Motivation for Learning as a Process of Actualisation

Registration

Arrival, coffee/tea, delegate check-in.

Welcome & Introduction

Professor David Murphy

Keynote - Dr Grant Ramsey: Talk Title TBC

Abstract TBC.

Coffee break

Refreshments and informal discussion.

Dr Anna Ciaunica - Talk title TBC

Abstract TBC.

Lunch

A range of food and drink outlets are available on Jubilee Campus for delegates wishing to purchase refreshments.

Professor Tim Jay: Pedagogy, learning and motivation in early years mathematics

As part of the ESRC Centre for Early Mathematics Learning, we having been investigating children's experiences of thinking and learning about mathematics at 3-4 years of age, before they start school. We have interviewed pre-school practitioners about the ways they create opportunities for mathematics learning, carried out observations of pre-school practice, and have recorded more than 100 hours of video of naturally occurring interactions in preschool settings. There are some striking variations in the ways that pre-school settings are designed, and in the ways that practitioners approach the promotion and support of mathematical thinking and learning in their settings. We have been reflecting on what these different approaches mean for children's learning; both in terms of their developing mathematical knowledge and skill, and in their developing understanding of what it is to think mathematically. This talk will explore some of these reflections further, and with a particular focus on children's agency and motivation in their mathematics learning.

Afternoon break

Refreshments.

Roundtable Panel Discussion facilitated by members of Centre for Research in Human Flourishing (CRHF)

Revisiting the actualising tendency concept: From Humanistic Psychology to Systems Science and Practice.

Arrival coffee

Refreshments and networking.

Keynote - Dr Solange Denervaud: From Errors to Meaning: How education shapes the development of error perception, creative thinking, social engagement and self-consciousness in schoolchildren

Schools do more than transmit knowledge; they implicitly shape why and how children learn. Through daily experiences of evaluation, feedback, cooperation, and competition, educational environments calibrate children’s motivation, their relationship to ideas and others, and ultimately their sense of self.
In this talk, I present a neuroscientific perspectives on school as a motivational ecosystem, focusing on how contrasting pedagogical contexts, i.e., child-centered Montessori education and teacher-directed traditional schooling, are associated with distinct developmental trajectories. Drawing on behavioral and neuroimaging data, I examine how these environments differentially engage brain systems underlying error monitoring, reward processing, exploration, and learning.
Our findings suggest that pedagogical structures are not developmentally neutral. They are linked to differences in how children process mistakes (as informative signals versus evaluative threats), how reward systems respond to external feedback versus intrinsic satisfaction, and how curiosity-driven exploration is sustained or constrained over time. These processes are central not only to academic learning, but also to the emergence of creativity, social competencies, and self-regulation.
Rather than advocating for a particular pedagogy, this talk aims to foster a rigorous dialogue between neuroscience and education. How can we design learning environments that respect sensitive developmental windows, support intrinsic motivation, and cultivate a constructive relationship to effort, error, others, and oneself?

Brief Bio

Solange Denervaud obtained a BSc. and MSc. in Bioengineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne in 2013. She completed her PhD in Neuroscience at the Lausanne University Hospital, in collaboration with the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, bridging Neuroscience and education (2014-2020). This interest emerged from her first training as a Montessori school teacher (2003-2007). Solange’s research focuses on the impact of the learning environment on the development of core mechanisms of adaptation (i.e., error monitoring, cognitive flexibility, creativity, peer-peer learning) in schoolchildren and teenagers. Lately, her interest has extended to bridging heart and brain signals to investigate adaptive processes across development. Her work uses a combination of psychophysics, neuropsychology, electroencephalography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Since October 2023, Solange is leading a project at the CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, federating the different CIBM expertise and techniques into a large research project aiming to break boundaries on education.

Coffee break

Refreshments.

Dr Abigail Parrish: Self-determination theory and the (languages) classroom: practical ways in to actualisation?

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a wide-ranging theory of human motivation and flourishing, linked to actualisation in some of its conceptualisation. In this talk, we will discuss how SDT's concept of basic psychological needs might help us understand the practical embodiment of actualisation, using the secondary school modern foreign languages classroom as an example and drawing on data from several questionnaire studies.

Lunch

A range of food and drink outlets are available on Jubilee Campus for delegates wishing to purchase refreshments.

Dr Francesca Prete: Talk title TBC

Talk abstract TBC.

Afternoon break

Refreshments.

Roundtable and closing discussion facilitated by Prof. David Murphy.

Actualising education - Designing Environments for Growth: pedagogy, psychological safety, equity, and institutional constraints.

Close & departures

Final announcements.