Agenda

Upon Registration – The retreat really begins when you register. You will receive a registration packet with two books by our speakers, Train the Mind Change the Brain by Sharon Begley and Brain and Culture by Bruce Wexler. You will also be enrolled in the Syfr Digital Campus, and within two weeks of the first registration, a posting about these books will be available in the Campus. You are encouraged to participate in the book discussions with the other registrants.

For the last five years, Syfr has always included the arts as a part of our exploration of diversity and its role in problem solving and creativity. Although not included in the registration packet, you are also asked to watch the movie “Iron Jawed Angels” before the retreat. (You can rent it from most video stores or Netflix or purchase from Amazon.com.) In addition to the movie, Helen Sung, a jazz pianist will perform Monday night and discuss the origins of her own diverse compositions.

SUNDAY, JULY 19

6:00 – 6:30 pm	Welcome Reception
6:30 – 7:30 pm	Dinner
7:30 – 8:30 pm	Syfr – What's in a Name? Richard Erdmann, Founder and CEO of Syfr Syfr (Syfr is based on the Arabic word for zero - sifr) has an interesting history as a concept and provides an excellent metaphor for our work. This quick introduction to the retreat will use the story of zero to introduce our topic of The Brain, The Classroom and the Connection and the complexities of bringing about change.

MONDAY, JULY 20

7:30 – 8:30 am	Breakfast Buffet Available
8:30 – 9:00 am	Focusing the Brain Christine Drew, President and COO, Syfr What do we know about neuroscience, its evolution as a science, the research results and their application to teaching and learning? This session is designed to focus our brains on our topic by looking at what we already think we know . . .
Paradoxes of Neuroscience in Three Parts Sharon Begley, Author, Train Your Mind Change Your Brain The brain is full of paradoxes. As we become more of an expert, we are liable to become more closed-minded at the same time. The same brain function that creates one creates the other. If we provide a reward, students will learn quicker, but too much of a good thing has its disadvantages. The list could continue. This discussion looks at the research in neuroscience, the seeming paradoxes, the challenges that these pose for teaching and learning, and ways around the paradoxes to productive classroom practice.
9:00 – 10:00 am	Paradoxes of Neuroscience – Part I The Science of Neuroscience Sharon Begley
10:00 – 10:15 am	Break
10:15 – 10:45 am	Paradoxes of Neuroscience – Part II Use Your Brain Richard Erdmann, Christine Drew
10:45 – Noon	Paradoxes of Neuroscience – Part III The Research into Practice Sharon Begley
Noon – 12:45 pm	Lunch
Diagnosis and Treatment: The Brain or the Skill? in Three Parts Annette Goodman, The Arrowsmith School Multiple parts of the brain are always engaged in learning and assessment. When a question is missed, is it a lack of content knowledge, skill or is one of the parts of the brain simply not making its contribution? This session looks at brain diagnosis as practiced in the Arrowsmith Program and how the learning activity changes when it is a part of the brain that is not contributing.
12:45 – 2:00 pm	Diagnosis and Treatment: The Brain or the Skill? – Part I The Neuroscience and Education Connection Annette Goodman
2:00 – 2:15 pm	Break
2:15 – 3:30 pm	Diagnosis and Treatment: The Brain or the Skill? – Part I Understanding Auditory Processing Annette Goodman
3:30 – 6:30 pm	Time for Team Discussion and Personal Time
6:30 – 9:30 pm	Reception, Dinner and Cultural Inquiry: Helen Sung, Jazz Musician Music is perhaps the most obviously creative and collaborative endeavor. Helen Sung will describe jazz in those terms, provide some examples, perform this evening and make a collaborative activity available to students from all the participating school districts through the web.

TUESDAY, JULY 21

7:30 – 8:30 am	Breakfast Buffet Available
8:30 – 9:00 am	Engaging the Brain Christine Drew, President and COO, Syfr What have we learned about neuroscience, its evolution as a science, the research results and their application to teaching and learning? This session is designed for emotional engagement and some quick repetition on our topics as a model for application of neuroscience in teaching.
9:00 – 10:30 am	Diagnosis and Treatment: The Brain or the Skill? – Part III Understanding Dyscalculia: A Cognitive Approach Annette Goodman
10:30 – 10:45 am	Break
10:45 – 11:45 am	Hard Wired: The Role of Culture and Aging Bruce Wexler, Author, Brain and Culture Richard Erdmann, Founder and CEO, Syfr In a sense this topic has three themes: Culture is a very important influence on the brain and how it develops, as we age our mental flexibility diminishes making our cultural orientation somewhat fixed; and cultural diversity will almost always include conflict as a result. This premise influences everything from teaching to organizational change to global conflict and this discussion will take the 5-mile high view right into the classroom.
11:45 – 12:30 pm	Lunch
12:30 – 1:30 pm	Hard Wired: Culture and Aging - continued
1:30 – 1:45 pm	Break
1:45 – 2:45 pm	Film: Iron Jawed Angels Christine Drew, President and COO, Syfr This film is about suffrage and we will use it to explore diversity and generational conflict. It will give us the opportunity to think about the importance of the visual representation of historical content and their impact on all learners. We will explore the film both in terms of content and message as well as an art form.
2:45 – 6:30 pm	Time for Team Discussion and Personal Time
6:30 – 9:30 pm	Reception and Dinner with an Art Walk Location: Chief's Pavilion Syfr's collection of Impressionist art reproductions, used to illustrate the process and elements of change, will be set up in the Chief's Pavilion. Richard Erdmann will explain how the art is used to explain one element of the process and then you can tour the paintings with your guidebook.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 22

7:30 – 8:30 am	Breakfast Buffet Available
8:30 – 10:00 am	Using Classroom Research with Accountability to Transform Organizations Christine Drew, President and COO, Syfr Richard Erdmann, Founder and CEO, Syfr By now you will have been exposed to a variety of ideas about the brain, teaching and learning. Through the Syfr’s social network, we can be working with districts in a variety of research projects that involve action research. Action research is designed for schools to conduct their own research. Syfr will suggest some projects to be taken back to the school districts, and ways that the research can be used to change the schools.
10:00 – 10:15 am	Break
10:15 – 11:30 pm	Research into Practice and Closing