TOP RESEARCHERS EXPLORE WAYS TO IMPROVE STUDENT EXECUTIVE FUNCTION SKILLS at the LEARNING & the BRAIN® CONFERENCE

Posted on April 24, 2013 by admin
 
MEDIA ADVISORY
    April 24, 2013
Contact: Kristin Dunay
(781) 449-4010 x102
kristin.dunay@learningandthebrain.com

EXECUTIVE SKILLS FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS: ENHANCING SELF-REGULATION, REASONING AND WORKING MEMORY

WHAT: Neuroscience is finding that the frontal lobes of the brain, which regulate such functions as attention, working memory, self-control, focus, and decision-making, are critical for school and career success. A national group of neuroscientists, psychologists and educators will be presenting new research before 1,200 educators at next month’s Learning & the Brain® Conference in Arlington, VA, that show executive brain structures can actually be trained through such methods as brain strategies, exercise, meditation and software, to improve executive and academic skills in children and adults.Howard Gardner, PhD is opening the conference with “Is There a Central Intelligence Agency in the Brain?” He will discuss executive function’s relationship with his theory of multiple intelligences. Dr. Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education and Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Harvard University.  He is the winner of MacArthur Prize and author of numerous books including, The Unschooled Mind (2011, 2nd. Edition), Five Minds for the Future (2009) and Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice (2006).
WHO: The program is co-sponsored by several organizations including the School of Education, Johns Hopkins University, the Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University Medical Center, the Center for Applied Developmental Science and Neuroeducation, George Washington University, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and both the national associations of elementary and secondary school principals, and is produced by Public Information Resources, Inc.In addition to Dr. Gardner, some of the featured speakers will be:▪    Martha B. Denckla, MD, Batza Family Endowed Chair, Director, Developmental Cognitive Neurology Clinic, Kennedy Krieger Institute; Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University of School of Medicine; Professor of Education, Johns Hopkins University School of Education; Co-Author, “Working memory influences processing speed and reading fluency in ADHD” (2011, Child Neuropsychology) and “Neuropsychological profile of executive function in girls with ADHD” (2010, Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology)▪    Russell A. Barkley, PhD, ABPP, ABCN, Professor of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina; Past President, Clinical Child Psychology Section of the American Psychological Association and of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology; Author, Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale-Children and Adolescents (2012), Executive Functions What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Evolved (2012) and ADHD in Adults: What the Science Says (2007)▪    Rosemary M. Tannock, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry; Professor of Special Education and Adaptive Instruction, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto; Director, ADHD/LD Cognitive Lab; Senior Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children; Co-Author, “Effects of a computerized working memory training program on working memory training program on working memory, attention, academics in adolescents with severe LD and comorbid ADHD” (2012, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry) and “Screening for Working Memory Deficits in the Classroom” (2012, Journal of Attention Disorders)

▪    Daniel T. Willingham, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia; Blogger, Science and Education Blog; Writer, “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column for American Educator Magazine; Author, When Can You Trust the Experts? (2012) and Why Don’t Students Like School? (2010)

▪    Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD, Founder and Chief Director of the Center for BrainHealth; Dee Wyly Distinguished Chair in Brain Health; Professor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas; Co-Author, Make Your Brain Smarter: Increase Your Brains Creativity, Energy, and Focus (2013) and “Higher-order strategic gist reasoning in adolescence” (2012, The Adolescent Brain: Learning, Reasoning, and Decision Making)
WHEN: Friday, May 3-Sunday, May 5. Conference begins 1:30 PM. General Registration is $589.  Contact Kristin Dunay at 781-449-4010 x 102 for media passes.
WHERE: Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA
Learning & the Brain® is a series of educational conferences that brings the latest research in neuroscience and psychology and their potential applications to education to the wider educational community. Since its inception in 1999, this series has been attended by more than 40,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

For more information about the conference, visit www.learningandthebrain.com.

