THE MIND & LEARNING

Thursday Keynote:
The New Brain: How the Modern Age is Rewiring Your Mind; & Ways to Develop the Brain's Peak Performance in Students

Explore brain plasticity and how the Modern Age is changing our brains. Gain insights into ADHD and our capacity for "genius," and learn how to develop habits that result in peak brain performance for academic pursuits.

Richard M. Restak, M.D., Clinical Professor of Neurology, George Washington University School of Medicine; Neuropsychiatrist; International lecturer on the mind and brain; author of numerous books including: Poe's Heart & the Mountain Climber: Exploring the Effect of Anxiety on Our Brains and Our Culture (2004), The New Brain: How the Modern Age is Rewiring Your Mind (2003), Mozart's Brain & the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's Potential (2002), The Secret Life of the Brain (2001), and Mysteries of the Mind (2000)

Thursday Keynote:
The Power of Mindsets: Nurturing Resilience in Our Youth and Ourselves

This talk will address not only what we can do to help children and adolescents to be more hopeful, resilient, and more motivated to learn, but also what we can do for ourselves to be become more stress hardy and less vulnerable to burnout in these stressful times.

Robert B. Brooks, Ph.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School; Former Director, Department of Psychology, McLean Hospital; co-author of The Power of Resilience (2004), Raising Resilient Children: Fostering Strength, Hope, and Optimism in Your Child (2001); author of The Self-Esteem Teacher (1991)

The Birth of the Mind

Discover how genes contribute to the prewiring and rewiring of the brain to create the infinite complexities of the human mind, and why the Human Genome project could radically alter our view of the world.

Gary F. Marcus, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology and Neural Science, New York University; researcher in language acquisition and the mind's building blocks; author of The Birth of the Mind: How a Tiny Number of Genes Creates the Complexities of Human Thought (2003), and The Algebraic Mind: Integrating Connectionism and Cognitive Science (2001)

Changing Mindsets: How Mental Images can Change Behavior

This session deals with the "movies of the mind" that play as visual/emotional images in our brains, and how these mental images are the basis for decision making, attitudes, and behavior. People learn, act out, disrupt, etc., as a result of the internal movies playing continuously in the mind. Learn how to change behaviors (attitudes/choices) long term, through the "movies of the mind" and create a "can-do" attitude in students.

Robert K. Greenleaf, Ed.D., Professional Development Specialist, Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory, Brown University; President, Greenleaf Learning Center

Cultivating the Critical & Creative Mind

This interactive session will examine ways to engage natural human capacity for critical and creative thinking across all age groups and contexts. Participants will specifically examine how the brain reflectively manipulates information in the process of rehearsing options prior to action - the kind of thinking involved in planning, making decisions, resolving problems, and developing new products and procedures. They will also directly experience specific practices for structuring the exercise of critical and creative reflection in individuals and groups.

Michael H. Dickmann, Ph.D., Professor of Leadership Studies, Department of Educational Leadership, Cardinal Stritch University; who conducts research internationally in the areas of leadership, learning, and organizational development; co-author of Leading with the Brain in Mind: 101 Brain-Compatible Practices for Leaders (2004) and Connecting Leadership to the Brain (2002)

The Creative Mind: The Link Between Creativity, Genius, & Mental Illness

Explore the biological basis for creativity in the brain, and how it is linked to intelligence and mental illness.

Shelley H. Carson, Ph.D., Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts
and Sciences, Harvard University

BRAIN PLASTICITY & READING, WRITING, & MATH

Nature-Nurture Interactions in Reading & Writing: Implications for the Brain, Etiology, Treatment, & Prognosis

A developmental model for internal brain systems interacting with the external instructional environment will be presented for reading and writing. Results of studies combining instructional intervention and brain imaging will be presented to support both constraints in learning and plasticity in response to instructional intervention.

