Search Database

Life Span Development: Brain Dev.

• Organizations: National

  Child Mind Institute (New York, NY)

  This organization seeks to improve the lives of children and teens struggling with psychiatric and learning disorders by integrating the following: Accessible, evidence-based clinical care for children and their families; collaborative research engaging scientists from around the world; comprehensive information and resources to educate and empower parents; and focused advocacy to destigmatize childhood psychiatric disorders and bring effective care to families around the globe.

  The Dana Foundation (Washington, DC & CA)

  The Dana Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation with principal interests in science, health, and education. Visit the BrainWeb section to find general information about the brain and current brain research, as well as links to validated sites related to more than 25 brain disorders. Brainy Kids Online offers children, teens, parents and teachers links to games, labs, excellent education resources and lesson plans.

• Printed Materials: Books

  Big Tools for Young Thinkers

  In this book by Susan Keller-Mathers and Kristin Puccio, children in the primary grades can learn and apply a wide variety of powerful thinking tools for generating options for focusing their thinking. Creative problem-solving tools include brainstorming, braindrawing, forced relationships, and the evaluation matrix.

  Cerebellum and Neuronal Plasticity

  This book contains 22 chapters based on talks given at a conference held at Magdalen College in April 1986. The participants in the conference came from a number of countries and represented several disciplines. They share a common interest in the structure of the cerebellum and its role in the control of movement and motor learning. The chapters in the book reflect that interest, and put forward in a succinct and clear way some of the major new ideas on the role of the cerebellum in movement and motor learning.

  Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty
  

  This first book by the author of Zen and the Brain examines the role of chance in the creative process. James Austin tells a personal story of the ways in which persistence, chance, and creativity interact in biomedical research; the conclusions he reaches shed light on the creative process in any field.

  Developing Your Child for Success

  Author Kenneth Lane outlines 103 activities that are designed to help give a child the necessary perceptual motor-skills needed to succeed in school. Categories covered are motor, visual motor, ocular motor, vision, laterality, directionality, sequential processing and simultaneous processing.

  Einstein Never Used Flash Cards

  The authors join together to prove that training preschoolers with flash cards and attempting to hurry intellectual development doesn't pay off. In fact, the authors claim, kids who are pressured early on to join the academic rat race don't fair any better than children who are allowed to take their time. Alarmed by the current trend toward creating baby Einsteins, the authors urge parents to step back and practice the "Three R's: Reflect, Resist, and Recenter." Instead of pushing preschoolers into academically oriented programs that focus on early achievement, they suggest that children learn best through simple playtime, which enhances problem solving skills, attention span, social development and creativity.

  Enjoy Your Gifted Child

  Written in laymen's terms, this book by Carol Addison Takacs offers sound advice on how to let your child discover his/her talents and learning capacity without forcing them at an unnatural pace. Giving them creative outlets ("fun-time") while they learn can lead to more balanced brain development.

  How the Gifted Brain Learns

  In this book, David Sousa examines why traditional talent-identification techniques are inadequate (and often inaccurate), and presents methods that will allow you to identify giftedness and talent potential with greater accuracy than ever before.
  

  Inspiring Middle School Minds: Gifted, Creative, and Challenging
  

  In this book, Dr. Judy Willis, a neurologist and teacher, explains the inner workings of the adolescent brain. She uses the findings of brain research to explain how parents and teachers can help students’ motivation and memory, bypassing the “filters” that adolescents often use to block their learning and triggering untapped inspiration.

  It's All in Your Head: A Guide to Understanding Your Brain and Boosting Your Brain Power

  For ages 9-12, this book for students discusses how the brain evolved, what the different parts do, what makes a person a genius, why play is good for the brain, 10 tips for making life easier, 20 ways to become more creative, how to maximize their potential, what happens in the brain during sleep, how to take care of their brain, and more. There is also a teacher's edition with student activities and resources.

  Jacob's Ladder Reading Comprehension Programs and Workbooks

  This series targets reading comprehension skills in high-ability learners by moving students through an inquiry process from basic understanding to critical analyses of texts using a field-tested method developed by the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary. Students in grades K–9 will be able to comprehend and analyze any reading passage after completing the activities in these books. Using skill ladders connected to individual readings in poetry, short stories, and nonfiction, students move from lower order, concrete thinking skills to higher order, critical thinking skills. All of the books, geared to increasing grade levels, include high-interest readings, ladders to increase reading skill development, and easy-to-implement instructions.

