McMahon, K 
ORCID: 0000-0002-3681-6509
(2024)
Bridging research and practice across the globe:
from informing research to informing practice.
In: International Mind Brain and Education Conference (IMBES), 10 - 12 July 2024, Leuven, Belgium.
Preview |
Text
16657.pdf - Presentation Repository Terms Apply. Download (861kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Supporting collaboration and translation between educators and researchers. Teachers often have questions about how they can help children to learn and how they can best respond to the challenges of teaching a class of children. They are aware that there is exciting research going on producing insights into the brain and learning and would like to know more about findings relevant to their practice. Researchers would like their work to have a meaningful and positive impact and to identify new directions and questions. There is great potential for collaboration between the two groups to work together, yet there are also significant challenges to doing this. It is all too easy for teachers to be positioned as recipients of the expert knowledge of scientists/researchers and wider educational communities are concerned about what might be lost in the process. Education is a complex business, with multiple aims. We are aiming for a relationship that recognizes and values the different kinds of knowledge and insights that educators and scientists/researchers bring. Educators and researchers need a consistent platform for this collaboration. I will explain how the Learnus community brings educators and those who specialize in the study of the brain, the mind and behaviour together to develop and test classroom –based strategies underpinned by neuroscience such as those of the UnLocke Project and Rich Retrieval project. A new Learnus initiative - The Big Project - proposes a structured way of bringing teachers and educational neuroscientists together to generate a programme of research and translation with shared ownership.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Other) |
|---|---|
| UN SDGs: | Goal 4: Quality Education |
| Keywords: | educational neuroscience, science of learning, Learnus, collaboration |
| Subjects: | L Education > L Education (General) |
| Divisions: | School of Education |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Jan 2026 17:37 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Jan 2026 17:37 |
| References: | Biesta, G. (2007) Why “What Works” wont work: Evidence-based practice and the democratic deficit in educational research. Educational Theory 57 (1) 1-22. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1741-5446.2006.00241.x Hordern, J. (2019) Knowledge, Evidence, and the Configuration of Educational Practice Educ. Sci. 2019, 9(2), 70; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9020070 Slocombe, M. and Bell, D. (2020) Closing the gap between science and practice in education: From metaphorical bridges to concrete common ground Learnus Blog. Learnus Blog - Closing the gap between science and practice in education: From metaphorical bridges to concrete common ground. Willingham, D. (2017) A Mental Model of the Learner: Teaching the Basic Science of Educational Psychology to Future Teachers: Mind , Brain and Education 11(4). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mbe.12155 |
| URN: | https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/16657 |
 |
Request a change to this item or report an issue |
 |
Update item (repository staff only) |
Tools
Tools
