探花直播 of Cambridge - Sara Baker

Education and the brain: what happens when children learn?

amb206 — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 12:27:02 +0000

Researchers looking at child development often use search-and-find tasks to look at the ways in which children apply what they are learning about the physical world. Tests carried out on toddlers reveal that something quite remarkable happens in child development between the ages of two and five 鈥� a stage identified by both educationalists and neuroscientists as critical to the capacity for learning.

Dr Sara Baker is a researcher into early childhood at the Faculty of Education. She is interested in the role of the brain鈥檚 prefrontal lobe in how young children learn to adapt their understanding to an ever-shifting environment. Many of her studies chart changes in children鈥檚 ways of thinking about the world. She uses longitudinal designs to examine the shape of individual children鈥檚 learning curves month by month.

Research by Baker and colleagues is contributing to an understanding of the acquisition of skills essential to learning. She explains: 鈥� 探花直播brain鈥檚 frontal lobe is one of the four major divisions of the cerebral cortex. It regulates decision-making, problem-solving and behaviour. We call these functions executive skills 鈥� they are at the root of the cognitive differences between humans and other animals. My executive functions enable me to resist a slice of cake when I know I鈥檓 soon having dinner.鈥�

In an experiment designed to identify the age at which executive skills develop, Baker and colleagues used a row of four interconnected boxes to test children鈥檚 ability to apply their knowledge of basic physics. A ball rolled down an incline entered the first box and disappeared. A barrier (its top visible) was slotted in between two of the boxes to stop the ball rolling any further. 探花直播children were asked to open the door of the box in which the ball was hidden.

Aged 29鈥�31 months, only 32% of the children correctly identified the location of the ball by working out that the barrier would have stopped it. Aged 32鈥�36 months, 66% of children were successful. Toddlers under the age of three appear to understand the principles of solidity and continuity, but have trouble acting on this knowledge. A single month in a child鈥檚 age affected their ability to carry out the task correctly.

Baker鈥檚 interest in children鈥檚 development of executive skills dates from the moment a decade ago when she picked up a picture book while sitting in the foyer of a nursery school; the narrative focused on opposites: big/small, light/dark, hot/cold. How would children respond if they were asked to point to the opposite picture to the one depicting the word they heard spoken? This question became the topic for her PhD. Her findings confirmed that the huge variability of children鈥檚 executive skills could explain the range of social and cognitive behaviours we see emerging in the early years. What we learn at this stage, and what we learn to apply, sets us on course for life.

Most three-year-olds find the 鈥榦pposites鈥� task hard. Given two pictures of bears, one big, one small, they automatically point to the big bear when they hear the word 鈥榖ig鈥� spoken aloud. They point to the big bear even when they have been asked (and appear to have understood) to point to the image that is the opposite of the word they hear.

Five-year-olds are much more successful in carrying out the task explained to them. 鈥淏y age five, most children have acquired the ability to override their impulses, and put them on hold, in order to follow a request,鈥� says Baker. 鈥� 探花直播ability to control impulses is vital to children鈥檚 socialisation, their ability to share and work in groups 鈥� and ultimately to be adaptable and well adjusted.鈥�

What happens in children鈥檚 brains and minds to enable them to make these important leaps in understanding? 探花直播answer involves an understanding of neuroscience as well as child development. Baker and colleagues are engaged in multidisciplinary projects including examining how individuals with autism may perceive and learn about the physical world differently from those without a diagnosis. Her team is also developing a pedagogical, play-based approach in collaboration with teachers.

鈥淓xecutive function is a hot topic in education. When we talk to teachers about the psychology behind frontal lobe development, they immediately recognise how important self-regulation is, and will tell you about the child who can鈥檛 concentrate. It might be the case that this child is struggling with their executive functions: their working memory or inhibitory control might be flagging,鈥� says Baker.

鈥� 探花直播tricky part is to grasp the processes developing in the child鈥檚 brain and come up with ways to encourage that development. In early years鈥� education, playful learning and giving children freedom to explore could help to encourage independence as well as the ability to know when to ask for help, both of which depend on self-regulatory skills. If we want to encourage adaptability and self-reliance, we have to look beyond the formal curriculum.鈥�

Baker鈥檚 research into children鈥檚 ability to apply knowledge to successfully predict the location of an object hidden from view revealed much more than simply which age group was successful. She says: 鈥淚n looking at the data from tasks, it鈥檚 not enough to focus only on children鈥檚 failures. We need to look at why they search for an object in a particular place. Often they鈥檙e applying something else that they鈥檝e learnt.鈥�

When younger children opened the same door twice in the boxes experiment, despite the barrier having been moved, they were applying logic: an object may be precisely where it was found before. After all, it鈥檚 always worth looking for the house keys first where they should be.

In another experiment (involving dropping balls into opaque tubes that crossed each other), the younger children applied their knowledge of gravity (the ball would fall down the tube) but failed to take into account that the tubes were not straight. Baker says: 鈥淲hen children repeat a mistake, they reveal something about their view of the world and, as researchers, we learn how their brain is developing. As teachers and parents, our role is to help children to overcome that strong, but wrong, impulse.鈥�

During the course of a day, your frontal lobe will have enabled you to do far more than find your keys. 探花直播synaptic firing of millions of cells in your brain may have guided you through a tricky situation with colleagues or prompted you to make a split-second decision as you crossed a busy road. 鈥� 探花直播development of this vital area of your brain happened well before you started formal education and will continue throughout your lifetime,鈥� says Baker.

