The Science of Wellbeing: Teaching and Training for Healthy Minds, Brains, and Bodies

William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry; Director of the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior and the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience; Founder & Director of the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Renowned for his scientific studies on emotions, wellbeing, and the brain; Friend and Confidante of the Dalai Lama; Named one of “The Most Influential People in the World” by Time Magazine in 2006; Co-Author, “Emotional Well-Being: What Is It and Why It Matters” (2023, Affective Science), “COVID-19 Pandemic Effects on College Student Mental Health” (2023, American College Health),  Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body (2007) and The Emotional Life of Your Brain (2012); Co-Editor, The Mind’s Own Physician (2012)

The Science of Teaching

Conference Chair: Professor Emeritus of Psychology, James Madison University; Former Executive Director and Founding Board Member, International Mind, Brain, and Education Society; Former Managing Editor, Mind, Brain, and Education Journal; Winner of the 2013 L&B/IMBES “Transforming Education Through Neuroscience” Award; Recognized in the “Top 1% of Educational Researchers Influencing Public Debate” in the US; Co-Author, “Toward an Ecological Science of Teaching” (2021, Canadian Psychology), “Educational Neuroscience: Are We There Yet?” (2019, Wiley Handbook on Education) and “Promising Principles: Translating the Science of Learning to Educational Practice” (2012, Applied Research in Memory and Cognition)

The Psychology and Ingredients for Great Teaching

Researcher; Educational Scientist, College of Applied Sciences, Artevelde University; Author, The Ingredients for Great Teaching (2018); Co-Author, The Psychology of Great Teaching: (Almost) Everything Teachers Ought to Know (2022), "Translating Research into Classroom Practice: Cognitive Science and Beyond" (2022, The Chartered College of Teaching), More Urban Myths About Learning and Education (2019), and Urban Myths About Learning and Education (2015)

The Science of Learning: Building Memories and Effective Learners

Ramon y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning, McMaster University; Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, Oakland University; Co-Author, Learn Like a Pro (2021), Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn (2021), and Learning How to Learn (2018); Author, Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential (2017) and A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (2014)

Building Meaning Builds Brains: The Science of Emotions, Brain Development, and Effective Teaching

Director, USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE) who has been studying and monitoring the brains of effective teachers to see how they connect with and motivate their students; Professor of Education, USC Rossier School of Education; Professor of Psychology, Brain, and Creativity Institute; Faculty, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California; Member of the Council of Distinguished Scientists at the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, Aspen Institute; Past President, IMBES (International Mind, Brain and Education Society); Recipient of the 2008 Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award from the Learning & the Brain Foundation and IMBES; Author, Emotions, Learning, and the Brain: Exploring the Educational Implications of Affective Neuroscience (2015); Co-Author, “Understanding Emotional Thought Can Transform Educators’ Understanding of How Students Learn” (2020, Educational Neuroscience), “Building Meaning Builds Teens’ Brains” (2020, Educational Leadership), “The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development” (2018, Aspen Institute), and "Embodied Brains, Social Minds, Cultural Meaning: Integrating Neuroscientific and Educational Research on Social-Affective Development (2017, American Educational Research Journal)

Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning for Active “Minds-On” and Playful Classrooms

Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow; Department of Psychology, Temple University; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Fellow, Cognitive Science Society, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and American Educational Research Association; Co-Director, Child's Play, Learning, and Development Laboratory; Co-Author, Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning to Joyful Classroom Practice (2022), “Active Learning: “Hands-on” Meets “Minds-on” (2021, Science), “Play Could Help Reduce ‘COVID-19’ Slump in Learning” (2020, Child & Family Blog), “Cognitive Behavioral Science Behind the Value of Play: Leveraging Everyday Experiences to Promote Play, Learning, and Positive Interactions” (2020, Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy), Becoming Brilliant (2016), Play = Learning (2009), and A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool (2008)

