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Distinguished Speakers

Aaron Nelson PhD, ABPP
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Harvard Medical School

Angela L. Duckworth, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
University of Pennsylvania

Bernard S. Chang, MD, MMSc
Assistant Professor of Neurology Harvard Medical School

Robert B. Brooks, PhD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology
Harvard Medical School

Diane L. Williams, PhD, CCC-SLP
Assistant Professor, Department of Speech-Language Pathology
Duquesne University

Edward M. Hallowell, MD
Child and Adult Psychiatrist

Ellen Winner, PhD
Professor of Psychology
Boston College

John D.E. Gabrieli, PhD
Grover Hermann Professor in Health Sciences and Technology
MIT

Jill Stamm, PhD

Joseph E. LeDoux, PhD
Director, Center for the Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety
New York University

John J. Ratey, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Judy Willis, MD, EdM
Board-Certified Neurologist
Santa Barbara, CA

Jerome Kagan, PhD
Daniel and Amy Starch Professor of Psychology Emeritus
Harvard University

Karen Levine, PhD
Psychologist
Harvard Medical School

Kenneth S. Kosik, MD
Co-Director, Neuroscience Research Institute
University of California, Santa Barbara

Kurt W. Fischer, PhD
Charles Bigelow Professor
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD
Professor of Psychology
Boston College

Mariale M. Hardiman, Ed.D.
Assistant Dean of Urban School Partnerships
The Johns Hopkins University

Mark T. Greenberg, PhD
Bennett Endowed Chair of Prevention Research
Pennsylvania State University

MaryanneWolf
Director, Center for Reading and Language Research, Tufts University

Nadine Gaab, PhD
Director, Gaab Lab
Harvard Medical School

Rosalind W. Picard, PhD
Professor, Media Arts and Sciences
MIT

Rosemary S. Caffarella, PhD
Professor and International Professor of Education
Cornell University

Ross W. Greene, PhD
Director, Collaborative Problem Solving Institute
Massachusetts General Hospital

Samuel S.-H. Wang, PhD
Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular Biology
Princeton University

Stephen M. Shore, EdD
Adjunct Instructor
Antioch College

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PROGRAM

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Conference Begins: 1:30 PM on Friday, Nov. 21

