Saturday & Sunday, May 3 – 4, 2014
Congress Plaza Hotel of Chicago
The Gold Room
520 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60605 USA
The mission of this conference is to allow educators to explore horizons on the cutting edge of creativity, brain-based education and techniques to relieve stress in the classroom in order for children and educators to reconnect with the essence of teaching and learning. Education should and can open up new worlds and experiences for students and practitioners and this forum is meant to provide a space in which new ideas and projects can be shared.
Keynote Speakers
T.A. Barron — Saturday May 3, 2014
The Magic of Creativity
T.A. Barron, highly acclaimed author of The Merlin Saga, The Great Tree of Avalon, Atlantis Rising, and many other books, discusses the wondrous power of words. Through stories, we can create new worlds, find lasting inspiration, and reach across boundaries of all kinds.
Sharon Promislow — Sunday May 4, 2014
Making the Connection Between Creativity, Stress & the Brain
Learning and creativity depend upon more than an enriched environment, a dedicated teacher, and a willing student. The key to higher-level cognition lies in an integrated whole brain/body experience, hinging on proprioception in muscle circuits as well as communication throughout the brain itself.
Sharon’s interactive presentation, building upon her international best seller Making the Brain Body Connection, provides this bridge between the latest in stress, learning and brain research, and Specialized Kinesiology. Discover how state management is not just an activity of mind; it is a whole brain/body experience. Sharon will reveal the science behind how stress impacts the brain/body system, inhibits learning, impacts memory, and blocks creativity. More importantly, you will personally experience how your brain, body and senses interrelate, as we explore vision, audition, and fine motor skills. You will be introduced to easy techniques and body motions that re-educate the body and central nervous system to switch on the whole brain/body for higher energy, increased coherence, and to release old compensatory patterns.
Come away with a model to transform your personal and classroom effectiveness with simple activities for improving seeing, hearing, writing, learning, memory and focus, effective tools to manage personal and classroom stress and ways to create and maintain the optimal learning state. All of these techniques will integrate seamlessly and transparently into your existing teaching and training plans to help students switch on the multiple intelligences for peak performance under pressure.