Free Video: Prof Sam Wass on the Neuroscience of Babies

Professor Sam Wass is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist and is Director of the Institute for the Science of Early Years and Youth (ISEY) at UEL, where they host several projects looking at concentration and stress in children from diverse backgrounds.

He has acted as expert spokesperson for the Department of Education and the Department of Health and has written over 100 academic publications, all in leading international scientific journals. Prof Wass has appeared regularly on screen in five series of the multi-award-winning The Secret Life of 4- and 5-Year-Olds for Channel 4.

In this session, Professor Wass explains what makes the baby brain so different from an adult brain, why young children learn the way they do, and what Early Years practitioners can do to support that learning in everyday practice.

In this episode you’ll:

• Discover why babies’ brains are “messy” and massively over-connected, and how that explains both their extraordinary capacity for language learning and why some things are so hard for them.
• Learn why the frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for attention and planning, is still a building site in toddlers and what that means for how we structure their environments.
• Find out why babies actually pay more attention the fourth or fifth time they hear the same story, and why repetition is far more important than variety at certain stages.
• Understand why babies process the world at a much slower speed than adults, and how something as simple as holding a smile for five seconds can make a real difference.
• Explore why rhythm and predictability in daily routines, songs, and interactions directly supports language development at a neurological level.

Watch the episode to understand what’s really happening inside the baby brain and how that knowledge can shape more effective, responsive practice in your setting.

Links:

Website: https://profsamwass.com/ and https://www.uelbabydev.com

For updates and opportunities to take part in research, have a browse through the following Instagram accounts:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uelbabydevlab/ https://www.instagram.com/profsamwass/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UEL-BabyDev-Lab-119212494756677/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUCc0OMkW8tsKKiLA4J9-VA
Research by Jeff Elman can be found here:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jeffrey-Elman