The CORE work for this research was meant to investigate and assemble a set of ideas that may be useful to teachers, through examining the expressions of numerous institutions and authors who have participated in this conversation over time. Saturation evaluation techniques were employed and the summary results show below. For a technical report on the research, all citations, and the final version of the Framework of the CORE, see Scalise, Kathleen; Felde, Marie (2017). Why Neuroscience Matters in the Classroom (What's New in Ed Psych) (Pages 292-307 Technical Report; Pages 24-35 Framework of the CORE). Pearson Education.

Table 3.

Guiding Principle 3: How we learn dramatically affects what knowledge we can actually use, with approaches such as priming, elaboration, extension, and knowledge integration key to outcomes – in teacher talk, this is about changing instructional design.

Idea	Description
3a	Cognition is a set of processes for acquiring, retaining and applying knowledge. Cognition relies on brain activity. Learning has been found better supported by certain cognitive strategies and environments of which teachers should be aware. Cognitive neuroscience links cognitive models with brain science findings.
3b	The brain’s “executive function” is defined as how we control cognitive processes such as planning, attention, selection, rehearsal, and monitoring of information retrieved from memory. Some brain areas become active when we engage with a wide variety of tasks, and have a role in allocation of attention. Executive function is still developing in the teenage brain, including directing attention, planning future tasks, inhibiting inappropriate behavior, multitasking, and a variety of socially oriented tasks.
3c	Sufficient stimulation improves brain function. Animals raised in a complex environment may have a greater supply of blood and oxygen to the brain. More cells may support nerve function by providing nutrients and removing waste (astrocytes). Weight and thickness of cerebral cortex may alter, as well as synapses per neuron. Such improvements result when animals are not raised in deprived environments.
3d	From a cognitive view, intelligence can be thought of as measured by the capacity to remember, predict, apply and extend patterns in the brain, applicable in areas such as language, mathematics, physical properties, and social situations.
3e	Some learning approaches specifically support memory. These include cognitive elaboration and extension, which are intellectual efforts to discern relationships that add more detail to concepts or idea. Effective questioning strategies, reflective activities, and problem-solving employ elaboration and extension. These support understanding by creating and reinforcing memory and knowledge integration.
3f	Recognizing relevant features of a situation is one important dimension of learning. The brain creates information experiences through inferencing, category formation and other ways of processing information. But first, recognition is necessary for segmenting the brain's perceptual field, or "learning how to see." Instructional designs that provide students with experiences to recognize meaningful patterns are helpful to the brain. Learning to recognize similarities and differences has been found to have some of the largest effects on student learning outcomes, across a number of subject matter areas.
3g	For effective learning, knowledge must be “conditionalized” in the brain, or in other words clearly associated with situations for which it is useful. Using knowledge in multiple contexts, or integrated across the subjects, is helpful. Knowledge otherwise is often “inert” because not activated in neural processing, even though it is relevant.
3h	Where supports of learning, or, in teacher talk “scaffolding,” is used, teachers should “fade” or systematically reduce the need for it. Examples include environmental cues, hand signals, trigger words, challenges broken down by teachers into fine pieces, and external motivators. Revisiting knowledge to support proficiency helps. Understanding that is associated only with past conditions or teacher-pleasing behavior is not independent learning.
3i	Social interaction is a constituent component both for early development of cerebral structures and for normal development of cognitive functions and learning.