  Magic Trees of the Mind : How to Nurture Your Child's Intelligence, Creativity, and Healthy Emotions from Birth Through Adolescence

  This book by Marian Diamond and Janet Hopson, is primarily aimed at parents and educators, but it is an extremely valuable resource for anyone (gifted children included) who are interested in brain development and the influence of appropriate enrichment.

  Nature's Gambit: Child Prodigies and the Development of Human Potential

  Feldman's study of six male child prodigies includes extensive descriptions of the children's development in babyhood and early childhood. This volume includes case study material on an "omnibus prodigy" who scored well above 200 IQ.

  On Intelligence: How a New Understanding of the Brain Will Lead to the Creation of Truly Intelligent Machines

  Jeff Hawkins develops a powerful theory of how the human brain works, explaining why computers are not intelligent and how, based on this new theory, we can finally build intelligent machines.

  Scientist in the Crib

  This book, written by three pioneers in the new field of cognitive science, discusses important discoveries about how much babies and young children know and learn, and how much parents naturally teach them. It argues that evolution designed us both to teach and learn, and that the drive to learn is our most important instinct. It also reveals as fascinating insights about our adult capacities and how even young children -- as well as adults -- use some of the same methods that allow scientists to learn so much about the world.
  

  Six Thinking Hats

  This book uses the metaphor of six different hats to talk about different styles of thinking. A great resource for parents and teachers who are interested in helping bright young people to differentiate their thinking abilities.

  Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head

  How is the body involved in learning from infancy through adulthood? Physical activity is crucial. This book by Carla Hannaford explains why and gives simple physical exercises that can increase anyone's learning power immediately. It explores brain development, neurological effects of TV, nutrition, stress, and causes of the growing plague of learning disabilities.

  The Mislabeled Child: How Understanding Your Child's Unique Learning Style Can Open the Door to Success

  This book from husband and wife team Brock Eide, M.D. and Fernette Eide, M.D., ofers this informative, clinical aid to labeling and dealing with various "brain-based learning challenges." Each of the 11 chapters focuses on a single type of learning system and the challenges that affect it.

  The Neuropsychology of Reading Disorders

  This is one of two workbooks by authors DeFina and Feifer which discuss both language-based and non-language-based disorders from a brain-based education model of learning. They are intended for school psychologists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, special educators and school administrators. They use cutting-edge research from the neurosciences to understand the various brain mechanisms involved in written disorders and reading disorders in children.

  The Society of Mind

  For some artificial intelligence (AI) researchers, this book is too removed from hard science, but for others, its high-level approach makes it a gold mine of ideas. The author, one of the fathers of AI, sets out to provide an abstract model of how the human mind works.

  The Spatial Child

  John Philo Dixon decribes ways to identify spatial children by addressing their cognitive perception and offers advice on methods of teaching in the classroom.

  The Uncommon Child: Genesis of Behavior

  Bringing together theoretical research and empirical data on infant biology, developing infant capacities, animal models, and the impact of various social forces, this volume presents these disparate approaches in an attempt to examine uncommonness in children.

  To Be Young and Gifted

  This book offers insights into the intellectual and emotional development of exceptional children. Contributors explore the nature of giftedness and how to recognize it in youngsters; the complexities of the creative process; standardized tests and their effectiveness in asserting potential; and developmental theories and how they relate to the identification of gifted children. Several chapters also examine young prodigies and the diversity of personalities and talents that exist among the gifted.

  Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4-14

  Written by Chip Wood, this is a guide for anyone working or living with children ages 4-14. Written for teachers and parents, it offers clear and concise descriptions of children's development. A comprehensive, "user-friendly" reference that helps translate knowledge of child development into schooling that helps all children succeed. Yardsticks includes charts summarizing physical, social, language, and cognitive growth patterns, suggestions for curricular areas, thematic units, and favorite books for different ages.

