Concurrent
Sessions Guide
(R) = Mostly Brain/Child Development Research
(RP) = Brain Research & Practical
Strategies/Interventions
(P) = Mostly Brain-Based Strategies and
Interventions
Thursday, Nov.
9, 2006 - Conference Day 1 (Brain
Health & Memory)
5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Registration/
Networking Coffee Period
6:45 p.m. 7:00 p.m.
Opening
Remarks
Welcome and Special Remarks: Kenneth S. Kosik, M.D., Co-Director, Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara
Conference Opening Remarks: Kurt W. Fischer, Ph.D., Director, Mind, Brain & Education Program
(MBE), Harvard University Graduate School of Education
7:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m.
Keynote
Address I (Suggested by IMBES)
Intelligent Memory: The
Memory That Makes You Smarter
Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., will discuss the two essential
components of the human mind: intelligence and memory. He will argue that
"intelligent memory" is the key to our ability to solve problems,
learn from experience, associate, and innovate. This talk will provide an
overview of how intelligent memory functions in the brain as the
"engine" for dynamic thought, enabling us to focus our attention,
make connections, and store and retrieve information. It will also provide
practical hands-on daily exercises you can use to sharpen memory and expand
students¹ intellectual powers.
Speaker: Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D.
Presider: Kurt W. Fischer, Ph.D., Director, Mind, Brain & Education Program,
Harvard University
Graduate School of Education
8:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m.
Keynote
Address II
Boosting
Life-Long Learning & Brain Health
There is no greater or more complex system than the human
brain. This magical collection of neurons weighing no more than four pounds
enables all of our thoughts, emotions, and behavior. If the human brain can
generate new brain cells an entire new frontier of discovery and opportunity
emerges. This talk champions brain health across the lifespan as an important
and unique model. A lifelong and proactive lifestyle is proposed as critical to
maximizing brain health and perhaps delaying neurodegenerative disorders late
in life. The five critical domains to a brain-healthy lifestyle, including
socialization, physical activity, mental stimulation, spirituality, and diet
will be presented. Participants will learn research-based activities within
each domain for their own brain health. It is never too early or late to
critically evaluate our own lifestyle and to make appropriate adjustments that
facilitate our brain¹s exposure to the complex and novel.
Speaker: Paul D. Nussbaum, Ph.D.
Presider: Kenneth S. Kosik, M.D., Co-Director, Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara
9:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. "Meeting
of the Minds" Reception
Take this unique opportunity to meet some of the nation's
brightest minds at this reception and cash bar. Free and open to all attendees
and speakers. Barry Gordon, M.D.,
author of the book, Intelligent Memory (2003), will be present in
the Concourse Grand Ballroom PreFunction area to sign copies of his books. Advance reservations required. Sponsored
by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.
Note: "Suggested by
IMBES" designation indicates the sessions and speakers that are
recommended by members of the International Mind, Brain and Education Society.
Conference PROGRAM
8:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. Registration
10:30 a.m. 10:45 a.m. Morning
Coffee Break
9:00 a.m. - 12:30
p.m.
Concurrent Keynote Address I (Suggested by IMBES)
HEALTHY BRAINS, LIFESTYLES
& INTELLIGENCE
Part I: Inside
the Child/Teen Brain:
Brain
Development, Maturation & Intelligence
An emerging theme from longitudinal
brain imaging studies of children and adolescents is that often the journey is
as important as the destination.
In this presentation, Dr. Giedd will summarize developmental trajectories
of brain anatomy and discuss current research aimed at discerning the
influences, for good or ill, on these paths of development in children and
adolescents.
Speaker: Jay N. Giedd, M.D.