Virginia W. Berninger, Ph.D., Director, Multidisciplinary Learning Disabilities Center; Professor, School of Psychology, College of Education; Research Affiliate, Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington; reading and writing researcher involved in the UW's brain imaging studies of reading and writing; co-author of "Instructional treatment associated with changes in brain activation in children with dyslexia" (Neurology, 2003), and Brain Literacy for Educators and Psychologists (2002)

Music, Mind & Reading: Using Music to Improve Reading in Children

Studies have shown that children who learned musical skills did strikingly better on state tests than classes preceding them which received no musical training. Music clearly has had a positive impact. Explore how music physically changes the brain, how music affects cognitive abilities needed for reading, and if music can help improve reading and dyslexia.

Peter J. Perret, Ph.D., Music Director, Conductor Emeritus of the Winston-Salem Symphony; Lecturer, Music and Neuroscience,Wake Forest University; frequent speaker on music and the brain; co-author of a new Dana Press book, A Well-Tempered Mind: Using Music to Help Children Listen and Learn (2004)

The Neuropsychology of Written Language Disorders: Diagnoses & Intervention

This presentation will assist educators and diagnosticians in pinpointing specific breakdowns in the written-language process and writing disorders, and the implementation of effective remediation techniques based upon the integrity of the brain's neural pathways.

Steven G. Feifer, Ed.S., NCSP, Neuropsychologist; school psychologist; co-author of The Neuropsychology of Written Language Disorders (2001) and The Neuropsychology of Reading Disorders: Diagnosis & Intervention (2000)

The Neurobiology of Writing: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, & the Creative Brain

The neuroscience of writing has focused on writing skills rather than the brain's motivation to write and communicate. The latter, however, may be more important to performance. Hypergraphia, a neurological phenomenon causing compulsive writing, gives a biological window on how to help students write more fluently, and to help those with writer's block and other disorders of creativity.

Alice W. Flaherty, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Movement Disorder Fellowship; Assistant in Neurology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Instructor in Neurology, Harvard Medical School; author of The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block and the Creative Brain (2004)

The Neuropsychology of Math Disabilities in Children: Diagnosis & Intervention

Examine the connection between the brain, math, and math disabilities. This talk will discuss the math instinct in humans and animals, how numbers are formatted in the brain, and math disabilities such as Verbal Dyscalculia. Also explore gender differences and anxiety's effect on math memory and assessment along with remediation strategies for math disorders.

Steven G. Feifer, Ed.S., NCSP, Neuropsychologist; school psychologist; co-author of The Neuropsychology of Written Language Disorders (2001) and The Neuropsychology of Reading Disorders: Diagnosis & Intervention (2000)

Reading Development & Dyslexia: Where We've Been and Where We're Going

Learn about past and recent research in dyslexia and what the future lies for treatment. Gain a good understanding of the theoretical and practical issues underlying dyslexia and reading and ideas about how to diagnose and treat forms of dyslexia.

Laurie L. Cestnick, Ph.D., Ed.M., Cognitive Neuroscientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University; Clinical Psychologist; Fellow at North Worcester, Psychological Consultants, an authority of reading and dyslexia with over thirty scientific publications and a growing Reading Clinic at N.W.P.C.

Reading Fluency: Dyslexia Subtypes, Visual Processing & Intervention Effects

Explore whether phonological and naming-speed-deficit subtypes constitute separate classes of dyslexia, if temporal and spatial visual processing differ within subtypes of developmental dyslexia, and results of an intervention project that evaluates dyslexia treatment's effectiveness.

Beth A. O'Brien, Ph.D., Research Coordinator, The Center for Reading and Language Research, Tufts University, researcher who develops and tests theories of how visual processing may contribute to reading problems and investigates the effectiveness of treatment programs; co-author with Maryanne Wolf on "On issues of time, fluency and intervention" (2001, Dyslexia: Theory and Good Practice)

Brain Mechanisms Underlying ADHD in Children

Explore the breakthrough findings on how brain abnormalities contribute to ADHD in children and what educators need to know clinically about the ADHD brain.

Stewart H. Mostofsky, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Medical Director, Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Department of Developmental Cognitive Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute; leading researcher in the neurobiology of ADHD and autism

Teaching & Treating Students with ADHD

Learn about the latest research findings and their implications for educational settings. Understand the role stress plays in the lives of students with ADHD. Explore how narratives -- the stories we tell ourselves -- shape educational interventions and outcomes. Learn ways to teach students with ADHD.