What Makes a Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Study on Happiness and Wellbeing

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; Director, Center for Psychodynamic Therapy and Research, Massachusetts General Hospital; Director of the Harvard Study on Adult Development, the longest, most comprehensive scientific study of happiness and wellbeing ever conducted, which followed adult subjects for 75 years and is now studying their children to examine how childhood experiences affect health and wellbeing; Co-Author, The Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness (2023)

Extending the Mind Beyond the Brain: Connecting the Body and Movement to Learning and Thinking

Journalist; Writer; Fellow, Learning Sciences Exchange, New America, and The Jacobs Foundation; Served as Senior Advisor at the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale University; Awarded the Mental Health Journalism’s “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship”; Author, The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain (2021), "42 Ways to Boost Learning By Applying Our Bodies, Surroundings, and Relationships" (2021, MindShift), Origins (2011), and The Cult of Personality Testing (2005)

The Future of Smart: Creating Embodied, Human-Centered Education

Chief Program Officer, Grantmakers for Education; Founding Partner, Educating Potential; TEDx Presenter; Educational Thought Leader; Author, The Future of Smart: How Our Education System Needs to Change to Help All Young People Thrive (2021) and and “Kids, Movement, and Health” (2015, Blog Human Potential)

Leveraging Lifestyle Choices to Target Brain Health and Functionality

Board-Certified Neurologist; Associate Professor, Miami Miller School of Medicine; Fellow and Member of the Board of Directors, American College of Nutrition; Author, Detox Your Mind for Clearer Thinking, Deeper Relationships, and Lasting Happiness (2022), The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan (2016), and Brain Maker (2015); Co-Author, Raising a Smarter Child by Kindergarten (2008) and The Better Brain Book (2005)

Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning for Active “Minds-On” and Playful Classrooms

Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Chair and Professor, School of Education; Joint Appointments in the Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Linguistics and Cognitive Science, University of Delaware; Co-Director, Child's Play, Learning, and Development Laboratory; Co-Author, Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning to Joyful Classroom Practice (2022), "Active Learning: 'Hands-on' Meets 'Minds-on'" (2021, Science), “Brain Science and Guided Play” (2019, Serious Fun: How Guided Play Extends Learning), Becoming Brilliant (2016), Play = Learning (2009), and A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool (2008)

The Science of Learning: Building Memories and Effective Learners

Ramon y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning, McMaster University; Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, Oakland University; Co-Author, Learn Like a Pro (2021), Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn (2021), and Learning How to Learn (2018); Author, Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential (2017) and A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (2014)

The Science of Memory: Why We Forget and How to Remember Better

Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Memory Expert who specializes in Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience; Member, International Neuropsychological Symposium, the Memory Disorders Research Society, and the International Society for Behavioral Neuroscience; 2022 Recipient of the Mid-Career Award from the Psychonomic Society; Author, Emotional Memory Across the Adult Lifespan (2008); Co-Author, Why We Forget and How to Remember Better: The Science Behind Memory (2023); “Sleep Preferentially Consolidates Negative Aspects of Human Memory” (2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), and “Boston College Daily Sleep and Well-Being Survey Data During Early Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic” (2021, Scientific Data)

On the Use of Research-Based Teaching Strategies: From Effortful Deliberate Practice to AI-Enhanced Learning Experiences

Director of Science Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Senior Preceptor in Physics, Harvard University; Co-Author, “Increasing the Effectiveness of Active Learning Using Deliberate Practice” (2021, Physical Review Physics Education Research), “Comparing the Effectiveness of Online Versus Live Lecture Demonstrations” (2020, Physical Review Physics Education Research), “Measuring Actual Learning Versus Feeling of Learning in Response to Being Actively Engaged in the Classroom” (2019, National Academy of Sciences), and "Improved Learning in a Large-Enrollment Physics Class" (2011, Science)

The Science of Effective Learning and Memory: Benefits of Spacing and Retrieval Practice

