Today's knowledge-based, rapidly changing world requires that students have deeper knowledge, skills, and competencies in order to succeed at work and life. But how should schools promote deeper learning skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking, reasoning, inquiry, reflection, retention, transfer, and mastery? Fortunately, insights from the brain and learning sciences are providing the most effective ways to teach and learn these skills. Join us for our 20th anniversary event to explore the science of learning and deeper learning. Discover how the brain learns, ways to teach students how to learn, and strategies to make learning stick. Learn new ways to improve student reflection, reasoning, and critical thinking skills; engage deeper learning and reading through science, digital tools, gaming, projects, and problem-based learning; and deepen content knowledge and mastery by boosting retrieval practice and memory retention.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@learningandtheb / #latb54) for conference updates and news
This conference is applicable for K-12 teachers, administrators, curriculum and staff developers, learning specialists, school psychologists and counselors, early childhood professionals, reading, language, science, and technology teachers, superintendents, principals and school heads, staff development trainers, project-based learning professionals, testing/assessment staff, college and university professors, and other educators that support classroom instruction.
Conference Chair: Professor of Psychology, James Madison University; Former Executive Director and Founding Board Member, International Mind, Brain, and Education Society; Former Managing Editor, Mind, Brain, and Education Journal; Winner of the 2013 L&B/IMBES “Transforming Education Through Neuroscience” Award; Recognized in the “Top 1% of Educational Researchers Influencing Public Debate” in the US; Co-Author, “Toward an Ecological Science of Teaching” (2021, Canadian Psychology), “Educational Neuroscience: Are We There Yet?” (2019, Wiley Handbook on Education) and “Promising Principles: Translating the Science of Learning to Educational Practice” (2012, Applied Research in Memory and Cognition)
Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus, Stanford University; Faculty Sponsor, Stanford Teacher Education Program; President, California's State Board of Education; Co-Author, Preparing Teachers for Deeper Learning (2019), “Implications for Educational Practice of the Science of Learning and Development” (2018, Applied Developmental Science), Empowered Educators (2017), Be the Change: Reinventing School for Student Success (2016), and Teaching in the Flat World: Learning from High-Performing Systems (2015)
Ramon y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning, McMaster University; Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, Oakland University; Co-Author, Learn Like a Pro (2021), Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn (2021), and Learning How to Learn (2018); Author, Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential (2017) and A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (2014)
Neuroscientist; Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Cambridge; Leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group; Honorary Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London; Author, Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain (2018); Co-Author, “Development of a Gamified Cognitive Training App “Social Brain Train” to Enhance Adolescent Mental Health” (2022, Wellcome Open Research), “Navigating the Social Environment in Adolescence: The Role of Social Brain Development” (2021, Biological Psychiatry), “The Effects of Social Deprivation on Adolescent Development and Mental Health” (2020, Lancet Child and Adolescent Health), and The Learning Brain: Lessons for Education (2005)
Founder and Chief Education Officer Emeritus, Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST); Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Recipient, Special Education Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council for Exceptional Children; Co-Author, Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice (2013) and Teaching Every student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning (2002); Co-Editor, Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom: Practical Applications (2012)
Professor of Education, James Madison University; Co-Editor, Teacher Educator Journal; Co-Author, The Mathematics Playbook (2024), The Teacher Clarity Playbook, Grades K-12 (2024), The Early Childhood Education Playbook (2022), How Tutoring Works: Six Steps to Grow Motivation and Accelerate Student Learning (2021), How Learning Works (2021), Clarity for Learning (2018), From Snorkelers to Scuba Divers: Making the Elementary Science Classroom a Place of Engagement and Deep Learning (2017), Visible Learning for Science (2017), and Captivate, Activate, and Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and Math, Grades 6–12 (2013)
Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus, Stanford University; Faculty Sponsor, Stanford Teacher Education Program; President, California's State Board of Education; Co-Author, Preparing Teachers for Deeper Learning (2019), “Implications for Educational Practice of the Science of Learning and Development” (2018, Applied Developmental Science), Empowered Educators (2017), Be the Change: Reinventing School for Student Success (2016), and Teaching in the Flat World: Learning from High-Performing Systems (2015)
Associate Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Co-Editor, Learning Deeply Blog, Education Week; Author, The Allure of Order: High Hopes, Dashed Expectations, and the Troubled Quest to Remake American Schooling (2013); Co-Author, Education in a New Society: Renewing the Sociology of Education (2018) and The Futures of Education Reform (2012)
Professor, Experimental Cognitive Psychology, College de France; Director, INSERM-CEA Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit; Author, How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine... for Now (Forthcoming), Space, Time, and Number in the Brain (2018), Consciousness and the Brain (2014), The Number Sense (2011), and Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention (2009)
Neuroscientist; Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Cambridge; Leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group; Honorary Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London; Author, Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain (2018); Co-Author, “Development of a Gamified Cognitive Training App “Social Brain Train” to Enhance Adolescent Mental Health” (2022, Wellcome Open Research), “Navigating the Social Environment in Adolescence: The Role of Social Brain Development” (2021, Biological Psychiatry), “The Effects of Social Deprivation on Adolescent Development and Mental Health” (2020, Lancet Child and Adolescent Health), and The Learning Brain: Lessons for Education (2005)
Professor of Education, James Madison University; Co-Editor, Teacher Educator Journal; Co-Author, The Mathematics Playbook (2024), The Teacher Clarity Playbook, Grades K-12 (2024), The Early Childhood Education Playbook (2022), How Tutoring Works: Six Steps to Grow Motivation and Accelerate Student Learning (2021), How Learning Works (2021), Clarity for Learning (2018), From Snorkelers to Scuba Divers: Making the Elementary Science Classroom a Place of Engagement and Deep Learning (2017), Visible Learning for Science (2017), and Captivate, Activate, and Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and Math, Grades 6–12 (2013)
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)
Ramon y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning, McMaster University; Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, Oakland University; Co-Author, Learn Like a Pro (2021), Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn (2021), and Learning How to Learn (2018); Author, Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential (2017) and A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (2014)
Director of Strategic Initiative, Learning Policy Institute, Stanford University; Former Senior Advisor, XQ Institute; Presidential Appointee to the White House Commission of Educational Excellence for Hispanics; Co-Author, “Restarting and Reinventing School: Learning in the Time of COVID and Beyond” (2020, Learning Policy Institute), Deeper Learning: How Eight Innovative Public Schools Are Transforming Education in the Twenty-First Century (2018, Reprint Edition), and “Playbook for Redesigning Schools for the 21st Century” (2016, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation)
Conference Chair: Professor of Psychology, James Madison University; Former Executive Director and Founding Board Member, International Mind, Brain, and Education Society; Former Managing Editor, Mind, Brain, and Education Journal; Winner of the 2013 L&B/IMBES “Transforming Education Through Neuroscience” Award; Recognized in the “Top 1% of Educational Researchers Influencing Public Debate” in the US; Co-Author, “Toward an Ecological Science of Teaching” (2021, Canadian Psychology), “Educational Neuroscience: Are We There Yet?” (2019, Wiley Handbook on Education) and “Promising Principles: Translating the Science of Learning to Educational Practice” (2012, Applied Research in Memory and Cognition)
Founder and Chief Learning Officer, Innovate 2 Educate; Senior Fellow, International Center for Leadership in Education; Author, Architects of Deeper Learning: Intentional Design for High Impact Instruction (2018); Contributor to Educational Leadership, Journal of Staff Development, Edutopia; Blogger, Shaped: The Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Education Blog
