Why does your child’s learning sometimes surge ahead, only to stall or even dip the next year? And what’s really happening in the brain during these uneven stages of growth?
In this episode of Academic Coaching for Parents, I’m joined by Professor Rogier Kievit, Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at the Donders Institute, Radboud University Medical Center.
Rogier’s groundbreaking research reveals how children’s and teenagers’ brains develop, why cognitive growth doesn’t follow a straight line and what this means for learning and academic success.
🎧 In this conversation, you’ll learn:
✅ Why children’s learning often comes in spurts and plateaus, and what’s really happening in the brain when progress seems to stall.
✅ How vocabulary, reasoning and numerical skills reinforce one another through a process called mutualistic coupling.
✅ The role of white matter and cortical changes in shaping how adolescents learn and think.
✅ Why adolescence is such a distinctive, and sometimes challenging, period for executive function, motivation and decision-making.
✅ How lifestyle factors like sleep, physical activity and social experiences influence brain development.
✅ The Watershed Model of intelligence: how brain structure, executive functions and reasoning abilities connect like streams flowing into a river.
Whether you’re supporting a child through secondary school, preparing for exams or simply trying to understand the ups and downs of adolescence, this conversation will give you science-backed insights into how the brain develops - and how you can nurture your child’s learning along the way.
🔗 Links & Resources
Professor Rogier Kievit
https://www.mps-ucl-centre.mpg.de/people/rogier-kievit
https://oecs.mit.edu/pub/lcfp611b/release/2?readingCollection=9dd2a47d
https://lifespancognitivedynamics.com/people.html
📩 If you found this episode helpful, share it with another parent or educator, and subscribe for more science-based conversations on learning and student success.
👉 Interested in personalised academic coaching with me? Book a free 30-minute consultation via my website: https://www.york-weaving-education.co.uk/