Neuroscientific importance and educational suggestions for selecting visual materials according to learner type in the science teaching and learning process: Focusing on the “Earth and Universe” Units

Objectives The purpose of this study is to confirm the neuroscientific importance and educational significance of selecting visual materials according to learner type in the science teaching and learning process, focusing on elementary school science and the “Earth and Universe” Units. Methods For this purpose, a visual data task was developed, three groups of gifted, general, and special education children (total of 29 children, 12.1 ± 0.3 years old) were selected, and measurement and analysis of the multimodal system of MEG and EEG were performed. Results As a result of TANOVA analysis, statistically significant differences were observed in the P100 component depending on the type of learner. This is neuroscientific confirmation that there are differences in perceiving and recognizing visual materials depending on the type of learner. This indicates that, depending on the learner's level of development or understanding, the individual processing process of simple visual materials can be very different neuroscientifically. Conclusions This mean that if a teacher presents visual materials in a planned manner according to the type of learner, they may contribute to the subsequent knowledge creation process, but if not, the visual materials may become meaningless to the learners. This study is significant in that it provides a neuroscientific basis for the selection and presentation of visual materials used in school settings.