Other

Find out about the brain and early learning at the Nursery World Show 2019

Professor Paul Howard-Jones, known for his work on popular TV show 'The Secret Life of 4-Year-olds', is leading our neuroscience Masterclass at the Nursery World Show 2019.

The Brain, Learning and the Early Years will look at how play research and neuroscience are providing ever greater insights into young children’s learning and development – with important implications for early years practice.

The Masterclass, which runs on 1 February from 9.30-12.30, brings together leading academics from within the UK to explain the latest thinking on:

  • how learning occurs in the brain, and what this means for early years pedagogy
  • the importance of executive functioning in early learning, and
  • the impact of peer play on social development.

Paul Howard-Jones, Professor of Neuroscience and Education at the University of Bristol, will begin the session with an exploration of:

  • current understanding of the learning processes in the brain, and
  • how a scientific understanding of the brain can help implement the early years curriculum

He will cover topics including emotional regulation, embodied learning (the links between action and cognition), mathematics and literacy.

This will be followed by presentations by Dr Sara Baker and Dr Jenny Gibson, both academics at Cambridge University and principal investigators at the Lego Foundation's PEDAL project, on flexible thinking and children's play with their peers.