Embracing Your Inner “Guide on the Side”: Using Neuroscience to Shift the Focus from Teaching to Learning

Abstract

This article explores the effect of incorporating the precepts of neuroscience in a social constructivist theory of learning on student performance in an introductory course in marketing. The authors delivered the pilot class in a flipped format because it facilitates including the neuroscience considerations of dual coding, working memory, activation of prior knowledge, and practice into the course design. The data indicate that those in the pilot class significantly outperformed those in the traditional 3-hr lecture format class on the comprehensive final examination. The authors conclude that it is paying attention to neuroscience in the design of the pilot course that contributes to the successful performance of the students.