08.01.14
Brain research fund could boost learning
A new fund has been launched to make better use of evidence-based research in classrooms in England. The £6m Education and Neuroscience fund, set up by the Wellcome Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation, seeks to tackle the “evidence gap” on how schoolchildren’s brains process information.
Applications for classroom use of brain research can be “often haphazard and not well informed”, they warned.
Better research could improve lessons as well as the school timetable. Funding is available for projects where educators and neuroscientists collaborate to develop evidence-based interventions for use in classrooms.
Dr Hilary Leevers, head of education and learning at the Wellcome Trust, said: “Neuroscience is an exciting field that holds a great deal of promise both for understanding how our brains work and, through application, for improving how we learn and perform.
“Neuroscientists and educators both recognise and wish to explore this potential. By bringing together our expertise and approaches, the Wellcome Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation hope to make this possible.”
Sir Peter Lampl, who chairs the Education Endowment Foundation and the Sutton Trust, said: “Improving our understanding of how the brain works will deepen our understanding of how pupils learn. Knowing the impact of neuroscience in the classroom will also make it easier to spot the plausible sounding fakes and fads, which don't improve standards.”
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