Cognitive Scientist; Former K-12 Teacher; Former Director of K-12 Student Assessment, Illinois State Department of Education; Founder, RetrievalPractice.org; Assistant Professor, Berklee College of Music; Former Project Lead, HarvardX (Massive Open Online Courses), Harvard University; Author, Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning (2019); Co-Author, "Benefits from Retrieval Practice Are Greater for Students with Lower Working Memory Capacity" (2017, Memory), "Both Multiple-Choice and Short-Answer Quizzes Enhance Later Exam Performance in Middle and High School Classes" (2014, Journal of Experimental Psychology), and "Advances in Cognitive Psychology Relevant to Education" (2012, Educational Psychology Review)
Doctoral Candidate in Education Leadership, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Former Teaching Fellow, Harvard University; Former Educator in Residence for TED Conferences; 2015 "National Teacher of the Year" Winner; Author, Think Like Socrates: Invite Wonder and Empathy Into the Classroom (2019)
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Director, The Many Brains Project; Director, Laboratory for Brain and Cognitive Health Technology; Technical Director, McLean Institute for Technology in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital; Co-Author, "Dispelling the Myth: Training in Education or Neuroscience Decreases but Does Not Eliminate Beliefs in Neuromyths" (2017, Frontal Psychology) and "When Does Cognitive Functioning Peak? The Asynchronous Rise and Fall of Different Cognitive Abilities Across the Life Span" (2015, Psychological Sciences)
Annabel Iron Worsham Centennial Professor of Psychology and Marketing, The University of Texas at Austin; Former Executive Editor, Cognitive Science; Author, Bring Your Brain to Work: Using Cognitive Science to Get a Job, Do it Well, and Advance Your Career (2019), Smart Change: Five Tools to Create New and Sustainable Habits in Yourself and Others (2014), and Smart Thinking: Three Essential Keys to Solve Problems, Innovate, and Get Things Done (2012); Co-Author, Brain Briefs: Answers to the Most (and Least) Pressing Questions About Your Mind (2016) and Tools for Innovation (2009)
Professor, Department of Psychology, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley; Member, National Scientific Council on the Developing Child; Founder, Frontiers of Innovation; Director, Building Blocks of Cognition Laboratory; Co-Author, "How Does Education Hone Reasoning Ability" (2020, Current Directions in Psychological Sciences); “Scientific Insights Into the Development of Analogical Reasoning” (2018, Developmental Science), "Fronto-Parietal Network Reconfiguration Supports the Development of Reasoning Ability" (2014), and "Intensive Reasoning Training Alters Patterns of Brain Connectivity at Rest" (2013)
Associate Professor, School of Teacher Education, Western Kentucky University; Former Principal and Classroom Teacher; Author, 50 Strategies to Boost Cognitive Engagement: Creating a Thinking Culture in the Classroom (2019), Assessing Critical Thinking in Elementary Schools: Meeting the Common Core (2013), and Assessing Critical Thinking in Middle and High Schools: Meeting the Common Core (2013); Co-Author, Critical Thinking in the Classroom: A Practitioner's Guide (2018)
Classroom Teacher; Founder/President of Translate the Brain, a professional development consultancy; Author, The Goldilocks Map: A Classroom Teacher’s Quest to Evaluate ‘Brain-Based’ Teaching Advice (2021), Learning Grows: The Science of Motivation for the Classroom Teacher (2019), and Learning Begins: A Teacher's Guide to the Learning Brain (2017); Blogger, Learning & the Brain Blog
Neuroscientist; Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Cambridge; Leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group; Honorary Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London; Author, Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain (2018); Co-Author, “Development of a Gamified Cognitive Training App “Social Brain Train” to Enhance Adolescent Mental Health” (2022, Wellcome Open Research), “Navigating the Social Environment in Adolescence: The Role of Social Brain Development” (2021, Biological Psychiatry), “The Effects of Social Deprivation on Adolescent Development and Mental Health” (2020, Lancet Child and Adolescent Health), and The Learning Brain: Lessons for Education (2005)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Affective Neuroscience and Development Lab, Department of Psychology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University; Co-Author, “Neurodevelopmental Processes That Shape the Emergence of Value-Guided Goal Directed Behavior” (2019, The Cognitive Neurosciences), “Development of Prefrontal Cortical Connectivity and the Enduring Effect of Learned Value on Cognitive Control” (2019, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience), “An Upside to Reward Sensitivity: The Hippocampus Supports Enhanced Reinforcement Learning in Adolescence” (2016, Neuron), and “Transfer of Learning Relates to Intrinsic Connectivity Between Hippocampus, Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex, and Large-Scale Networks" (2014, Journal of Neuroscience)