Cognitive Psychologist; Professor, School of Psychological Science, Oregon State University; Author, “Prequestioning and Pretesting Effects: A Review of Empirical Research, Theoretical Perspectives, and Applications” (2024, PsyArXiv), “Encouraging Students to Use Retrieval Practice: A Review of Emerging Research From Five Types of Interventions” (2023, Educational Psychology Review), “The Effects of Immediate Versus Delayed Feedback on Complex Concept Learning” (2021, Experimental Psychology), and “Prequestions Enhance Learning, But Only When They Are Remembered” (2020, Experimental Psychology Applied)

A Neuroscience Approach to Improving School Climate and Increasing Student Motivation

President/CEO, Resiliency Inc.; Former Teacher; Former Mental Health Director and Consultant; Author, The Poverty Problem: How Education Can Promote Resilience and Counter Poverty’s Impact on Brain Development and Functioning (2021), The Education Revolution: How to Apply Brain Science to Improve Instruction and School Climate (2016), and A Brain-Based Approach to Closing the Achievement Gap (2008)

The New Science of Learning: Understanding How We Learn

Associate Research Professor and Associate Director of Fellowship Programs, Department of Family Medicine, UNC School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Author, Understanding How We Learn: Applying Key Educational Psychology Concepts in the Classroom (2023), The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony With Your Brain (2022, 3rd Edition); Co-Author, Teaching For Learning: 101 Intentionally Designed Educational Activities to Put Students on the Path to Success (2021, 2nd Edition), and Advancing Online Teaching: Creating Equity-Based Digital Learning Environments (2020)

Teaching Students to Teach Themselves: Empowering Children to Get the Most From Schooling

Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia; Member, National Board for Education Sciences; Writer, “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” Column, American Educator; Author, Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning Is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy (2023), Why Don’t Students Like School? (2021, 2nd Edition), “A Mental Model of the Learner: Teaching the Basic Science of Educational Psychology to Future Teachers” (2017, Mind, Brain, & Education), The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads (2017), and Raising Kids Who Read: What Parents and Teachers Can Do (2015); Co-Author, “Making Education Research Relevant: How Researchers Can Give Teachers More Choice” (2021, Education Next)

Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Chair and Professor, School of Education; Joint Appointments in the Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Linguistics and Cognitive Science, University of Delaware; Co-Director, Child's Play, Learning, and Development Laboratory; Co-Author, Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning to Joyful Classroom Practice (2022), "Active Learning: 'Hands-on' Meets 'Minds-on'" (2021, Science), “Brain Science and Guided Play” (2019, Serious Fun: How Guided Play Extends Learning), Becoming Brilliant (2016), Play = Learning (2009), and A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool (2008)

Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow; Department of Psychology, Temple University; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Fellow, Cognitive Science Society, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and American Educational Research Association; Co-Director, Child's Play, Learning, and Development Laboratory; Co-Author, Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning to Joyful Classroom Practice (2022), “Active Learning: “Hands-on” Meets “Minds-on” (2021, Science), “Play Could Help Reduce ‘COVID-19’ Slump in Learning” (2020, Child & Family Blog), “Cognitive Behavioral Science Behind the Value of Play: Leveraging Everyday Experiences to Promote Play, Learning, and Positive Interactions” (2020, Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy), Becoming Brilliant (2016), Play = Learning (2009), and A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool (2008)

The Science of Teaching

Conference Chair: Professor Emeritus of Psychology, James Madison University; Former Executive Director and Founding Board Member, International Mind, Brain, and Education Society; Former Managing Editor, Mind, Brain, and Education Journal; Winner of the 2013 L&B/IMBES “Transforming Education Through Neuroscience” Award; Recognized in the “Top 1% of Educational Researchers Influencing Public Debate” in the US; Co-Author, “Toward an Ecological Science of Teaching” (2021, Canadian Psychology), “Educational Neuroscience: Are We There Yet?” (2019, Wiley Handbook on Education) and “Promising Principles: Translating the Science of Learning to Educational Practice” (2012, Applied Research in Memory and Cognition)

