Programming the Brain:Educational Neuroscience Perspective : Pedagogical Practices and Study Skills for Enhanced Learning and Metacognition Second Edition ... by Relating to Social-Emotional Learn

by Chandana Watagodakumbura

This book delves into the broader topic of educational transformation required at all levels of education at a time world is facing unprecedented challenges amidst COVID19 tragedy. The premise of such an educational transformation agenda should be focused on individual learner transformation or whole person development. For decades, if not for centuries, we neglected the much important social and emotional domains of learning and development by narrowly focusing only on the cognitive domain. Put differently, we assumed that learning is an external entity that learners have to fill up rather than a means of forming embodied knowledge authentically by essentially looking inward at one’s own “self” and its relationship to the external world. In this pursuit of lifelong learning and development for an individual, we highlight the important enablers of developing self-awareness, mindfulness and emotional intelligence. Following the emerging neuroscientific notions of neuroplasticity and epigenetics, we shed aside the linear models of learning that are prevalent in favours of putting learners in the driving seat to self-author their journeys as much as we can. Such learning and development processes suggested in this book promise the development of individuals of enhanced critical thinking, creativity, empathy and compassion to serve this planet better, for the greater good.

446 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 14, 2020

About the author

Most of Chandana's recent research/inquiring/integrative activities and publications were in the areas of educational neuroscience/mindful learning/contemplative education/social-emotional learning(SEL)/whole person development/human development (mainly since completing his Graduate Certificate in Higher Education in 2006 from Monash University Melbourne). In his work, education is perceived from a deeper and multidisciplinary perspective. More specifically, emotional and social aspects of learning are given due consideration in addition to the usual cognitive ones, and inclusive practices are promoted. Publications done in these areas include two books and over another fifteen peer-reviewed research papers. The two books were titled as "Programming the Brain: Educational Neuroscience Perspective - Pedagogical Practices and Study Skills for Enhanced Learning and Metacognition" and "Education from a Deeper and Multidisciplinary Perspective - For a Sustainable Development of the Neurodiverse Society - A Futuristic View" published in 2017 and 2013, respectively. These research/inquiring/integrative outcomes were the results of his contemplation on general education, out of his personal interest for over 30 years since being a teenager. Close to 20 of these years, he has spent as an academic in higher education.

He has been involved in conducting over 70 courses in higher education in the areas of computer science/engineering, information systems, education and management. They were conducted to diverse student cohorts in Australia, Cyprus and Sri Lanka at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. For over dozen of these courses, he prepared complete curriculum including assessment and all teaching-learning material following his educational ideals.

He has done formal research studies and earned a PhD from RMIT University Melbourne in 2004. The area of this research was broadly Computer Systems Engineering (in data traffic engineering to be more specific).