Have you lost your house keys recently? If so, you probably applied a spot of logical thinking. You looked first in the most obvious places 鈥� bags and pockets 鈥� and then mentally retraced your steps to the point when you last used them.

探花直播tricky part is to grasp the processes developing in the child鈥檚 brain and come up with ways to encourage that development.

Sara Baker

BodyParts3D/Anatomography

Frontal lobe

探花直播text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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Play matters! New centre will examine role of playfulness in learning

pbh25 — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 08:08:59 +0000

探花直播探花直播 of Cambridge and the LEGO Foundation will examine the role of playfulness in learning through a new centre and associated professorship.

探花直播Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) has been established with a 拢4 million grant from the LEGO Foundation which will also fund the leadership role of the LEGO Professorship of Play in Education, Development and Learning.

探花直播move reflects the well-established links between the 探花直播, the Foundation and the wider LEGO family. 探花直播centre will examine the importance of play in education globally with an aim to produce research which supports excellence in education so that children are equipped with 21st Century skills like problem solving, team work and self-control.

PEDAL acting director Dr David Whitebread said: 鈥淧lay opportunities for children living in modern urban environments are increasingly curtailed, within their homes, communities and schooling. At the same time, play remains a relatively under-researched area within developmental science, with many fundamental questions still unanswered. An invigorated research effort in this area will constitute a significant contribution to understandings about the importance of play and the development, internationally, of high quality education, particularly in the area of early childhood.鈥�

CEO of the LEGO Foundation, Hanne Rasmussen said: 鈥淲e welcome the 探花直播 of Cambridge鈥檚 decision to establish the PEDAL Centre. At the LEGO Foundation, we are committed to promoting the important link between play and learning and to ensuring the value of play is understood and acted upon across society. With PEDAL, understanding the contribution that play makes to child development is recognised as a critical issue.鈥�

探花直播LEGO Foundation funding allows for the permanent endowment of a professorship and the cost of support and research staff for an initial three year period. During this period, the work of the centre, based at the 探花直播鈥檚 Faculty of Education, will be focused on three strands of research:

聽- Establishing a long term study of the features of home and school which promote children's playfulness, and the outcomes of early play experience for learning and emotional well-being

聽- Developing an understanding of the underlying brain processes involved in play, and how to measure playfulness

- Devising and evaluating play-based teaching approaches

Rasmussen adds: 鈥淢illions of children are receiving a sub-standard education which means that even though they attend school, they get left behind in the development of skills that are essential in the 21st century. Quality in learning means not just great test scores, but also building the skills that underpin learning throughout a lifetime. Our collaboration with the 探花直播 of Cambridge is about investigating play-based quality learning so that we can put a stake in the ground for development of skills in the future of learning.鈥�

探花直播LEGO Foundation and 探花直播 have a history of collaboration. A playful writing project called PLaNS is a recent example. 探花直播research involved looking at how writing in a playful way, using LEGO bricks, can help in the teaching environment.

鈥� 探花直播early results of this collaboration are very positive and it is good to see that our work with the Foundation is already starting to yield results. Looking at how play works is increasingly important as international bodies like the United Nations and European Union have now begun to develop policies concerned with children鈥檚 right to play. What has been lacking is hard evidence to base their policies on and researching play is inherently tricky. We are looking forward to seeing the result of the research carried out at PEDAL,鈥� said Dr Whitebread.

Three post-doctoral Research Associates are being appointed, each of whom will be assigned to one of the research strands. 探花直播grant also provides for studentships for two PhD students per year over the first three years.

Cambridge launched a 拢2 billion fundraising campaign on October聽16th, also announcing that more than 拢530 million has been raised towards that total.聽探花直播campaign for the 探花直播 and Colleges of Cambridge will focus on the 探花直播鈥檚 impact on the world. Through it, Cambridge is working with philanthropists to address major global problems. 探花直播generous grant from the Lego Foundation is the latest example of this, joining gifts to support Alzheimer鈥檚 and Parkinson鈥檚 research, and to support engineering innovation and design.

Other examples of LEGO and 探花直播 of Cambridge interactions include the use of LEGO bricks by the Department of Engineering which allows for a large degree of play, experimentation and freedom in its teaching and research聽programmes. In 2012 the 探花直播鈥檚聽Fitzwilliam聽Museum, with the aid of an engineering student, used LEGO bricks to help save a delicate Egyptian mummy case.

Carousel image from homepage: Kids at play by Emilien Etienne.

探花直播 of Cambridge and the LEGO Foundation launch new research centre and professorship.

With PEDAL, understanding the contribution that play makes to child development is recognised as a critical issue.

Hanne Rasmussen, CEO of the LEGO Foundation

More information:

About PEDAL:聽探花直播guiding focus of the centre鈥檚 work is to develop substantial and compelling research concerned with the role of play and playfulness in young children鈥檚 learning and development, and the potential of play-based approaches within educational contexts. 探花直播kinds of skills and accomplishments that are widely recognised as being vital components of 21st century educational provision, including critical thinking, problem-solving, interpersonal abilities, emotional resilience and creativity, have all been linked theoretically and empirically to playfulness and playful learning.
About the LEGO Foundation:聽探花直播LEGO Foundation shares the mission of the LEGO Group: to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. 探花直播Foundation is dedicated to building a future where learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners. Its work is about re-defining play and re-imagining learning. In collaboration with thought leaders, influencers, educators and parents the LEGO Foundation aims to equip, inspire and activate champions for play: www.LEGOfoundation.com.

探花直播text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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