Building Meaning Builds Brains: The Science of Emotions, Brain Development, and Effective Teaching

Director, USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE) who has been studying and monitoring the brains of effective teachers to see how they connect with and motivate their students; Professor of Education, USC Rossier School of Education; Professor of Psychology, Brain, and Creativity Institute; Faculty, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California; Member of the Council of Distinguished Scientists at the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, Aspen Institute; Past President, IMBES (International Mind, Brain and Education Society); Recipient of the 2008 Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award from the Learning & the Brain Foundation and IMBES; Author, Emotions, Learning, and the Brain: Exploring the Educational Implications of Affective Neuroscience (2015); Co-Author, “Understanding Emotional Thought Can Transform Educators’ Understanding of How Students Learn” (2020, Educational Neuroscience), “Building Meaning Builds Teens’ Brains” (2020, Educational Leadership), “The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development” (2018, Aspen Institute), and "Embodied Brains, Social Minds, Cultural Meaning: Integrating Neuroscientific and Educational Research on Social-Affective Development (2017, American Educational Research Journal)

Mental Models: How Cognitive Science Can Transform the Way You Learn and Teach

Professor of Evidence-Informed Education Leadership, Academica University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam; Lecturer and Former Director of Practice at Research Schools International, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Former Director of Impact Academy, Deans for Impact; Leading Advocate for bridging the worlds of research and practice in education; Co-Author, Mental Models: How Understanding the Mind Can Transform the Way You Work and Learn (Forthcoming) and How Teaching Happens: Seminal Works in Teaching and Teacher Effectiveness and What They Mean in Practice (2022)

The Science and Evidence for the Cognitive Challenges of Effective Teaching

Cognitive Psychologist; Professor of Psychology, Howard College of Arts and Sciences, Samford University; Chair, National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology; Carnegie Scholar; Named “U.S. Professor of the Year” by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education; Co-Author, “The Cognitive Challenges of Effective Teaching” (2020, The Journal of Economic Education), “Practice What We Teach: Improving Teaching and Learning in Psychology” (2018, Teaching of Psychology), and “The Cognitive Principles of Effective Teaching” (2015, APA)

The Psychology and Ingredients for Great Teaching

Researcher; Educational Scientist, College of Applied Sciences, Artevelde University; Author, The Ingredients for Great Teaching (2018); Co-Author, The Psychology of Great Teaching: (Almost) Everything Teachers Ought to Know (2022), "Translating Research into Classroom Practice: Cognitive Science and Beyond" (2022, The Chartered College of Teaching), More Urban Myths About Learning and Education (2019), and Urban Myths About Learning and Education (2015)

The Science of Wellbeing: Teaching and Training for Healthy Minds, Brains, and Bodies

William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry; Director of the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior and the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience; Founder & Director of the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Renowned for his scientific studies on emotions, wellbeing, and the brain; Friend and Confidante of the Dalai Lama; Named one of “The Most Influential People in the World” by Time Magazine in 2006; Co-Author, “Emotional Well-Being: What Is It and Why It Matters” (2023, Affective Science), “COVID-19 Pandemic Effects on College Student Mental Health” (2023, American College Health),  Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body (2007) and The Emotional Life of Your Brain (2012); Co-Editor, The Mind’s Own Physician (2012)

What Makes a Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Study on Happiness and Wellbeing

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; Director, Center for Psychodynamic Therapy and Research, Massachusetts General Hospital; Director of the Harvard Study on Adult Development, the longest, most comprehensive scientific study of happiness and wellbeing ever conducted, which followed adult subjects for 75 years and is now studying their children to examine how childhood experiences affect health and wellbeing; Co-Author, The Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness (2023)

