Month: September 2020

Chevening Chinwag : Developing educational technology, embracing Bristol’s diversity, and adapting to the ‘new normal’

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

Welcome Week 2020 special blog post by student Nguyen Hong Nhu, Chevening  scholar School of Education, University of Bristol

nguyen-hong-nhu

Chevening Chinwag* is a series of informal pleasant conversations with our Vietnamese Chevening scholars, who are currently experiencing their exciting, challenging, and life-changing Chevening journeys.

[*] Chinwag (n.) /ˈtʃɪn.wæɡ/: a long and pleasant conversation between friends.

In this edition, let’s follow Nguyen Hong Nhu, our outstanding Chevening scholar, studying Education, at the University of Bristol to listen to her amazing stories about her contemporary course that enables her to develop ideas for an Augmented Reality app; the diversity and inclusion of her University; how she quickly adapted to the ‘new normal’ with her dissertation; her special “Pub Friends”; and her advice to interested Chevening applicants. (more…)

No, we don’t use only 10% of our brains!

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

Blog post by André Hedlund, Chevening Alumnus, MSc in Psychology of Education from the School of Education at the University of Bristol.

Ever heard anyone say that? The last time I did was from one of the most powerful voices in movie history: Morgan Freeman’s. If he had been born in the UK, I’m sure he would’ve been knighted by now and joined the select group that includes Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Judi Dench, and Dame Helen Mirren. Mr. Freeman played the role of Professor Samuel Norman, brain expert who has studied, among other things, the evolution of this incredible organ in Lucy, a movie co-starring Scarlet Johansson.

In one of the scenes, Professor Norman is lecturing to a group of interested students and says:

“Imagine for a moment what our life would be like if we could access, let’s say, 20% of our brain capacity?”

He goes on and claims that each human being has 100 billion neurons, from which only 15% are activated and that means that “we possess a gigantic network of information to which we have almost no access”. In his words, if we could access all the potential of our brains, we’d be able to control other people and even matter.

Well, Morgan Freeman, even though I love your voice and your acting, your character couldn’t be further from the truth. In this Luc Besson movie, released in 2014, most of what Professor Samuel Norman says is a false claim about the brain. It’s a neuromyth. (more…)

Graduates, we’re still here for you!

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

This article was originally posted on the University of Bristol Careers Service Blog, find out more about how your Careers Service can help you on their website

Have you finished your degree this summer?

While it might not have been what you expected from your last year at University, everyone at the Careers Service wishes you huge congratulations for reaching the end of your studies. It’s a fantastic achievement and we hope you are proud of that. (more…)

Children’s reflections on home education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for the return to school

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

Claire LeeDr Lucy WenhamBlog post by Claire Lee and Lucy Wenham, School of Education, University of Bristol

As school leaders plan the return to school following the global pandemic, it is crucial that their educational decisions are informed by research into the everyday realities of enforced home learning for children. Much research attention until now has focused, importantly, on lost learning and widening inequalities (e.g. Andrew et al., 2020; Green, 2020). (more…)