Mary Fowler, B.A., International lecturer on ADHD, learning disorders, PTSD; author of Maybe You Know My Kid: A Parent's Guide to Helping Your Child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (1999) and Maybe You Know My Teen: A Parent's Guide to Helping Your Adolescent with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (2001)

Pharmacotherapy of ADHD: New & Innovative Approaches

Gain a better understanding of the latest pharmacotherapy treatments for ADHD in children and adolescents and new approaches being considered for treatment of the disorder.

Jefferson B. Prince, M.D., Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Pediatric Psychopharmacology, North Shore Medical Center; Staff, Child Psychiatry, Pediatric Psychopharmacology Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital; Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; actively involved in research into the characterization, diagnosis, and treatment of ADHD and other related conditions, and substance use in children, adolescents, and adults

The Autism Spectrum Disorders - Beyond Behavior

Discover research advances in neuroimaging, genetics and neuroanatomy, as well as current research underway in the neurochemistry of autism.

Margaret L. Bauman, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School; Associate Pediatrician and Assistant Neurologist, Massachusetts General Hospital; Director of LADDERS (Learning and Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Rehabilitation Service) at Mass General Hospital for Children; Director, The Autism Research Foundation in Boston; Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine; co-editor of the book, The Neurobiology of Autism (Second Edition, 2004)

Treating Autism in Children: Neuro-Gastroenterology & Autism

The gut is considered the "second brain" as it is the most "nervous" organ of the body and, like the brain, has every known neurotransmitter. Learn about the connection between the gut and brain, and a dynamic approach to treating children with autism.

Timothy M. Buie, M.D. Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children; Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; Clinician and Consultant with the MGH LADDERS Program; Expert in diagnosing children with GI complications and dynamic approach to treating gut issues in children with autism; researcher in carbohydrate enzyme deficiencies in autism

The Neurology of Autism: Motor & Motor Learning Systems

Explore cutting-edge research into the neurological basis of motor abnormalities in autism and Asperger's Syndrome, and how this might help to explain the social and communicative deficits that define the disorders.

Stewart H. Mostofsky, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Medical Director, Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Department of Developmental Cognitive Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute; leading researcher in the neurobiology of autism

Friday Keynote:
Sex Differences in the Anatomy of the Brain & Behavior

Gain a better understanding of the gender differences in the brain. Through such knowledge, we will eventually be better able to understand the basis for behaviors that many now perceive as entirely rooted in social custom or familial history. From that understanding, we can gain an acceptance, patience, and respect for human differences.

Marian C. Diamond, Ph.D., Professor of Anatomy, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley; renowned international neuroscientist and researcher on enrichment and gender differences in the brain; and co-author of Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture Your Child's Intelligence, Creativity, and Healthy Emotions from Birth Through Adolescence (1998), Enriching Heredity (1988), and The Human Brain Coloring Book (1985)

Friday Keynote:
How Boys & Girls Learn Differently!

Teachers and parents alike have long intuited that boys and girls learn differently. In this presentation, Michael Gurian provides the brain-based research to prove it, and explains how to improve a child's education based on knowing the very nature of his or her mind. Combining the fields of neurobiology, anthropology, educational psychology, and sociology, Dr. Gurian will discuss how the growing child's brain works, how girls' and boys' brains work differently, how hormones affect these differences, and how acculturation influences the biology.

Michael Gurian, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Gurian Educational Institute; psychotherapist; educator; and author of The Wonder of Children (2004), Boys and Girls Learn Differently! Action Guide for Teachers (2003), The Wonder of Girls (2002), and The Good Son: Shaping the Moral Development of Boys and Young Men (1999)

Child Development, Temperament, & Morals

Discover how temperament influences moral development and child development. Explore the neurochemistry and major types of temperament, the role of culture on development, and the role temperament plays in the development of human moral sense.

