Eric Jensen is a former middle school teacher and former adjunct professor for several
universities including the University of California, San Diego. He co-founded the
Learning Brain Expo, a conference for educators, and has written 21 books on the brain and learning. Jensen is currently completing his PhD coursework. His most recent book,
Enriching the Brain: How to Maximize Every Learner's Potential
(Jossey-Bass, 2006), is highly recommended for educators and parents alike. He wrote this
recent article in
Phi Delta Kappan in February 2008, sparking a healthy debate on the value of neuroscience applied to education.
Eric, thank you for your time. Can you explain the role that you and your organization play?
We act as translators between the neuroscience and education fields, helping to build a Brain-Based Education movement. We launched the first conference that attempted to bridge these two worlds in 1998. The goal of the conference, called Learning Expo, was for teachers to speak to scientists, and, equally important, for scientists to speak to educators.
Critics say that neuroscience research can add little to educational practices. What we say is that, whereas it is true that much needs to be clarified, there are already clear implications from brain research that educators should be aware of. For example, four important elements that are often neglected by educators, given the obsessive focus on academic scores, are nutrition, physical exercise, stress management, and overall mental enrichment.
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Dr. Robert Sylwester is an educator of educators, having received multiple awards during his long career as a master communicator of the implications of brain science research for education and learning. He is the author of several books and many journal articles, and member of our Scientific Advisory Board. His most recent book is The Adolescent Brain: Reaching for Autonomy (Corwin Press, 2007). He is an Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Oregon.
I am honored to interview him today.
Alvaro Fernandez: Let's start with that eternal source of debate. What do we know about the respective roles of genes and our environment in brain development?
Robert Sylwester: Genetic and environmental factors both contribute to brain maturation. Genetics probably play a stronger role in the early years, and the environment plays a stronger role in later years. Still the mother's (environmental) use of drugs during the pregnancy could affect the genetics of fetal brain development, and some adult illnesses, such as Huntington's Disease, are genetically triggered.
Nature and nurture both require the significant contributions of the other in most developmental and maintenance functions. We typically think of environmental factors as things that happen to us, over which we have little control.
Can't our own decisions have an effect in our own brain development? For example, what if I choose a career in investment banking, vs. one in journalism or teaching?
We make our own career decisions in life, and most of us make a combination of good and bad decisions, which influence our brain's maturation.
My father was very unusual in his career trajectory in that he worked at one place throughout his entire adult life, and died three months after he retired at 91. I've always thought that it's a good idea to make a change every ten years or so and do something different – either within the same organization or to move to another one.
It's just as good for organizations to have some staff turnover as it is for staff to move to new challenges. The time to leave one position for another is while you and your employer are Continue Reading »
Context: Last February we had the chance to attend a great conference on how brain research is influencing education. Highly recommended. Caroline wrote our impressions, summarized as "It was a fascinating mix of neuroscientists and educators talking with and listening to each other. Some topics were meant to be applied today, but many were food for thought - insight on where science and education are headed and how they influence each other". See some of our take-aways below.
Announcement: the 2008 edition of this conference, titled Using Brain Research to Enhance Learning, Attention & Memory For Educators, Parents and Clinicians, will take place in San Francisco, on February 7-9th, 2008. The organizers have kindly invited me to deliver a lecture on Interventions to Sharpen Minds, as part of the Brain Plasticity & Attention track. I will provide an overview of the science behind computer-based cognitive training interventions and discuss a number of research-based programs that are being used today. Let me know if you are planning to attend!
Registration fees: the general registration fees are $495 per person, if you register before January 25th, 2008.
Special Discount for SharpBrains readers: you can register for $450 before that date, making sure to write
SharpBrains1 in the comments section of How did you hear about the conference? in this Registration Page.
To learn more about the conference: Continue Reading »
Brain Fitness doesn't require the use of expensive equipment. Your brain is enough. Today we are honored to interview Dr. Judith Beck on how cognitive techniques can be applied to develop a number of important mental skills. The latest application of these?. Losing weight.
Dr. Judith Beck is the Director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond. Her most recent book is The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person.
Dr. Beck, thanks for your time. What does the Beck Institute do?
We have 3 main activities. One, we train practitioners and researchers through a variety of training programs. Two, we provide clinical care. Three, we are involved in research on cognitive therapy.
Please explain cognitive therapy in a few sentences
Cognitive therapy, as developed by my father Aaron Beck, is a comprehensive system of psychotherapy, based on the idea that the way people perceive their experience influences their emotional, behavioral, and physiological responses. Part of what we do is to help people solve the problems they are facing today. We also teach them cognitive and behavioral skills to modify their dysfunctional thinking and actions.
I understand that cognitive therapy has been tested for many years in a variety of clinical applications. What motivated you to bring those techniques to the weight-loss field by writing The Beck Diet Solution?
Since the beginning, I have primarily Continue Reading »
Great March 19th issue of Newsweek Magazine, announcing the hiring of science writer Sharon Begley, who leads the cover story on The Evolution Revolution. You will find:
Talking about DNA, my wife and I just ordered our participation kit from National Geographic: The Genographic Project to learn more about our origins. Looks like a very worthy project. She, from Russian and German recent ancestors; me, born in Spain's Basque Country. We will see what we find out!
Welcome to the February 19, 2007 edition of brain fitness.
Today we want to highlight an excellent Interview with Aaron Beck on the History of Cognitive Therapy submitted by the Beck Institute. Dr. Beck was 83 when he gave this interview. To the question "Do you have a view about ageing?", he responds "I can only speak for myself. I know that practically all my colleagues from medical school days who are still around have retired. That is not something that I think about. It is no more on my horizon now than it was when we first met a quarter of a century ago. I keep looking ahead." He also says "I have always liked to unify different fields. Given my background in neurology I do not see a conflict between neurology and psychology. But if you look at the training of contemporary psychiatrists, for example, the two domains are totally distinct. If psychiatry is to survive as a discipline, a merging of the concepts of neurology and psychology will need to occur." Continue Reading »
