Adele Diamond brings neuroscience to the front lines

Earlier this summer, Adele Diamond gathered over 600 people for the Brain Development and Learning conference. The goal of the conference was to connect the ideas – coming from the researchers and scientists who constantly investigate the brain and its role in our devlopment – to the people on the front lines, namely educators, parents and doctors.

The DLC got a chance to catch up with Adele, who also participated in the Educating the Heart dialogue at the Vancouver Peace Summit, to find out more about this important event.

Dalai Lama Center: Tell us a little bit about the what people saw at the conference.

Adele Diamond: The conference was about taking the latest work in neuroscience, child development, mental health and making it accessible and understandable to people who work with children everyday, the people on the front lines, the teachers, parents, doctors, clinicians, anybody like that. But also to present it in a way so that they could see the practical relevance of it, that they could actually use the information.

DLC: Why is this sort of conference necessary?

AD: Usually there’s not a lot of communication between the basic science people in academia and people on the front lines. So researchers and basic scientists are finding out all of this really important information and it doesn’t seem to be getting to the people who need it to inform what they’re doing. And the people who are working on the front lines are really hungry for learning about the latest research and the latest findings. They want that to inform what they’re doing, but they’re frustrated in trying to find that information.

DLC: This is the third conference that you've held. How has it evolved over the years?

AD: When I came to BC at the end of 2004, I felt like I wanted to do a conference like this, because I felt that there was a need, and it’s doubled in size each time. The first time we did it, it was just under 200 people who attended, the next time we did it, it was between 300 and 400 and this time it was 638.

DLC: What has been the reaction of the people who have attended the event?

AD: It was all very positive. They loved that they could see the relevance of what they were hearing. They really liked the feel of the meeting. They said it was a feeling of community, a feeling of mutual respect. They found that everybody was really friendly and they didn’t feel that anybody was talking down to anybody else.

Here is a small sampling of some of the speakers and topics:

• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Bringing more JOY into Life and Learning
• Jon Kabat-Zinn: Mindfulness-based Stress and Pain Reduction
• John Mighton: JUMP Math:  ALL Children can Learn Math         
• Nils Bergman:the Importance of Touch: Evidence on Skin-to-Skin Care vs. Incubators
• George Rebok: Experience Corps:  Seniors helping Schoolchildren
• Blythe Corbett: Helping Children with Autism through Theatre
• Ara Norenzayan: Cross-Cultural Differences in Thinking and Perception
• Jane Garland: Creatively Helping Youths 'Tame' Depression & Anxiety
• Carolyn Webster-Stratton: Helping Children with Conduct Disorders Beat the Odds

You can watch a clip from the Brain Development and Learning conference below.