Author Archives: landb

Researchers have shown that changing student mindsets (beliefs and attitudes about themselves, their feelings about school and their sense of social belonging) can motivate students to work harder, be more persistent and achieve more. Students who have been told that their brains can change and therefore had a “growth mindset” (a belief that their success is based on effort and not talent or IQ) were more likely to have successful outcomes than those who were not told.

Next month, a distinguished group of academics in psychology and education will explore the science behind how mindsets can help boost academic motivation, persistence and performance and raise student achievement before 2,000 educators at the Learning & the Brain^® Conference in San Francisco, CA.

Renowned Researcher Carol Dweck, PhD, will present on “The Psychology of Mindsets and Achievement” during a keynote on Saturday, February 13. Dr. Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006) and one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of motivation and how to foster success, will discuss how educators can adopt a deeper growth mindset to aid in classroom practice and to support students for a more successful educational experience. Dr. Dweck is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University.

In addition to Dr. Dweck, the program features some other leading experts on the learning sciences including:

Ron E. Ritchhart, EdD, Senior Research Associate, Harvard Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Author, Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools (2015), Making Thinking Visible (2011) and Intellectual Character (2004)

Christine L. Carter, PhD, Sociologist; Senior Fellow, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley; Author, The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work (2015) and Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents (2011)

Joshua M. Aronson, PhD, Associate Professor of Applied Psychology; Director, Metro Center for Achievement Research and Evaluation, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University; Author, “The Threat of Stereotype” (2004, Educational Leadership); Co-Author, “Minding and Mending the Gap” (2015, Contemporary Educational Psychology); Editor, Improving Academic Achievement (2002)

Kelly M. McGonigal, PhD, Award-winning Psychology Lecturer, Stanford University, including the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education and the Stanford School of Medicine’s Health Improvement Program; Co-Founder, Stanford Women’s Wellness Network; Author, The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is Good for You and How to Get Good at It(2015), The Willpower Instinct (2013) and The Neuroscience of Change (2012)

Kathleen Cushman, BA, Editor; Documentarian; Co-Founder, What Kids Can Do; Author, The Motivation Equation: Designing Lessons that Set Kids’ Minds on Fire (2013); Co-Author, Belonging and Becoming: The Power of Social and Emotional Learning in High Schools (2015)

Robert B. Brooks, PhD, Psychologist; Faculty, part-time, Harvard Medical School; Co-Author, “The Power of Mindsets: Nurturing Student Engagement, Motivation and Resilience in Students” (2012, Handbook of Research on Student Engagement), Raising Resilient Children (2001), The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life (2004), Raising a Self-Disciplined Child (2007) and Handbook of Resilience in Children (2012)

Researchers have found that we can use the brain’s neuroplasticity to train character skills, often called non-cognitive or soft skills, in students through instruction, video games and meditation.

Next month, a distinguished group of neuroscientists, psychologists and educators will explore the science behind these character strengths and why they lead to academic and life success. They will discuss the importance of “character skills,” such as self-control, conscientiousness, resilience, grit, empathy and social-emotional skills in education and share some of the research on how to train these skills before 1,500 educators at the Learning & the Brain^® Conference in Boston, MA.

Renowned Psychologist Walter Mischel, PhD, will present on “How Mind and Brain Enable Self-Control: The Marshmallow Test and Beyond” during a keynote on Friday, November 13. Dr. Mischel, author of The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control (2015) and pioneer in the study of self-control, will discuss his key findings from the “marshmallow experiments” – which examined the brain mechanisms that underlie and enable self-control and delay of gratification. Dr. Mischel is the Robert Johnson Niven Professor of Human Letters in the Department of Psychology at Columbia University and received the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association.

On Sunday morning, Fumiko Hoeft, MD, PhD, will receive the 2015 Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award from the Learning & the Brain Foundation. This award has been presented annually since 2008 to a researcher who has made significant contributions to connecting neuroscience with education. Dr. Hoeft is Associate Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Director of Hoeft Laboratory for Educational Neuroscience (brainLENS.org) at the University of California, San Francisco.

