TOP RESEARCHERS EXPLORE WAYS TO IMPROVE STUDENT EXECUTIVE FUNCTION SKILLS...

 
MEDIA ADVISORY
    April 24, 2013
Contact: Kristin Dunay
(781) 449-4010 x102
[email protected]

EXECUTIVE SKILLS FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS: ENHANCING SELF-REGULATION, REASONING AND WORKING MEMORY

WHAT: Neuroscience is finding that the frontal lobes of the brain, which regulate such functions as attention, working memory, self-control, focus, and decision-making, are critical for school and career success. A national group of neuroscientists, psychologists and educators will be presenting new research before 1,200 educators at next month’s Learning & the Brain® Conference in Arlington, VA, that show executive brain structures can actually be trained through such methods as brain strategies, exercise, meditation and software, to improve executive and academic skills in children and adults.Howard Gardner, PhD is opening the conference with “Is There a Central Intelligence Agency in the Brain?” He will discuss executive function’s relationship with his theory of multiple intelligences. Dr. Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education and Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Harvard University.  He is the winner of MacArthur Prize and author of numerous books including, The Unschooled Mind (2011, 2nd. Edition), Five Minds for the Future (2009) and Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice (2006).
WHO: The program is co-sponsored by several organizations including the School of Education, Johns Hopkins University, the Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University Medical Center, the Center for Applied Developmental Science and Neuroeducation, George Washington University, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and both the national associations of elementary and secondary school principals, and is produced by Public Information Resources, Inc.In addition to Dr. Gardner, some of the featured speakers will be:▪    Martha B. Denckla, MD, Batza Family Endowed Chair, Director, Developmental Cognitive Neurology Clinic, Kennedy Krieger Institute; Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University of School of Medicine; Professor of Education, Johns Hopkins University School of Education; Co-Author, “Working memory influences processing speed and reading fluency in ADHD” (2011, Child Neuropsychology) and “Neuropsychological profile of executive function in girls with ADHD” (2010, Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology)▪    Russell A. Barkley, PhD, ABPP, ABCN, Professor of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina; Past President, Clinical Child Psychology Section of the American Psychological Association and of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology; Author, Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale-Children and Adolescents (2012), Executive Functions What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Evolved (2012) and ADHD in Adults: What the Science Says (2007)▪    Rosemary M. Tannock, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry; Professor of Special Education and Adaptive Instruction, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto; Director, ADHD/LD Cognitive Lab; Senior Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children; Co-Author, “Effects of a computerized working memory training program on working memory training program on working memory, attention, academics in adolescents with severe LD and comorbid ADHD” (2012, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry) and “Screening for Working Memory Deficits in the Classroom” (2012, Journal of Attention Disorders)

▪    Daniel T. Willingham, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia; Blogger, Science and Education Blog; Writer, “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column for American Educator Magazine; Author, When Can You Trust the Experts? (2012) and Why Don’t Students Like School? (2010)

▪    Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD, Founder and Chief Director of the Center for BrainHealth; Dee Wyly Distinguished Chair in Brain Health; Professor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas; Co-Author, Make Your Brain Smarter: Increase Your Brains Creativity, Energy, and Focus (2013) and “Higher-order strategic gist reasoning in adolescence” (2012, The Adolescent Brain: Learning, Reasoning, and Decision Making)

WHEN: Friday, May 3-Sunday, May 5. Conference begins 1:30 PM. General Registration is $589.  Contact Kristin Dunay at 781-449-4010 x 102 for media passes.
WHERE: Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA
Learning & the Brain® is a series of educational conferences that brings the latest research in neuroscience and psychology and their potential applications to education to the wider educational community. Since its inception in 1999, this series has been attended by more than 40,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

For more information about the conference, visit www.learningandthebrain.com.

category: News

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