Public Engagement
We organise lots of outreach events to exchange ideas, share research findings, and break down barriers between researchers and the general public.
Read about some of our recent activities here!
Epilepsy In Education
2022
One of our PhD students, Clara Sherlock, recently hosted two lunchtime webinars discussing the challenges experienced by people with epilepsy in the Irish education system. With talks from experts by experience, researchers, clinicians and our very own Dr Michelle Downes. You can re-watch our webinars on YouTube by clicking the button below!
Design Our PENNI Teddy!
March 2020
Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street and UCD Neuropsychology Lab are working together on a new research project, funded by Temple Street Foundation, aiming to improve the clinical care received by children with brain injury and epilepsy in Ireland. This project on educational and neuropsychological outcomes of children with neurological disorders in Ireland (PENNI) will review the outcomes of children who have been seen by neuropsychological services in Temple Street Children’s Hospital over the last two decades.
We are inviting aspiring young artists (< 16 years), with or without experience of brain-related disorders, to submit an original teddy bear design to be the face of PENNI. Entry is simple: Just draw and colour your idea of what PENNI the teddy looks like and post it to us! You can use bright colouring pencils, crayons or markers but PENNI should be drawn on a white (A4) background. The winning design will be featured on posters displayed in UCD and Temple Street Children's Hospital, as well as online! The winner will also receive a €30 One for All voucher!
Enter our competition here
SPARC Funding
January 2020
Our lab members have recently been awarded SPARC funding from University College Dublin to help make UCD and our surrounding community a better place to learn, work and live. Our project, ‘Journey Through Your Brain’, aims to increase understanding of the brain, reduce common misconceptions, and provide the public with the opportunity to engage with our researchers through blogs and interactive workshops.
Covering topics including brain development and its basic functions, we hope to show how neuroscientific research can be used to improve our day-to-day lives. Visit our blog for more information!
UCD Festival 2018
June 2018
Members of the Neuropsychology Lab recently took part in the UCD Festival on 9th June 2018. The UCD Festival is an annual event which invites alumni, current and retired staff, and the community to explore all that UCD has to offer. The Neuropsychology Lab organised a ‘Meet your Brain’ event. People could take part in an interactive activity designed by the London Brain Project that can be used to introduce children and adults alike to the brain-behaviour relation called ‘Brain Beads’. We had lots of fun making keyrings, necklaces, and bracelets - all representing the parts of our brains we use when we engage in different activities!
Visitors could also learn about sleep with our actigraph watches. We had an EEG model on hand to demonstrate how we set up and measure brain activity in our research projects.
Our Stroop Fruit Effect game all ready to go!
Nabil was on hand to demonstrate our fun game - the Fruit Stroop Effect! Players had to touch the fruit in front of them (a lime, a tomato, or a banana) that corresponded with the colour of the word on the screen - not the word itself. This game, which is quite popular in psychological assessments, can be used to examine our selective attention and response inhibition. It can get quite difficult!
Neuropsychology in the Classroom Workshop
April 2018
On Saturday 14th April 2018, we hosted a workshop for primary school teachers supported by Teaching Council Ireland, funding received by Dr. Michelle Downes, UCD School of Psychology and Aisling O’Sullivan, Kildare Town Educate Together National School. The workshop brought together primary school teachers, principals, members of the Department of Education, psychologists and researchers to explore the theme of ‘Neuropsychology in the Classroom’. Groups of teachers discussed the extent of their own understanding of neuropsychological disorders and assessments and the role that they play in the development of their students. Further insights into the developing brain and classroom reintegration were highlighted in afternoon talks, and teachers were given the opportunity to get creative with interactive brain activities.
The day was divided up into three separate sessions: discussion groups, informative talks and interactive activities, and included a Q&A, feedback from the attendees and closing thoughts.
One of our lab members, Lisa, has created an Infographic to communicate her research findings on Neuropsychology in the Classroom. You can download the infographic here: Neuropsychology in the Classroom.
What do teachers know about Neuropsychology?
The morning began with discussion groups led by Lisa Keenan, MSc and Sarah Conroy, research assistant at the Neuropsychology Lab. Through these discussions, we aimed to gain a better understanding of what primary school teachers know about cognitive development with a particular focus on executive function, their personal experiences of teaching students with neuropsychological disorders, and how they feel neuropsychological assessments could be better reported and translated into applied support in the classroom. The discussion groups consisted of a mixture of teachers from a variety of different primary schools and areas, that merged to produce an engaging and insightful discussion.
Though people’s backgrounds differed, similar opinions and personal experiences emerged. While some were familiar with the term ‘executive function’ and others were not, all agreed that regardless of training, awareness of children with executive dysfunction in the classroom came as a result of years of real-life experience rather than direct training. Teachers felt that children’s needs in the classroom have changed over the years but that teachers have not been adequately supported through this change and thus feel overwhelmed and overworked and that they lack the necessary coping skills.
“As there is no formal acknowledgement of executive function as a significant issue, you’re paddling your own canoe to the detriment of your school”
The teachers discussed a number of different ways that executive function could be promoted in the classroom: meditation, mindfulness, movement breaks, positive psychology, circle time, choice time, emotional literacy. It was concluded that unless executive function is acknowledged as integral and is integrated into the curriculum, the likelihood of seeing these activities being implemented fully in primary schools across the country is low.
Reintegrating students with brain injury into the classroom
We were delighted to welcome Dr. Cathy Madigan, Principal Clinical Neuropsychologist at Temple Street Children’s Hospital, to begin our afternoon session by leading a talk on the reintegration of students with brain injury into the classroom. Throughout her talk, Dr. Madigan stressed the importance of communication and the support of the school and the peer group for successful reintegration. She shared techniques for implementing reintegration strategies and gave invaluable advice on the best ways a teacher can support this process.
Self-regulation and the developing brain
Dr. Michelle Downes provided an in depth overview of the development of the executive system from early childhood through to adulthood, and discussed effective ways to promote executive function in the classroom.
Irish primary school teachers’ views on neuropsychological issues and assessment
The group was then invited to explore some research that led to the development of this workshop. Lisa Keenan presented some preliminary findings of her research into Irish primary school teachers’ views on neuropsychological issues and assessment based on an online survey she had created and circulated among primary school teachers.
After the talks there was an opportunity for the group to come together and share their opinions and thoughts. Primary school teacher, Aisling O’Sullivan, of Kildare Town Educate Together NS facilitated this reflection of the attendees’ takeaway messages from the workshop.
Snippets of these conversations are below:
“Executive function as a precurser to teaching and learning”
“I need more training in this area to successfully implement practices in the classroom”
“Application of the study of executive function to education in its very early stages. Would benefit from inclusion in initial teacher training”
“It’s ok to ditch academic targets in order to help those struggling with executive functioning problems”
"Map Your Brain"
As a group, the attendees rounded up the day with an interactive activity designed by the London Brain Project that can be used to introduce children and adults alike to the brain-behaviour relation. It was a nice way to encourage everyone that teaching neuroscience and/or neuropsycholgy can be creative and fun for all ages.
Over the course of the afternoon, the common problems and constraints that teachers face in relation to neuropsychology in the classroom became apparent. But what also became increasingly clear was their passion and interest in the area and their hunger for more information and training to tackle these issues with confidence. It was a pleasure to be able to host such an enthusiastic group of people who were able to share their experiences openly and honestly. We greatly value the insights gained from this day which will be reflected in the progression of our research going forward.