Featured Speaker
	The Emotional Brain & Memory Joseph LeDoux, PhD, Director, Center for the Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety; Professor, Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University; Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; author of Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are (2003), and The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life (1999)
Update: Paul Ekman, PhD, Director, Paul Ekman Group; Professor of Psychology, University of California, San Francisco, will now be presenting at the February 18-21, 2009 San Francisco Learning & the Brain Conference.
Emotional Learning and Memory Cognitive neuroscience has found that emotions and cognition are interconnected in the learning process. They influence memory, motivation, self-discipline, academic performance, and learning disorders. At this conference, you will discover what research is revealing about the emotional brain and how these new findings can be used to improve learning, memory and academic performance.
EMOTIONAL SKILLS, REGULATION & ACHIEVEMENT
How Social-emotional Learning Promotes Cognitive and Academic Achievement: Teaching, Learning & Neuroscience New research convincingly demonstrates that social emotional learning programs not only improve children's behavioral functioning, but also can lead to improvements in cognitive and academic outcomes.  Yet, we have little knowledge of how these effects occur.  This talk will discuss how quality teaching of fundamental social and emotional skills can impact executive cognitive abilities and thus influence brain organization and development.  Illustrations will be drawn from 28 years of research with the PATHS Curriculum. Mark T. Greenberg, PhD, Bennett Endowed Chair of Prevention Research; Director, Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development; Professor, Human Development and Family Studies; College of Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State University; Member, Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning; co-editor, Enhancing Early Attachment (2007)
*Emotions, Biology, Context and Regulation This talk on emotion will cover the historical changes in the meaning of this concept, its current definitions, and the dependence of meaning on the source of evidence. Dr. Jerome Kagan also will discuss the contribution of brain processes to emotions as well as the role of emotions in self-regulation and temperament. Jerome Kagan, PhD, Daniel and Amy Starch Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Harvard University; renowned expert in child development; author of What Is Emotions? History, Measure and Meaning (2007); co-author of An Argument for Mind (2006), A Young Mind in A Growing Brain (2005) and The Long Shadow of Temperament (2004)
*Intelligent Emotion Regulation: The Wisdom of Feelings This talk will review how the brain creates emotional states, and how those states can be regulated. Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, Professor of Psychology; Director, Interdisciplinary Affective Science Laboratory; Boston College; Co-Director, Laboratory of Aging and Emotions; Associate in Research, Dept. of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School; co-editor of Handbook of Emotions (3rd edition, 2008), Emotions and Consciousness (2005) and The Wisdom of Feelings: Psychological Processes in Emotional Intelligence (2002)
*Self-Discipline, IQ and Academic Performance This talk examines the causal role of self-discipline in determining academic achievement, gender differences in self-discipline and achievement, and the relationship between self-discipline and IQ. Angela L. Duckworth, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology; Research Associate, Positive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania; co-author with Psychologist Martin Seligman of "Self-discipline gives girls the edge" (2006, Journal of Educational Psychology) and "Self-discipline outdoes IQ predicting academic performance in adolescents" (2005, Psychological Science)
Bright From The Start: Born Ready to Connect In this talk, the presenter will discuss a simple, yet comprehensive, way to look at what neuroscience confirms about early brain development using the ABC's of early brain development: Attention, Bonding and Communication, with an in-depth look at bonding with a child.  She will emphasize that the quality of a child's first relationships has broader and longer-lasting effects than previously understood.  Emotional communication with a child creates demonstrable changes in the brain and nervous system and influences the way the brain adapts to future learning situations.  Emotions affect attention (the ability to focus and attend) and attention, in turn, affects memory.  The Speaker will explain complex information in easy-to-understand ways and will explore fundamentals of early learning and social development. Jill Stamm, PhD, President, New Directions Institute for Infant Brain Development; Clinical Associate Professor, Psychology in Education, Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, Arizona State University; co-author, Bright From The Start: The Simple Science-Backed Way to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind from Birth to Age Three (2007)
Teens: Emotions and Self Development This talk will examine the role of emotions in the development of the self among adolescents. To make this exploration, we will look at the ways in which adolescents construct their self -concepts, with a special focus on the neurology and psychology of resilience and self-reflection. Thomas J. Cottle, PhD, Professor of Education, School of Education, Boston University; Sociologist and licensed clinical psychologist; Author, When The Music Stopped (2004), Sense of Self: A Work of Affirmation (2003) and Mind Fields: Adolescent Consciousness in a Culture of Distraction (2001)
EMOTIONS, EDUCATION & LEARNING
*The Emotional Brain: The Neurobiology of Memory and Emotional Life Dr. Joseph LeDoux will explore his fascinating findings about understanding emotions and its evolutionary origins, as well as its influence on memory. Learn how emotional responses are hard-wired into our brain circuitry, but how the things that make us emotional are learned through experience. Understanding emotions has important consequences for how we view ourselves and how we treat emotional disorders. Joseph E. LeDoux, PhD, Director, Center for the Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety; Professor, Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University; author of the award-winning books, Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are (2003), and The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life (1999)