Part II: Developing Sharper Minds: The Effect of Lifestyle
Choices on Brain and Cognitive Function
In this talk, Dr. Small will
describe the newest research on food, medicines, exercise, stress and many
lifestyle choices that directly affect the aging of our brains, and how we can
make informed decisions to prevent memory loss and maintain brain health. He will also teach you his most
successful memory techniques for names and faces and other practical daily
memory challenges. Maintaining
memory fitness is as vital as staying physically fit, and recent research
suggests that healthy lifestyle strategies have a significant benefit on brain
and cognitive function.
Speaker: Gary W. Small, M.D.
Part III: Discussion ‹ How Can We Boost Brain Development, Memory and Intelligence
Through Changing Lifestyle Choices and More Stimulating Environments?
Panelists: Jay N. Giedd, M.D.,
Gary W. Small, M.D., Barry Gordon, M.D., Jill Stamm, Ph.D., Fay Brown, Ph.D.
9:00 a.m. - 12:30
p.m.
Concurrent Keynote Address II
STRESS, RESILIENCE &
LEARNING
Part I: From
Stressed-Out to Stress-Hardy: Nurturing Resilience and Learning
Many children and adolescents experience stress in
school that interferes with their ability to learn effectively. This talk
will examine strategies that educators and other professionals can apply to
help youngsters become more stress-hardy and resilient and better able to meet
the challenges of the learning environment.
Speaker: Robert B. Brooks, Ph.D.
Part II: The Biology of Stress: Implications for Emotions
& Health
This talk will discuss the science of the mind body
connection. Understanding the many ways in which the brain and immune system
communicate and regulate each other helps us to understand how stress can make
you sick. Knowledge of these principles informs ways to reduce and cope with
stress and has important implications for maintaining health in people of all
ages.
Speaker: Esther M. Sternberg, M.D.
Part III: Discussion ‹ How Can We Increase Student Resilience and Performance Over
Stress?
Panelists: Robert B. Brooks,
Ph.D., Esther M. Sternberg, M.D., Mariale Hardiman, Ph.D., Linda B. Caviness,
Ph.D.
9:00 a.m. - 12:30
p.m.
Concurrent Keynote Address III (Suggested by IMBES)
SLEEP, MEMORY & LEARNING
Part I: Sleep,
Memory & Learning: A Cognitive Neuroscience Approach
Everyone knows the importance of getting enough sleep
the night before you try to learn a lot, but few realize how important the
night after you study is. In
this talk, you will learn how sleep leads to the
strengthening, stabilizing and integrating of memories formed during the
day, allowing one to remember what they learned longer and in a more useful
form. How dreaming might contribute to this process will also be
discussed.
Speaker: Robert Stickgold, Ph.D.
Part II: Sleep, Teens & Schools: Why Johnny Can¹t Stay
Awake
Teen sleep is often insufficient
due to a collection of factors that span internal biological regulatory
systems, academic expectations and pressures, as well as cultural
phenomena. Teens themselves often
find it impossible to manage their sleep in this maelstrom of competing
pressures, and therefore fail to achieve adequate quantity and quality of sleep
to support optimal alertness.
Falling asleep in school, nodding off while doing homework, and arriving
late to school or missing school altogether because of oversleeping are common
outcomes that interfere with learning.
Speaker: Mary A. Carskadon, Ph.D.
Part III: Discussion ‹ How Can We Change School Schedules or Student Sleep Habits
to Improve Learning and Memory?
Panelists: Robert Stickgold,
Ph.D., Mary A. Carskadon, Ph.D., Marilee Sprenger, M.A., Kenneth Kosik, M.D.
12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Lunch
Break (On Your Own)
1:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Afternoon
Concurrent Sessions A
(Afternoon breaks: between 2:45
p.m. - 3:30 p.m.)
1) EMOTIONS: MORAL & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (PreK-12, R)
(Suggested by IMBES)
Part I: Emotions & the Brain: Morals, Temperament &
Behavior
The talk will present the varied
definitions of emotion as a function of the source of evidence, the role of
temperament in creating vulnerabilities to certain emotions, and the function
of the moral emotions of anxiety, shame, and guilt.
