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MEDIA ADVISORY


April 11, 2014

Contact: Kristin Dunay(781)-449-4010 x 102[email protected] 

THE SCIENCE OF SMARTER MINDS:
TEACHING TO THINK, CREATE AND INNOVATE FOR SCHOOL AND CAREERS

WHAT: Encouraging the development of critical and creative thinking in students is now recognized as central to education. Both new Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards stress these thinking skills and a recent study by the Center on Education and the Workforce found that these skills will be crucial in getting future jobs. Next month’s Learning & the Brain® Conference in New York, NY, will bring a renowned group of neuroscientists, psychologists and educators to present new research findings on critical and creative thinking, problem solving, innovation, intelligence and thinking processing in reading, math and sciences before 1,200 educators.  The conference will explore ways to use the science of “smarter minds” to teach the skills students need to meet today’s new standards, curriculum and future careers.
WHO: The program is co-sponsored by several organizations including the Neuroscience and Education Program, Teachers College, Columbia University, Mind, Brain & Education Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Comer School Development Program, Yale University School of Medicine, 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.Eric Kandel, MD, a Nobel Laureate in Medicine and University and Fred Kavli Professor at Columbia University, will give the opening keynote at the conference on the topic of “The Age of Insight: Art, Brain and the Creative Beholder.”  He will use the work of Rokitansky, Freud, Riegl, Klimt, Kokoschka and Schiele as examples of how Vienna in 1900 was able to forge a bridge between art and science in an effort to better understand creativity.  Dr. Kandel is also the Director of the Kavli Institute for Brain Science at Columbia University and the Founding Director of the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons;.  He is also the author of several books including Age of Insight (2012) and In Search of Memory (2007).In addition to Dr. Kandel, some of the featured speakers will be:▪    Sandra B. Chapman, PhD, Founder/Chief Director, Center for BrainHealth; Dee Wyly Distinguished Chair; Professor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas; Co-Author, Make Your Brain Smarter: Increase Your Brain’s Creativity, Energy, and Focus (2013)▪    Arthur L. Costa, EdD, Emeritus Professor of Education, California State University, Sacramento; Co-Director of the Institute for Intelligent Behavior; Former President of ASCD; Former Director of Educational Programs, NASA; Co-Author, Cognitive Capital (2013) and Thinking-Based Learning (2010)

▪    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)

 

WHEN: Thursday, May 8-Saturday, May 10. Conference begins 1:00 PM. General Registration is $579 through April 25 and $599 after April 25.  Contact Kristin Dunay at 781-449-4010 x 102 for media passes.
WHERE: Sheraton Times Square Hotel, 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, more than 40,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago have attended this series.

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

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MEDIA ADVISORY


January 28, 2014

Contact:

Kristin Dunay

(781)-449-4010 x 102

[email protected]

 

TEACHING SELF-AWARE MINDS: USING BRAIN SCIENCE TO BOOST SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS

WHAT: Cognitive and Social Neuroscience research has found that social-emotional skills, such as self-awareness, self-regulation and resilience, are often more important than IQ for academic and later life success. Yet, many students today lack these necessary skills. A national group of neuroscientists, psychologists and educators will be presenting new brain research findings on self-awareness, self-control, relationships and resilience before 1,500 educators at next month’s Learning & the Brain® Conference in San Francisco, CA. They will also provide new strategies and new cognitive technologies for improving these skills in the brain to help students succeed in today’s standards-based, distracted, disconnected, digital age.
WHO: The program is co-sponsored by several organizations including the Stanford University School of Education, the Greater Goods Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, the Laboratory of Educational Neuroscience at the University of California, San Francisco, 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.

Antonio R. Damasio, MD, PhD, the David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southern California, will be a featured speaker at the conference.  He is also a Professor of Psychology and Neurology and the Director of the Brain and Creativity Institute there as well as an Adjunct Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Dr. Damasio’ research has focused on the neural basis of emotions and the role emotions play in decision-making, memory, language and consciousness.  He is the author of many academic articles and several books including Self Comes to Mind (2010), Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain (2005) and Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain (2003).

