Monthly Archives: January 2016

Neuro-hit or neuro-myth?

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CEN has just launched a new web resource on neuromyths!

Neuromyths are common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society. Some of these myths have taken root amongst educators and have influenced educational techniques. Some myths are wonderfully bizarre (we only use 10% of our brains!). Some myths have seeds of truth but have led to educational techniques without scientific grounding (e.g., the myth that left-brain=logic right-brain=emotion and creativity has a seed of truth in research on functional brain lateralisation). Other myths appeal to strong intuitions but the science is only assumed (girls and boys have different cognitive abilities).

Entitled ‘Neuro-hit or neuro-myth?‘, we give up-to-date evaluations of a range of neuromyths, including links to recent scientific resources and articles.

This resource was supported by a Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund Award.

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Two new ESRC CASE PhD studentships now inviting applications

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Would you like to complete your PhD on an exciting project linked to educational neuroscience, which combines experience in both academic and commercial sectors?

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The effect of ambient noise on on early learning in a classroom environment

Under the supervision of Dr. Natasha Kirkham and Professor Denis Mareschal, this studentship will be focussed on understanding the impact of ambient or environmental noise on early learning in a classroom environment, and will be run in collaboration with our partner on the project, Cauldron (http://cauldron.sc), a resource-developer for online experiments This project will require coding/programming experience and we encourage students with both developmental and cognitive science backgrounds to apply.

Closing date for applications is 1st March 2016.  Informal inquiries can be made to Natasha Kirkham:  n.kirkham@bbk.ac.uk

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The effect of technology use on the development of adolescent executive function skills

Under the supervision of Dr. Iroise Dumontheil and Professor Michael Thomas, this studentship will focus on the investigation of executive functions during adolescence, and their association with technology use and academic outcomes, using data from the Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (www.scampstudy.org). The student will perform analyses on a large dataset and will learn out to develop, program and administer psychological online testing with our partner on the project, Delosis (https://www.delosis.com/home.html). We therefore encourage students with strong quantitative skills to apply for this studentship.

Closing date for applications is 26th Feb 2016.  Informal inquiries can be made to Iroise Dumontheil: i.dumontheil@bbk.ac.uk. Further details here.

Would you like to do a PhD in Educational Neuroscience?

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Bloomsbury Doctoral Training Centre Studentship Applications are now invited.

Applications are now open for ESRC studentships via the Bloomsbury Doctoral Training Centre, which offers a training route in Educational Neuroscience. Further details on the application process are available on the DTC website here.

The closing date for applications is Friday 5 February 2016.

CEN Research Group spring meeting schedule

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The CEN Research Group, which is open to those interested in the latest developments in educational neuroscience, meets weekly at 4pm on Thursday afternoons.

Our spring schedule is now available here. Upcoming topics include the use of philosophy to develop reasoning skills in primary schools, spatial ability and science performance, chess in schools, and an investigation of cognitive deficits in children with cerebral palsy and how these impact mathematical ability.

The CEN Research Group is open to faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and students at Birkbeck and UCL (especially those on the Educational Neuroscience and Developmental Sciences masters, and PhD students studying relevant topics). It is also open to educationalists, educational psychologists, and interested teachers. Meetings aim to enable an atmosphere of informal discussion of the latest findings in and challenges for neuroscience and psychology relevant to education. If you would like to attend, please contact us at: centre4educationalneuroscience@gmail.com

UCL-IOE / HKU Education & Neuroscience Collaboration: Friday 15th January

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You are warmly invited to take part in the upcoming, second instalment of an exciting digital and e-learning collaboration between UCL-IoE and Hong Kong University.

Intended to facilitate inclusive and accessible conversations about current trends in education and neuroscience, and to link researchers working in different parts of the world, this Friday’s session will consist of;
  • Prof. Andrew Tolmie (UCL-IoE), presenting on Observation, Description and Explanation in Primary School Science
  • Prof. Michael Thomas (BBK) speaking on The Cognitive Neuroscience of Socioeconomic Status
  • Prof. Emily Farran (UCL-IoE) presenting a paper entitled A Multilevel Approach to Understanding Development

Abstracts are available here…

As this is a digital seminar, the session will be broadcast online, and is therefore intended to be accessed remotely from anywhere via a link sent to those who sign-up. Similarly, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of each other and the speakers via the twitter hashtag #UCL_EdNeuro and a google-hangout. There is also an opportunity to attend the session in person over coffee at UCL-IoE.
For more information and to sign-up, follow the Eventbrite link here…