Jerome Kagan, Ph.D., Daniel and Amy Starch Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Harvard University; co-author of The Long Shadow of Temperament (2004), and author of Surprise, Uncertainty, and Mental Structures (2002) and Three Seductive Ideas (1998)

Healthy Child/Brain Development as the Cornerstone to Academic Achievement

Brain research shows that physical environments, stress, sense of self worth, and resilience are not only important for child development, but also brain function and performance. This session will connect brain research to the six developmental pathways of the Comer School process, including its implications for classroom practice.

Fay E. Brown, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist, Director, Child and Adolescent Development, James Comer School Development Program, Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine

MBMI Relaxation Response: Practical Stress Management to Improve Student Resilience, Self-Esteem, & Achievement

Today's students from kindergarten to college lead stressful lives, which can negatively affect their brain development. Learn how to use the Mind/Body Medical Institute's (MBMI) Relaxation Response-Based Programs to help students reduce stress and improve their classroom behavior, self esteem, memory, and academic performance.

Jennifer M. Johnston, LMHC, Director, Education Initiative and Yoga Programs; Clinical Researcher, Mind/Body Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School

Adolescent Brains, Behavior, & Moral Beliefs

Explore how and why the brain grows and changes during adolescence. Gain a better understanding of the behaviors, moral beliefs, and feelings associated with normal teen development.

Abigail A. Baird, Ph.D., Director, Laboratory for Adolescent Studies; Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College; researcher examining the structural and physiological changes in the limbic system of adolescent brains.

Defying your Brain: On Rethinking the Nature of Normal Behavior

Children are born with their cognitive wiring and temperament -- their nature. They are wired for certain talents and, according to Howard Gardner, certain innate intelligences. But what happens when people defy their neurology and turn away from what clearly is their genetic makeup and talent? Professor Thomas Cottle will discuss these issues and what it means for children and child prodigies.

Thomas J. Cottle, Ph.D., Professor of Education, Boston University School of Education; sociologist and licensed clinical psychologist; author of more than 30 books, including his new books, When the Music Stopped: Discovering My Mother (2004) and Sense of Self: A Work of Affirmation (2003)

MIND, MEMORY, & LEARNING

Learning & Memory: From Molecules to Mind

New tools from brain-imaging techniques to molecular neuroscience have opened the workings of the brain in ways never before imaginable. These tools have begun to reveal the fundamental mechanisms of how we develop, learn, and remember. This presentation will cover how we study the brain at different levels of resolution from large-scale whole-brain imaging, to gene expression in individual brain cells, to better understand learning and memory.

Kenneth S. Kosik, M.D., Director, Kosik Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology; Cofounder of the Memory and Disorders Clinic at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Institutes of Medicine

Sex Differences from Anatomy, to Memory, to Mental Illness

Learn how males and females differ in their ability to learn and respond to stressful experiences and how sex differences in the brain influence memory and mental illness.

Tracey J. Shors, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychology, Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, memory and gender differences researcher funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, author of "Learning during stressful times" (Learning and Memory, 2004)

Research on Emotional Memory: Implications for Education

Professor Suzanne Corkin will discuss her pioneering research findings on emotional memory and brain activation at the time of encoding and retrieval of the various memory stimuli. She will correlate memory performance with brain activation in specific regions of the brain and compare patterns of brain activation between younger and older people, and will discuss what it means for education.

Suzanne H. Corkin, Ph.D., Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; co-editor of The Molecular Bases of Dementia (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2000)

Long-Term Memory Performance: Implications of Gender & Emotions for the Classroom Teacher

This session will examine the practical implications for teachers by looking at student memory performances from second through tenth grade, including gender differences, impact of different types of instruction, and emotional impact of the material.

Jeb Schenck, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, University of Wyoming, middle and high school biology teacher; memory researcher whose studies focus on student long-term memory and learning; author of Learning, Teaching and the Brain (2003)

Let Learning SEEP In: Using Multiple Memory Pathways for Long-Term Retention

For years, the "cram today, forget tomorrow" model of instruction and assessment has dominated the typical American classroom. How can we replace this outdated model with one that promotes long-term retention? Learn about the S.E.E.P. model (Semantic + Episodic + Emotional + Procedural) that will help ensure long-term memory retention in your students. This session is for teachers of all grade levels and content areas.

