Scent-Sational Learning: Unleashing the power of smell in children’s education
- - Education neglects olfaction, the power of engaging the sense of smell, and this results in a loss of learning and educational opportunities.
- - Research shows the learning benefits of the strategic use of scented and olfactory materials.
- - Olfactory abilities can be nurtured with specific educational resources and activities and this session provides those that were tried and tested with local schools in Norway, England and Malawi.
Schedule Information:
On Demand
Session Description
Senses shape learning in many profound ways. This session delves into the vital role of the “Cinderella of all senses”: smell. Drawing from my research on children’s olfactory learning, I emphasize the importance of nurturing children’s ability to identify various scents in their surroundings and develop corresponding vocabularies. Given the disappearance of smells with biodiversity loss, teaching children olfactory skills becomes even more crucial. I explain how to engage children’s sense of smell in various subject areas, and how teachers can increase their olfactory pedagogy (eg by conducting olfactory audits of classrooms or taking children on smell walks in the neighbourhood).