TOP RESEARCHERS DISCUSS IMPORTANCE OF STUDENT MOTIVATION AND MINDSETS IN ACADEMIC SUCCESS at the LEARNING & the BRAIN® SYMPOSIUM

Posted on April 1, 2013 by admin

 

MEDIA ADVISORY
      April 1, 2013
Contact: Kristin Dunay (781)-449-4010 x102
kristin.dunay@learningandthebrain.com

STUDENTS MINDSETS AND MOTIVATION: ATTITUDES, STRESS AND PERFORMANCE

WHAT: Recent brain and educational research has found that certain character skills, such as persistence, resilience and optimistic mindsets, are more important than IQ for student success and achievement.  At this month’s Learning & the Brain® Symposium at Alfred Lerner Hall in New York, NY, a cross-spectrum of more than 900 educators will be attending to explore, with a national group of neuroscientists, psychologists and educators, how growth mindsets, goals and resilience improve the achievement of students, while anxiety and stereotyping can hinder their academic and test performance.Heidi Grant Halvorson, PhD, who is Associate Director of the Motivation Science Center at Columbia University will be one of the morning keynotes and will speak on the topic of “How the Science of Mindsets and Motivation Provides the Key to Unlocking Our Children’s Fullest Potential.”  Dr. Halvorson is a rising star in the field of motivational science, a blogger for Psychology Today and a frequent lecturer on “Motivational Mindsets.” She is the author of Success: How We Can Reach Our Goals (2011) and co-author of Nine Things Successful People Do Differently (2012) and Focus: Use Different Ways of Seeing the World to Power Success and Influence (Forthcoming, 2013)
WHO: The program is co-sponsored by several organizations including the Motivation Science Center, Columbia University and the Program in Neuroscience and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and both the national associations of elementary and secondary school principals, and is produced by Public Information Resources, Inc.In addition to Dr. Halvorson, some of the featured speakers will be:▪    Paul Tough, Contributing Writer to the New York Times Magazine; Founding Editor of Open Letters, an online magazine; Contributor to This American Life and The New Yorker, who has focused on upon education, poverty, parenting, and politics; Author, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character (2012) and Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America (2008).▪    Sian Beilock, PhD, Principal Investigator, Human Performance Lab; Professor, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago; Researcher in the cognitive neural substrates of learning as well as the mechanisms by which performance breaks down in high-stress or high-pressure situations; Recipient, 2012 Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the Psychonomic Society; Author, CHOKE: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To (2010)▪    Robert Brooks, PhD, Faculty, Harvard Medical School; Former Director of the Department of Psychology at McLean Hospital; Author, The Self-Esteem Teacher (1991); Co-Author, Raising Resilient Children with Autism (2011), Raising a Self-Disciplined Child: Help Your Child Become More Responsible, Confident, and Resilient (2009), The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life (2004) and Handbook of Resilience in Children (2006)
WHEN: Wednesday, April 10. Symposium begins 8:45 AM. General Registration is $295.  Contact Kristin Dunay at 781-449-4010 x 102 for media passes.
WHERE: Alfred Lerner Hall, (W. 115 Street and Broadway), New York, NY
Learning & the Brain® is a series of educational conferences that brings the latest research in neuroscience and psychology and their potential applications to education to the wider educational community. Since its inception in 1999, this series has been attended by more than 40,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

For more information about the conference, visit LearningAndTheBrain.com.

inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity by Tina Seelig

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Lauren O'Neil

What is the mysterious talent that creative people possess? Tina Seelig answers this question in inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity.  To some, creativity is an elusive characteristic that is difficult to acquire. But Seelig defines creativity as an innate ability within each person that can be refined, sharpened, and made into a tool. Much like the scientific method, Seelig provides a set of variables that can increase one’s natural creativity.

Seelig initially observes that in today’s world the focus is on being prepared for the future, instead of living in and exploring the present. She suggests that innovative people live in the present, are mindful, and do not fear nor dismiss any new idea. Seelig’s approach, called the Innovation Engine, is centered on six basic concepts looped together with purposeful steps within each concept. Each of these aspects can be cultivated and nurtured.

Three parts of this model reside within any one person: knowledge, imagination, and attitude. Teachers have abundant opportunities to build up knowledge, provide activities for imaginative thinking, and be role models of positive, explorative attitude to help foster creative work in students. With low pressure and high creativity, work is seen as an exciting expedition. Teachers can construct learning expeditions by cultivating engagement and inventiveness within the scope of their lessons. The feedback teachers provide will promote creativity and show that it is valued, thus improving mind-set and attitude.