*Brain Lies: How To Overcome Your Students' False Beliefs - And Your Own We are prone to forming false beliefs because of quirks in how our brains operate. In addition, the prefrontal cortex's ability to exert cognitive control does not reach peak function until after adolescence - and then declines. Dr. Wang will discuss research-based strategies on how to prevent false belief formation in learning by students and educators alike. Samuel S.H. Wang, PhD, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular Biology, Princeton University; W.M. Keck Foundation Distinguished Young Investigator; winner of the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award; co-author of the new book, Welcome to Your Brain (2008)
*Connecting the Brain, Emotions & Cognition to Education Recent advances in neuroscience are highlighting connections between emotion, social functioning and decision-making that have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the role of affect in education. In particular, the neurobiological evidence suggests that the aspects of cognition that we recruit most heavily in schools, namely learning, attention, memory, decision-making and social functioning, are both profoundly affected by and subsumed within the processes of emotion. Moreover, the evidence suggests that emotion-related processes are required for skills and knowledge to be transferred from school environments to real-world decision-making. The hope is that a better understanding of the neurobiological relationships between these constructs will provide a new basis for innovation in the design of learning environments. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, Assistant Professor, Rossier School of Education; Research Assistant Professor, Brain and Creativity Institute for the Neurological Study of Emotion, Decision-Making, and Creativity, University of Southern California; author of "Making Sense of Brain Research in the Classroom" (2001, Council for Basic Education Journal)
How Your Student Learns Best: Using Emotions & Brain-friendly Strategies to Ignite Learning and Increase School Success After reviewing current research about how emotions and information are processed by the brain to become knowledge, Dr. Willis will describe the teaching strategies that reduce stressors and build positive emotions, motivation, engagement, and long-term memory. There will be description of techniques to use to facilitate the passage of information through the brain's filters into neural networks to improve students' higher thinking and concept building far beyond their successful test-taking day. Judy Willis, MD, EdM, Board-Certified Neurologist, middle school teacher in Santa Barbara, CA; author, How Your Child Learns Best (2008); Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom (2007) and Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning (2006)
Connecting Emotions Research with Effective Teaching Emerging research in the neurological and cognitive sciences has shed light on the relationship between emotions, cognition and learning. This presentation will focus on the influences of social-emotional experiences on student performance and how teachers can foster productive environments to promote learning. Practical application of research will be linked with the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model-an instructional model based on the tenets of research-based effective instruction and meaningful integration of the arts into content instruction. Mariale M. Hardiman, Ed.D., Assistant Dean of Urban School Partnerships, The Johns Hopkins University; former public school principal; author of Connecting Brain Research with Effective Teaching (2003)
*Using Emotional 'Hooks' to Super-charge Meaning-making in the Classroom Whether or not students learn is impacted by many factors, but one of the most crucial of these factors is how emotionally invested students are in the learning.  Unfortunately, most teachers are not trained in methods for eliciting the enthusiastic buy-in that is so important for optimal learning.  In this session, Dr. Wood will take you through a quick review of the relevant research supporting the use of emotional "hooks" and then will engage you in several example lessons so you can see how to put the research into practice in your classroom.  Spend a few minutes in this exciting session and you'll be "hooked"! Willy Wood, MA, President, Open Mind Technologies; former high school and university teacher; national speaker on brain-based teaching
BEHAVIOR, MOOD & LEARNING DISORDERS
Lost at School: The Imperative to Transform School Discipline Relying on research from the neurosciences, Dr. Greene offers a new conceptual framework -- described in his latest book, Lost at School -- for understanding the difficulties of kids with behavioral challenges and explains why traditional discipline often isn't effective at addressing these difficulties. Emphasizing the revolutionarily simple and positive notion that kids do well if they can, he persuasively argues that kids with behavioral challenges are not attention-seeking, manipulative, limit-testing, coercive, or unmotivated, but that they lack the skills to behave adaptively. And when adults recognize the true factors underlying difficult behavior and teach kids the skills in increments they can handle, the results are astounding: The kids overcome their obstacles; the frustration of teachers, parents, and classmates diminishes; and the well-being and learning of all students are enhanced. Ross W. Greene, PhD, Director of the Collaborative Problem Solving Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital; Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; author of Lost at School: Why Our Behaviorally Challenging Kids Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them (2008)
*The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise & the Brain: Implications for Stress, ADHD and Achievement You will learn how exercise operates to optimize the person to be a better learner. Explore how exercise helps to keep the learner actively engaged in dealing with new information. This talk will also explore how the movements in the body affect the nerve cells themselves to make them more prone to connect one to another.  Also you will be introduced to the whole concept of how exercise aids stress reduction, behavior, ADHD and learning. John J. Ratey, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; author of the best selling books, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (2008) and A User's Guide to the Brain (2002); co-author of Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most Out of Life with ADD (2005)
