Continuing Our Mind and Brain Education Journey
Continuing Our Mind and Brain Education Journey
As we wrap up what can only be described as an energizing Homecoming Week on Scholar Lane, the leaders within the professional learning community at The Meadows School turn their attention to our ongoing work around Mind and Brain Education and our partnership with the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning.
Year two of our work to better understand learning through the lens of the brain is critically important to our growth. Too often, schools invite a speaker, choose a theme, and soon after, move on to the next academic trend. The commitment at The Meadows School to continue our pursuit of “excellence in everything” in the classroom in this area remains steadfast.
We began this Fall by introducing new faculty to this work with a session with Glenn Whitman, the Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching Learning. Glenn and his partner Kirstin Simmers led our work last year and are uniquely positioned to both understand our community and our goals. The previous session served as an introduction to the concepts around Mind and Brain Education as well as a discussion about how to incorporate these learnings in the classroom.
Shortly after school began, the Beginning School spent two days with Monica Cochran. Monica is an education consultant and an expert in “strengths-based” coaching. She spent a day observing our Beginning School faculty and returned the next day to host voluntary small group discussions around concepts like “co-regulation” and “declarative language”. Monica was wildly impressed with the Beginning School and hopes to return and spend more time exploring the nervous system’s impact on learning opportunities.
This coming month will be our first in-service day of the year and it is being planned and hosted by Dr. Colleen Slater and the McRel Group. Once again, building on our long-term aspirations to make data-informed decisions about how to support learning, McRel is sending the authors of The New Classroom Instruction That Works to spend the day learning how to leverage curiosity in learning as well as how to use evidence-based practices so that students are supported to engage, process, and apply their learning.
In addition to the work we continue to do daily on campus, our reach will expand this spring as we open our Annual Teaching and Learning Conference to outside submissions for the first time this year. The two-day conference will be a celebration of academic excellence and an opportunity to share our best practices with others who are committed to delivering the best student experience on earth.
Finally, in a pivotal development in our quest to become the Mind and Brain Education center of the West, the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning has selected The Meadows School as a remote host for its annual learning conference this summer. In late July, educators from all over the West will descend on Scholar Lane to share the very latest in research around neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and learning spaces. We are eager to share our thoughts and our spaces with other educators from around the country!
The Meadows School has a tireless appetite for excellence. As we continue to educate ourselves and our students on the latest research and strategies around Mind and Brain Education, we will extend our reach and influence while simultaneously preparing our students to make an impact on the world that they are poised to inherit.
Joseph Carver
Associate Head of School
Year two of our work to better understand learning through the lens of the brain is critically important to our growth. Too often, schools invite a speaker, choose a theme, and soon after, move on to the next academic trend. The commitment at The Meadows School to continue our pursuit of “excellence in everything” in the classroom in this area remains steadfast.
We began this Fall by introducing new faculty to this work with a session with Glenn Whitman, the Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching Learning. Glenn and his partner Kirstin Simmers led our work last year and are uniquely positioned to both understand our community and our goals. The previous session served as an introduction to the concepts around Mind and Brain Education as well as a discussion about how to incorporate these learnings in the classroom.
Shortly after school began, the Beginning School spent two days with Monica Cochran. Monica is an education consultant and an expert in “strengths-based” coaching. She spent a day observing our Beginning School faculty and returned the next day to host voluntary small group discussions around concepts like “co-regulation” and “declarative language”. Monica was wildly impressed with the Beginning School and hopes to return and spend more time exploring the nervous system’s impact on learning opportunities.
This coming month will be our first in-service day of the year and it is being planned and hosted by Dr. Colleen Slater and the McRel Group. Once again, building on our long-term aspirations to make data-informed decisions about how to support learning, McRel is sending the authors of The New Classroom Instruction That Works to spend the day learning how to leverage curiosity in learning as well as how to use evidence-based practices so that students are supported to engage, process, and apply their learning.
In addition to the work we continue to do daily on campus, our reach will expand this spring as we open our Annual Teaching and Learning Conference to outside submissions for the first time this year. The two-day conference will be a celebration of academic excellence and an opportunity to share our best practices with others who are committed to delivering the best student experience on earth.
Finally, in a pivotal development in our quest to become the Mind and Brain Education center of the West, the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning has selected The Meadows School as a remote host for its annual learning conference this summer. In late July, educators from all over the West will descend on Scholar Lane to share the very latest in research around neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and learning spaces. We are eager to share our thoughts and our spaces with other educators from around the country!
The Meadows School has a tireless appetite for excellence. As we continue to educate ourselves and our students on the latest research and strategies around Mind and Brain Education, we will extend our reach and influence while simultaneously preparing our students to make an impact on the world that they are poised to inherit.
Joseph Carver
Associate Head of School
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