Cost: $795 per person through May 27, 2022 and $895 per person after May 27, 2022
Save $100 per person when registering a group of 3 or more

Join Us for This Online Summer Institute

From June 27 - July 1, 2022, Learning & the Brain is offering an online Summer Institute

How can we shape lessons that foster learning, growth mindsets, and intrinsic motivation? This lively and interactive institute explores current brain research through four essential topics: working memory, long-term memory, motivation, and growth mindsets. You will begin with the little-recognized goal of all schooling, called schema formation: a concept crucial for understanding optimal teaching. With this goal in mind, you will explore the core functions of working memory; the cognitive steps essential to long-term memory formation; and the encoding and retrieval strategies that best consolidate learning. Next, you will dive into mindsets and ways to flexibly and effectively help students to “charge” when they might otherwise “retreat” from learning. Learn helpful, innovative, research-backed motivation strategies to foster learning and help students re-engage after setbacks. In every case, we balance an in-depth exploration of research with practical and flexible classroom strategies. To ensure that our work remains hands-on and personal, the workshop is limited to 50 participants.

At This Institute, You Will

Understand and apply the core concept of “schema formation” at the heart of learning

Develop insights and strategies to anticipate, identify, and mitigate working memory overload

Nurture long-term memory formation—that is,learning—with research on encoding, retrieval, and consolidation

Discuss current research on intrinsic motivation and the right classroom strategies that encourage “desirable difficulties” and discourage demotivational pathways

Recognize ways mindsets are oversimplified and misunderstood, and ways to help learners “charge” when they might otherwise “retreat"

Understand psychology and neuroscience research articles, with a particular focus on developing effective and informed skepticism

The Summer Institute Is for

PreK-12 Teachers and Academic Administrators

School Psychologists, Learning Specialists, and Counselors

Academic Support Staff

About the Institute

This Learning & the Brain Summer Institute will be led by Andrew Watson. The program translates well-established neuroscience and psychology findings into specific classroom strategies. We will especially emphasize the practical teaching application of brain research, with a consistent focus on healthy skepticism. The program offers participants frequent opportunities to discuss their own teaching practices, and to apply research findings to their lesson-plans, syllabi, assessments, and classroom practices. Active participation is expected throughout this Institute through group discussion. Participants will be expected to bring in material and questions from their own experiences to share with the group.

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 857-444-1500 ext. 1.

Andrew C. Watson, MEd