*Working with Angry and Resistant Students: Strategies to Nurture Motivation, Self-discipline, and Resilience Angry, resistant students pose special challenges for educators.  In his presentation Dr. Brooks will highlight a strength-based approach for working with these youngsters and he will describe specific strategies for increasing motivation, responsibility, and resilience while lessening anger and counterproductive behaviors in students. To learn factors that contribute to a student displaying anger and resistance in the learning environment. To learn the characteristics of the mindset of educators who subscribe to a strength-based approach and are more successful in working with challenging students. To learn specific strategies for managing resistant behaviors in students while reinforcing their motivation, self-discipline, hope, and resilience. Robert B. Brooks, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School; co-author of Raising a Self-Disciplined Child (2007), The Power of Resilience (2004), and Raising Resilient Children: Fostering Strength, Hope, and Optimism in Your Child (2001); author of The Self-Esteem Teacher (1991)
Collaborative Problem Solving: Helping Kids with Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Challenges Based on the ground-breaking approach popularized in his acclaimed parenting guide, The Explosive Child, Dr. Greene will provide a detailed framework for effective, individualized intervention with highly oppositional children and their families. He will also share examples to show how to identify the specific cognitive factors that contribute to explosive and noncompliant behavior, remediate these factors, and teach children and their adult caregivers how to solve problems collaboratively. Dr. Greene will also describe challenges that may arise when implementing the model and provide clear and practical solutions. Ross W. Greene, PhD, Director of the Collaborative Problem Solving Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital; Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; author of Lost at School (2008) and The Explosive Child (2005); co-author of Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach (2005)
*Super-teaching and Super-parenting for ADHD This talk will draw upon Dr. Hallowell's new book, "Super Parenting for ADD" subtitled "An Innovative Approach to Raising Your Distraught Child."  Dr. Hallowell will discuss new interventions such as: cerebral stimulation, the Kolbe strength-based assessment, the LENS Neuro Feedback Treatment, the use of Omega 3 fatty acids, meditation and mindfulness training. Most importantly, he will stress the  old and forgotten interventions like connecting with the real person and providing love and support. Edward M. Hallowell, MD, Child and Adult Psychiatrist; Founder of The Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health; former faculty member, Harvard Medical School; renowned expert on ADHD; author of CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap! (2006), Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness (2003) and Worry (1998); co-author of Positively ADD (2006) and Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder (2005)
*Coaching Your AD/HD Brain To Take Control This talk will discuss how coaching can help pave the way for learning to occur.  By working with an ADHD coach, individuals with ADHD can develop new ways to compensate for ADHD symptoms by developing positive habits to replace negative, self-defeating behavior patterns. Rehearsing actions with a coach can help to forge new neural pathways in the brain so it can develop competencies in areas that historically have been deficient.   Essentially, individuals can learn, through coaching, to self-initiate change so they can function successfully in their personal and professional lives. Nancy Ratey, EdM, MCC, Master Certified Coach; Past President, Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA); author of The Disorganized Mind: Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of Your Time, Tasks, and Talents (2008)
READING, LANGUAGE & MUSIC
*Reading, Dyslexia and the Disorganized Brain This talk will introduce what is known about the process of cerebral cortex development and how abnormalities in cortical development may teach us something about how the brain performs certain cognitive tasks, such as reading.  In particular, the talk will focus on our recent studies of individuals with a developmental brain malformation called periventricular nodular heterotopia - a disorder in which there is multiple misplaced regions of gray matter within the brain.  Individuals with this malformation have a singular form of reading disability characterized by an isolated deficit in fluency, and our neuroimaging research has shown that defects in white matter organization may be the structural basis for this reading problem. Bernard S. Chang, MD, MMSc, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Fellow, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; co-author of a study on the correlation between disorganized white-matter tracts and difficulty in reading
The Relationship Between Music and Phonological Processing in Children with Dyslexia This talk will present results from two studies will be discussed demonstrating a relationship between auditory processing in music and language-related skills. In children without any reading difficulties, music discrimination ability predicted phonological and reading skills. In children with dyslexia, music discrimination ability predicted phonological skills, which in turn predicted reading ability. I will conclude by suggesting that music intervention might help to remediate the phonological deficit underlying dyslexia. Ellen Winner, PhD, Professor of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, Boston College; Senior Research Associate at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education; author of The Point of Words: Children's Understanding of Metaphor and Irony (1988); co-author of "The relation between music and phonological processing in normal-reading children and children with dyslexia" (2008, Music Perception)