Speaker: Jerome Kagan, Ph.D.
Part
II: Outside the Moral Circle: Morals, Society & Self-Reflection
The topic of this
workshop is the nature of the self and more specifically self-reflection, and
its relation to the development of moral behavior. At the heart of this concern
are the problems confronted by ordinary people in their everyday lives, the
kinds of issues that shape who we are and how we interact with the world around
us. The workshop will address the phenomenon of affirmation, that mysterious
process by which the self comes to know itself in relation to others, and
forges an identity. What is it that we experience when we are affirmed, and
what are the implications of affirmation for the emergence of moral action?
Looking closely at the relationship between the individual, the family, and
society, we will explore issues of intimacy, morality, ethics, and
socialization, paying particular attention to the role of devotion. We will
examine how the act of taking responsibility for another becomes an essential
ingredient, if not the essence, of affirmation, as well as a vital piece in the
development of the self, and hence, genuine self-reflection and self-knowledge.
Speaker: Thomas J. Cottle,
Ph.D.
Part III: Discussion ‹ How Can We Improve Social/Moral Development and
Self-Reflection in Children and Adolescents?
Panelists: Jerome Kagan,
Ph.D., Thomas J. Cottle, Ph.D., Joseph Shrand, M.D.
2) DEVELOPING
HEALTHY BRAINS & TEACHING (K-16, RP)
Part I: Healthy Brains, Developmental Pathways &
Teaching:
A Paradigm Shift
This presentation is intended to reinforce for
educators, parents and others the maxim that in teaching, we are not just
teaching content, but we are teaching children. Children are ³whole beings¹ and so, in order to teach them
effectively, we have to provide support not just for their cognitive or
intellectual development, but for their holistic development. The School
Development Program at Yale University, advances the notion that children grow
and develop along six critical pathways (physical, cognitive, language, social,
ethical, and psychological), and that each of these pathways must be considered
as important as we plan for, and deliver instruction to children.
Speaker: Fay E. Brown, Ph.D.,
Part II: Connecting Brain Research with Children¹s
Developmental Pathways for Effective Teaching
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 brain
research by linking it with James Comer¹s Six Developmental Pathways through
the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model‹an instructional model based on the tenets of
research-based effective instruction.
Speaker: Mariale M. Hardiman,
Ed.D.
Part I: Breaking the Language Barrier: How Children Learn
Words
Explore how we learn words and language. Between 12
and 36 months babies go through a remarkable transformation. From saying a single word or two and
using grunts and gestures, they progress to speaking in full sentences. What underpins this amazing
feat? This talk will describe what
we know about how babies and young children succeed at this task.
Speaker: Roberta M. Golinkoff,
Ph.D.
Part II: Cognitive and Neurobiological Processes in Reading
Comprehension in Good and Poor Readers
This talk will review the
different causes for poor comprehension, with particular focus on examining
both the cognitive and neurobiological characteristics of good and poor
readers. Recent functional neuroimaging findings related to single word reading
and sentence comprehension will be discussed.
Speaker: Laurie E. Cutting,
Ph.D.
Part III: Promoting Literacy Skills of English-Language
Learners
This session will
focus on the trajectories of language and reading development of
second-language learners, sources of reading difficulties for this population,
and effective methods of intervention and instruction to promote their language
and literacy skills. Issues related to identification of learning disabilities
in this population, and common misconceptions about second-language learning,
will also be discussed.
Speaker: Nonie K. Lesaux,
Ph.D.
4) STRESS, PLAY
& LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS (RP)
Developing research on heart-brain connections
provides new perspectives on the role of stress and resilience in the
classroom. Neurocardiology now describes the heart as a
neurochemistry-producing sensory organ with its own neuronal system a little
brain of its own. This session reflects on related implications for classroom
practice and on education-aligned research now under way.
Speaker: Linda B. Caviness,
Ph.D.