The Science of Sleep: Memory, Learning, and Dreaming

Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Director, Center for Sleep and Cognition, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Co-Author, When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep (2021), “Dreaming of a Learning Task is Associated With Enhanced Memory Consolidation” (2019, Sleep Research), and “Memory, Sleep, and Dreaming: Experiencing Consolidation” (2012, Sleep Medicine Clinics)

The Essential Role of Sleep for Teen Health and Well-Being

Journalist; Author; Expert on teen sleep who helped get California’s landmark legislation on healthy school start times passed; Featured Presenter on the Today Show, BBC, WBUR; Writer for the Washington Post, New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME, Slate, and Your Teen; Author, The Sleep-Deprived Teen: Why Our Teenagers Are So Tired and How Parents and Schools Can Help Them Thrive (2022)

Leveraging Lifestyle Choices to Target Brain Health and Functionality

Board-Certified Neurologist; Associate Professor, Miami Miller School of Medicine; Fellow and Member of the Board of Directors, American College of Nutrition; Author, Detox Your Mind for Clearer Thinking, Deeper Relationships, and Lasting Happiness (2022), The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan (2016), and Brain Maker (2015); Co-Author, Raising a Smarter Child by Kindergarten (2008) and The Better Brain Book (2005)

Brain Health and Wellbeing: Stress, Sleep, and Meditation on Student Resilience and Grades

Director, MIT’s Integrated Learning Initiative; Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Cognitive Neuroscience; Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Co-Director, Clinical Research Center; Associate Director, Athinoula A. Martinos Imaging Center, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Co-Author, “Reward-Related Neural Circuitry in Depressed and Anxious Adolescents: A Human Connectome Project” (2021, Journal of the American Academy), “Mindfulness Supports Emotional Resilience in Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic” (2022, MedRxiv), “Sleep Quality, Duration, and Consistency Are Associated With Better Academic Performance in College Students” (2019, NPI Science of Learning), and “Greater Mindfulness Is Associated With Better Academic Achievement in Middle School” (2019, Mind, Brain, and Education)

The Importance of Mindful Play in Childhood

CEO and Founder, Mindful Play Learning; Expert on play, mindfulness, wellbeing, and childhood development; Registered Yoga Teacher with degree in psychology; Founder of the Amaya Papaya Playlounge for kids to play; Developer of the Mindful Play Learning curriculum to enhance children's mental health and well-being through play and mindfulness

Brain Healthy: Helping Students Evaluate Their Brain Health and Well-Being

Assistant Professor of Learning Sciences; Principal Investigator, Brain Healthy Project, NEAG School of Education, University of Connecticut; Brain Researcher who studies how students learn in real classrooms using portable Electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking technologies; Co-Author, "Neuroscience Research in the Classroom: Portable Brain Technologies in Education Research" (2021, Educational Researcher); "Making BrainWaves: Portable Brain Technology in Biology Education" (2021, bioRxiv), "Morning Brain: Real-World Neural Evidence that High School Class Times Matter" (2020, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience), and "Measuring Brain Waves in the Classroom" (2020, Frontiers for Young Minds)

Extending the Mind Beyond the Brain: Connecting the Body and Movement to Learning and Thinking

Journalist; Writer; Fellow, Learning Sciences Exchange, New America, and The Jacobs Foundation; Served as Senior Advisor at the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale University; Awarded the Mental Health Journalism’s “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship”; Author, The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain (2021), "42 Ways to Boost Learning By Applying Our Bodies, Surroundings, and Relationships" (2021, MindShift), Origins (2011), and The Cult of Personality Testing (2005)

The Future of Smart: Creating Embodied, Human-Centered Education

Chief Program Officer, Grantmakers for Education; Founding Partner, Educating Potential; TEDx Presenter; Educational Thought Leader; Author, The Future of Smart: How Our Education System Needs to Change to Help All Young People Thrive (2021) and and “Kids, Movement, and Health” (2015, Blog Human Potential)

