.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the human brain and its basic functions. Matthew R. Evard, Jacopo Annese, and Ludvik (with reviews by neuroscience experts Mark Naxter and Thomas Van Vleet) review the history of science and technology examining the human brain and discuss parts of the brain and their functions. For example, the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for higher-level thinking and cognition. This chapter also introduces the concepts of neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, which are discussed at length in chapter 2 and referred to throughout the volume.

In chapter 2, Evard and Ludvik (with a review by Thomas Van Vleet) examine research about neuroplasticity and neurogenesis and discuss the ways in which neural pathways can be strengthened by practices such as mindfulness and meditation. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the human brain to change over time, while neurogenesis refers to the birth and growth of neurons within the brain.

Chapter 3 discusses strategies that some researchers believe may change the brain, including attention regulation, emotion regulation, and cognitive regulation. In this chapter, Ludvik, Evard, and Philippe Goldin (with a review again by Thomas Van Vleet) review mindfulness techniques that enable attention, emotion, and cognitive regulation, including focused breathing, body scan and awareness, and journaling. The authors argue that these techniques, when used in educational settings, may enable students to focus on regulation that improves learning and student success.

Chapter 4, written by Emily Marx and Lisa Gates, integrates research on self-authorship and research on mindfulness approaches. Research on self-authorship has suggested that student development and learning occur through a process whereby students come to define their identities, beliefs, goals, and relationships (Baxter Magolda, 2001, 2009; Baxter Magolda & King, 2004). Marx and Gates suggest that mindfulness approaches have the potential to foster learning and development that leads to self-authorship, and they offer examples of advising and teaching approaches that support student self-authorship.

In chapter 5, "Intentional Design of High-Impact Experiential Learning," Patsy Tinsley McGill considers high-impact educational practices (Kuh, 2008) and the role of experiential learning in facilitating student success. She discusses these approaches in the context of a capstone course offered at one university and offers recommendations for supporting and motivating students who engage in experiential learning courses.

Chapter 6 discusses the ways that stress may interfere with student learning and suggests mindfulness approaches that may promote student well-being and resilience. Christine L. Hoey examines the physical, social, cognitive, and emotional domains associated with student well-being and offers several mindfulness practices that may promote stress reduction and well-being among students.

In chapter 7, Shaila Mulholland examines educational experiences that promote student creativity and discusses the role...