There is increasing global interest in the potential of insights arising from neuroscience to influence educational thinking and practice. These insights relate to learners at all levels of ability (including those with disorders, low and high ability) and all phases and ages across the lifespan. This programme focuses on the interrelationship between brain science and education in terms of policy, educational management and pedagogy. It is intended for educational professionals (e.g. mainstream teachers in all curriculum areas and across primary, secondary and tertiary education, including teachers of children with special educational needs, educational policy makers and educational psychologists) who are seeking to understand the implications for neuroscience for their own practice. It will also provide a foundation for those pursuing further doctoral/research studies involving the concepts and techniques of cognitive neuroscience in education-related areas of application. The course aims to equip students with: knowledge and understanding of education and learning from the scientific perspectives of mind and brain. a current, relevant and confident knowledge of the neurobiological mechanisms by which individual grow to maturity and maximise their full potential, an understanding of the impact of environmental factors, especially education, on the neural processes underlying cognition, language, social and emotional development. an interest in cognitive neuroscience and its relevance for enhancing the educational experiences of children and adults, and provide understanding of the ways in which discrimination and disadvantage can be counteracted. a commitment to critical, scholarly, research-oriented approaches to applying concepts from cognitive neuroscience to educational contexts, and to evidence-based decision making in educational policy and practice that draws on peer-reviewed research from the sciences of mind and brain. the skills of description, analysis and evaluation to enable students to read and use research evidence in a principled and systematic way, including studies involving the techniques of neuroscience (e.g. fMRI, EEG) the ability to generate new evidence and test their own ideas through research involving qualitative, quantitative and simple psychophysiological methods. opportunities to reflect on their own professional experience and practice.

Careers Network is a database of over 800 Bristol alumni from a wide range of backgrounds and industries who provide case studies and, in some cases, agree to be contactable by students. You can access the Careers Network here.