Sharing Knowledge
A cornerstone of the Brainwave Learning Center is its integration within the school, and its teachers, students and parent community.
"One of the things that's really important, especially when you're working with younger children, is to have them be comfortable with the research environment," said Elizabeth Toomarian, the director of the Brainwave Learning Center and researcher at Stanford.
She said when you bring a child into a traditional university-based research lab, it can feel a little overwhelming. By introducing them to the concepts in their own classroom with familiar items, they become excited about the projects and come to see the research and outreach as a part of their school experience.
"One thing we really like to do at the beginning is show them how to help a stuffed animal wear an EEG cap. From there we like to show them how it goes over their own head, and what their brain waves look like when they do different things, like close their eyes and take deep breaths. They learn that it doesn't hurt, and it's not introducing any kind of current," said Toomarian, who holds a doctorate in educational psychology. "We're just passively measuring brain waves – the brain’s natural energy – the same way as when a doctor listens to your heartbeat."
The Brainwave Learning Center is also focused on outreach and teaching. Students have an opportunity to enroll in a course to explore neuroscience with GSE researchers. Researchers also partner with various teachers to integrate neuroscience lessons into their classes.
"We know through empirical evidence what happens when you teach the right way," said Jim Eagen, head of school at Synapse. "However, there's a great deal of data and research that universities can provide to our teachers and our students that can make this flourish."
Eagen added that, “As a school we feel very confident when working with Stanford that all the procedures are approved, the data is protected and private, and all the information is used only for research and school improvement.”
"Our students love this concept, love the idea of looking into their own brain and the patterns of learning," he said.