A Pedagogy of Play: Supporting Playful Learning in Classrooms and Schools

Research Director for the Pedagogy of Play Project; Project Director, 21st Century Excellence; Research Director, Making Learning Visible; Senior Researcher, Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Advisory Board Member, Child’s Play International; Contributing Author, A Pedagogy of Play: Supporting Playful Learning in Classrooms and Schools (2023); Co-Author, Visible Learners: Promoting Reggio-Inspired Approaches in All Schools (2013) and Making Learning Visible: Children as Individuals and Group Learners (2001)

Bodies Matter in School: Promoting Embodied Cognition, Movement, and Outdoor Play for Learning and Development

Assistant Professor, Champlain College; Author, The Wisdom of the Body: What Embodied Cognition Can Teach Us About Learning, Human Development, and Ourselves (2020), The Indoor Epidemic (2017), Wild Curiosity: How to Unleash Creativity and Encourage Lifelong Wondering (2015), and “How Can Teachers Foster Curiosity?” (2014, Education Week)

The Science of Learning: Using Physical Activities as Cognitive Sticky Notes

Professor of Education, James Madison University; Co-Editor, Teacher Educator Journal; Co-Author, The Mathematics Playbook (2024), The Teacher Clarity Playbook, Grades K-12 (2024), The Early Childhood Education Playbook (2022), How Tutoring Works: Six Steps to Grow Motivation and Accelerate Student Learning (2021), How Learning Works (2021), Clarity for Learning (2018), From Snorkelers to Scuba Divers: Making the Elementary Science Classroom a Place of Engagement and Deep Learning (2017), Visible Learning for Science (2017), and Captivate, Activate, and Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and Math, Grades 6–12 (2013)

Embodied Minds, Memory, and Learning: How the Arts Support Effective Instruction

Co-Founder and Director, Neuro-Education Initiative (NEI); Professor, School of Education, Johns Hopkins University; Author, Brain-Targeted Teaching: A Framework for Joyful Teaching and Leading (Forthcoming) and Connecting Brain Research With Effective Teaching: The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model (2003), and “Informing Pedagogy Through the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model (2012, Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education); Co-Author, “Exploring Changes in Teacher Self-Efficacy Through Neuroeducation Professional Development” (2023, The Teacher Educator) and “The Effects of Arts-Integrated Instruction on Memory for Science Content.” (2019, Trends in Neuroscience and Education)

Former K-12 Teacher for 16 years in four countries; PhD Student in Learning Sciences; Academic Mentor for student athletes, University of Connecticut; Graduate Student At-Large, AERA's Brain, Neuroscience, and Education Special Interest Group; Co-President, International Mind, Brain, and Education trainee board; Strategy Researcher, Digital Promise; Former Teaching Fellow, Harvard Extension Schools "Neuroscience of Learning" course; who has competed in multi-sport athlete throughout childhood, coached youth lacrosse, competed in endurance events for over 15 years, and is currently active in local Crossfit competitions.

History Teacher; Executive Director, Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning; Co-Designer, NeuroTeach Global and Neuroteach Global Student; Dean of Studies, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School; Co-Author, "Every Educator Needs to Know How the Brain Works" (2020, ASCD Express) and Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education (2016); Co-Editor, Think Differently and Deeply; who has played and coached soccer, ice hockey, and golf at high school, club and collegiate levels and worked alongside USA National Women’s Soccer Team members at the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy

Technology’s Child: Learning, Development, and Wellbeing in a Digital Age

Associate Professor, UW Information School; Adjunct Associate Professor, UW College of Education; Founding Member and Co-Director, UW Digital Youth Lab, University of Washington; Author, Technology’s Child: Digital Media’s Role in the Ages and Stages of Growing Up (2023); Co-Author, The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World (2013)