Director Emerita, Center for Academic Success; Former Professor of Chemistry, Louisiana State University; Awarded the 2007 US Presidential Award for Excellence in Mentoring; Author, Teach Yourself How to Learn: Strategies You Can Use to Ace Any Course at Any Level (2018), Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation (2015), and "Metacognition: An Effective Tool to Promote Success in College Science Learning" (2014, Journal of College Science Teaching)
Assistant Professor, Department of Physics; Primary Researcher, Cornell Physics Education Research Lab, Cornell University; Researcher, Cornell Virtual Embodiment Lab; Co-Author, "Examining and Contrasting the Cognitive Activities Engaged in Undergraduate Research Experiences and Lab Courses" (2016, Physical Review Physics Education Research) and "Teaching Critical Thinking" (2015, Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences)
Professor, Department of Psychology; Principal Investigator, Cognitive Memory and Aging Laboratory, Tufts University; Co-Author, "Reducing the Consequences of Acute Stress on Memory and Retrieval" (2017, The Journal of Applied Research in Memory & Cognition) and "Retrieval Practice Protects Memory Against Acute Stress" (2016, Science)
Professor of Education, James Madison University; Co-Editor, Teacher Educator Journal; Co-Author, The Mathematics Playbook (2024), The Teacher Clarity Playbook, Grades K-12 (2024), The Early Childhood Education Playbook (2022), How Tutoring Works: Six Steps to Grow Motivation and Accelerate Student Learning (2021), How Learning Works (2021), Clarity for Learning (2018), From Snorkelers to Scuba Divers: Making the Elementary Science Classroom a Place of Engagement and Deep Learning (2017), Visible Learning for Science (2017), and Captivate, Activate, and Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and Math, Grades 6–12 (2013)
Co-Founder and Chief Culture Coach, Thriving YOUniversity; Former Teacher, Principal, and County Office Administrator with expertise in reaching and teaching at-promise youth; Consultant; Professional Learning Designer and Facilitator
Co-Founder and Chief Empowerment Officer, Thriving YOUniversity; Certified Life Coach; Consultant; Professional Learning Designer and Facilitator; Former Principal; Former Senior Consultant, Collaborative Learning Solutions; Awarded Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year; Passionately committed to empowering individuals and organizations to THRIVE
Founder and Chief Education Officer Emeritus, Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST); Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Recipient, Special Education Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council for Exceptional Children; Co-Author, Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice (2013) and Teaching Every student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning (2002); Co-Editor, Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom: Practical Applications (2012)
Professor of Education, College of Arts and Science, University of Mary Washington; Author, Inquiry-Based Learning: Designing Instruction to Promote Higher Level Thinking (2017), Using Inquiry in the Classroom: Developing Creative Thinkers and Information Literate Students (2013), and Engaging Students Through Inquiry-Oriented Learning and Technology (2009, 2nd Edition)
Director, MIT’s Integrated Learning Initiative; Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Cognitive Neuroscience; Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Co-Director, Clinical Research Center; Associate Director, Athinoula A. Martinos Imaging Center, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Co-Author, “Reward-Related Neural Circuitry in Depressed and Anxious Adolescents: A Human Connectome Project” (2021, Journal of the American Academy), “Mindfulness Supports Emotional Resilience in Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic” (2022, MedRxiv), “Sleep Quality, Duration, and Consistency Are Associated With Better Academic Performance in College Students” (2019, NPI Science of Learning), and “Greater Mindfulness Is Associated With Better Academic Achievement in Middle School” (2019, Mind, Brain, and Education)
Associate Professor, School of Teacher Education, Western Kentucky University; Former Principal and Classroom Teacher; Author, 50 Strategies to Boost Cognitive Engagement: Creating a Thinking Culture in the Classroom (2019), Assessing Critical Thinking in Elementary Schools: Meeting the Common Core (2013), and Assessing Critical Thinking in Middle and High Schools: Meeting the Common Core (2013); Co-Author, Critical Thinking in the Classroom: A Practitioner's Guide (2018)
