Pedagogy and Early Childhood

Neuroeducation and Brain-Based Teaching

Teach with the brain in mind. Transform how learning happens.

Inclusion and DiversityDigital TransformationErasmus+ KA1 Eligible

About This Course

Neuroscience has advanced more in the last twenty years than in all the centuries before. Brain imaging technologies have given researchers an unprecedented view of what actually happens inside the brain when people learn, remember, feel emotions, pay attention and make decisions. The implications for teaching are profound, and they are beginning to filter into educational practice in ways that are transforming how the most research-informed educators approach their work.

This course gives education professionals a rigorous, accessible and practically focused introduction to the neuroscience of learning. Participants explore the key findings from cognitive neuroscience that are most directly relevant to teaching, develop a toolkit of brain-based teaching strategies grounded in the research, and design a personal brain-based teaching plan for their own context.

The course is relevant to educators at all levels, from early childhood through primary, secondary and adult education. No prior knowledge of neuroscience is required, but participants should expect to engage with ideas that challenge some of their existing assumptions about how learning works.

Who Should Attend

  • Teachers at all levels who want to ground their practice in the neuroscience of learning
  • School leaders developing evidence-based professional development strategies
  • Early childhood educators interested in brain-based approaches to the youngest learners
  • Education psychologists and learning support professionals
  • Any educator curious about what happens in the brain when learning occurs
  • No prior neuroscience knowledge required

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course participants will be able to:

  • Explain the key findings from cognitive neuroscience most relevant to teaching and learning.

    You will be able to explain memory consolidation, attention, emotion and learning, the spacing effect, retrieval practice, sleep and learning, and executive function to a colleague or a parent in clear, practical terms. Not as a neuroscience lecture but as a set of insights that change how you think about planning, pacing and assessment.

    LifeComp Learning to LearnEuropean Education Area
  • Distinguish between neuroscience-based insights and popular neuromyths about learning.

    The field of education is full of neuromyths: ideas about learning that claim neuroscientific support but are either unsupported or directly contradicted by the evidence. Learning styles, left brain and right brain thinking, and the claim that we only use 10% of our brains are among the most persistent. You will know how to evaluate claims about neuroscience and education critically.

  • Apply evidence-based memory strategies including spaced practice, retrieval practice and interleaving to lesson design.

    Spaced practice, retrieval practice and interleaving are three of the most robustly evidenced learning strategies in cognitive psychology, yet they remain underused in most classrooms. You will design a unit of learning that deliberately incorporates all three strategies and understand exactly why each one works.

  • Use movement, emotion, novelty, social interaction and metacognition as tools for deepening learning.

    The brain is a social organ that evolved to learn through movement, emotion and relationship. You will have a collection of specific teaching strategies that deliberately activate these learning systems rather than fighting students' biology by demanding stillness and silence.

    LifeCompEU Mental Health Strategy
  • Develop a personal brain-based teaching toolkit and action plan grounded in the latest neuroscientific evidence.

    You will leave with a toolkit of between five and eight specific brain-based teaching strategies that you have practiced, understand and can explain to colleagues. The toolkit is personalised to your subject area, age group and teaching context, and accompanied by a plan for introducing each strategy systematically.

    LifeComp Learning to LearnUnion of Skills 2025European Education Area

A 7-Day Professional Development Experience

Five days of intensive training combined with a structured arrival day and a cultural excursion. We are always open to tailoring the programme to your institution's needs.

Day 1
Sunday - Arrival and Welcome

Participants arrive and are welcomed by the Sude Nexus local team. Welcome dinner and orientation walk.

Day 2
Monday - How the Brain Learns
MorningThe neuroscience of learning: memory, attention and emotion. Key findings from cognitive neuroscience that every teacher should know.
AfternoonNeuromyths: separating evidence from popular misconceptions. How to evaluate claims about neuroscience and education critically.
Day 3
Tuesday - Memory and Learning Strategies
MorningThe science of memory: encoding, consolidation and retrieval. Spaced practice and retrieval practice in classroom design.
AfternoonInterleaving, desirable difficulties and the testing effect. Why making learning harder in the right ways makes it stick better.
Day 4
Wednesday - Attention, Emotion and Motivation
MorningThe neuroscience of attention: what captures it, what sustains it and what destroys it. Practical implications for lesson pacing and design.
AfternoonEmotion, stress and learning. How emotional states affect cognitive function and what teachers can do to create optimal learning conditions.
Day 5
Thursday - Movement, Social Learning and Metacognition
MorningMovement and physical activity in learning. The evidence for active learning and its implications for classroom design.
AfternoonMetacognition: teaching students to understand and manage their own learning. Farewell dinner.
Day 6
Friday - Action Planning and Sharing
MorningPersonal and institutional action planning. Structured peer review.
AfternoonPresentations, certificates and farewell dinner.
Day 7
Saturday - Cultural Excursion and Departure

Guided cultural excursion. Participants travelling home are free to depart after breakfast.

This outline is a starting point, not a fixed schedule. Contact us to discuss how we can tailor this programme for your institution.

EU Policy Alignment

Erasmus+ 2026 Horizontal Priorities

EU Competence Frameworks

EU Policy Initiatives

EU Mental Health Strategy 2023Union of Skills 2025European Education Area 2021 to 2030
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Available Locations and Dates

Check the dates page for current availability across all 13 destinations.

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