Professor Roberto A. Ferreira shares at the Strategic Growth Area - Science of Learning Seminar Series

On 29 May 2025, the Science of Learning in Education Centre (SoLEC) hosted Professor Roberto A. Ferreira from the Faculty of Education Sciences, Universidad de Talca, Chile, for their Strategic Growth Area - Science of Learning (SGA-SoL) Seminar Series via Zoom. His presentation, “Advancing the Science of Learning in Chile: Insights from MiNSoL”, provided a comprehensive overview of how advances in the science of learning—particularly through interdisciplinary integration of psychology, neuroscience, and education—can inform and improve educational outcomes.

Drawing on research conducted at the Millennium Nucleus for the Science of Learning (MinSoL) in Chile, he emphasised that despite increased public investment in education, Chile continues to be below the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) averages in student performance. A key issue, according to Dr Ferreira, is that educational policy often relies on anecdotal rather than empirical evidence. To address this, his team investigates learning through multiple dimensions—cognitive, emotional, social, environmental, and neural—using a variety of tools such as eye-tracking, electrodermal activity, and EEG.

One study he shared demonstrated how emotionally valued (positive or negative) content significantly enhances memory retention in English as a foreign language learners, with emotionally charged words showing greater resistance to forgetting even after two weeks. Another study explored how temperament and reward predictability influenced inhibitory control in young children, finding that structured, predictable rewards improved performance, particularly among girls, and that traits like sociability and energy had nuanced effects depending on gender. A third study focused on math anxiety, revealing that frequent home numeracy activities, even when parents were themselves math-anxious, could buffer children from developing anxiety and support their math performance.

Dr Ferreira concluded by underscoring the critical importance of translating such scientific findings into classroom practices and education policy, advocating for a shift toward evidence-based reform that considers the emotional and cognitive needs of learners.