Professor of Learning Technologies, Technology, Innovation, and Education Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Co-Principal Investigator, ecoMOD, ecoMUVE and ecoMOBILE -- 3-D worlds that helps students learn about ecosystems and science thinking; Author, "The Role of Digital Technologies in Deeper Learning" (2014, Jobs for the Future); Co-Editor, Teacher Learning in the Digital Age: Online Professional Development in STEM Education (2016); Co-Author, Digital Teaching Platforms (2013), Scaling Up Success: Lessons From Technology-Based Educational Improvement (2005), and The Virtual High School (2003)
Assistant Professor, Department of Learning and Instruction, Graduate School of Education, The State University of New York at Buffalo; Co-Author, “Taking Badges to School” (2016, Computers & Education)
Founder, Richer Picture/Ideas Consulting; Former Researcher, Coalition of Essential Schools; Former Researcher, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Author, Demonstrating Student Mastery With Digital Badges and Portfolios (2019) and “Documenting Learning With Digital Portfolios” (2005, Educational Leadership)
Founding Partner, Project ARC, LLC; Former Buck Institute for Education Senior National Faculty; Former High School Social Studies Teacher; Author, Authentic Project-Based Learning (2019), Developing Natural Curiosity Through Project-Based Learning: Five Strategies for the PreK-3 Classroom (2017), and Authentic Learning Experiences: A Real World Approach to Project-Based Learning (2013)
Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences; Director, Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education (CIRCLE); Principal Investigator, Memory and Complex Learning Lab, Washington University in St. Louis; Author, Prospective Memory: An Overview and Synthesis of an Emerging Field (2007); Co-Author, Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning (2014); Co-Editor, Prospective Memory: Cognitive, Neuroscience, Developmental, and Applied Perspectives (2015)
Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences; Director, Science of Learning and Education Center, Kent University; Author, “Strengthening the Student Toolbox” (2013, American Educator); Co-Author, The Cambridge Handbook of Cognition and Education (2019), "Why Does Interleaving Improve Math Learning?" (2019, Memory & Cognition), "Investigating and Explaining the Effects of Successive Relearning on Long-Term Retention" (2018, Journal of Experimental Psychology), “Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques” (2013, Psychological Science in the Public Interest) and Metacognition (2008)
Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology, Department of Psychology and Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University; Former Postdoctoral Fellow, National Assessment of Educational Progress, Educational Testing Service; Co-Author, "Working Memory Capacity and the Spacing Effect in Cued Recall" (2017, Memory) and "Individual Differences in Stereotype Threat: The Role of Working Memory Capacity" (2015, International Association for Psychological Science)
Chief Executive Officer, Developing Minds, Inc.; Former Executive Director of Professional Development, DeKalb County School System; Author, Healthy Teachers, Happy Classrooms: Twelve Brain-Based Principles to Avoid Burnout, Increase Optimism, and Support Physical Well-Being (2022), Preparing Children for Success in School and Life (2022, 2nd Edition), and Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites (2015)
Co-Director, Neuroscience Research Institute; Harriman Professor of Neuroscience Research, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara; Co-Founder, Learning & the Brain; Author, Outsmarting Alzheimer's: What You Can Do to Reduce Your Risk (2017); Co-Author, The Alzheimer's Solution: How Today's Care is Failing Millions and How We Can Do Better (2010)
Director, Language Learning Lab; Assistant Professor of Psychology, Boston College; Co-Author, “The Effect of Working Memory Maintenance on Long-Term Memory” (2019, Memory & Cognition), “A Critical Period for Second Language Acquisition: Evidence From 2/3 Million English Speakers” (2018, Cognition), and “The Causes and Consequences Explicit in Verbs” (2015, Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience)
Literacy Consultant; Award-Winning Writer; Blogger, To Make a Prairie; Author, Dynamic Teaching for Deeper Reading: Shifting to a Problem-Based Approach (2017); Co-Author, What Readers Really Do: Teaching the Process of Meaning Making (2012) and The Power of Grammar: Unconventional Approaches to the Conventions of Language (2015)
Independent Researcher; Educational Consultant; Former University Professor, Western Carolina University; Blogger, Psychology Today; Co-Author with Psychologist Dr. Gene P. Ouellette, Brain Words: How the Science of Reading Informs Teaching (2019); Author, Raising Confident Readers: How to Teach Your Child to Read and Write--from Baby to Age 7 (2010) and Step-by-Step Assessment Guide to Code Breaking: Pinpoint Young Students' Reading Development and Provide Just-Right Instruction (2008)