In addition to Dr. Damasio, some of the featured speakers will be:

▪    Patricia S. Churchland, BPhil, LLD, President’s Professor of Philosophy Emerita, Department of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego; Adjunct Professor, Salk Institute for Biological Studies; Author, Touching a Nerve: The Self as Brain (2013), Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality (2011), Brain-Wise: Studies in Neurophilosophy (2002) and The Computational Brain (1992)

▪    Edward M. Hallowell, MD, Child and Adult Psychiatrist; Founder, The Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health (Boston, New York, San Francisco); Former Faculty, Harvard Medical School; Author, Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People (2011), Overloaded Circuits (2009), CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap! (2006), Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness (2003) and Connect (2001)

▪    Michael S. Gazzaniga, PhD, Professor of Psychology; Director, SAGE Center for the Study of Mind, University of California, Santa Barbara; President, Cognitive Neuroscience Institute; Author; Who’s in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain (2012), Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique (2008), The Ethical Brain: The Science of Our Moral Dilemmas (2006) and The Mind’s Past (2000)

▪    Adam H. Gazzaley, MD, PhD, Director, Gazzaley Cognitive Neuroscience Research Lab; 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”; Co-Author, “Video game training enhances cognitive control in older adults” (2013, Nature)

▪    Denise C. Pope, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Stanford University School of Education; Co-Founder, Challenge Success; Author, “Beyond ‘Doing School’: From ‘Stressed-Out’ to ‘Engaged in Learning” (2010, Education Canada) and Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Mis-educated Students (2001); Co-Author, “Success with Less Stress” (2009, Educational Leadership); Winner of the 2012 Education Professor of the Year “Educators’ Voice Award” from the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences

 

WHEN: Thursday, February 13-Saturday, February 15. Conference begins 1:00 PM. General Registration is $579 through January 31 and $599 after January 31.  Contact Kristin Dunay at 781-449-4010 x 102 for media passes.
WHERE: Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill, 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 40,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

 

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

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At the upcoming Learning & the Brain® educational conference in Boston, MA, the 2013 Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award will be presented to Dr. David B. Daniel from James Madison University for his contributions to the field of Mind, Brain and Education.

November 12, 2013 – A pioneering educator and researcher who studies classroom pedagogy, cognitive development and the translation of Mind, Brain and Education to teaching practice will be awarded the sixth annual prize for “Transforming Education through Neuroscience.” The 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. The $5,000 award will be used to “support translational efforts bridging scientific findings and classroom practice.”

David B. Daniel, PhD, a James Madison University professor, is being honored for his tireless and creative efforts to develop the infrastructure of the field of Mind, Brain and Education, which tries to focus research in neuroscience, cognitive science and other fields onto classrooms and learning. Along with his efforts to create better teaching and learning in K-12 schools and at the university level, Dr. Daniel has been facilitating the building of sound organizational structures and effective communication processes in the field of Mind, Brain and Education for many years. He is a founding IMBES board member and former executive director of the Society. He has also been the managing editor of Mind, Brain and Education, the first journal focusing on the intersection between education, neuroscience, cognitive science and other fields, since it began. The journal was recognized in 2008 as the “Best New Journal in the Humanities and Social Sciences” by the Association of American Publishers Academic Division.

According to Kurt Fischer, Charles Warland Bigelow Professor and director of the Harvard Mind, Brain and Education Program, “David Daniel has been the most important force behind the creation of the journal Mind, Brain, and Education and its success in connecting the work of teachers and researchers around the world. Quietly behind the scenes he has made things happen productively and thoughtfully. We appreciate his broad and deep contributions to the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society, the journal, and so many activities that are bringing together researchers and practitioners everywhere.”

Dr. Daniel has been a strong advocate for the careful translation of appropriate scientific findings to practice, and has wisely urged caution for doing so prematurely. “In a field where it’s easy to get carried away by theory, David Daniel stands out as a voice for keeping the eye of the scientist on the classroom–as well as encouraging teachers to keep an eye on the laboratory. He is the most sensible scientist I know in this regard,” wrote Daniel Willingham, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia.

Especially important is his framing of an ecological approach to pedagogical research, which works to specify how controlled cognitive laboratory environments alter and simplify learning situations, often rendering the findings difficult or impossible to realistically implement in real-world contexts. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, assistant professor at the University of Southern California stated that, “Dr. Daniel exemplifies the rare scholar who recognizes the complexity of the dynamic interaction between teaching and learning, and understands how to responsibly translate scientific findings into educational initiatives.”

While his high quality teaching brings him the most accolades, Dr. Daniel provides continual, but often low-profile, mentoring and advising of teachers and young interdisciplinary scholars.  He helps them make optimal contributions to the field and simultaneously furthers their own thinking and career goals. You will find Dr. Daniel’s name in the acknowledgements of many articles and books in the field. He has also played a critical role in facilitating high-quality dialogue between researchers and educational practitioners in a variety of settings. As with his efforts to develop the field, Dr. Daniel generally works quietly behind the scenes, looking for strategic, genuine and sound ways to move the field forward by supporting others in meaningfully connecting their research with practice.