Willy Wood, M.A., President, Open Mind Technologies; former high school and university teacher; national speaker on brain-based teaching; former language arts consultant for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and founder of the state's first K-3 reading initiative, the Missouri Reading Initiative (MRI)

Learning & Teaching as Development: Using Experience to Support Knowledge-Building for Students & Teachers

In learning, children and adults juggle and coordinate several events or characteristics concurrently to create a new skill or understanding, making use of their developmental history to build the skills they need to face a new problem. In other words, we build our understandings through our efforts to coordinate our experiences (nurture). This two-part workshop will first explore how people build knowledge by creating new understandings, guided by context, teacher, and text. We will use hands-on experiences to ground analysis of learning based on dynamic skill theory and microdevelopment, which will frame how the learning process unfolds for each participant. The first part of the workshop will focus on experiences of the building of knowledge, which will provide the foundation for understanding the framework for learning and development. The second part will focus on how models of skill development can make sense of the process of learning, including the experiences generated during the first session.

Kurt W. Fischer, Ph.D., Charles Bigelow Professor; Director, Mind, Brain & Education Concentration (MBE), Harvard University Graduate School of Education, co-author of Social Processes in Children's Learning (2000)
Marc S. Schwartz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University; co-author with Kurt Fischer of "Building general knowledge & skill," Emergence and Transformation in the Mind: Modeling and Measuring Cognitive Change (2004)

Connecting Brain Research with Effective Teaching: The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model

New findings in brain research offer promising possibilities for teachers to improve classroom instruction and for administrators to reform their schools. Translating this research to practice becomes the challenge for educational practitioners. This presentation will offer educators practical application of recent brain research by linking it with the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model--an instructional framework based on the tenets of research-based effective instruction.

Mariale M. Hardiman, Ph.D., Principal, Roland Park Elementary and Middle School; author of Connecting Brain Research with Effective Teaching: The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model (2003), and "Connecting Brain Research with Dimensions of Learning" (2001, Educational Leadership)

Where Do I Begin? Strategies for Successfully Applying Brain/Mind Theory to the Classroom

Learn how to successfully applying brain/mind theory in the classroom for all ages. This is a highly practical application of 14 strategies that create real change in the classroom from the moment students walk in, to their final assessment.

Jeb Schenck, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, University of Wyoming, middle and high school biology teacher; memory researcher whose studies focus on student long-term memory and learning; author of Learning, Teaching and the Brain (2003)

The Science of Innate Wisdom: Using Metacognition, Meditation, & Mind-Body Practices to Enhance Attention & Emotional Balance

We live in a nervous world at a nervous time, and it is wreaking havoc with our children's minds, brains, and bodies. Educators must develop curricular practices and classroom strategies that can help children restore their emotional equanimity and strengthen and maintain the integrity of their central nervous systems. Learn simple tools to reduce daily stress, increase mental flexibility and alertness, and provide emotional resilience in children.

Gessner Geyer, M.A., Ed.M., Director, Brainergy, Inc.; holder of two masters degrees from Harvard University, including one from the Mind, Brain & Education Concentration, Harvard University Graduate School of Education

Creating Optimal Learners: Habits of Mind, Brain, & Body

Learn in this lively and accessible workshop about substantive research which shows how emotions, movement, and the tools of meta-cognition can create optimal learning in all of us. Significant bodies of research in neuroscience demonstrate how human learners acquire new skills and knowledge. Correlating studies in the fields of cognitive and educational psychology reveal that optimal learners possess specific learning beliefs, and they practice distinct learning behaviors. Find out what happens when teachers combine the natural biology of human learning design with educational practices that elicit the psychology of optimal learning behaviors.

Gessner Geyer, M.A., Ed.M., Director, Brainergy, Inc.; holder of two masters degrees from Harvard University, including one from the Mind, Brain & Education Concentration, Harvard Graduate School of Education