In addition to Drs. Mischel and Hoeft, the program features some other leading experts on the learning sciences including:

▪   Roy F. Baumeister, PhD, Francis Eppes Professor of Psychology, Florida State University; Co-Author, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (2012); Editor, Self-Esteem: The Puzzle of Low Self-Regard (2014) and Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory and Applications (2013, 2^nd Edition)

▪   Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; Author, Raising Kids to Thrive: Balancing Love with Expectations and Protection With Trust (2015) and Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings (2011)

▪   Rick Hanson, PhD, Senior Fellow, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley; Founder, Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom; Author, Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm and Confidence (2013) and Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom (2009)

▪   Neal H. Mayerson, PhD, Clinical Psychological; Chairman/Founder, VIA Institute on Character, who collaborated with Renowned Psychologist Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman on the founding of positive psychology and VIA; Co-Founder, Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children

▪   Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, PhD, Applied Developmental Psychologist; Professor, Human Development, Learning and Culture, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology and Special Education, University of British Columbia

▪   Laurence Steinberg, PhD, Distinguished University Professor, Temple University; Author, Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence (2014) and Catching Up or Leading the Way (2009)

Learning & the Brain^® is a series of educational conferences that brings the latest research in the learning sciences and their potential applications to education to the wider educational community. Since its inception in 1999, more than 50,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago have attended this series.

Steven Pinker, PhD, Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, is one of the featured speakers at the conference. Dr. Pinker is an award-winning researcher on language and cognition and has been recognized as one of the world’s top global thinkers. He is a prolific author whose books include The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature (2007), The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature (2002), Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language (1999), How the Mind Works (1997) and The Language Instinct (1994). Dr. Pinker will address the conference on the topic of “Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21^st Century” which will cover some of his work from his most recent book with the same title.

In addition to Dr. Pinker, the program features some of the other of the nation’s leading experts on cognitive and global learning including:

▪   David N. Perkins, PhD, Principal Investigator, Founding Member, Harvard Project Zero; Carl H. Pforzheimer, Jr., Research Professor of Teaching and Learning, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Author, Future Wise: Educating Our Children for a Changing World (2014) and Making Learning Whole: How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education (2009)

▪   Heidi Hayes Jacobs, EdD, Creator, Curriculum21; Founder and President, Curriculum Designers, Inc.; Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Teachers College, Columbia University; Author, Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World (updated 2014), Mastering Digital Literacy (2014), Mastering Global Literacy (2013) and Leading the New Literacies (2013)

▪   Pasi Sahlberg, PhD, Visiting Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Adjunct Faculty of Behavioral Science, University of Helsinki; Former Director General, Ministry of Education and Culture in Helsinki, Finland; Former Senior Education Specialist, World Bank; Author, “Global Educational Reform Movement and its Impact on Schooling” (2014, The Handbook of Global Policy-making in Education) and Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? (2011)

▪   Yong Zhao, PhD, Presidential Chair; Associate Dean for Global Education; Director, Center for Advanced Technology in Education, College of Education, University of Oregon; Author, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon?: Why China Has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World (2014), World-Class Learners (2012) and Catching Up or Leading the Way (2009)

▪   Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, Associate Professor of Education, Rossier School of Education; Associate Professor of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California; Co-Author, “Modularity and the Cultural Mind: Contributions of Cultural Neuroscience to Cognitive Theory” (2013, Perspectives on Psychological Science)

Researchers are discovering strategies based on neuroscience research that make learning easier, more effective and that can boost long-term memory, thinking and academic performance. Using mnemonics, meta-cognition, physical movements and hand gestures, active learning strategies and certain testing and retrieval practices, teachers can improve their students’ ability to learn, reflect and remember content. Discover how the “Science of Learning” can help boost student retention, recall and retrieval of information.

