CQUniversity offers free neuroscience professional development to support educators

Professor Ken Purnell hopes that 2021 will be the year that educators of children of all ages unlock the potential of their learners by gaining a deeper understanding of how brains work, something he believes is key to coping with the disruptions to learning caused by COVID-19.

The professor believes that too many educators are graduating from courses without an understanding of neuroscience, or how brains develop, and that understanding the need for “brain friendly education” is key for helping children to thrive. 

Brain-friendly education recognises the need for connection between brains to thrive, ideal environments for learning and memory, impacts of good stress and bad stress on brain function, the brain-body link, and how quality nutrition and sleep are critical to the optimal development of the brain.

Around 50,000 educators and passionate individuals have signed up for free CQUniversity short courses on educational neuroscience since the pandemic began, with four courses available via the FutureLearn study platform.

The courses outline the fundamentals to optimise young brains for learning and teaching, and the Educational Neuroscience toolkit also gives educators “the best preparation for helping…to build skills in stress management and grow resilience.”

“By having a strong understanding of brain function, and how we can influence the brain to operate better by removing stress and other emotional barriers, we can improve achievement,” Professor Purnell said.

“By providing students with an understanding of neuroscience they can take the learnings to enhance their professional knowledge and practice, especially when it comes to creating and maintaining optimal learning environments.”

CQUniversity offers the free courses via the FutureLearn platform, and each course requires approximately six hours of study.

CQUniversity is among a handful of universities globally to offer a range of postgraduate courses in Educational Neuroscience, including a Graduate Certificate in Educational Neuroscience and Master of Educational Neuroscience. A professional development short course of 20-hours on The Social Brain is available free from CQU.

For more information, please visit the University website, here.