Teaching to the Brain: Applying Neurobiology to Your Pedagogy

Understanding how the brain learns can help you to create materials for your courses which help students to learn more efficiently. In this session we will talk about how learning works at a molecular level, how stress and sleep impact learning, and we will workshop ideas of how to create lessons that capitalize on the biological mechanisms in the brain to make learning easier.

Dr. Cindy Harley studies the neuroscience of behavior. Her career has largely involved determining how neurons guide behaviors in invertebrates, owing to their tractable nervous systems. She received her PhD in 2009 from Case Western Reserve University and followed it with Postdoctoral positions at Cal Tech and UMN. She joined our faculty in 2015 and is a self-expressed ‘teaching geek’ who loves thinking of new ways to access student minds.

Lunch and Learn is part of an ongoing monthly series of presentations and discussions hosted by the College of Management. This conversation is open to all educators, administrators, instructional designers, and students of Minnesota State Education System.

Meet new faculty, gather with long-time friends from across Minnesota State, and bring questions and ideas (along with your lunch) to these monthly gatherings that will include conversation starters and an opportunity for both large and small group conversations. For information, contact organizers Dr. Minjung Park or Dr. Allen Bellas.