The Research Institute for Learning and Development, (ResearchILD), located in Lexington, MA, will hold its 30th annual International Learning Differences Conference, “Executive Function and Learning Differences: Past, Present, and Future,” on Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21 at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, MA. The conference, chaired by Dr. Lynn Meltzer, President of ResearchILD, will address the cognitive, as well as the social-emotional needs of diverse learners, worldwide.
Faculty members, Chinedu Okeke on left, and Namhla Sotuku, from the University of Fort Hare in East London, South Africa attended last year’s Learning Differences Conference at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. The conference, which is being held on March 20 and 21, is hosted by ResearchILD in Lexington and is currently in its 30th year.
Nearly 20 national and international experts in the educational field will address the evolution of and future directions for research and theory in the field of learning differences. Conference attendees include teachers from across every grade and content level, school psychologists, child and adolescent development specialists, school administrators and other educational professionals, from across the country and the globe.
Thirty years ago we began this conference to stress the importance of understanding the critical role that executive function plays in teaching students with learning differences,” states Lynn Meltzer, “Today, understanding the role that effective executive function strategy use plays in the lives of students, everywhere, has never been more important and relevant to academic success for ALL students, everywhere in the world.”
The Learning Differences Conference is one of the premier conferences in the field of learning, and features experts covering the medical, psychological and academic aspects of learning differences. It includes a combination of plenary and smaller concurrent sessions and provides attendees with opportunities for in-depth discussions with conference faculty. A teacher panel, representing schools that are currently implementing executive function strategy curriculum in their classrooms will lend a practical perspective to the theoretical framework being presented. There will also be an emphasis on strategies that work across the grades in different subjects including reading, writing, math, and science and a panel that stresses the important role of self-advocacy for students.
The cost for attending this conference is $625 with student discounts available to those who qualify. Please go to www.researchild.org/ldc30 to see agenda details and full speaker biographies. The conference fee includes breaks, a networking lunch, and a certificate of educational hours will be offered upon completion.
Please contact Anna Lavelle, conference Coordinator at alavelle@researchild.org for ResearchILD for additional information.
About ResearchILD
ResearchILD is one of two organizations that comprise the Institutes for Learning and Development, and is a Lexington-based non-profit organization founded by Dr. Lynn Meltzer and Dr. Bethany Roditi, in 1995. ResearchILD’s mission is to transform the lives of children, adolescents, and adults by teaching strategies that develop the persistence and resilience needed to attain success in school and in life. Its sister organization, ILD, provides one-to-one psychological, speech, language and educations services that transform the lives of one student at a time. ResearchILD is internationally recognized for its cutting-edge research and best practices in executive function, teacher training, program development, mentoring programs, and multi-media software for strategy instruction. ResearchILD also provides scholarship support for educational services, sponsors teacher training, and professional development. ResearchILD is currently developing SMARTS Online, an online curriculum offering teachers executive function strategies for classroom use, worldwide.