Three complementary components lay outside an individual: resources, habitat and culture. This habitat design is particularly important for teachers because, as Seelig points out, over the years classroom environments become less inspiring for students. Imagine a kindergarten classroom full of opportunity to create and explore compared with a high school classroom full of bare walls and rows of desks.  Teachers have control over these habitats to develop opportunities for innovation by providing resources and establishing an encouraging classroom culture. On a grander scale, these strategies can also apply to administrators whose faculty works on curriculum design or pedagogical strategy. Seelig provides countless examples on how to arrange spaces to bring about inventive, collaborative brainstorming.

Full of anecdotal stories, inGenius provides real life examples of how to implement the Innovation Engine as it lays out concrete steps adaptable for any environment. Seelig also shares an informal bibliography consisting of motivating books on everything from gaming to writing to venture capitalism for those interested in further study.

inGenius instructs leaders how to liberate their own creativity, as well as advance creative evolution in others.

EDUCATING FOR CREATIVE MINDS: USING BRAIN SCIENCE TO IGNITE INNOVATION AND IMAGINATION

Posted on February 1, 2013 by admin

TOP RESEARCHERS DISCUSS THE SCIENCE BEHIND CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION at the LEARNING & the BRAIN® CONFERENCE

MEDIA ADVISORY
February 1, 2013

Contact:
Kristin Dunay
(781)-449-4010 x 102
kristin.dunay@learningandthebrain.com

EDUCATING FOR CREATIVE MINDS: USING BRIAN SCIENCE TO IGNITE INNOVATION AND IMAGINATION

WHAT:

At this month’s Learning & the Brain® Conference at the Fairmont San Francisco Hotel, a national group of neuroscientists, creativity researchers and educators will explore some of the latest research on creativity, its importance to the brain and learning and ways to teach creativity and innovation to students. Neuroscience research is discovering how the creative process works in the brain and the importance of the arts and creativity for child development and learning.

A cross-spectrum of more than 1,500 educators will be attending to learn how creativity can be enhanced and nurtured in schools. A 2011 report by the Presidential Committee on the Arts and Humanities found that today’s high school graduates are “lacking the creative and critical thinking skills needed for success in the post secondary education and workforce.” However, today’s schools are for the most part not teaching the skills needed for the 21st Century and instead are reducing time devoted to play, the arts, thinking and reflection. The conference will provide evidence of the importance of the arts and creativity for the brain and learning.

Dr. Nancy C. Andreasen of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and recipient of the President’s National Medal of Science will be giving one of the conference’s keynote addresses. She will discuss how the capacity to be creative—to produce new concepts, ideas, inventions, objects, or art—is perhaps the most important attribute of the human brain. Dr. Andreasen will be exploring issues such as how to define creativity, what psychological processes or environmental circumstance cause creative insights to occur and what is happening at the neural level during moments of creativity.

WHO:

The program is produced by Public Information Resources, Inc. and is co-sponsored by several organizations including Stanford University School of Education, the Greater Good Science Center and the Cognitive Control Lab, both of the University of California, Berkeley, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and both the national associations of elementary and secondary school principals. In addition to Dr. Andreasen, some of the featured keynote speakers will be:

  • Milton Chen, PhD, will set the tone for the educational conference. He will discuss the creativity edge in education in the areas of arts, technology and passion. Senior fellow and executive director, emeritus at the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), Dr. Chen is the author of Education Nation: Seven Leading Edges of Innovation in Our Schools (2010).
  • Tina L. Seelig, PhD, Neuroscientist; Executive Director, Stanford Technology Ventures Program, School of Engineering; Director, Stanford Entrepreneurship Network, Stanford University; Director, National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation; Winner of the 2009 Bernard M. Gordon Prize from the National Academy of Engineering for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education and the 2008 National Olympus Innovation Award; Author, inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity (2012)
  • Yong Zhao, PhD, Presidential Chair; Associate Dean for Global Education, College of Education, University of Oregon; Director, Center for Advanced Technology in Education; Author, World Class Leaders: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students (2012) and Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization (2009)
  • John Seely Brown, PhD, Visiting Scholar and Advisor, Provost, University of Southern California; Independent Co-Chairman, Center for the Edge, Deloitte; Co-Founder, Institute for Research on Learning; Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education; Co-Author, A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination in a World of Constant Change (2011)

WHEN:

Thursday, February 14 through Saturday, February 16, 2013. Conference Begins 1:30 PM on Thursday. General Registration is $589.
Contact Kristin Dunay at 781-449- 4010 x 102 for media passes.

