The Enchanted Loom

Abstract

We know a good deal today about how our brains construct emotions. The new fields of interpersonal neurobiology and affective neuroscience are challenging many of our conventional understandings, particularly the notion that thinking and feeling are separate operations and that it is the teacher's primary task to engage students in the former. This chapter addresses some of the findings of recent research on basic emotion command systems, emotional style, neural resonance and neuroplasticity, arguing that we can no longer ignore the evidence that our students’ cognition, emotion and bodily health are fundamentally connected. The arguments for a holistic approach to education are exceedingly robust and have neuropsychological research findings to support them.

Citation

Neville, B. (2013), "The Enchanted Loom", Newberry, M., Gallant, A. and Riley, P. (Ed.) Emotion and School: Understanding how the Hidden Curriculum Influences Relationships, Leadership, Teaching, and Learning (Advances in Research on Teaching, Vol. 18), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3687(2013)0000018005