TOP RESEARCHERS TO EXPLORE WAYS TO EMPOWER AND ENGAGE STUDENTS...

Mind, brain and developmental researchers have found that students who feel empowered and are actively engaged in their learning and their community, perform better academically, have more positive social-ethical behaviors, and are more likely to be active citizens.

Next month, a distinguished group of neuroscientists, psychologists, and educators will explore the science behind civic and school engagement, provide ways to foster student motivation, voice and choice, and how to empower kids to change the world. They will discuss how to create engaged learners, ethical citizens, and world problem solvers before 1,200 educators at the Learning & the Brain^® Conference in Boston, MA.

Renowned Psychologist Howard E. Gardner, PhD, will present on “Beyond Wit and Grit: Thoughts on Nurturing Good Citizens?” during a keynote on Friday, November 18. Dr. Gardner, author of Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983), will discuss how his theory of multiple intelligences and the concept of perseverance are not enough for academic success and stress the importance of ethics to benefits both students and society. Dr. Gardner is the John H. and Elizabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Co-Founder of The Good Project, a group of initiatives that promotes excellence, engagement, and ethics in education.

On Saturday morning, Kou Murayama, PhD, will receive the 2016 Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award from the Learning & the Brain^® Foundation. This award has been presented annually since 2008 to a researcher who has made significant contributions to connecting neuroscience with education. Dr. Murayama is Associate Professor of School Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences and Director of the Motivation Lab at the University of Reading.

In addition to Drs. Gardner and Murayama, the program features some other leading experts on the learning sciences including:

▪   Tony Wagner, PhD, Expert in Residence, Harvard Innovation Lab, Harvard University; Education Advisor to the documentary, Most Likely to Succeed; Author, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World (2012); Co-Author, Most Likely to Succeed (2015)

▪   Sandra B. Chapman, PhD, Founder and Chief Director, Center for BrainHealth; Professor, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas; Co-Author, Make Your Brain Smarter (2014, Reprint Edition)

▪   Joel Westheimer, PhD, University Research Chair in Democracy and Education, University of Ottawa; Co-Director, “The Inequality Project”; Education Columnist, CBC Radio; Author, What Kind of Citizen? Educating Our Children for the Common Good (2015)

▪   Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, Cognitive Scientist; James McGill Professor of Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience and Music, McGill University; Author, A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age (2016), The Organized Mind (2014) and This Is Your Brain on Music (2006)

▪   Zoe Weil, MA, MTS, Co-Founder and President, Institute for Humane Education; Author, The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries (2016), Above All, Be Kind (2013), Most Good, Least Harm (2009) and The Power and Promise of Humane Education (2004)

▪   Chris Lehmann, MA, Founding Principal, Science Leadership Academy; Co-Author, Building School 2.0: How to Create the Schools We Need (2015); Co-Editor, What School Leaders Need to Know About Digital Technologies and Social Media (2011)

Learning & the Brain^® is a series of educational conferences that brings the latest research in the learning sciences and their potential applications to education to the wider educational community. Since its inception in 1999, more than 50,000 people in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York, Orlando and Chicago have attended this series.