Brain Can Do
to
Neuroscience for Education
The Background Story.
In 2015, Julia Harrington developed the concept of source of information, training, research and consultancy to help educators make better use of the information emerging from the field of educational neuroscience. This resulted in the foundation of a charity, BrainCanDo, which brought together researchers in educational research with teachers and educational practitioners dedicated to the application of neuroscience in the classroom.
This charity ran in partnership with Queen Anne’s School, Caversham, the school at which Julia was headmistress. Research was carried out with Reading University, Goldsmiths College and other higher educational institutions to investigate the effects of music on the adolescent brain, social contagion within the educational environment, as well as the research and training on character education with Eton College, sleep hygiene and gratitude projects run within schools.
In 2021, Julia stepped down as headmistress at Queen Anne’s to focus on her work in the area of educational neuroscience and the decision was made to develop a new home for the work that she started with BrainCanDo.
Neuroscience for Education was founded in June 2022 and the new charity aims to be a resource for schools, teachers and educational providers in how to apply neuroscience in the classroom, promoting and conducting research in neuroscience education and developing skills in teachers to enable them to apply neuroscience in their own classroom and carry out their own action research.
The team at Neuroscience for Education are ideally suited to this aim:
- We are an independent and agile team, respected and well-connected in our field.
- We have first-rate, well-established partnerships with universities who lead in psychology and neuroscience including: Goldsmiths, University of London; the University of Reading and the University of Bristol.
- Our team includes leading expert researchers, senior education professionals and published authors.
- We respect the teaching profession. Teachers know how to teach and they have an unparalleled knowledge of their own schools. They inherently want positive learning outcomes for their students and we will work closely with them to achieve this desired outcome.
The team works to help bridge the gap between neuroscience and education, providing teachers and schools with training and resources to enable them to put into action current research findings.
The conversation with schools can then develop and the feedback given by those educationalists in turn informs the researchers of ways in which the work they are doing can be used to help all of our young people as they learn to flourish in their schools, as well as giving teachers the opportunity to develop their own practice.
What we do
Research
We partner with leading universities in the fields of neuroscience and psychology including the University of London & University of Reading.
Resources
Our high quality, in depth materials provide practical, engaging tools and proven best practise for educators, patents and students.
Consultancy
We offer a range of bespoke services encompassing research, training and resources to support you in meeting any challenges.
Our work has been recognised by the TES Independent schools awards.
Independent-state school partnership award