Workshop: Preparing Kids for Excellence

Trident Academy, a K5-12 independent school for students with learning differences, will host a FREE workshop entitled “Preparing Children: Develop Their Highest Cognitive Potentials for 21^st Century Success” on September 27, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. at Trident Academy (1455 Wakendaw Rd., Mt. Pleasant). This workshop, led by board-certified neurologist and classroom teacher Dr. Judy Willis will focus on strategies for parents on developing their child’s judgment, communication, reflective emotional control, goal development, planning, and perseverance. Please RSVP for this workshop to lbyrd@tridentacademy.com.

Dr. Willis is an authority in the field of learning-centered brain research and classroom strategies derived from this research. Speaking at the Learning and the Brain Conference in Boston last year, Dr. Willis noted how students need to be taught, and then practice, using executive functions such as how to learn, study, organize, prioritize, review and actively participate in class. Activities that include comparing and contrasting, giving new examples of a concept, spiraled curriculum, group collaboration, and open-ended discussions support the development of the executive function network. Executive function is also developed when students summarize or symbolize new learning in new formats, either through the arts or writing across the curriculum. This finding makes the Common Core curriculum, with its emphasis on writing throughout all disciplines, even more relevant for today’s learners

Dr. Willis has written two books for parents and caregivers: How Your Child Learns Best: A parent guide to raising smarter children by a neurologist and classroom teacher (2008) and Brain Gifts Unwrapped: How Parents and Teachers Can Ignite the Brains of Gifted Middle School Students (2009). Dr. Willis has also written several books for education professionals including Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning: Insights from a Neurologist/Classroom Teacher (2006), Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom (2007), and Teaching the Brain to Read Strategies for Improving Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension (2008).