Beyond Poverty: Brain-Inspired Ways to Understand and Respond to Poverty

In this workshop, participants will learn the specific impact of poverty on the developing brain, the outcomes of that damage in the classroom and the community, and the interventions that can be used to overcome poverty’s effects. Specific, research-based strategies for combating the negative impact of poverty on learning will be introduced for infants, pre-school and school-aged children. Exciting discoveries in neuroscience have revealed that the brain is a dynamic and changing organ — particularly in childhood. Known as “neuroplasticity,” the brain’s ability to change and grow through exposure to environmental stimulus offers exciting new approaches and strategies for educators, parents and child-serving professionals working with children of poverty. The impoverished brain can be changed significantly for the better and these techniques provide you with the tools to begin transforming young minds.

Learning Objectives

1. To share with participants recent discoveries from neuroscience about the impact of poverty on the anatomical, functional and behavioral development of young brains.
2. To empower participants with “take home” tools for overcoming the synergistic, negative impact of poverty on the developing brain.
3. To equip child advocates and organizational leaders with a practical, affordable approach for combating the long-term effects of poverty on the youth they serve.

To provide participants with concrete strategies for countering the negative impacts of poverty with individual children as well as broader strategies for schools and communities committed to reversing poverty’s effects on young minds.