• Websites & Other Media: Commercial

  Dr. Roger Taylor presents Curriculum Design Online

  This online curriculum resource was developed by Dr. T. Roger Taylor. In his 35 years as a classroom teacher, administrator, professor and internationally-known educational consultant, Dr. Taylor has authored/co-authored more than 5,000 integrated, interdisciplinary thematic curriculum units. The units are written based on the AHA (Analyzing Human Activities) model created by Dr. Taylor. This unique model includes specific application of the most recent brain research, multiple intelligences and constructivist hands-on project-centered learning in alignment with state defined benchmarks and standards.

  Lindamood Bell Learning Processes

  Lindamood-Bell is an organization dedicated to enhancing human learning. They were founded by the authors of critically acclaimed programs that develop the sensory-cognitive processes that underlie reading, spelling, language comprehension, math, and visual motor skills. Their process-based education programs are for individuals ranging from severely learning disabled to academically gifted–ages 5 years through adult.

  Mindset Works

  This computer program, Mindset Works®, can be used in the classroom or at home to help teachers and parents develop the growth mindset in students. The idea is that students with a growth mindset feel more in control of their education and therefore put forth more effort and achieve at higher levels. Twenty years of research have consistently shown that students who have a growth mindset do better in school. Moreover, the research demonstrates that teaching students a growth mindset raises motivation and achievement.

• Websites & Other Media: Informational

  Books on IQ and Human Intelligence

  Hosted by the Learn in Freedom website, this page provides a comprehensive list of IQ and human intelligence.

  Developing Thinking in the Gifted

  This article covers numerous topics related to thinking, including: improving thinking in the gifted; helping children to think; and critical and creative thinking.

  Future Problem Solving Program International

  "Opening doors to student imaginations since 1974, the Future Problem Solving Program offers new and exciting learning paths. Discovering rich and varied ways of thinking, students experience the excitement of creative thinking and the thrill of resolving difficult problems with unique solutions when they participate in FPSP. Inspiring and motivating, our educational materials help your students learn how to think (not what to think)."
  

  Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

  "HOTS was developed in 1980 by Dr. Stanley Pogrow, Professor of Education at the University of Arizona, and one of the leading national experts on school reform. Dr. Pogrow discovered that the primary learning need of Title I and LD students in grades 4-8 was not content remediation, but the development of the types of thinking skills needed to process the more complex and integrative classroom content found in grades 4-8."

  Inspiration.com

  This promotes the Inspiration series of visual thinking tools, that inspire students to brainstorm, organize, plan and create. This award-winning software has revolutionized visual learning in education, inspiring students to develop strong thinking skills and improve performance.

  Integra Foundation (Toronto, Canada)

  Founded in 1967, the Integra Foundation Integra is a Children's Mental Health Center leading in the treatment of vulnerable children and youth with learning disabilities. The health center is dedicated to improving social, emotional and behavioral outcomes through a range of specialized therapeutic, family-centered services, community education and research.

  Neuroscience for Kids

  This site is for young scientists who want to learn more about the nervous system. The home page opens up to 12 sections full of information, articles, activities, games, lessons and software for kids, parents and teachers.

  Quantum Learning Network (QLN)

  Quantum Learning Network has evolved from a small group of educators in the early 1980's to a global organization spanning more than 14 countries. The Quantum Adademy in Oceanside, CA offers programs on Youth Achievement, Teacher Training, College Success and Adult Learning. Achievement skills courses include academic and study strategies, powerful memory and reading techniques, effective writing, thinking and learning, purposeful teaching practices, empowering leadership, and more. QLN also offers a 10-day SuperCamp Summer Program.

  The brain and dyslexia - What brain imaging can and can't tell us about reading difficulties

  The Children of the Code project (www.childrenofthecode.org) offers an interview with Dr. Sally Shaywitz, professor of Pediatric Neurology at Yale University and author of "Overcoming Dyslexia". She is a dedicated and passionate neuroscientist focused on helping children and families overcome the pain and strain of reading difficulties.

  Writing problems of visual thinkers

  Some people produce characteristic, recurring writing problems as a result of inappropriately applying visual thinking to writing. This paper proposes that the writing problems of such visual thinkers derive from three factors: a lack of words, unfamiliarity with the kind of analysis that leads to the logical sequencing of prose, and difficulty understanding that context must be communicated.