*Learning and the Brain for Developmental Language Disorders Diane L. Williams. PhD, CCC-SLP will describe what is known about the neurobiological basis of the language impairments associated with developmental disorders, including specific language impairment, dyslexia, autism, Fragile X, Williams Syndrome and Down Syndrome.  Principles of brain-based intervention in consideration of the biological constraints resulting from these developmental disorders will be discussed. Diane L. Williams, PhD, CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor, Department of Speech-Language Pathology, Duquesne University; Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh; author, Learning and the Brain for Developmental Language Disorders (2008)
Connecting Musical Experience, Auditory Processing and Language Development Are musical training and reading skills connected?  Can auditory-based or even music-based interventions help struggling readers to improve their reading skills?  Various studies have shown a relationship between auditory and musical training and improved language and reading skills in children and adults. Understanding the brain networks involved in reading development and reading impairments such as developmental dyslexia has important implications for students, parents, and educators. Dr. Gaab will discuss the relationship between musical training, auditory-based intervention programs and language and reading development.  Nadine Gaab, PhD, Director, Gaab Lab.; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School; Faculty, Harvard University Graduate School of Education; co-author of "Dynamic Auditory Processing, Musical Experience and Language Development" (2006, Trends in Neurosciences)
*Reading Skills and Disabilities: What Is the Role of Educational Neuroscience? In schools, students learn by building knowledge along specific skill pathways, mastering the special tools of mathematics, literacy, and other human inventions. Modern cultures have created schools as the main institution for promoting this learning beyond the family, but schools must change if they are to educate not only an elite but everyone. Different students build knowledge in diverse ways, and the great innovation required in 21st century education are understanding these diverse pathways so that schools can help all children learn what they need to be effective human beings. Cognitive and neuroscience are beginning to provide tools for facilitating learning along many distinct pathways. Kurt W. Fischer, PhD, Charles Bigelow Professor; Director, Mind, Brain & Education Program (MBE), Harvard University Graduate School of Education; Director, International Mind, Brain and Education Society (IMBES); Editor, Mind, Brain & Education Journal; Co-editor, Mind, Brain and Education in Reading Disorders (2007)
DRAMA, THE ARTS & TECHNOLOGY
* Theater Experience and Building Social-cognitive Skills In this talk, Thalia Goldstein and Ellen Winner will outline the connections between social cognitive development and acting training. They will focus on the ability to understand others' mental states, to feel empathy for them, and to understand and control one's own emotions. They will outline a program of research looking at how acting training may be linked to giftedness in these skills, and how acting can train social cognitive learning in children and adolescents. Ellen Winner, PhD, Professor of Psychology; Principal Investigator, Laboratory for Teaching, Learning and Cognition in the Arts, Boston College; Senior Research Associate at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education; author of Studio Thinking: How Visual Arts Teaching Can Promote Disciplined Habits of Mind (2007) Thalia Goldstein, PhD candidate, Laboratory for Teaching, Learning and Cognition in the Arts, Department of Psychology, Boston College; professional actress and dancer; researcher on the study of emotion regulation in actors as a way of understanding the underpinnings of exceptional ability in emotion regulation
Using Drama and Play to Enhance Social-emotional Development for Children With Developmental and Mood Disorders Very young children and children with developmental delays/disabilities including autism, are generally not able to access talking therapy or more traditional child-led play therapy to master situations that cause them emotional distress, yet emotional liability is very common in these populations.  In this talk, Karen Levine outlines a technique, Replays, of using interactive dramatic play, combined with humor to guide the child through playful re-enactments of their own intense responses to specific upsetting events, in a manner that is accessible to children even before they are able to engage in spontaneous pretend play, and often leads to substantial decrease in upset response patterns.  Hypotheses regarding brain-based mechanisms of change, as well as our current research program will be discussed.  Video examples will be shown. Karen Levine, PhD, Psychologist; Clinical Director, Autism and Developmental Disabilities Program, Center for Child and Adolescent Development (CCAD), Cambridge Health Alliance; Instructor, Harvard Medical School; Member, National Boards of the Interdisciplinary Council for Development and Learning Disorders; co-author of Replays: Using Play to Enhance Emotional And Behavioral Development for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder (2007)
*Emotional Intelligence Technology: Improving Learning, Tutors & Autism The use of the computer as a model, metaphor, and modeling tool has tended to privilege the 'cognitive' over the 'affective' by engendering theories in which thinking and learning are viewed as information processing and affect is ignored or marginalized. In the last decade there has been an accelerated flow of findings in multiple disciplines supporting a view of affect as complexly intertwined with cognition in guiding rational behavior, memory retrieval, decision-making, creativity, and more.  Researchers are looking to redress the imbalance by developing theories and technologies in which affect and cognition are appropriately integrated with one another. Professor Rosalind Picard will describe and conduct live demonstrations of new work in that direction at the MIT Media Lab, including technology used in learning tutors, emotion self-regulation, and autism intervention. Rosalind W. Picard, PhD, Professor, Media Arts and Sciences; Founder/Director, Affective Computing Research Group, Media Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Co-Director, Things That Think Consortium; author of the award-winning book, Affective Computer (1997)
