Engage in intensive training in connecting brain and cognitive science to the classroom.

Register for the Learning & the Brain Conference/Lawrence Academy Summer Institute

“MAKING CONNECTIONS: THE ART AND SCIENCE OF TEACHING"

The Summer Institute is for

• PreK-12 Teachers, Administrators, School Psychologists and School Clinicians
• Education Professsors
• College Professors
• Policymakers

You will make connections:

• Between brain and cognitive research and the classroom
• Between emotion and learning
• Among researchers, teachers and school administrators

From June 22 - 25, 2010, Learning & the Brain Conference and Lawrence Academy, an independent coeducational high school, will co-sponsor this in-depth summer institute on the campus of Lawrence Academy in historic Groton, Massachusetts.

Based on cutting-edge findings from affective and social neuroscience, the Institute will extend the L&B Conferences, emphasizing the roles of emotion and social interaction in learning, motivation, creativity and the culture of schools.

The Institute will be hands-on. You will collaborate in facilitated discussions and analyses of case studies to develop scientifically grounded approaches for understanding and meeting the diverse cognitive, social and emotional needs of students.

At the Institute, you will:

• Inquire meaningfully into brain, cognitive and emotional development as dynamically intertwined processes
• Obtain ideas for fostering healthy, enduring development and learning in your students
• Acquire concrete tools and strategies for the design of curricula and assessments
• Achieve a new understanding of students’ learning and behavior and learn new ways to analyze what we teach
• Discuss real experiences from your own school or classroom
• Develop strategies for teachers to become researchers in their own classrooms
• Gain ongoing access to a community of educators and scientists working at the intersection of neuroscience and education

Content goals: 

Four goals provide the basis for the program:

• Achieving a new understanding of students’ learning and behavior
• Acquiring tools and strategies for the design of curricula and assessments
• Improving instructional practice
• Enhancing student outcomes

Participants inquire deeply into brain, cognitive and emotional development as dynamically intertwined processes; obtain ideas for fostering healthy, enduring development and learning in their students; develop strategies to become researchers in their own schools; and gain ongoing access to a community of educators and scientists working at the intersection of neuroscience and education.

There will also be a special focus on age-appropriate curriculum development and lesson planning 

Format:

Full-time participation and preparation are expected throughout the Institute. The Institute is hands-on. Rather than simply listening to lectures, participants also collaborate in facilitated discussions and analyses of case studies to develop scientifically grounded approaches for understanding and meeting the diverse cognitive, social and emotional needs of students. A full schedule of class sessions and activities is held each day, amounting to a program total of 22 hours. Additionally, approximately an hour and twenty minutes of preparation is required each evening for the next day.

About The Institute:

The Learning & the Brain Conference/Lawrence Academy Summer Institute on learning and the brain helps individuals and school teams develop the knowledge, skills and strategies necessary to responsibly apply neuroscience and cognitive science findings to the classroom to improve teaching and learning.

The program offers participants an intensive professional development experience, drawing on the most up-to-date findings in affective and social neuroscience. The Institute emphasizes understanding emotion and social interaction and their roles in learning, motivation, attention and the culture of schools.

 The Institute will be led by Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang and will be assisted by Alden (Denny) Blodget.

About Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD

The workshop will be led by Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a leading cognitive neuroscientist and educator.

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D. is a cognitive neuroscientist and educational psychologist who studies the brain bases of emotion, social interaction and culture and their implications or development and schools.  She is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at the Rossier School of Education and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, both at the University of Southern California. 

A former junior high school teacher, she earned her doctorate at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, where she was the recipient of grants from the Spencer Foundation and the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.

She is the Associate Editor for North America for the journal Mind, Brain and Education, and the inaugural recipient of the Award for Transforming Education through Neuroscience, co-sponsored by the International Mind, Brain and Education Society (IMBES) and the Learning and the Brain Conference.  She lectures nationally and abroad on the implicatons of brain and cognitive science research for curriculum and pedagogy.  Her background as a researcher, teacher, and mother has made her especially interested in the connection between learning and emotion.

About Alden Blodget

Denny Blodget is director of Sustainable Teaching, offering online professional development and support to teachers in their first four years of teaching.  He was a teacher and an administrator for 38 years. He taught theatre and English, created and chaired the arts department at Taft School (Connecticut), chaired the arts department at Packer Collegiate Institute (New York) and was assistant head of school for 18 years at Lawrence Academy (Massachusetts).  Since 2000, he has worked with Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang creating workshops for teachers to explore the implications of her research for the classroom. He has written several articles for the Independent School magazine (National Association of Independent Schools publication) and other publications, and he continues to write a blog for Sustainable teaching.

Denny has spent his life in the educational reform movement and led the transformation of Lawrence Academy's curriculum and teaching methods that resulted in innovations that attracted national attention from other schools.  He serves on the Board of Trustees for The Long Trail School in Vermont and is a guardian ad litem for the Family and District Cours of Rutland County (Vermont), representing abused and delinquent children.

Professional Development Credit:

This program provides a total of 22 hours toward professional development credit for various professionals. For types of credit offered, or to find out about additional engaged hours toward professional development credit, call Learning & the Brain Conference at 781-449-4010 ext. 105.

 
Accommodations:

Interaction between faculty and participants outside the classroom is an integral part of the Institute. To foster this total immersion learning environment, participants are housed in dormitory accommodations on the Lawrence Academy campus. Participants are assigned a single room with a shared bath. Linens and daily housekeeping are provided.

The classrooms, dining hall and overnight accommodations are air-conditioned. A gym and health area are available and are not air-conditioned. All facilities are ADA compliant.

Arrival/Departure:

The program begins at 1:00 p.m. on June 22 and concludes at noon on June 25. Participants may arrive during the morning of June 22 and have lunch in the Lawrence Academy dining hall. Lunch is also served on June 25 at the conclusion of the program.

More Travel Information

Enrollment is limited to 30 participants; please register early. Cost: $1,975 (ask about our group rate) --includes registration, materials, fees, meals, lodging and available professional development credits. To register, click on “Register” at the top of the page, or call 781-449-4010 ext. 101 or 917-405-0412. For details and policies, click on “Policies” above.

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