WHERE:

The Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, CA
Learning & the Brain® is a series of educational conferences that brings the latest research in neuroscience and psychology and their potential applications to education to the wider educational community. Since its inception in 1999, this series has been attended by more than 35,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

Why Don’t Students Like School? by Daniel Willingham

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Lauren O'Neil

                  In Why Don’t Students Like School? Daniel T. Willingham bridges the gap between isolated, laboratory research and busy, chaotic classrooms. He takes a systematic and sympathetic approach to addressing educators’ concerns about daily classroom activities. He sees the responsibilities that educators have to undertake and directly speaks to today’s realities of standardized testing, time constraints, and varying levels of ability in the classroom. Willingham not only provides teachers with current findings in neuroscience, but also validates their own activities and lesson plans. Additionally, there are real action plans that educators can apply in the Implications for the Classroom segment provided at the end of every chapter.

                  Each section begins with a relevant question that could be asked by teachers, principals, school psychologists, specialists, and classroom aides, for example: “Why Is It So Hard for Students to Understand Abstract Ideas?” (Chapter 4), “How Can I Help Slow Learners? (Chapter 8).”  He then links the neuroscience research with the question at hand providing a multitude of examples and explanations.

Willingham introduces Working Memory and Long-term Memory and, like an effective teacher, he scaffolds these ideas into more complex concepts over the course of the book. He discusses how the mind is not made for thinking because the connections are not yet in the brain to solve a problem presented to a student. So each child must think and connect the dots, and therefore the neurons! The next few chapters build upon each other to explain how introducing factual knowledge is necessary for building a foundation before higher order thinking skills can be asked of students.

Willingham goes on to reveal why background knowledge, a.k.a. prior knowledge, is fundamental to critical thinking, reading comprehension, and improving memory by connecting new material with prior knowledge. He covers a multitude of important topics such as forgetting, mnemonic devices, discovery or group learning, teachers’ personal style, practicing drills, and transfer to underscore a few. Particularly useful is the discussion of the visual-auditory-kinesthesia theory as it addresses the ever-popular multiple intelligences from a cognitive viewpoint.

While Daniel Willingham does not have years of personal K-12 classroom experience, his analyses and suggestions for educators are pragmatic and profound. He successfully reaches his goal of providing fundamental cognitive principles that are true in the laboratory and the classroom. Additional resources on a plethora of topics from Daniel Willingham can be found online at: http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-and-education-blog.html.

Why Don’t Students Like School? by Daniel T. Willingham, published by Jossey-Bass, 2009.

 

Learning & the Brain in the News

Posted on November 19, 2012 by admin

Learning & the Brain in the News

November 21, 2012 — A pioneering researcher who studies the meaningful connection between the brain and the learning of mathematics has been awarded the fifth annual prize for “Transforming Education through Neuroscience.” The award was publicly announced on November 17th, at the 33rd Learning & the Brain conference, an educational conference series that promotes the most innovative and distinguished thinking on the subject. The winner will be able to use the $5,000 award to further partnerships between educators and neuroscientists.  The award was established by the Learning & the Brain Foundation and IMBES (“The International Mind, Brain and Education Society”) to honor an individual who represents excellence in bridging neuroscience and education, that is, applying the findings of hard science, such as functional brain imaging, to the improvement of classroom teaching and learning.

Daniel Ansari, PhD, who is Associate Professor in Psychology and Canada Research Chair in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Western Ontario was the winner of this year’s award.  Dr. Ansari is being honored for his contributions to the field of numerical cognition, including discoveries on the brain networks involved in mental arithmetic, brain function and structure differences in math disorders and the effects of math instruction on brain function.  He seeks to both answer scientific questions as well as to generate data that could inform educational challenges such as diagnosis of mathematical difficulties as well as their remediation. Dr. Ansari’s research uses behavioral measures and brain-imaging methods.

Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, the winner of the same award in its inaugural year and Assistant Professor at the University of California, said, “Daniel’s research on children’s development of numerical abilities is groundbreaking both neuroscientifically and educationally. His work directly informs educational efforts to diagnose and remediate children’s mathematical difficulties.”