*Building Emotionally-Intelligent Tutors for the Classroom Professor Beverly Woolf will describe intelligent tutors that recognize student affect (frustration, boredom, motivation) and provide appropriate interventions. These tutors already know the answers to problems the students are working on and infer a student's cognitive ability. They have been used with thousands of students in classrooms and reason about which type of hints to present in each context. The presence of a human companion who cares, or at least appears to care is motivating for students. Can this noted human relationship be reproduced, in part, by assistance and apparent empathy from a computer agent? Find out the results in this talk. The research she will describe is based on efforts at the University of Massachusetts, Arizona State University and the MIT Media Lab. Beverly P. Woolf, PhD, EdD, Associate Research Professor, Department of Computer Science; Director, Center for Knowledge Communication and the Center for Computer-Based Instructional Technology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Fellow of the American Association of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI); author of the new book, Building Intelligent Interactive Tutors (2008)
*Emotions, Music and Reading/Math Skills Dr. Martin Gardiner will present data relating music skill learning to long-term improvements both in math and reading in Elementary School children. The students enjoyed the Kodaly method of musical training and also the music used in these studies and this can help explain why they learned musical skills to an impressive degree even at this young age. But why should this musical skill learning have a broader impact beyond music itself?  Our studies, other related studies presented at this session, and other published research all imply important specificity as to which aspects of music skill learning affect which aspects of skill learning within another skill area such as reading. Gardiner will outline an explanation involving procedural learning that he is proposing regarding these data, and suggest more general potential for education.    Martin F. Gardner, PhD, Visiting Research Associate, Center for the Study of Human Development; Brown University; Director of Research, The Music School, RI; co-author, "Learning improved by arts training" (1996, Nature: 381,284), "Music, Learning and Behavior: A Case for Mental Stretching" (2000, Journal for Learning Through Music), and "The Human Ecology of Music" (2002, Encyclopedia of Human Ecology)
ADULT LEARNING, MOTIVATION & MEMORY
*Adult Brains: Emotions, Memory & Context In this talk, John Gabrieli, PhD, will discuss his research on how adults form richer memories and context than children, the science behind the older-and-wiser hypothesis, and studies of young and old people on their ability to regulate emotions and how they view positive and negative images. John D.E. Gabrieli, PhD, Grover Hermann Professor in Health Sciences and Technology; Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Associate Director, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
*Understanding Adult Motivation to Learn: A Neuroscientific and Cultural Perspective (for All Educators) This talk will focus on the neuroscientific concepts that are most relevant to adult motivation and learning. The presentation will address and exemplify key motivational strategies for adults that are confirmed by educational and neuroscientific research. This session will introduce a model for instruction that is responsive to a neuroscientific and cultural understanding of adults.  Raymond J. Wlodkowski, PhD, Licensed Psychologist; Research Professor Emeritus and Director, Center for the Study of Accelerated Learning, Regis University; recipient of the award for outstanding research from the Adult Higher Education Alliance; author, Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn (2008); co-author, Accelerated Learning for Adults (2003) and Creating Highly Motivated Classrooms for All Students (2000)
*Exploring Learning in Adulthood: Intelligence, Wisdom and Context In this talk and interactive presentation, Professor Rosemary Caffarella will first argue that being intelligent, no matter how defined, is not enough to address the complexity of the problems and challenges we face in the 21st Century. She will then initially explore how linking the concepts of intelligence, wisdom, and context might provide a more powerful theoretical lens for understanding learning in adulthood. This talk is followed by small and large group discussions of the ideas being presented, with an emphasis on the premises being presented and the effects of how bringing these concepts together might lead to different ways of thinking about adult learning both as researchers and educators. Raymond J. Wlodkowski, PhD, Licensed Psychologist; Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, Regis University, Founding Executive Director, Commission for Accelerated Programs (CAP); recipient of the award for outstanding research from the Adult Higher Education Alliance; author, Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn (2008); co-author, Accelerated Learning for Adults (2003) and Creating Highly Motivated Classrooms for All Students (2000)
*The Adult Brain & Memory: How Learning Protects Against Alzheimer's One of the most startling discoveries in the field of Alzheimer's research is the finding that education protects one from this dreaded disease. This finding raises the stakes even higher than they already are for ensuring that our education systems are effective throughout life. This effect, called the "brain reserve" hypothesis, states that with education, people enhance brain function so the earliest structural changes related to Alzheimer's disease have little clinical impact. Education thus offers a powerful strategy to stave off Alzheimer's disease. Kenneth S. Kosik, MD, Co-Director, Neuroscience Research Institute; Harriman Chair and Professor of Neuroscience Research, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara; co-author of When Someone You Love Has Alzheimer's (1997)
*The Adult Brain: Optimizing and Protecting Memory This talk will address prevention and proaction including the path to optimal memory, practical strategies to enhance everyday memory, behaviors for effective learning and memory, memory techniques, and what's on the horizon for preventing and curing memory disorders. Aaron P. Nelson PhD, ABPP, Clinical Neuropsychologist; Chief of Psychology and Neuropsychology, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, co-author of Harvard Medical School Guide to Achieving Optimal Memory (2005)

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