In our Parent Newsletter June 2018, we’d like to welcome our new contributor, Marie Lister! Marie graduated in 2012 with a Masters of Education and a teaching license in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education. She has been a classroom teacher for 9 years and currently is a teacher at the Shirley G. Moore…
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) are teaming up in a national effort: improve student outcomes through research and development. Yesterday (May 8, 2018), the two nonprofits announced that they are extending a public Request for Information (RFI) about innovative ways to facilitate, accelerate, and improve the academic and non-academic outcomes that…
“Executive function refers to the brain skills that allow us to control our thoughts, actions, and emotions. These skills include cognitive flexibility (thinking about something in multiple ways and shifting gears, for example, transitioning smoothly from snack time to center time), working memory (holding information in mind and working with it, such as reminding yourself…
Earlier this week, Frontiers in Psychology published an article on mindfulness, reflection, and executive function. The study, “Mindfulness Plus Reflection Training: Effects on Executive Function in Early Childhood” was conducted by Dr. Phil Zelazo, Dr. Ann Masten, and Dr. Stephanie Carlson of the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development and Jessie Forston of Learning Tree Yoga,…
University of Minnesota education technology startup Reflection Sciences is collaborating with Harvard Graduate School of Education to identify what works for children in a range of learning environments. – Press Release – MINNEAPOLIS, MN (January 29, 2018) – Most US states have early education standards in core learning areas for literacy, math, science, and social…
Executive function impairments in the classroom can manifest in a number of ways. Commonly, children who struggle with self-regulation will act out. Other low executive functioning students may go undetected — rather than causing trouble, they quietly struggle. How can we, as researchers, parents, clinicians, and educators, not only detect these students but also provide support?…
Executive function skills are important for a number of processes, but did you know that these skills also play a huge role in the power to resist temptations? Full Prefrontal is a podcast series led by Sucheta Kamath, Founder of Cerebral Matters and expert in brain training and executive function development. Sucheta and her guests,…
Twenty-seven St. Paul Public elementary schools are blurring the lines between school work and play with a homegrown curriculum called “Discovering Our World.” Kids get around 90 minutes each day to play — or “actively learn” — at any of several stations stocked with blocks, modeling clay and art, or pretend cooking supplies. Stephanie Carlson,…
Reflection Sciences and The National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS) are proud to announce another year of partnership to measure Montessori success! The Mission: Our partnership serves to provide Montessori educators with the tools and training to reliably measure the efficacy of your classrooms. Pair Reflection Sciences’ MEFS assessment tool with NCMPS’s…
Reflection Sciences’ Professional Development Team and Executive Function Experts have designed an early childhood session, “Executive Function Skills: Measure What Matters” that will be presented, live at Minnesota’s Metro ECSU on January 9, 2018. The session will address: What is Executive Function? Why should we measure it? What is the MEFS? How is the assessment…