The impact of handwriting and typing practice in children’s letter and word learning: Implications for literacy development
This talk presents empirical data on the benefits of handwriting—relative to typing—for literacy and spelling development and discusses why handwriting may positively influence reading development. Two studies are presented in which 50 pre-readers learned novel letters and words in an artificial orthography, either by handwriting or by typing. Linear mixed models revealed that children in […]
From Correlation to Causation in Learning and ADHD: Insights from Genetically Informed Designs
From correlation to causation in learning and ADHD: insights from genetically informed designs Elsje van Bergen’s research examines how genetic and environmental factors jointly shape individual differences in learning and behaviour. In this talk, she introduces key concepts, such as heritability and polygenic scores. She challenges intuitive but potentially misleading interpretations of environmental effects – for […]
Beyond the lab: naturalistic neuroimaging of empathy in early childhood
This webinar will be presented by Dr Chiara Bulgarelli, Birkbeck, University of London Empathy — the ability to share and understand others’ emotions — is foundational to social life, yet we know remarkably little about how it emerges in early childhood. Most of what we understand comes from adult neuroimaging or from behavioural studies in […]
ARLI SIG22 Neuroscience & Education Conference 2026
Centre for Educational Neuroscience are excited to announce that the next EARLI SIG 22 (Neuroscience & Education) meeting will be held in Leiden, The Netherlands, on Thursday and Friday 3-4 September 2026. They are also pleased to build on their long-standing partnership with IMBES (International Mind, Brain and Education Society) by hosting two concurrent meetings […]
ARLI SIG22 Neuroscience & Education Conference 2026
Centre for Educational Neuroscience are excited to announce that the next EARLI SIG 22 (Neuroscience & Education) meeting will be held in Leiden, The Netherlands, on Thursday and Friday 3-4 September 2026. They are also pleased to build on their long-standing partnership with IMBES (International Mind, Brain and Education Society) by hosting two concurrent meetings […]
Bridging Cognitive Neuroscience and Education- A Translational Approach in Reading Acquisition
How can we effectively bridge the gap between cognitive neuroscience and education? Some authors, such as J. Bruer, have argued that the fields are too distant in their methods and concepts for meaningful integration—a “bridge too far.” Others, like J. Bowers, claim that although education can inform cognitive neuroscience, the reverse contribution is limited, suggesting […]
What is autism? A developmental conceptualisation
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that occurs in around 2% of people, and can be associated with differences in social interaction, communication and interests. Autism is connected with genetic changes that are present from conception, but is often not identified until children are in school. Prospective longitudinal studies that follow infants from near birth to […]
Assessing preschoolers’ complex action processing in a stacking game using fNIRS
The ability to plan and understand complex actions is a crucial aspect of human cognition. It is discussed as a key milestone in early cognitive development and considerably develops around the preschool years. Processing complex action steps serve as basis for learning and goal-directed behavior. Previous research suggests that the processing of hierarchically structured actions […]
Learning and Reasoning Group Seminar – Difficult Concepts: Hard Words to Learn
Centre for Education Neuroscience warmly invite you to join them for their Learning and Reasoning Group seminar taking place on Wednesday, 11th February, from 5 pm – 6 pm (GMT time). Prof. Susan Carey will be presenting on difficult concepts, hard words to learn. Abstract: Beyond doubt, in my view, four decades of research has established […]
Mobile eye-tracking as a window on inequity in children’s language development opportunities
This talk presents both empirical findings and methodological insights from a Belgian interuniversity research project TACOS, which investigates preschool teachers’ language-supporting competencies through a multimethod approach. This seminar discusses the use of mobile eye-tracking (MET) to examine the question: Which children are being overlooked, and with what consequences for their language development opportunities? In a […]
Gender differences in mathematics in 1st grade: what are the causes? How to reduce them?
This week at the CEN seminar, Dr Franck Ramus will be presenting a talk entitled “Gender differences in mathematics in 1st grade: what are the causes? How to reduce them?” Recent surveys indicate that gender differences in mathematics—favoring boys—emerge as early as first grade, in France as in the United States. This presentation will report on several studies conducted […]
School Avoidance and Anxiety: A School Perspective
Dr Rebecca Torrance Jenkins, former Head of Science and advisor in neuroscience informed pedagogy and school design, will explore the underlying reasons why some children struggle to attend school. Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) refers to situations in which emotional, psychological or nervous system stress leads a child to avoid or be unable to sustain […]
Interleaving in inductive learning: Causes and interventions for metacognitive unawareness
Interleaving exemplars is a powerful learning method for enhancing inductive category learning as well as literacy/numeracy skills, yet learners tend to be unaware of the benefits of interleaving. What is the origin of this metacognitive bias and how can it be overcome? This webinar, hosted by Prof David Shanks (UCL, Experimental Psychology) will report a […]
Chinese Teachers’ Perspectives on Attention, Executive Functions, and Self-Regulation in Early Childhood Education
Attention, executive functions, and self-regulation develop rapidly across early childhood and play critical roles in children’s later academic and social–emotional competence. Yet relatively little is known about how early childhood teachers understand and support these skills in everyday educational practice. This presentation draws on two qualitative studies involving Chinese kindergarten teachers serving children ages 3–6 […]
Educational Neuroscience of Mathematics in South Africa: Application, Limitations, and Challenges
Much of our current knowledge about mathematics learning comes from the minority world—often referred to as Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic (WEIRD) populations—and is frequently generalised to the majority world or non-WEIRD populations. However, environmental variability, cultural values, and societal demands shape human cognition and influence developmental trajectories. For instance, differences in language and socioeconomic […]
Heritability is not Destiny
How should a teacher respond to a parent who declares their child has high genetic educational potential? Dr. Emma Meaburn previously presented the latest research on the application of genomics to education, and the insights offered by identifying robust links between DNA differences and educationally relevant traits, particularly through the use of polygenic indices (PGIs). […]
Vision of the classroom as unnatural and uncomfortable
This session will feature Prof Arnold Wilkins, University of Essex, and is titled – Vision of the classroom as unnatural and uncomfortable. Our vision evolved in nature and operates inefficiently with scenes that are unnatural. Discomfort then results from the consequent metabolic load. Scenes from the classroom are unlike those in nature with respect to […]
Genes, learning, and the classroom: insights and implications from educational genomics
This session will feature Dr Emma Meaburn (Birkbeck, University of London), and is titled– Genes, learning, and the classroom: insights and implications from educational genomics. Understanding why some children struggle in school is a central goal for educational research. Large-scale genomic studies are starting to offer new insights by identifying robust links between DNA differences […]
Genes, learning, and the classroom: insights and implications from educational genomics
This session will be led by Dr Emma Meaburn (Birkbeck, University of London). Further information to come closer to the time of the event. This talk is part of a webinar series from the Centre for Educational Neuroscience at UCL, Birkbeck University and the UCL IoE. You can register here to receive weekly updates about […]
The NeuroCompass: Guiding Learning, Leadership, and Love
This session will be led by Dr Maureen Ruby (Sacred Heart University). In our rapidly evolving global educational landscape, one thing remains constant: the brain is our common ground. This presentation will explore how a foundational understanding of educational neuroscience can transform not what and how we design curriculum, teach, assess, lead, and parent. Two […]