One of Dr. Ansari’s main research interests is to improve the understanding of those students who suffer from development dyscalculia, a specific difficulty to acquire even the most basic arithmetical skills. About five per cent of the population suffers from developmental dyscalculia, approximately the same proportion as dyslexia, but with far less research attention.

Dr. Daniel Ansari is using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods to study the predictors of successful math learning. For example, he and his colleagues have found that performing basic numerical and mathematical tasks triggers atypical patterns of brain activation for children with dyscalculia.  Ansari’s research will lead to better understanding of the root causes of math difficulties, improved diagnosis of those difficulties and interventions for those difficulties.

Dr. Donna Coch, Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Education at Dartmouth College and former colleague of Dr. Ansari when he was at Dartmouth, said, “Daniel is truly a transformative leader in Mind, Brain, and Education, with his cutting-edge neuroscience research on mathematical processing and math development, coupled with a deep commitment to evidence-based math education.”

In addition to Daniel Ansari’s research, discussions at the November 2012 Learning & the Brain educational conference focused on the connections between mind, brain, and education with a focus on teaching diverse learners.  The next Learning & the Brain conference is February 14-16, 2013 in San Francisco, CA and will focus on creativity and the brain.

NEUROSCIENTISTS TO EXPLAIN HOW EDUCATION, POVERTY AND PARENTS CHANGE KIDS’ BRAINS IN UNIQUE WAYS at LEARNING & the BRAIN® CONFERENCE

Posted on November 1, 2012 by admin

MEDIA ADVISORY
November 1, 2012

Contact:
Daniel LaGattuta
(917)-405-0412
daniel.lagattuta@learningandthebrain.com

EDUCATING DIVERSE MINDS: USING INDIVIDUAL BRAIN DIFFERENCES TO TEACH AND REACH ALL LEARNERS

WHAT:
Neuroscience research has found that children’s brains are actually quite diverse and unique and that genes, early adversity, poverty, parenting, culture and education have a greater impact on brain development and learning than once thought.  New research is connecting our understanding about changes in children’s brain structure and function to specific aspects of education, and is beginning to explain how learning experiences reshape the brain networks that support a child’s basic cognitive skills such as paying attention, memory, reading and mathematics. This conference is designed to help educators understand the individual differences in their students’ brains, how these differences affect learning and disorders, and how teaching, intervention, poverty, parents and early experiences change the structure of students’ brains and influence their life-long learning abilities and disabilities.

In support some of these new discoveries, the Learning & the Brain Foundation and the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES) will be presenting the 2012 Transforming Education through Neuroscience Award to Neuroscience Researcher Daniel Ansari, PhD, of the University of Western Ontario, during the second day of the conference. The award will be presented by Professor Kurt W. Fischer, Director of the Mind, Brain and Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Past President of IMBES.  The award of $5,000 is given annually to a researcher who has made significant contributions to growing field of neuroeducation. Dr. Ansari is being honored for his research contributions to the field of numerical cognition, including discoveries on the brain networks involved in mental arithmetic, brain structure differences in math disorders and the effects of math instruction on brain function. He seeks to both answer scientific questions as well as to generate data that could inform educational challenges such as diagnosis of mathematical difficulties as well as their remediation. Dr. Ansari’s research uses behavioral measures and brain-imaging methods.

WHO:
The program is produced by Public Information Resources, Inc. and is co-sponsored by several organizations including the Mind, Brain and Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Athinoula A. Martinos Imaging Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and both the national associations of elementary and secondary school principals.  In addition to Dr. Ansari, some of the featured keynote speakers will be:

  • John J. Medina, PhD, Director, Brain Center for Applied Learning Research, Seattle Pacific University; Affiliate Professor of Bioengineering, University of Washington School of Medicine; Founder, Talaris Research Institute; Author; Brain Rules for Baby (2012) and Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School (2009)
  • Dean V. Buonomano, PhD, Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles; Professor, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles; Author, Brain Bugs: How the Brain’s Flaws Shape Our Lives (2012)
  • Jane M. Healy, PhD, Educational Psychologist; Teacher; Reading and Learning Specialist; Former Adjunct Assistant Professor, Cleveland State University; Author, Different Learners (2011), Your Child’s Growing Mind (2004) and Failure to Connect (1999)

WHEN:
Friday, November 16 through Sunday, November 18, 2012.
Conference Begins 1:30 PM on Friday.
General Registration is $569 through November 2 and $580 after November 2.
Contact Kristin Dunay at 781-449-4010 x 102 for media passes.

