Children today spend more time using digital devices than ever before, but it has come with a loss of face-to-face interaction and social skills. A 2018 Pew Research Center study found that with 95 percent of U.S. teens now having access to a smartphone, 45 percent feel overwhelmed by social media drama, 48 percent feel they don't fit in with peers, and 36 percent feel they have too little face-to-face time with friends. However, brain and psychological research has shown that having face-to-face interactions and developing social skills are essential for learning, making lasting friendships, and for academic and career success. Join us in New York to explore how our brains are wired for face-to-face social interactions, how digital devices are affecting social skills development and addiction, and how social groups, and using classroom collaborations improve learning. Discover ways to help all students, including the socially awkward and those with autism, feel accepted, make friends, and develop the social and emotional skills needed for school and life success.
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Co-Founder and Director, Neuro-Education Initiative (NEI); Professor, School of Education, Johns Hopkins University; Author, The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model for 21st Century Schools (2012) and Connecting Brain Research With Effective Teaching: The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model (2003), and “Informing Pedagogy Through the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model (2012, Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education); Co-Author, “Exploring Changes in Teacher Self-Efficacy Through Neuroeducation Professional Development” (2023, The Teacher Educator) and “The Effects of Arts-Integrated Instruction on Memory for Science Content.” (2019, Trends in Neuroscience and Education)
Autism and Animal Rights Advocate; Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University; Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Feature of an HBO Emmy Award winning movie about her life; Author, Autism and Adolescence―The Way I See It: What Teens and Adults Need to Know (2024), Autism and Education: The Way I See It: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know (2023), Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions (2023), and Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism (2006, Expanded Edition); Co-Author, Different Kinds of Minds: A Guide to Your Brain (2023), Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals With Autism (2024, 3rd Edition), and The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum (2013)
Founding Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence; Professor, Child Study Center, Yale University; Co-Creator, The RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning, Host, “Dealing With Feelings” Podcast; Developer, How We Feel App; Author, Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive (2019); Co-Author, “Emotionally Intelligent School Leadership Predicts Educator Well-Being Before and During a Crisis” (2024, Frontiers in Psychology) and “Preventative Initiatives to Promote Psychological Adjustment Among Primary Students” (2023, International Journal of Educational Psychology)
Co-Founder and Director, Neuro-Education Initiative (NEI); Professor, School of Education, Johns Hopkins University; Author, The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model for 21st Century Schools (2012) and Connecting Brain Research With Effective Teaching: The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model (2003), and “Informing Pedagogy Through the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model (2012, Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education); Co-Author, “Exploring Changes in Teacher Self-Efficacy Through Neuroeducation Professional Development” (2023, The Teacher Educator) and “The Effects of Arts-Integrated Instruction on Memory for Science Content.” (2019, Trends in Neuroscience and Education)
Master Teacher; CIO, Infinite Horizons; Co-Author, Transformative Teaching: Changing Today's Classrooms Culturally, Academically, and Emotionally (2015), Developing Growth Mindsets in the Inspiring Classroom (2011), Inspiring Elementary Learners (2008), Inspiring Middle and Secondary Learners (2007), and Differentiation for Real Classrooms (2009)
Assistant Professor of Learning Sciences; Principal Investigator, Brain Healthy Project, NEAG School of Education, University of Connecticut; Brain Researcher who studies how students learn in real classrooms using portable Electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking technologies; Co-Author, "Neuroscience Research in the Classroom: Portable Brain Technologies in Education Research" (2021, Educational Researcher); "Making BrainWaves: Portable Brain Technology in Biology Education" (2021, bioRxiv), "Morning Brain: Real-World Neural Evidence that High School Class Times Matter" (2020, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience), and "Measuring Brain Waves in the Classroom" (2020, Frontiers for Young Minds)
Director, Social Identity and Morality Lab; Associate Professor of Psychology and Neural Science, Department of Psychology, New York University; Co-Author, “Out-Group Animosity Drives Engagement on Social Media” (2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony (2021), and “The Social Neuroscience of Cooperation” (2020, The Cognitive Neurosciences)
Founding Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence; Professor, Child Study Center, Yale University; Co-Creator, The RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning, Host, “Dealing With Feelings” Podcast; Developer, How We Feel App; Author, Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive (2019); Co-Author, “Emotionally Intelligent School Leadership Predicts Educator Well-Being Before and During a Crisis” (2024, Frontiers in Psychology) and “Preventative Initiatives to Promote Psychological Adjustment Among Primary Students” (2023, International Journal of Educational Psychology)
Autism and Animal Rights Advocate; Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University; Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Feature of an HBO Emmy Award winning movie about her life; Author, Autism and Adolescence―The Way I See It: What Teens and Adults Need to Know (2024), Autism and Education: The Way I See It: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know (2023), Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions (2023), and Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism (2006, Expanded Edition); Co-Author, Different Kinds of Minds: A Guide to Your Brain (2023), Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals With Autism (2024, 3rd Edition), and The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum (2013)
Educational Consultant; Former Teacher and Literacy Instructor; Former Program Developer, Northeast Foundation for Children; Author, Rekindle Your Professional Fire (2024), Tackling the Motivation Crisis (2021), and What We Say and How We Say it Matters: Teacher Talk That Improves Student Learning and Behavior (2019)