Part II: Play=Learning:
How Play Enhances Cognitive &
Emotional Growth (PreK-3)
High quality early childhood education (pre-school
and elementary) is an economic imperative. But how we teach is as important as what we teach. This talk
draws on 40 years of research in child development to show why children learn
best in playful environments instead of stressful environments.
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D.
Part III: Discussion ‹ How Do We Reduce Pressure on Students and Increase Student
Play and Performance?
Panelists: Linda Caviness,
Ph.D., Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., Roberta Golinkfoff, Ph.D., Esther M.
Sternberg, M.D.
5) GENDER DIFFERENCES, LEARNING & BRAIN
PERFORMANCE (K-16, R)
Part I: Sex Differences in Visuospatial and Language
Processing
This talk will review two recent
functional neuroimaging studies examining differences between males and females
in basic visuospatial and language processing. Implications will be discussed,
particularly with regard to educational settings.
Speaker: Laurie E. Cutting,
Ph.D.
Part II: Sex Differences, Brain Processing Speed &
Academic Performance
The results from a large database
study comparing males and females, on a number of broad intellectual abilities,
will be presented. Although there was no sex difference in general intellectual
ability, the research did find there were a number of differences in broad
abilities. Of particular interest is the consistent finding of a female
advantage in processing speed, which peaks in adolescence. The developmental
and educational implications of these results will be discussed.
Speaker: Stephen M. Camarata,
Ph.D.
Part III: Discussion ‹ How Can We Use Gender Brain Differences to Improve Student
Reading, Achievement & Test Performance?
Panelists: Laurie E. Cutting,
Ph.D., Stephen Camarata, Ph.D.,
Panel Moderator: Gerald S. Fain, Ph.D., Professor, School of Education, Boston
Conference PROGRAM
8:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. Registration
10:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. Morning
Networking Coffee Break
9:00 a.m. - 12:30
p.m.
Concurrent Keynote Address I (Suggested by IMBES)
EXERCISE, BEHAVIOR &
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Part I: Exercising
the Mind:
Using
Exercise to Boost Learning, Memory & ADHD Treatment
Examine new research that shows the
importance of physical and mental exercise in sharpening memory, attention, and
thinking, and how inactivity and stress affect a child's ability to develop and
learn. Also, explore the effect of exercise on mood and as a possible treatment
for ADHD.
Speaker: John J. Ratey, M.D.
Part II: Pumping Up Performance: The Effects of Exercise on
Behavior & Student Achievement
The purpose of this talk is to
examine whether exercise can play a beneficial role in improving executive
functioning and behavior, and therefore, better prepare young students to rise
to the challenges of academic achievement. This presentation focuses on
University and public school research yielding improvements in student behavior
and academic performance using exercise, intensity and frequency. Manuals will be shared on how to create
exercise programs in your school or research setting.
Speakers: Michael S. Wendt, Ed.D., and Joseph L.
Tette, Ed.M.
9:00 a.m. - 12:30
p.m.
Concurrent Keynote Address II
LITERACY, LANGUAGE & BILINGUALISM
Part I: Growing
Up Bilingual: Linguistic, Cognitive & Academic Benefits
This presentation will describe the linguistic,
cognitive, and academic consequences of bilingualism for children who are
raised in families where two languages are used routinely. The research focuses on children
between the ages of four and eight years old and explores both advantages and
disadvantages of bilingualism.
Speaker: Ellen Bialystok, Ph.D.
Part II: Improving Literacy: Wiring the Brain for Reading
Current
research on how the brain learns to read points to exciting opportunities for
helping educators increase student achievement. In this dynamic session, based
on educational neuroscience, scientifically based research, personal research
and work with students from pre-kindergarten to high school, teachers will
learn the importance of: physically preparing the brain for reading; increasing
attention span for longer periods of active reading; increasing working memory
so students can keep new information in mind as they search long-term memory to
make connections; using graphic organizers to engage students¹ brains; and
increasing background knowledge through vocabulary building.
