Paul A. Howard-Jones, PhD

Professor Paul Howard-Jones is based in the University of Bristol’s Graduate School of Education, where his research is focused on issues at the interface of cognitive neuroscience and educational theory, practice and policy. He applies diverse research methods from computational brain imaging studies to classroom observations in order to understand learning processes and their potential relevance to educational learning. He is particularly interested in the processes by which games and learning games engage their players and can support learning. Professor Howard-Jones was formerly a member of the UK's Royal Society working group on Neuroscience and Education (2011). In 2020 he completed a fellowship at UNESCO (Geneva) focused on the relation of neuroscience to global educational and cultural contexts, and has authored numerous reviews and one of the first text books in this area (Evolution of the Learning Brain, Routledge, 2010). He has participated in many international academic and public debates regarding the interrelation of these two diverse subject areas and is currently implementing neuroscience into Initial Teacher Education at the University of Bristol (supported by the Wellcome Trust). He is more widely known for his contributions to Channel Four’s Secret Life of Four Year Olds and other broadcasts. His second book, A Short History of the Learning Brain, has just been published by Routledge, and he has been researching teachers’ attitudes and practices around climate change education. He currently co-ordinates the UK’s Climate Change Education Network.

Education
PhD Medical Physics, University of Exeter

Affiliations
2016 - 2020 - Senior Fellow at the International Bureau of Education (UNESCO)

Accomplishments
2018 - IMBES Translation Award (International Brain Mind and Education Society)