Conference Schedule:

Conference Day 1, Nov. 9: 7:00 p.m.-- 9:30 p.m.*
Conference Day 2, Nov. 10: 9:00 a.m. -- 5:00 p.m.
Conference Day 3, Nov. 11: 9:00 a.m. -- 5:00 p.m.

* Conference begins in the evening.

Download Conference Schedule (pdf)

Download Conference Brochure (pdf)

Click Here for Descriptions of Sessions and Keynotes

LEARN FROM A DISTINGUISHED CONFERENCE FACULTY

SPECIAL REMARKS

Kurt W. Fischer, Ph.D., Charles Bigelow Professor; Director, Mind, Brain & Education Program (MBE), Harvard University Graduate School of Education

Kenneth S. Kosik, M.D., Co-Director, Neuroscience Research Institute; Harriman Professor of Neuroscience Research, University of California, Santa Barbara; Co-Founder, Memory Disorder Clinic, Harvard Medical School

Boosting Life-Long Learning and Brain Health
Paul D. Nussbaum, Ph.D., Clinical Neuropsychologist; Adjunct Associate Professor in Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; author of Guide to Brain Health Across the Lifespan (2005), and Brain Health & Wellness (2003)

Inside the Child & Teen Brain: Brain Development, Maturation and Intelligence
Jay N. Giedd, M.D., Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist; Chief, Unit on Brain Imaging in the Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health

Developing Sharper Minds: The Effect of Lifestyle Choices on Brain and Cognitive Function
Gary W. Small, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences; Director of the Aging and Memory Research Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior; Director, Memory Clinic, University of California at Los Angeles; author of The Longevity Bible (2006), The Memory Prescription (2004), and The Memory Bible (2003)

Developing Healthy Brains for Learning: Connecting Brain Research with Children's Developmental Pathways for Effective Teaching
Fay E. Brown, Ph.D., Director, Child and Adolescent Development, James Comer School Development Program, Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine
Mariale M. Hardiman, Ed.D., Assistant Dean of Urban School Partnerships, The Johns Hopkins University; author of Connecting Brain Research with Effective Teaching (2003)

Gender Brain Differences, Language Processing & Academic Performance
Stephen M. Camarata, Ph.D., Deputy Director for Behavioral Research, Vanderbilt Brain Institute; Director, Communication and Learning Research Program, Vanderbilt University
Laurie E. Cutting, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology and Education, The Johns Hopkins University

The Overweight Epidemic Among Children and Youth in the United States:

Causes and Opportunities for Prevention
Steven Gortmaker, Ph.D., Professor of the Practice of Health Sociology, Department of Society, Human Development, and Health; Director, Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity, Harvard University School of Public Health; co-author of "Preventing obesity in children and adolescents" (2001, Annual Review of Public Health), and "When children eat what they watch: impact of television viewing on dietary intake in youth" (2006, Arch. Pediatric Adolescent Medicine)

Obesity & Diet: Can Hunger Improve Learning & Memory

Sabrina Diano, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine; Member, International Brain Research Organization, Edocrine Society, American Diabetes Association; author and co-author of many peer-review articles and reviews icluding "Brain circuits regulating energy homeostasis" (2004, The Neuroscientists: A Review Journal Bridging Neurobiology, Neurology & Psychiatry) and "The floating blueprint pf hypothalamic feeding circuits" (2004, Nature Review Neuroscience)

The Neurobiology of Childhood Trauma: New Frontiers in Treatment
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Clinical Psychiatrist; Professor of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine; Founder and Medical Director, The Trauma Center, Justice Resource Institute (JRI); Co-Director, National Child Traumatic Stress Network Community Program; author of Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society (1996)

Teaching in Turbulent Times: What the Brain Tells Us about Living and Learning on Planet Trauma
Regalena Melrose, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist; former School Psychologist at Long Beach Unified School District; author of Why Students Underachieve: What Educators and Parents Can Do About It (2006)

From Stressed Out to Stress Hardy: Nurturing Resilience and Learning in Children
Robert B. Brooks, Ph.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School; co-author of Power of Resilience (2003) and Raising Resilient Children (2001); author of The Self-Esteem Teacher (1991)

The Biology of Stress: Implications for Emotions and Health
Esther M. Sternberg, M.D., Professor, American University; author of The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions (2000)

Play = Learning: How Play Enhances Cognitive and Emotional Growth
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychology; Director, Infant Language Laboratory, Temple University; co-author of Play = Learning: How Play Motivates and Enhances Children's Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth (2006) and Einstein Never Used Flash Cards (2003)

