Neuroaesthetics: Conceiving Alternative Ways for Learning
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Can neuroaesthetics offer another way to understand how learning happens?
Neuroaesthetics provides insights for art and design teaching that go beyond traditional memory-based methods.
How learning happens in creative settings
This research paper explores how neuroaesthetics, a field that studies the brain’s response to aesthetic experiences, can offer new perspectives in art and design education.
Published by Carol Wild at University College London, The Neuroaesthetics of Art and Design Education (Wild, 2024) challenges traditional cognitive science approaches, suggesting that art education benefits from a focus on creativity and sensory engagement.
Traditional cognitive science often prioritises memory retention, structured lessons, and repetitive practice, which may not align with the fluid and creative nature of art education.
Neuroaesthetic principles encourage a focus on sensory and emotional experiences, which are essential for fostering creativity and meaningful expression in students.
A traditional model for knowledge understanding and knowledge creation
The following image is used inside the paper, and is a popular cognitive science model for learning. What I like about this research paper, is this model is something I’m also familiar with, but as a design and technology specialist, working in a wide range of school settings, it’s important to always critique research to find nuances that can apply in a range of subjects scenarios and age groups. Therefore, below, must be a neurotypical suggestion for how we learn.
This research paper critiques the above model in the unique context of art and design education in England, reminding us that secondary level students are assessed purely through submission of portfolio/coursework.
Wiley suggests that the standardised model of cognitive science requires a “way to think about learning within the messy, ambiguous, distributed context of the art and design classroom.”
An alternative model for knowledge understanding and knowledge creation
The research goes on to argue that neuroscience in the classroom is yet to add anything new to classroom practice. For me, neuroaesthetics is a new term, and the research reminds us that it is a relatively new but growing area of research concerned with aesthetic experiences; brain activity during aesthetic engagement, such as art, drama and performance etc. Three ideas are suggested:
- A triad model for understanding aesthetic perception; brain circuitry, the sensory motor, emotion-valuation and meaning knowledge of circuits.
- Stopping for knowledge suggests that engaging deeply with material causes students to pause, helping them to break from routine thinking and embrace curiosity and exploration, and
- Art as social cognition, explains that experiencing and interpreting art mirrors social interactions, helping students develop empathy, shared understanding, and personal meaning through engagement with others.
The research offers a model of [memory] for recognition in art and design, using an understanding of cognitive processes that come from basic and applied cognitive psychology.
Reflection questions for teachers to consider
- How can retrieval practice support creativity in art and design?
- What adaptations do primary teachers need for working memory models?
- Is retrieval practice suitable for open-ended, creative subjects?
- How could retrieval practice fit with the process-focused nature of art?
- Can deep understanding be achieved without memory-based strategies?
- How does emotional engagement affect memory in the classroom?
- How can teachers balance Willingham’s recommendations with creative exploration?
- Could sensory experiences replace structured recall in primary settings?
- Can neuroaesthetics offer a more holistic approach to creative learning?
- How can teachers assess both recall and creativity in students?
The research concludes that it is possible to imagine alternative ways of conceiving learning.
… an alternative choreography of learning is not predicted on a desire to know what works, but it’s prompted instead by the question of what animates and in live in the world for teachers and their students.
