This conference has passed. Learn more about our April 28 - 30 Learning & the Brain Conference in Boston

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS -- WEDNESDAY, FEB. 14
(By advance registration only. Select one of five. Add $25 fee if you are not attending the conference.)

I. Brain Matters: Translating Research to Classroom Practice
1:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Cost: $225
This workshop, based on Brain Matters by Dr Pat Wolfe, focuses on how the brain encodes, processes and stores information in memory. A wide range of classroom strategies for all grade levels will be presented for discussion. Participants will leave this workshop with a better understanding of the learning process and with classroom strategies that can be implemented the next day.
Patricia Wolfe, Ed.D., President, Brain Matters; Educational Consultant, Lead Trainer, International Principal Training Center; former teacher, author of Brain Matters (2001) and Building the Reading Brain, PreK-3 (2004)

II. An Introduction to the Brain and Neuroscience (For Beginners)
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Cost: $135
Participants in this workshop will come away with a basic understanding of the major anatomical areas of the brain, the various methods used to study brain-mind connections, and the principles that govern brain organization and function.
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.M., Ed.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Brain and Creativity Institute for the Neurological Study of Emotion, Decision-Making, and Creativity; Postdoctoral Research Associate, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California

III. BrainQuest -- A Student Operating Manual: Helping Students Understand their Brains and Learning
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Cost: $135
BrainQuest, A Student Operating Manual is a multi-media, interactive session that will provide educators, counselors, and psychologists with developmentally appropriate process, program, and resources for assisting students to understand the brain and learning, and to become increasingly better acquainted with their unique brain and learning processes. Participants will learn, experience, and practice strategies for assisting students to identify strengths and keystone variables in the areas of attention control, memory, language, higher thinking, and social thinking that empower students to become aware of and take responsibility for decisions to improve academic, social, and emotional competence. Participants will receive copies of BrainQuest activities presented.
Susan E. Lees, Psy.D., PPS, Program Director, Department of School Counseling and School Psychology, Azusa Pacific University

IV. Neuropsychology of Written Language Disorders: Diagnosis & Intervention
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Cost: $135
This presentation will assist educators and diagnosticians in pinpointing specific break-downs 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.D., NCSP, Neuropsychologist; School Psychologist; co-author of The Neuropsychology of Written Language Disorders (2001)

POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS -- SATURDAY, FEB. 17
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Cost: $135
(By advance registration only. Select one of five. Add $25 fee if you are not attending the conference.)

I. The Teen Brain: Influences on Memory
This workshop will examine the practical implications of teenage hormones and emotions for teachers by looking at their influences to student memory performances, including the 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)

II. Becoming A Brain: Linking Neuroscience Research to Assessment Strategies
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Cost: $135
Schools receiving federal funds under the No Child Left Behind Act are required to improve education using approaches grounded in scientifically based research. Become a “brain” by gaining a basic understanding of brain development in children. Learn how to link these ideas to assessment techniques and use neuroscience findings to guide practices in the classroom setting. The brain learns best though interaction and involvement! Presentation will model brain-based assessment with some fun activities. Each participant will leave with Pack ‘O Tools to take with them.
Angela Searcy, M.S., Child Development Specialist, Neuropsychology Diagnostic Center, IL; Professional Development Instructor, Erikson Institute

Special Events

FEB. 15: “MEETING OF THE MINDS” RECEPTION AND BOOK SIGNING
Free & Open to All Attendees
The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives will sponsor a reception from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15 at the Marriott San Francisco Airport Hotel. Take this unique opportunity to meet some of the nation’s brightest minds at this reception, which will include book signings by neuroscientists Michael Gazzaniga, Ph.D., and Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D. Cash bar available. Please indicate on the registration form whether you plan to attend this reception.