Aspen Brain Institute Expert Series Features Pamela Cantor, M.D.

Turnaround for Children Founder and Senior Science Advisor, Pamela Cantor, M.D., spoke with Emily Gold Mears in the presentation, “Trauma, Instructional Loss and the Resilience of the Learning Brain,” as part of Aspen Brain Institute‘s Expert Series.

The Aspen Brain Institute Expert Series is a virtual series featuring experts in brain science who share ideas, research and perspectives to increase literacy around brain health.

The pair spoke about design flaws in the current education system, derived from a lack of knowledge on how the brain works and false assumptions on how young people grow and develop. Cantor spoke about the lessons gained from the science of learning development and how to apply those lessons to design learning settings that focus on the whole-child and develop motivated, engaged learners. In regards to implementing this type of design, Cantor pointed toward the Essential Guiding Principles for Equitable Whole-Child Design, and the upcoming Design Playbooks set to be released with partners from the SoLD Alliance.

From the interview:

“The message in the science is optimistic. Genes are chemical followers. This is the biologic truth that context shapes the expression of our genetic potential. And schools designed using the levers of human development and brain science, such that what one child can do, all children can do under highly favorable conditions. This is our learning system of the future. One that is designed to see and unleash the potential in each and every child and ensure that they thrive.”

The full interview is now available to view on-demand.