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Engage in intensive training to understand the neuroscience underlying reading and reading disorders.

Cost: $2,195

Join Us This Summer in Cambridge, MA

From July 25-28, 2016, Learning & the Brain is offering a Summer Institute on the campus of the Massachusetts Instiute of Technology in Cambridge, MA.

This Institute will review what is currently known about the brain basis of reading ability and disability. Neuroimaging has revealed how plasticity in the child’s brain supports learning to read, and how differences in brain structure and function are associated with reading disabilities, such as dyslexia. You will examine how neuroscience knowledge may be translated into educational policies and practices in relation to topics such as diagnosis, prognosis, early identification of children at risk for dyslexia, and identification of children who will or will not benefit from a specific kind of intervention.

Participants will also observe real, live neuroimaging measures including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The Institute is designed to be an intense, hands-on workshop with group projects and therefore is limited to 40 participants.

The Summer Institute Is for:
  • PreK-12 Teachers and Reading Specialists
  • Administrators, School Psychologists and School Clinicians
  • Education Professors and College Professors
You Will Learn to:
  • Become proficient in understanding the brain basis of typical reading acquisition and reading disorders, such as dyslexia
  • Delve deeper into recent advances in understanding the psychological basis of reading difficulty
  • Examine ways neuroscience advances can help to predict reading outcomes
  • Use neuroscience research to help predict reading outcomes and the response to interventions
  • Recognize how reading acquisition and disorders differ across languages
  • Evaluate the relevance of neuroscience research for students and teachers and how to be a critical consumer of neuroscience regarding the reading brain

About the Institute

This Learning & the Brain Summer Institute will be co-led by Dr. John Gabrieli and Dr. Joanna Christodoulou. This program is designed to help individuals and school teams develop knowledge about current scientific evidence concerning the brain basis of learning to read, and how such evidence may be related to education goals. The program offers participants an intensive professional development experience, drawing on the most up-to-date findings in human cognitive neuroscience. This course is designed for educators with no prior background in neuroscience.

The Institute sessions and brain scans will all take place on the campus of MIT with participants housed at the nearby Boston Cambridge Marriott in Kendall Square. Lodging, course materials and selected meals are provided.

About Dr. John D. E. Gabrieli

John D.E. Gabrieli, PhD, is a neuroscientist at MIT and a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. He is a faculty member in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Director of the Martinos Imaging Center and a Member of the Faculty of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Gabrieli is an expert on the brain mechanisms of human cognition, including memory, thought and emotion. His work includes neuroimaging studies on healthy adults and children as well as clinical patients with many different brain disorders, including schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer's disease, autism and dyslexia.

One of his major current interests is dyslexia, in particular the use of brain imaging to identify children who are at risk for reading difficulties and to understand how reading instruction affects the brain. In 2008, Gabrieli was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which cited his "penetrating analyses of the nature of human memory, its neural substrates, its

About Dr. Joanna Christodoulou

Joanna A. Christodoulou, EdD is an Assistant Professor at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is a Research Affiiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She works at the intersection of education, clinical, and research contexts.

She leads the Brain, Education, and Mind (BEAM) Team to study the brain and behavior links underlying reading development and difficulty. Current research focuses on reading intervention and summer reading growth. She was awarded the 2014 award for Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award from the Learning & the Brain Foundation and the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society and was invited to join the first White House Workshop on Neuroscience and Learning.

Professional Development Credit:

This program provides up to 20 hours toward professional development credit for various professionals. For details on credit offered, visit our CE credit page or call our office at 781-449-4010 ext. 102. Note: Credits are not provided by MIT.

Accommodations and Meals:

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 their own rooms at the Boston Cambridge Marriott in Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA. The Institute provides three nights lodging with an arrival date of July 25 and departure date of July 28. The hotel is located adjacent to the MIT campus and is close to public transportation. All facilities are ADA compliant. If you are interested in making your own accommodations or would like to extend your stay at the conference hotel, please call us at 781-449-4010 x 101. Please check the online schedule for information on the meals provided.