Neuroeducation: Learning, Arts, and the Brain

Located at The Johns Hopkins University School of Education, the Neuro-Education Initiative (NEI) bridges the gap between the brain sciences and education by bringing together an interdisciplinary group of researchers, educators, and stakeholders to explore the intersection and application of brain research in education and to support potential areas of translational research.

Supported by the Johns Hopkins University’s Brain Science Institute, the Neuro-Education Initiative spearheads collaborative projects among research and educational faculty from across the University and beyond to advance the science of learning. Such projects include national summits and conferences on topics relevant to education, graduate programs, and research initiatives to bring new knowledge to inform educational practices and policies.

In 2004, the Dana Foundation funded the Dana Arts and Cognition Consortium bringing together scientists from seven research institutions to study how arts training in children might affect other learning domains. The results of the study were published in 2008 and became the focus for an all-day summit focused on neuroeducation, hosted by the Johns Hopkins Neuro-Education Initiative, in cooperation with Dana. This publication is an outcome of that summit meeting.

In partnership with The Dana Foundation and as a follow-up to the Dana Arts and Cognition Consortium, NEI hosted its inaugural national summit in May 2009 on the topic of Learning, Arts, and the Brain. This publication captures the spirit of collaboration among summit participants who represented a wide array of disciplines among the research, academic, arts and educational practitioner communities. Future summits will build on this spirit of discovery and communication to bring the practical needs of educators and stakeholders to the research community and the exciting discoveries of the brain sciences to those who teach and nurture children.

For more information and future events visit www.education.jhu.edu/; or contact the NeuroEducation Initiative Co-Directors Mariale Hardiman at mmhardiman@jhu.edu or Susan Magsamen at smagsam1@jhu.edu.