Twilight Talk: Why Is Learning So Hard? What Brain Science Tells Us, and How We Can Help Every Child Learn
- Online
- 24 Sep 2026 (16:00 - 17:00)
Why do some children make steady progress while others, given the same teaching, remain stuck despite effort, support, and time? In practice, this might be one of the most persistent challenges faced by educators and families, particularly for children with additional educational needs. Common explanations, such as ability or motivation, often do not fully account for what actually happens during learning. This leaves a deeper uncertainty: are we encountering a genuine limit in a child’s learning, or are we simply not using the right methods?
This talk draws on cognitive neuroscience to reframe the problem. Learning of a specific task often involves the coordination of multiple underlying and foundational processes, each of which may develop at a different pace. This helps explain why progress can be uneven, fragile, or unexpectedly slow, and why simply increasing practice or support does not always lead to improvement.
Importantly, research suggests that learning is cumulative: each piece of secure learning changes how future learning unfolds. By examining how skills are built over time, the session will offer a framework for thinking differently about difficulty, progress, and what may be possible for a given learner. Through examples from reading, music, and work with children with dyslexia, it will show how small changes in how learning is structured can lead to meaningful differences in outcomes.
You can read more about our Twilight Talks sessions on our dedicated page.
Online
Suitable for: A parent/carer, Administration Staff, Assistant Head Teacher, Consultant, Deputy Head Teacher, Early Years Practitioner, Inclusion Manager/Leader, Newly Qualified Teacher, SENCO, Student, Support staff, Teacher, Young person, Other
Meet your trainer
Dr Yetta Wong
Dr Yetta Wong is a lecturer at the School of Psychology, University of Surrey, whose work focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying learning and development. With a background in psychology and cognitive neuroscience, she is particularly interested in developing new ways to accelerate learning and in translating research into practical strategies, with an emphasis on supporting learning of children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
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