WHERE:
Westin Copley Place, Boston, MA

Learning & the Brain® is a series of educational conferences that brings the latest research in neuroscience and psychology and their potential applications to education to the wider educational community. Since its inception in 1999, this series has been attended by more than 30,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

Top Researchers Debate Effects of Technology on the Brain & Learning

Posted on April 27, 2012 by admin

MEDIA ADVISORY

APRIL 27, 2012

Contact:
Kristin Dunay
(781)-449-4010 x 102
kristin.dunay@learningandthebrain.com

WEB-CONNECTED MINDS: HOW TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMS BRAINS, TEACHING AND ATTENTION

WHAT:

Almost 1,000 neuroscientists, educators and technology experts will be meeting to explore how social networks and emerging digital technology are affecting students’ brains, attention and focus, as well as their learning and behavior. Speakers will discuss how apps, video games and social networks are causing idisorders as well as leading educators to rethink education and teaching; and how new cognitive video games may improve student learning, memory, attention and skills in reading, math and science.

“The conference will address the critical topics that educators must consider as they strive to meet the needs of learners in the iGeneration,” according to Mariale Hardiman, EdD, School of Education, Johns Hopkins University.

This conference also provides professional development for educators.

WHO:

The program is produced by Public Information Resources, Inc. and is co-sponsored by several organizations including the School of Education, Johns Hopkins University, Mind, Brain and Education Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and both the national associations of elementary and secondary school principals. Some of the featured keynote speakers will be:

  • Larry D. Rosen, PhD, Research Psychologist; Professor, Department of Psychology, California State University, Dominguez Hills; Author, iDisorders (2012) and REWIRED: Understanding the iGeneration and How They Learn (2010)
  • Marc R. Prensky, MBA, Founder/CEO, Games2train; Consultant; Futurist and Game Designer; Author, Brain Gain: Technology and the Quest for Digital Wisdom (2012), From Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom: Hopeful Essays for 21st Century Learning (2012), Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning (2010), Don’t Bother Me, I’m Learning (2005) and Digital Game-­‐Based Learning (2001)
  • Paul Howard-Jones, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol; Author, “From brain scan to lesson plan” (2011, The Psychologist), ”Toward a science of learning games” (2011, Mind, Brain and Education) and “The impact of digital technologies on human wellbeing: Evidence from the sciences of mind and brain” (2011, Nominet Trust Report)

WHEN:

Friday, May 4, 2012- Sunday, May 6, 2012.

Conference Begins 1:15 PM on Friday. General Registration is $580. Contact Kristin Dunay at 781-449-4010 x 102 for media passes.

WHERE:

Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA

Learning & the Brain® is a series of educational conferences that brings the latest research in neuroscience and psychology and their potential applications to education to the wider educational community. Since its inception in 1999, the series has been attended by more than 30,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

Eminent Researchers Debate Emotions and Education at Learning & the Brain Symposium

Posted on April 16, 2012 by admin

MEDIA ADVISORY

APRIL 16, 2012

Contact:
Kristin Dunay
(781)-449-4010 x 102
kristin.dunay@learningandthebrain.com
EMOTIONS AND EDUCATION: AFFECT, ANXIETY AND ACHIEVEMENT

WHAT:

This second annual one day symposium will bring neuroscientists and educators together to explore how emotions influence learning, engagement, memory and achievement, as well as how stress, trauma and poverty affect emotional development in children. Experts will explore strategies for improving engagement, emotional regulation, resilience, teen behavior and academic achievement.

The opening keynote address by Joseph E. LeDoux, PhD will set the tone for the educational conference. He will share an exciting discussion on the emotional brain. Dr. LeDoux will be joined by other distinguished conference faculty whose research focuses on using brain science to improve student achievement and emotional regulation.

Participants will earn professional development credit hours while attending.