Larry R. Squire, PhD, a Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, San Diego is one of the featured speakers at the conference. He is the co-author with Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel of Memory: From Mind to Molecules (2008).Dr. Squire will address the conference on the topic of “The Structure and Organization of Memory. He will discuss the anatomy and organization of memory, emphasizing the distinction between conscious and unconscious memory system and will examine multiple kinds of memory, which depend on different brain systems.In addition to Dr. Squire, some of the featured speakers will be:

▪   Benedict Carey, MA, Award-Winning Science Reporter at The New York Times; Author, How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where and Why it Happens (2014)

▪   Sian L. Beilock, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago; Author, How the Body Knows Its Mind: The Surprising Power of Physical Environment to Influence How You Think and Feel (2015) and Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To (2011)

▪   Sandra B. Chapman, PhD, Founder and Chief Director, Center for BrainHealth; Dee Wyly Distinguished Professor in Brain Health; Professor, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas; Co-Author, “Shorter Term Aerobic Exercise Improves Brain, Cognition, and Cardiovascular Fitness in Aging” (2013, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience) and the book, Make Your Brain Smarter (2013)

▪   Henry L. Roediger, III, PhD, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Department of Psychology; Principal Investigator, Memory Lab, Washington University in St. Louis; Co-Author, Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning (2014) and “Applications of Cognitive Science to Education” (2012, Neuroscience in Education)

▪   William R. Klemm, DVM, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University; Author, Mental Biology: The New Science of How the Brain and Mind Relate (2014), Memory Power 101 (2012) and Better Grades, Less Effort (2011)

Renowned psychologist and science journalist Daniel J. Goleman, PhD, will open the conference on the afternoon of Thursday, November 20 with a keynote presentation on “Focus in Learning.”By combining cutting-edge neuroscience research with practical findings, Dr. Goleman will delve into the science of attention. In an era of unstoppable distractions, he will argue that now more than ever, students must learn to sharpen their focus if they are to survive in a complex world. Dr. Goleman was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, is a Former Visiting Faculty Member at Harvard University and is the author of several books including Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (2013), Social Intelligence (2006) and Emotional Intelligence (1995)

Renowned neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, FRSC, will present one of the first public talks on his just released book, The Organized Mind, during a keynote on Saturday, November 22. Dr. Levitin will discuss how the latest findings from brain science can help us to regain a sense of mastery over the way we organize our homes, workplaces, time and lives in the age of information overload. Dr. Levitin is Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience at McGill University and is the author of The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload (2014), Foundations of Cognitive Psychology (2010) and This Is Your Brain On Music (2006)

Also on the morning of Saturday, November 22, Joanna A. Christodoulou, EdD, Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the MGH Institute of Health Professions at Massachusetts General Hospital, will be presented with the 2014 “Transforming Education Through Neuroscience” Award for a junior researcher who has advanced the field of neuroeducation. The $5,000 award was established by the Learning & the Brain Foundation and the International Mind, Brain and Education Society (IMBES) to honor an individual who represents excellence in bridging neuroscience and education.

Dr. Christodoulou will address the conference on the topic of “New Frontiers in Education Neuroscience: A Survey of Cases Informing the Scienceof Reading”. She will discuss how the feat of reading can be achieved with alternative mechanisms in light of structural or functional brain differences in readers. Rather than study how brains differ among reader groups, she is exploring how readers with distinct brain characteristics are able to still accomplish the feat of reading. She believes that studying distinct reader groups will help enhance our understanding of brain plasticity and reading difficulties.
 

In addition to Drs. Goleman, Levitin and Christodoulou, some of the other featured speakers will be:

 ▪   Margaret Moore, MBA, (aka Coach Meg), Co-Founder/ Co-Director, Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital, Affiliate of Harvard Medical School; Author, Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life (2012) and “Train Your Brain to Focus” (2012, Harvard Business Review)

▪   Catherine Steiner-Adair, EdD, Clinical Instructor, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Associate Psychologist, McLean Hospital; Author, The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age (2013)

▪   Adam H. Gazzaley, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco; Assistant Adjunct Professor, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley; Host of the PBS-Special, The Distracted Mind


April 11, 2014

▪    Arthur B. Markman, PhD, Annabel Iron Worsham Centennial Professor, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin; Executive Editor, Cognitive Science; Author, Smart Thinking: Three Essential Keys to Solve Problems, Innovate and Get Things Done (2012)

▪    Camilla P. Benbow, EdD, Dean of Education and Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University; Co-Director of the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth; Co-Author, “Creativity and Technical Innovation: Spatial Ability’s Unique Role” (2013, Psychological Science)

▪    Tony Wagner, MAT, EdD, Expert in Residence, Innovation Laboratory, Harvard University; Founder/Co-Director, Change Leadership Group, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Author, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World (2012)