Games On, Minds On: Games, Technology, and Play for Active Learning and Memory

Cognitive Scientist; Associate Teaching Professor in the Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, Doctor of Education Program, Northeastern University; Former Teacher; Co-Founder of Immersive Science Learning Company, Killer Snails; Author, “An Opportunity for an Improved Post-Pandemic Education” (2021, Age of Awareness), Game On? Brain On! The Surprising Relationship Between Play and Gray (Matter) (2020) and Designed to Learn: Using Design Thinking to Bring Purpose and Passion to the Classroom (2019)

Disengaged Students: Addressing the Challenges of Digital Dependency, COVID, and Other Factors

Associate Research Professor and Associate Director of Fellowship Programs, Department of Family Medicine, UNC School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Author, Understanding How We Learn: Applying Key Educational Psychology Concepts in the Classroom (2023), The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony With Your Brain (2022, 3rd Edition); Co-Author, Teaching For Learning: 101 Intentionally Designed Educational Activities to Put Students on the Path to Success (2021, 2nd Edition), and Advancing Online Teaching: Creating Equity-Based Digital Learning Environments (2020)

INTERLEAVING: The Path to Reconciling the Math and Language Wars

Ramon y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning, McMaster University; Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, Oakland University; Co-Author, Learn Like a Pro (2021), Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn (2021), and Learning How to Learn (2018); Author, Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential (2017) and A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (2014)

Reading MORE: Literacy Intervention That Builds Knowledge and Vocabulary in Science and Social Studies

Professor of Education; Principal Investigator and Director, READS Lab (Research Enhances Adaptation Designed for Scale in Literacy), Harvard Graduate School of Education; Principal Investigator, Reach Every Reader Initiative, Harvard University/Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Primary Investigator, A Model of Reading Engagement (MORE); Co-Author, “Measures Matter: A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Educational Apps on Preschool to Grade 3 Children’s Literacy and Math Skills” (2021, AERA Open) and “Improving Elementary Grade Students’ Science and Social Studies Vocabulary Knowledge Depth, Reading Comprehension, and Argumentative Writing” (2021, Educational Psychology Review)

Getting Kids to Read in an Age of Distraction

Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia; Member, National Board for Education Sciences; Writer, “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” Column, American Educator; Author, Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning Is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy (2023), Why Don’t Students Like School? (2021, 2nd Edition), “A Mental Model of the Learner: Teaching the Basic Science of Educational Psychology to Future Teachers” (2017, Mind, Brain, & Education), The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads (2017), and Raising Kids Who Read: What Parents and Teachers Can Do (2015); Co-Author, “Making Education Research Relevant: How Researchers Can Give Teachers More Choice” (2021, Education Next)

The Science of Reading: Comprehension, Working Memory, and Executive Skills

Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Teacher Preparation; Director, Reading, Executive Function, and Development Lab (READLab), Christopher Newport University; Research Scholar, Center for Education Research and Policy; Visiting Research Fellow, University of Oxford; Former Board of Directors of the Literacy Research Association; Author, Executive Skills and Reading Comprehension: A Guide for Educators (2023, 2nd Edition); Editor, Literacy Processes: Cognitive Flexibility in Learning and Teaching (2008)

The Neuroscience of Reading: Genetics, Brain Imaging, In-School Partnerships, and Interventions

Professor of Psychological Sciences; University of Connecticut; Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychology, Yale Child Study Center, School of Medicine, Yale University; Senior Scientist and Director, EEG Research, Haskins Laboratories; Co-Author, "Gray Matter Structure is Associated With Reading Skill in Typically Developing Young Readers" (2020, Cerebral Cortex), "The Impact of Computer-Assisted Technology on Literacy Acquisition During COVID-19-related School Closures" (2022, Frontiers in Psychology), and "Researcher–Practitioner Partnerships and In-school Laboratories Facilitate Translational Research in Reading" (2022, Research in Reading)