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SUMMARY:The nature-nurture debate in education: implications for narrowing
  attainment gaps  - Professor Michael Thomas\, Birkbeck
DTSTART:20250304T160000Z
DTEND:20250304T170000Z
UID:TALK220060@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Louise Gray
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract:*\n\nIn this talk\, I will survey the current state 
 of the nature-nurture debate in education. I will take an educational neur
 oscience perspective which focuses on the translation of mechanistic insig
 hts from developmental cognitive neuroscience to educational contexts. \n\
 nInequality of educational outcomes is influenced both by environmental an
 d genetic factors. A hundred years of twin studies had rather driven the n
 ature-nurture debate aground (Question: is a person’s development more d
 ue to nature or to nurture? Answer: it’s about half and half).  \n\nBut 
 new developments in the cognitive neuroscience of socioeconomic status on 
 the nurture side\, and the creation of individual metrics for educational 
 potential directly from DNA on the nature side\, have given the debate new
  impetus. \n\nI will finish by presenting some computational modelling wor
 k which suggests that for translation\, concepts like heritability are les
 s relevant – the key question is what developmental outcomes can be reac
 hed for an individual given their genotype. Research agendas may need to b
 e reconfigured to address this question. \n\n\n*Speaker Biography:*\n\nMic
 hael S. C. Thomas is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Birkbeck Uni
 versity of London. Since 2010\, Michael has been Director of the Centre fo
 r Educational Neuroscience\, a cross-institutional research centre which a
 ims to further translational research between neuroscience and education\,
  and establish new transdisciplinary accounts in the learning sciences. In
  2003\, Michael established the Developmental Neurocognition Laboratory wi
 thin Birkbeck’s world-leading Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development
 . \n\nThe focus of his laboratory is to use multi-disciplinary methods to 
 understand the brain and cognitive bases of cognitive variability\, includ
 ing behavioural\, brain imaging\, computational\, and genetic methods. In 
 2006\, the lab was the co-recipient of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for
  Higher Education\, for the project “Neuropsychological work with the ve
 ry young: understanding brain function and cognitive development”. 
LOCATION:Hybrid: in-person in Cambridge & online via Teams
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