WHO:

The program is produced by Public Information Resources, Inc. and is co-sponsored by several organizations including the Health, Emotion and Behavior Laboratory, Yale University, The Emotional Brain Institute, New York University, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and both the national associations of elementary and secondary school principals.  Some of the featured keynote speakers will be:

  • Joseph E. LeDoux, PhD, New York University; Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science; Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, New York University; Director, Emotional Brain Institute, a collaboration between NYU and the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (NKI); Author, Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are (2003) and The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life (1998)
  • Sam Wang, PhD, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular Biology, Princeton University; W.M. Keck Foundation Distinguished Young Investigator; winner of the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award; Co-Author, Welcome to Your Child’s Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College (2011) and Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life (2008)
  • Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, Assistant Professor of Education and Psychology, Rossier School of Education; Assistant Professor, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California; Author, “Implications of affective and social neuroscience for educational theory” (2011, Educational Philosophy and Theory); Co-Author, “We feel, therefore we learn: The relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education” (2007, Mind, Brain and Education Journal)

WHEN:

Thursday, April 19, 2012. Symposium Begins 8:45AM on Thursday.
 General Registration is $299 per person.
Contact Kristin Dunay at 781-449-4010 x 102 for media passes.

WHERE:

Alfred J. Lerner Hall, NYC, NY

Learning & the Brain® is a series of educational conferences that brings the latest research in neuroscience and psychology and their potential applications to education to the wider educational community. Since its inception in 1999, the series has been attended by more than 30,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

TOP RESEARCHERS DISCUSS WHOLE CHILD/ STUDENT EDUCATION at LEARNING & the BRAIN® CONFERENCE

Posted on February 19, 2012 by admin

MEDIA ADVISORY

February 1, 2012

Contact:
Kristin Dunay
(781)-449-4010 x 102
kristin.dunay@learningandthebrain.com

EDUCATING THE WHOLE CHILD/STUDENT: USING BRAIN RESEARCH FOR SMARTER, HAPPIER AND HEALTHIER LEARNERS

WHAT:
Cognitive neuroscience and social science research is finding that the most successful students are those who are happy, self-regulated, social, intellectually challenged, active, compassionate, mindful, moral and healthy.
More than 1,400 educators are gathering at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco to learn about the latest research on the brain and emotions, positive mindsets, happiness, resilience, stress, intelligence, exercise, play and social-emotional learning from more than 45 national experts.
The opening keynote address by Daniel Siegel, MD,will set the tone for the educational conference. He will share an exciting new approach to raising children, using a brain research basis and case examples. Clinical Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, Dr. Siegel is the author of the Whole Child/Brain (2011), Mindsight (2010) andThe Mindful Brain (2007).

WHO:

The program is co-sponsored by several organizations, including the School of Education, Stanford University, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley, the Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and both the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the NASSP (formerly the National Association of Secondary School Principals). The program will provide professional development credit.
Some of the featured keynote speakers, who will discuss using brain science to ensure smarter, happier, healthier and moral learners, include:

  • David A. Walsh, Ph.D.,Psychologist; Faculty, University of Minnesota; Founder, Mind Positive Parenting; Author, Smart Parenting, Smarter Kids: The One Brain Book You Need to Help Your Child Grow Brighter, Healthier and Happier (2011)
  • Patricia S. Churchland, BPhil,Professor Emerita, Philosophy Department, University of California, San Diego; Author, Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality (2011) and Brain-Wise: Studies in Neurophilosophy (2002)
  • Michael I. Posner, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Oregon; Former Adjunct Professor, Weill Medical College, Cornell University; Author, Attention in a Social World (2012) and Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention (2011); Co-Author, Educating the Human Brain (2006)
  • Christine L. Carter, PhD, Director, Parenting Programs, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley; Blogger, Psychology Today; Author, Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents (2011)
  • Daniel J. Siegel, MD,Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine; Co-Director, The Mindful Awareness Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles; Co- Author, The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, Survive Everyday Parenting Struggles, and Help Your Family Thrive (2011)

WHEN:

Thursday, February 16, 2012- Saturday, February 18, 2012. Conference begins 1:15 PM on Thursday.
General Registration is $565 through February 3 and $580 after February 3.
Contact Kristin Dunay at 781-449-4010 x 102 for media passes

WHERE:

Historic Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, CA

Learning & the Brain® is a series of educational conferences that brings the latest research in neuroscience and psychology and their potential applications to education to the wider educational community. Since its inception in 1999, the series has been attended by more than 30,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.