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Engage in intensive training on the topics of executive functions and memory that have applications in classrooms.

 

Cost: $1,950

Join Us This Summer in Santa Barbara for a Hands-on Workshop

Learning & the Brain is offering this Summer Institute on the oceanside campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara. This Institute will focus on neuroscience research and theory and how they correlate to potential classroom applications in areas of executive function and memory consolidation.

Topics covered will include the dopamine-reward circuit, reduction of cognitive workload to improve working memory, formative assessments, feedback, metacognition, increasing cognitive reserve, promoting transferable knowledge and creativity, and improving student-constructed learning with inquiry and project-based learning. The increasing promise for stimulating neural networks to develop executive functions from early childhood through adulthood will be discussed along with implications for education. The Institute is hands-on and is limited to 40 participants.

The Summer Institute Is for:

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

You Will Learn to:

  • Evaluate the executive functions from the perspectives of neuroscience
  • Stimulate the developing neural networks of executive functions in learners of all ages
  • Use patterning strategies to increase new information linking into memory
  • Employ mental manipulation for memory storage, retention and retrieval
  • Guide students to use and build skills of metacognition and long-term memory formation
  • Promote multisensory learning experiences that benefit all brains
  • Connect neuroscience research to planning student-constructed and project-based learning that develops understanding and long-term, transferable concept memory

About the Institute

This Learning & the Brain Summer Institute will be led by Dr. Judy Willis and assisted by Malana Willis. You will be offered an intensive professional development experience, drawing on findings in affective and social neuroscience. The Institute emphasizes executive skills and memory and retention, and their roles in learning and student achievement.

This program is designed to help 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. Active participation is expected throughout this Institute. Class sessions will be held in the afternoon on the first day and on mornings each subsequent day amounting to a program total of 20 hours.

All sessions will take place at the Sierra Madre comple on the UC Santa Barbara campus and participants will be housed close by on campus. Lodging, some meals, and course materials are provided. See online schedule for meals provided.

 

About Dr. Judy Willis

Judy Willis, MD, MEd, is a neurologist and credentialed teacher. She has combined her training in neuroscience and neuroimaging with her teacher education training and years of classroom experience. Dr. Willis is an authority in the field of learning-centered brain research and teaching strategies derived from this research and has spoken at national and international educational conferences.

Dr. Willis has taught in elementary and middle schools and is currently an adjunct lecturer at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is also a staff writer for Edutopia and Psychology Today, and a media spokesperson for the American Academy of Neurology.

Dr. Willis has written six books on this topic, contributed extensively to educational journals and conducts interactive professional development workshops throughout the United States and internationally. Her books include Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning (2006), Brain Research Based Strategies for the Inclusion Class (2007), How Your Child Learns Best (2008), Inspiring Middle School Minds: Gifted, Creative and Challenging (2009) and Learning to Love Math (2010).

About Malana Willis

Malana Willis, MEd, has taught elementary school in both Santa Barbara and Oakland, CA. She taught at the American School of Bilbao in Spain and worked at the UCSB Autism Clinic. She received her Masters Degree in Education and Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from UC Berkeley and her BA in psychology from Williams College. She has been writing and presenting with her mother, Dr. Judy Willis, since 2010. In addition to assisting with the UCSB Summer Institute, she co-presented a Neuroscience and the Classroom professional development course in Seville, Spain and co-presented at Learning and the Brain's Science of Imagination conference in Orlando, FL.

Professional Development Credit:

Earn 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 the University of California, Santa Barbara.

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 undergraduate dormitory accommodations on the UC Santa Barbara campus. The dormitory rooms are located in the recently opened Sierra Madre complex. Participants are assigned to their own bedroom in a shared two-bedroom apartment with each participant having their own bathroom. Linens are provided. All facilities are ADA compliant. The Institute provides four nights lodging with an arrival date of July 17 and a departure date of July 21. If you are interested in making your own accommodations off-campus or would like to arrange an early arrival on campus, please call us at 781-449-4010 x 101. Please check the online schedule for information on the meals provided. Note: The UCSB campus is a smoke-free campus.