Emotions and the Brain: Temperament, Morals & Behavior
Jerome Kagan, Ph.D., Daniel and Amy Starch Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Harvard University; author of An Argument for Mind (2006) and Surprise, Uncertainty, and Mental Structures (2002); co-author of The Long Shadow of Temperament (2004)

Outside the Moral Circle: Children's Feeling of Value and Self-Reflection
Thomas J. Cottle, Ph.D., Professor of Education, School of Education, Boston University; sociologist and licensed clinical psychologist; author of more than 30 books, including: When the Music Stopped: Discovering My Mother (2004) and Sense of Self: A Work of Affirmation (2003); Winner of a 2004 Award for Distinguished Prose from Antioch Review

The Heart-Brain Connection to Classroom Learning and Stress
Linda B. Caviness, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education; Director, Heart, Brain & Education Program, La Sierra University

Intelligent Memory: Improving the Memory That Makes You Smarter
Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Neurology; Therapeutic Cognitive Neuroscience Professor; Founding Member, Mind/Brain Institute; Director, The Memory Clinic, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; co-author of Intelligent Memory (2003) and Remembering and Forgetting in Everyday Life (1995)

Using Memory Pathways for Long-Term Retention in Classrooms
Willy Wood, M.A., President, Open Mind Technologies; former high school and university teacher; national speaker on brain-based teaching

Sleep, Teens & Schools: Why Johnny Can't Stay Awake
Mary A. Carskadon, Ph.D., Director, Chronobiology and Sleep Research Laboratory, Bradley Hospital; Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University

Sleep, Memory & Learning: A Cognitive Neuroscience Approach
Robert Stickgold, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; one of the nation’s leading sleep researchers on sleep and cognition, dreaming and learning

Breaking the Language Barrier: How Children Learn Words
Roberta M. Golinkoff, Ph.D., H. Rodney Sharp Chair, School of Education; Faculty, Departments of Psychology and Linguistics; Director, the Infant Language Project, University of Delaware; co-author of Action Meets Word: How Children Learn Verbs (2006), Play = Learning (2006), Einstein Never Used Flash Cards (2003), and How Babies Talk (2000)

Promoting Language and Literacy Skills of English-Language Learners
Nonie K. Lesaux, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Education, Human Development & Psychology, Harvard University Graduate School of Education; Research Associate, National Panel on the Development of Literacy in Language-Minority Children and Youth

Growing Up Bilingual: Linguistic, Cognitive & Academic Benefits
Ellen Bialystok, Ph.D., FRSC, Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology, York University; author of Bilingualism in Development: Language, Literacy & Cognition (2001); co-author, In Other Words: The Science and Psychology of Second Language Acquisition (1995)

Linking Neuroscience, Humanities & Literature
Kenneth S. Kosik, M.D., Co-Director, Neuroscience Research Institute; Harriman Professor of Neuroscience Research, University of California, Santa Barbara
Mary T. Crane, Ph.D., Professor, Department of English, Boston College; Co-founder of Literature, Cognition & The Brain; author of Shakespeare's Brain: Reading with Cognitive Theory (2000)

Alan Richardson , Ph.D., Professor, Department of English, Boston College; Co-founder of Literature, Cognition & The Brain; author of British Romanticism and the Science of Mind

Improving Literacy: Wiring the Brain for Reading
Marilee B. Sprenger, M.A., Adjunct Professor, Aurora University, former teacher; author of How to Teach So Students Remember (2005) and Becoming a Wiz at Brain-Based Teaching (2001)

Cognitive and Neurobiological Processes in Reading Comprehension in Good and Poor Readers
Laurie E. Cutting, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology and Education, The Johns Hopkins University

Exercising the Mind: Using Exercise to Boost Learning, Memory, Student Performance & ADHD Treatment
John J. Ratey, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; author of A User's Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain (2001)
Michael S.Wendt, Ed.D., Superintendent, Wilson Central School District; Designer, KEEP 57 National Exercise Program for Kids
Joseph L. Tette, Ed.M, School Business Administrator, Wilson Central School District; Lead Supervisor for studies on exercise and school performance

Developing Brains: Early Experience, Brain Development & Neural Plasticity
Charles A. Nelson III, Ph.D., Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research; Harvard Medical School; Director, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Boston Children's Hospital

Brain Development: Early Experiences -- Long-Term Consequences
Pat R. Levitt, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology; Director, Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University; Chairman of the Board of Scientific Counselors, NIMH; Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board, Cure Autism Now

Translating Learning Science into Useable Learner-Centered Design Tools for Educator
Michael W. Connell, Ed.M., Ed.D. Assistant Professor, Educational Neuroscience Department, Dartmouth College; Co-author with Howard Gardner of "On Abilities & Domains" (2003, The Psychology of Abilities, Competencies & Expertise)