Engage in intensive training on the topics of engagement and attention that have applications in classrooms.

Cost: $1,995

Join Us This Summer in Santa Barbara for a Hands-on Workshop

From July 13-17, 2020, Learning & the Brain is offering a Summer Institute on the Oceanside campus of UCSB.

This institute will examine ways to maximize and maintain student engagement, sustained effort, and durable understanding. Explore how brain imaging studies and cognitive neuroscience are providing a clearer picture of how the learning process is influenced by sensory input, experiences, and emotions, and how the brain’s neural systems relate to focus, self-management, memory consolidation, and higher-level thinking. Through lectures and facilitated discussion, you will explore neuro-logical approaches for understanding and meeting the academic, social, and emotional needs of students. The institute is hands-on and is limited to 40 participants.

The Summer Institute Is for:

  • PreK-12 Teachers, Administrators
  • School Psychologists and School Clinicians
  • Education Professors and College Professors

At This Institute, You Will:

  • Use advances in neuroscience research to maximize and maintain student attention and focus
  • Reflect on interventions for building students’ understanding of their brains and learning processes
  • Discover strategies for improving emotional awareness and self-management
  • Apply the compelling video game model of individual achievable challenge levels and incremental progress to increase student effort and perseverance
  • Learn about developing enduring memories and concept understanding
  • Explore methods of incorporating higher-level thinking throughout the curriculum

About the Institute

This Learning & the Brain Summer Institute will be led by Dr. Judy Willis and assisted by Malana Willis. You will be offered an intensive professional development experience, drawing on findings in affective and social neuroscience. The Institute emphasizes on engagement and attention and their roles in learning and student achievement.

This program is designed to help individuals and school teams develop the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary to responsibly apply neuroscience and cognitive science findings to the classroom to improve teaching and learning. Active participation is expected throughout this Institute. Class sessions will be held in the afternoon on the first day and on mornings each subsequent day.

Attendees will be housed and all sessions will take place at the Sierra Madre complex on the Goleta, CA side of the UC Santa Barbara campus. Lodging, some meals, and course materials are provided. See the online schedule for meals provided.

 

About Dr. Judy Willis

Judy Willis, MD, MEd, is a neurologist and credentialed teacher. She has combined her training in neuroscience and neuroimaging with her teacher education training and years of classroom experience. Dr. Willis is an authority in the field of learning-centered brain research and teaching strategies derived from this research and has spoken at national and international educational conferences.

Dr. Willis has taught in elementary and middle schools and is currently an adjunct lecturer at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is also a staff writer for Edutopia and Psychology Today, and a media spokesperson for the American Academy of Neurology.

Dr. Willis has written six books on this topic, contributed extensively to educational journals and conducts interactive professional development workshops throughout the United States and internationally. Her books include Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning (Revised and Expanded, 2020), Brain Research Based Strategies for the Inclusion Class (2007), How Your Child Learns Best (2008), Inspiring Middle School Minds: Gifted, Creative and Challenging (2009), and Learning to Love Math (2010).

About Malana Willis

Malana Willis, MEd, has taught elementary school in both Santa Barbara and Oakland, CA. She taught at the American School of Bilbao in Spain and worked at the UCSB Autism Clinic. She received her Masters Degree in Education and Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from UC Berkeley and her BA in psychology from Williams College. She has been writing and presenting with her mother, Dr. Judy Willis, since 2010. In addition to assisting with the UCSB Summer Institute, she co-presented a Neuroscience and the Classroom professional development course in Seville, Spain and co-presented at Learning and the Brain's Science of Imagination conference in Orlando, FL.

Professional Development Credit:

Earn up to 20 hours toward professional development credit for various professionals. For details on credit offered, visit our CE credit page or call our office at 781-449-4010 ext. 102. Note: credits are not provided by the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Accommodations and Meals:

Interaction between faculty and participants outside the classroom is an integral part of the Institute. To foster this total immersion learning environment, participants are housed in undergraduate dormitory accommodations on the UC Santa Barbara campus. The dormitory rooms are located in the recently opened Sierra Madre complex located on the Goleta side of the UC Santa Barbara campus. Participants are assigned to their own bedroom in a shared two-bedroom apartment with each participant having their own bathroom. Linens are provided. All facilities are ADA compliant. The Institute provides four nights lodging with an arrival date of July 13 and a departure date of July 17. If you are interested in making your own accommodations off-campus or would like to arrange an early arrival on campus, please call us at 781-449-4010 x 101. There is a small fee reduction for those who stay off campus and we are able to accommodate Sunday arrival for a small additional fee. Please check the online schedule for information on the meals provided. Note: The UCSB campus is a smoke-free campus.