The Adolescent Brain and Neuroscience

 Cerebral cortex

Cerebral cortex, or cerebrum, is the outermost layer of the human brain and is generally associated with many, higher-order, brain functions such as perception, memory, association, and thought Cerebral Cortex | Education, Society, & the K-12 Learner. (2020). It is not only the largest part of the brain that is associated with the control of physical action, but is also considered to be the ultimate information processing center in the brain. In other words, the cerebral cortex is what determines intelligence, personality, motor function, planning and organization, language processing, and many more. 

Being an ELA teacher, I could safely say that most activities I conduct in the classroom are aimed at the student's cerebral cortex. For example, activities that aim to stimulate students memory or association capabilities are all processed in the cerebral cortex. Furthermore, instructional techniques, like scaffolding, inherently depend on the cerebral cortex to bring about necessary information from memory. Evidently, the simplest activities that require the most basic skills like reading and thinking, motor functions like speech and movement all take place in the cerebrum. 

Hippocampus

On the other hand, we find the Hippocampus to be a small, two-part, curved formation inside the temporal lobe in the human brain. Besides its association with the formation of new memories, it is also involved with learning and emotions. The hippocampus could be damaged due to disease or injury. Persons with hippocampus damage can experience loss of memory, or the ability to make new memories Thomas, D. (2020). In other words, all long term memory depends on the hippocampus. It is also involved in the detection of new events, places, and stimuli. 

In that, we see that no new learning of any type would take place without the help of the hippocampus. It consolidates new memories from short-term memory into long-term memory. God forbid, if any student would to hurt that part of their brain they would not be able to register any new events, in general. 

Researchers have found an equally important role for the hippocampus: feeding information to brain areas responsible for learning. "It is really important to think of the brain as an interconnected structure, with different parts that work together to produce our impressive mental feats" Arizona State University. (2019).

References

1. Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.  
2. Cerebral Cortex | Education, Society, & the K-12 Learner. (2020). Retrieved 4 October 2020, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/teachereducationx92x1/chapter/cerebral-cortex/
3. Thomas, D. (2020). Don't Let Your Hippocampus Stop You From Being A Successful Investor. Retrieved 4 October 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2018/05/10/dont-let-your-hippocampus-stop-you-from-being-a-successful-investor/#1ba34c532694
4. Arizona State University. (2019). More than just memories: A new role for the hippocampus during learning: Study shows how the hippocampus provides information to other brain areas during learning. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 4, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190306081704.htm