Brain Science and Education

Matthew Taylor continues his exploration of "Brain Culture," examining striking new research about how our brains learn, and asks if we can use it to change Britain's education system. For many years, scientists assumed the human brain was fully formed by the age of three but that notion has been challenged by the discovery of brain "plasticity" throughout life. Matthew looks at new teaching systems being used on children in a South Wales comprehensive, designed to heighten their brains' ability to retain facts during a history class. He looks at how a remarkable study of Romanian children adopted in Britain is challenging the idea of focussing on children's "early years." The idea of plastic brains has also changed the way we motivate children in class: the programme looks at the striking new research which says it's actually negative to tell our children they are clever.
Producer: Mukul Devichand.