10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

Contemporary education faces interconnected challenges, including the global learning crisis, declining learner well-being, climate change, rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), and the growing demand for twenty-first century competencies. Although educational neuroscience has deepened understanding of how biological, cognitive, emotional, social, and environmental factors influence learning, existing frameworks often address these dimensions separately, limiting their application in educational practice. This paper presents the BrainFarm Educational Neuroscience Model (BENM), an evidence-informed conceptual framework that integrates educational neuroscience with health sciences, educational technology, computational thinking, sustainability education, and culturally responsive pedagogy to promote holistic child development and lifelong learning. BENM comprises eight interconnected pillars—Healthy Brain, Active Brain, Mindful Brain, Thinking Brain, Creative Brain, Connected Brain, Nature Brain, and Digital Brain—linked through executive functioning as the central neurocognitive mechanism underpinning learner agency, creativity, wellbeing, computational thinking, and sustainable learning. The model explains how integrated experiences involving health, movement, mindfulness, authentic inquiry, collaboration, environmental engagement, and responsible technology use foster whole-child development across home, school, community, technological, and policy ecosystems. By explaining the neuro-developmental mechanisms underpinning desired learner outcomes, BENM provides a unified framework for curriculum innovation, teacher education, educational leadership, family engagement, evidence-informed policy making, and future educational neuroscience research, offering a practical roadmap for preparing healthy, creative, resilient, technologically responsible, and environmentally conscious learners.