Speaker: Marilee B. Sprenger, M.A.
9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Concurrent Keynote Address III (Suggested by IMBES)
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT, EARLY EXPERIENCE & LEARNING
PROBLEMS
Part I: Brain
Development: Early Experiences Long-Term Consequences
The human brain develops over an extended period of
time, allowing it to utilize information from the environment to facilitate
healthy brain and behavioral development.
This extended time period also leaves the brain vulnerable to
environmental and genetic challenges.
The concept of timing of different brain development events is key to
understanding why certain disturbances have predictable effects that result in
developmental disabilities, as well as why certain positive experiences are
influential in promoting healthy brain and behavioral development. This lecture
will review our current understanding of the factors that contribute to the
development of human brain architecture and chemistry. The role of genes and environment in
this complex process will be discussed, and how the two interplay to influence
the development of complex behaviors, such as cognition and social engagement
and emotional regulation. The link
between the development of intellectual skills and emotional development will
be discussed from a neuroscience perspective.
Speaker: Pat R. Levitt, Ph.D.
Part II: Early Experiences, Brain Development and Neural
Plasticity
In this talk, Dr. Nelson
will begin by providing a tutorial on brain development, followed by a
discussion of how postnatal experience influences the course of brain development.
He will distinguish between two types of plasticity: developmental and adult,
and he will focus most on the former by drawing on an example of a research
project aimed at elucidating the effects of early psychosocial adversity on
brain and behavioral development.
Speaker: Charles A. Nelson III, Ph.D.
Part III: Discussion ‹ How Can We Promote Healthy Brain Development and Provide
Interventions for Learning and Developmental Disorders Caused by Adverse Early
Experiences?
Panelists: Pat R. Levitt,
Charles A. Nelson, Ph.D., Kenneth S. Kosik, Ph.D.
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch
Break (On Your Own)
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Afternoon
Concurrent Sessions A
(Afternoon breaks: between 3:00
p.m. - 3:15 p.m.)
1) EMOTIONS: TRAUMA
& LEARNING (K-12, RP)
Part I: The Neurobiology of Childhood Trauma: New Frontiers
in Treatment
The body and brain are the
theatres where the memory of trauma is re-enacted. In the wake of the emerging
understanding about the neurobiology of trauma and the appreciation that
physical action is necessary to initiate new ways of perceiving reality and
promote new behavior patterns, this lecture will present a variety of programs
that work with physical action to process traumatic experience and create new
competencies for coping.
Speaker: Bessel van der Kolk,
M.D.
Part
II: Teaching in Turbulent Times: What the Brain Tells Us About Living and
Learning on Planet Trauma
This presentation will review
research of the past decade to reveal not only how trauma alters the brain, but
also how these changes negatively impact educational outcomes. Concrete tools
developed in response to the research will be presented so that participants
feel more equipped to promote the behavioral and academic success of
traumatized students.
Speaker: Regalena Melrose,
Ph.D.
Part III: Q&A
2) HEALTHY BRAINS,
DIET & OBESITY (K-16, RP)
Part I: The Overweight Epidemic Among Children in the United
States: Causes and Opportunities for Prevention
The prevalence
of obesity among children in USA increased by 100% between 1980 and 1994.
Various environmental and social factors relating to diet and physical activity
have been identified that could contribute to obesity. This session will look
at various factors for obesity, such as consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks
and television viewing, as well as what science tells us about the best
opportunities for obesity prevention and school-based prevention models.
Speaker: Steven L. Gortmaker,
Ph.D.
Part II: Obesity & Diet: Can Hunger Improve Learning
& Memory?
Researchers at Yale University
have discovered that the gut hormone ghrelin is tied to higher cognitive
functions in the brain associated to the hippocampus, including learning and
memory. In this talk, Sabrina Diano will discuss the new research on the
effects of this hormone on learning and memory and its implications for
education and obesity.