Daniel Ansari, a neuroscientist and associate professor at the University of Western Ontario, wrote, “Dr. Daniel is one of the few people who really sits in the middle between science and practice and is committed to establishing ways of crossing between the two. This is a rare and difficult balancing act, but essential for the field to grow.”

The prize will be presented to Dr. Daniel by Professor Fischer at the upcoming Learning & the Brain® educational conference in Boston, MA on Saturday, November, 16, held at the Westin Copley Hotel.  The Learning & the Brain Foundation and the International Mind Brain and Education Society wish Dr. Daniel our heartiest congratulations.

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MEDIA ADVISORY
    

November 1, 2013

Contact: Kristin Dunay
(781) 449-4010 x102
[email protected]

ENGAGING 21ST CENTURY MINDS: USING TECHNOLOGY, NATURE, COGNITION & COLLABORATION FOR DEEPER LEARNING

WHAT: Neuroscience and education researchers will present findings that show active, outdoor and online self-directed activities engage the brain in deeper, faster learning than sitting passively in class.  These findings support new teaching methods using online, iPad and outdoor learning projects and collaborations and provide ideas for meeting 21st Century and Common Core requirements for deeper learning. A national group of neuroscientists, psychologists and educators will be presenting this new research before 1,300 educators at this month’s Learning & the Brain® Conference in Boston, MA, to show how cognitive science, outdoor and online (or blended) technology are changing teaching, increasing student engagement and providing deeper learning experiences.During the conference, David B. Daniel, PhD, Professor in the Department of Psychology at James Madison University, will be presented with the 2013 “Transforming Education Through Neuroscience” Award. 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. Daniel will also address the conference on the Sunday morning with the talk “Neat, But How Do We Use It: Translating Mind, Brain and Education to the Classroom.” He will discuss the tremendous pressure on educators to develop evidence-based practices that dynamically impact student learning and performance and an ever-growing list of recommendations that claim to be evidence based. Dr. Daniel will address critical issues in translating scientific findings for classroom use, focusing on the role of educators within the field of Mind, Brain and Education.
WHO: The program is co-sponsored by several organizations including 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, and is produced by Public Information Resources, Inc. In addition to Dr. Daniel, some of the featured speakers will be:    Yong Zhao, PhD, Presidential Chair; Associate Dean for Global Education, Weinman Professor of Technology, College of Education, University of Oregon; Author, World-Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students (2012) and Catching Up or Leading the Way (2009) Martha Lovett, PhD, Cognitive Scientist; Professor, Psychology Department, Carnegie Mellon University; Director, Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence; Developer of innovative, educational technologies to promote student learning and metacognition; Co-Author, How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching (2010) and “In search of the ‘perfect’ blend between an instructor and an online course for teaching introductory statistics” (2010, Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on the Teaching of Statistics)

▪ Richad Louv, Founder/Chairman Emeritus, Children & Nature Network; Visiting Professor, Clemson University; Author, The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in the Virtual Age (2012) and Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder (2008)

▪ Sam Wang, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Biology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University; Co-Author, Welcome to Your Child’s Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College (2012) and Welcome to Your Brain (2008)

▪ Jonathan Bergmann, MAEd, Lead Technology Facilitator, Joseph Sears School, IL; Pioneer in the Flipped Class Movement; Winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence for Math and Science Teaching (2002); Co-Founder of the Flipped Learning Network, Advisory Board Member of TED Education; Co-Author, Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day (2012)

▪ Will A. Richardson, MA, Member of the National Advisory Council, George Lucas Education Foundation; Author, Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information are Everywhere (2012) and Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (2010); Co-Author, Personal Learning Networks (2011)

WHEN: Friday, November 15-Sunday, November 17. Conference begins 1:30 PM. General Registration is $599.  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 and provides professional development for educators. 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.

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MEDIA ADVISORY
    April 24, 2013
Contact: Kristin Dunay
(781) 449-4010 x102
[email protected]

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.

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MEDIA ADVISORY
      April 1, 2013
Contact: Kristin Dunay (781)-449-4010 x102
[email protected]

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.

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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
[email protected]

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.

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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.

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MEDIA ADVISORY
November 1, 2012

Contact:
Daniel LaGattuta
(917)-405-0412
[email protected]

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.

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MEDIA ADVISORY

APRIL 27, 2012

Contact:
Kristin Dunay
(781)-449-4010 x 102
[email protected]

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.