 Hello, this is Tracy Tokahama-Spinoza, the Learning Sciences. The Learning Sciences seek to explain human cognitive processes, specifically learning, with the end goal in mind of maximizing individual potential by reducing risk factors and enhancing protective factors in individual people's lives. This is an umbrella concept and it's not just education. The Learning Sciences encompasses broader fields such as neuroscience as well as psychology and most recently has been nurtured by information from the health sciences especially nutrition and information about brain chemistry, neurotransmitters, biology, and the genetic links. However, genetic makeup influences your potential to learn. This is a developmental field that studies human beings throughout the lifespan including pediatrics as well as geriatrics, but it's not only in the hard sciences. The Learning Sciences include elements of philosophy as well as anthropology, sociology, ethnology, cultural studies, and especially what separates human beings apart from other animals, linguistics or language, our ability to produce and think through language. Learning Sciences is also very special because it looks at ways that we can leverage technology to enhance learning outcomes of individuals and spreads to the general concepts of how we organize learning endeavors informally as well as formally. And it considers this from not only this micro level of biology but also looks at assistance and analysis of thinking about how human beings as a whole learn. So the Learning Sciences in its broader sense considers microbiology from your individual cells all the way up through societal influences on learning outcomes. All of this means then that there's a new take then on teaching and teaching skills as well as general pedagogy. It also means that we now take into consideration new fields such as affective neuroscience or the influence of emotions on cognitive processes as well as cultural neuroscience or a broader vision of the nature via nurture debate and how an individual's potential to learn is influenced by his or her surroundings. Additionally, this gives us a new take then on traditional fields such as cognitive psychology and special education and inclusion studies. This means that the Learning Sciences study various different themes but now with a multiple lens whereas memory and attention for example which are core and fundamental concepts in learning as a whole have been looked at individually through education, neuroscience, psychology and these other fields the Learning Sciences beg a more holistic vision through a transdisciplinary lens. We can study neuroplasticity as well as debunk neuromist through evidence, look at motivation, executive functions, critical thinking skills, the role of sleep hygiene and learning, mindfulness practices, differentiation, backward design planning and educational structures, flipping the classroom and its influence on retention and motivation of student learners, theory of mind, the five pillars, staving off cognitive decline into old age by keeping the brain active as well as multiliteracy skills, language policies on a more macro level or evaluation processes or accreditation structures that might exist that pass judgment on the quality of learning experiences. But it also forces us to consider on a more global level what does it mean to be a part of the Knowledge Society or how do we now approach learning problems? How can we envision concepts such as bullying through this broader lens or autism spectrum disorder studies? The Learning Sciences also consider habits of mind or long term thinking. How do you habituate mindsets that create the potential for new learning or concepts such as resilience which are also shown to influence student learning outcomes throughout the lifespan? How do we enhance 21st century skills or integrate emotional intelligence or metacognitive skills or the desired goal of collaboration or the use of Socratic dialogue to enhance thinking skills or deeper reflective practices? What are exactly student centers or authentic problem based learning activities that might be incorporated into the classroom? And how does mentoring and both a professional as well as personal level influence learning outcomes? And how can all of this be handled with a neuroethical lens? If we then consider this grand universal concept of the Learning Sciences we see that what we're now charged with doing is transitional research using a transdisciplinary lens. We realize that part of this is being pushed by evidence based practice and how we do this with the highest of academic rigor. And finally, how do we bring into this psychological validity? My name is Tracy Tevehame Espinosa, I teach a course at the Harvard University Extension School called the Neuroscience of Learning. It's an introduction to mind, brain, health and education and I look forward to discussing all of the different branches of the Learning Sciences with you. We'll do this in a structure that first allows us to get rid of many of the neuro myths that still plague educational practices, then talk about the few, the six things that experts have agreed upon are true about all human brains across the lifespan and that should be taught to all people in educational fields, as well as these 21 tenants, things that are also true about the human brain and learning, but for which there's a large range of human variation. For example, motivation is very important for learning, but what motivates one person doesn't necessarily motivate another. Then we'll put this into context within the cultural structures. We know that different types of cultural artifacts, for example, writing systems or math systems, change the neurophysiological structure of the brain. So this helps us distinguish what things are true about all human learning across the lifespan and around the world and what things are very particular to different types of cultures. Then after we've done all of that, we can talk about instructional guidelines, what are things that we might suggest to people to enhance student learning outcomes. I look forward to talking with you more about the Learning Sciences, specifically mind brain health and education, and how this new perspective enhances the probability of reaching the potential of all students in our classroom. If you have any questions before we meet, go ahead and send me an email, tracy.tukahamaatgmail.com. Looking forward to talking with you.