Speaker: Sabrina Diano, Ph.D.
Part I: Neuroscience: A Bridge to Humanities
The rapid growth of neuroscience over the past decade
has revealed brain function from surprisingly fresh perspectives and has led to
discoveries, which have stimulated an interest in neuroscience far beyond the
scientific community. One reason
for this broad interest is that neuroscience content speaks directly to many of
the investigative questions in other disciplines including the humanities. Problems that writers, philosophers,
and theologians have pondered for centuries, such as moral responsibility,
agency, identity, experience, social relationships, aesthetics, and the nature
of reality now appear in psychological paradigms used to design brain imaging
studies. The visual arts,
literature and music are regularly subjects of neuroscientific investigation.
In addition to the humanities, interest in neuroscience extends to the legal
profession when considering false memories and mental competence. And knowledge
of the deep molecular understanding of learning is relevant to educators.
Neuroscience crosses a broad swath of interests and can thus serve as a nidus
for trans-disciplinary projects.
Speaker: Kenneth S. Kosik,
M.D.
Part II: Shakespeare¹s Brain: Reading Literature with
Cognitive Theory
Can we know anything
about Shakespeare's brain, and if we can, how does this knowledge help us teach
his plays to high school students?
Professor Crane will argue that insights from cognitive linguistics can
usefully illuminate Shakespeare's rich but difficult language. She will illustrate this argument with
an example from ³Hamlet.²
Speaker: Mary T Crane, Ph.D.
Part III: Coleridge¹s ³Kubla Khan² and the Science of Mind
How can the theoretical models and experimental
findings of recent neuroscience help us to understand a poem from the past like
"Kubla Khan"? Looking especially at recent work on the "cognitive
unconscious," Professor Richardson will show that the brain science of
Coleridge's own time paralleled in many ways the cognitive neuroscience of
today. Presented by Coleridge himself as a "psychological
curiousity," "Kubla Khan" represents and enacts unconscious
mental processes in ways that the mind and brain sciences of both the Romantic
period and today can help us to appreciate and describe.
Speaker: Alan Richardson,
Ph.D.
Part IV: Discussion ‹ How Does Brain Science Help Us Understand and Teach the
Humanities?
Panelists: Kenneth S. Kosik,
M.D., Mary T. Crane, Ph.D., Alan Richardson, Ph.D.
4) THE BRAIN & LEARNING
ENVIRONMENTS (K-16, RP)
This presentation will address the research and
application of neuroscientific principles to stimulate the classroom
environment -- the classroom itself becomes a tool to enhance the learning
experience.
Speaker: Susan Frey, Ph.D.,
ND, RN, LMT
Part II: Translating Learning Science
into Usable Learner-Centered Design Tools for Educators (Suggested
by IMBES)
In this
session, Michael Connell will describe a learner-centered educational design
framework grounded in biological and psychological learning science that is
directly applicable to educational practice. The framework balances scientific validity against
accessibility and practical utility for educators. It will provide concrete examples to illustrate several ways
it can be used.
Speaker: Michael W. Connell,
Ed.M., Ed.D.
Part III: Discussion ‹ How Do We Create Instruction and Learning Environments That
Stimulate the Brain & Learning?
Panelists: Susan Frey, Ph.D.,
Michael Connell, Ph.D., Mariale Hardiman, Ph.D., Gerald Fain, Ph.D., Marilee
Sprenger, M.A.
5) MEMORY &
BRAIN PERFORMANCE (K-16, RP)
Using Memory Pathways for Long-Term Retention
For years, the ³cram today,
forget tomorrow² model of instruction and assessment has dominated the typical
American classroom. However, we
can replace this outdated model with one that promotes long-term retention. Using the S.E.E.P. model (Semantic +
Episodic + Emotional + Procedural), long-term retention is virtually ensured!
Intended audience: administrators and teachers of all grade levels and content
areas.
Speaker: Willy Wood, M.A.