In this interview Dr. Philip David Zelazo, Co-founder of Reflection Sciences and leading researcher in the field of developmental psychology, answers important questions from Ellen Galinsky, Executive Director and Chief Science Officer of Mind in the Making at the Bezos Family Foundation, Co-founder and President of Families and Work Institute (FWI), and Vroom Advisor. The interview was…
University of Minnesota – CEHD’s CEED partners with Reflection Sciences
by Cassandra Blohowiak The Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) has partnered with tech start-up Reflection Sciences to conduct on-site trainings on the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS) in Minnesota. The MEFS is a testing app that early educators can use to measure executive function (EF) and early learning readiness in children. It is the only early learning readiness assessment measuring…
Pretend Play – How To Get Kids to Focus Using Superheroes
For young children, pretend play is so much more important than just having fun. In a study by Dr. Stephanie M. Carlson, University of Minnesota Professor and Reflection Sciences CEO and Co-founder, and U of MN alums Dr. Rachel White, Dr. Emily Prager, and Catherine Schaefer, children who pretend to be their strong-minded hero are…
Minnesota Executive Function Scale + Outcome Measure for Montessori Education
By Stephanie M. Carlson, PhD and Philip David Zelazo, PhD The notion of reflection is rooted throughout Montessori methods. The environment and pedagogy are designed to cultivate children’s awareness of their work and self-motivated learning. Reflection is also the key to developing life skills known as “executive function.” Educators and employers are increasingly hearing about…
Be a Better Mentor with Executive Function
Joseph Angaran, national Check & Connect trainer at the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota, explains the power of ‘pausing’ to enhance executive function and be a better mentor. Reflection, which refers to the ability to “notice challenges, pause, consider options, and put things into context prior to responding”, supports healthy academic,…
How to Improve Early Childhood Education: Help Teachers De-Stress
A new report out this month: 46% of teachers say they feel high daily stress. Roughly 50% agree that “stress and disappointments involved in teaching at this school aren’t really worth it.” What helps? Mindfulness. Patricia Jennings, Associate Professor of Education in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, mindfulness practitioner of more…
Advantages of Early Childhood Education
According to recent research by Professor and Nobel-winning economist James Heckman, there are huge advantages of Early Childhood Education. High-quality early childhood development programs can deliver an annual return of 13% per child on upfront costs through better outcomes in education, health, employment and social behavior. “Investing in the continuum of learning from birth to…
Montessori Schools + Executive Function
We have teamed up with the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector to provide the Developmental Environment Rating Scale, or DERS, and the MEFS App to Montessori schools across the nation. Click here for more information and to find out how you can get started.
Strategies for Parents: Goldilocks Parenting
Reflection Sciences Co-founder Dr. Stephanie Carlson explains how “goldilocks parenting”, or finding techniques that are “just right” for a child’s autonomy development, affects the child’s executive function development. When parents interact with their child in a way that balances patience, helpfulness, and involvedness, the child develops the ability to reflection on choices and make decisions according to their own…
Early Childhood Education Benefits and How to Make Them Last
The National Public Radio education blogger Elissa Nadworny explores Early Childhood Education Benefits and how differences between preschools affect children. “The question is turning away from whether we should do pre-kindergarten and instead to HOW should we do pre-kindergarten…” See the full article here.