Depth of Field/Depth of Understanding
Schools: Studies in Education, DOI: 10.1086/651297.
By Eric Baylin
The article is a personal account of my engagement with some recent
neuroscientific theory put forth by Mary Helen ImmordinoâYang
(University of Southern California) about the integral relationship
between emotion and cognition. Specifically, the research suggests the
necessity of engaging students on an emotional level in order to
thoroughly engage them cognitively. The article outlines a process of
teaching high school photography students the concept of depth of field
in the context of the unfolding revelations from my engagement with the
brain research. The process was one of trial and error that eventually
led to some important insights about teaching and learning in general,
most importantly about my own need to engage on an emotional level with
the subject being taught.
Read the article.