The overall aim of the school is to catalyse research linking biology and cognitive science with education, bringing together young researchers from around the world to learn and think together about the mind, brain, and education. Current research on the influence of chronobiology on learning processes will be presented and the impact of biological rhythms on educational programmes will be evaluated.
Although there are considerable cultural and geographical differences regarding school timing and organisation, another aim of this school is to propose a series of recommendations aimed at optimising educational activities by taking into account chronobiological principles adapted to different situations. There is a large body of evidence showing that timing (including daily and seasonal components) significantly influences learning and memory mechanisms, both under laboratory and field conditions. In particular, biological rhythmicity undergoes a profound evolutionary modulation that can be studied in physiological or behavioural terms, and includes a profound change in chronotypes, i.e., the time preferences that define individuals as diurnal or ‘larks’ or nocturnal (owls), as evidenced by various psychological tests such as the Horne-Osberg or the Munich questionnaire. According to this classification of the chronotype, it is clear that adolescents tend to be out of phase with their social activities, implying a presumed desynchronisation between their endogenous circadian rhythms and the imposed time structure of their schools. The school calendar is a complex web of daily, weekly, and seasonal components. In fact, problems arising from different school schedules (e.g., morning, afternoon, or evening shifts) or even gradual or abrupt changes occurring during different school periods can be analysed not only with respect to induced perturbations in the students’ physiology and behaviour (such as profound changes and problems related to the sleep- wake cycle), but also directly to their school performance. Furthermore, alternating school days and weekends, as well as holiday periods, also affect students’ circadian patterns, as they are subjected to chronic periodic shifts between dragging and free exercise situations that certainly affect their cognitive abilities. Furthermore, the neural processing of different types of information may vary throughout the day; information on this differential acquisition of information could be useful for determining school schedules in terms of courses to be offered.
More specific objectives to achieve this general objective are: 1. To invite promising PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and young scientists from research centres and universities around the world to present and share their work during a week of interaction with senior and leading scientists researching mind, brain, and education. 2. The meeting will include lectures, seminars, panels, and workshops, with a strong emphasis on linking the biological and cognitive sciences to research and educational practice.