West African Art and Music in Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing, with Victoria Shields

Drawing from the African American Cultural Humanities (AC) curriculum, Educator Victoria Shields leads a workshop for music and art lovers with discussion of the 2018 Washtenaw Read, Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi. Shields examines the social and historical contexts presented in Homegoing using music — including a focus on how West Africa influenced American music — as well as visual art from the Detroit Institute of Art collection.

Scorecard on American Public Schools: How Do We Really Fare in International Comparisons?

Public education in the United States has a bad reputation—in the US, that is. A somewhat different picture emerges when the American public school is compared to educational systems of other nations around the globe. Based on two international large-scale studies and research at the University of Michigan, this talk illustrates the strengths of American public schools that are often forgotten in the public debate.

The Long and Winding Road to Knowing Thyself: Why Accurate Self-Knowledge is So Difficult to Achieve

“Know thyself!” exhorted the ancient Greeks, but it turns out that accurate self-understanding is difficult to gain, particularly when it comes to evaluating our knowledge and expertise.

David Dunning, Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan and Faculty Affiliate of the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the Institute of Social Research, discusses recent research showing common biases people display when judging their skill and know-how, and the costs (and occasional benefits) of those biases. He describes best practices to potentially avoid them. It all boils down to following this old, wise admonishment: When arguing with a fool, just make sure that the other person is not likewise engaged.

Professor Dunning taught for several years at Cornell University, where he is Professor Emeritus. An author, co-author, or co-editor of nearly 150 journal articles, book chapters, commentaries, and reviews, he has served as president of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and the Society for the Study of Motivation. He received the 2016 Award for Lifetime Achievement from the International Society for Self and Identity.

His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the Templeton Foundation, as well as featured in more popular outlets as diverse as the New York Times, This American Life, and Doonesbury. This talk is part of the "Exploring the Mind" series and is cosponsored by the University of Michigan Department of Psychology.

The Bilingual Learner: Language, Literacy, and Brain Development

This talk addresses common myths of bilingual children’s language and literacy acquisition along with implications of bilingualism on cognitive and brain development. It also covers best strategies for learning languages for both children and adults.

The rise in global migration has resulted in ever-growing numbers of bilingual and multilingual speakers as well as a growing number of bilingual children.

We marvel at the ease with which young children master new languages. We also fear that learning more than one language may delay children’s language acquisition. Parents, teachers, and clinicians often ask: Are bilingual infants delayed in learning to speak? Are bilingual children delayed in learning to read? Do bilinguals confuse their two languages?

Ioulia Kovelman, Ph.D. is currently Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan and Research Assistant Professor at the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development. Dr. Kovelman’s research interests are in language and reading development in monolingual and bilingual infants, children, and adults. At CHGD, she is co-director of the Brain Imaging Laboratory and conducts research on bilingual language and reading acquisition

This event was part of the "Exploring the Mind" series and was cosponsored by the University of Michigan Department of Psychology.

Predictors of Success In School and Beyond

National and international studies have repeatedly demonstrated that significant numbers of American children are not acquiring the literacy, numeracy, and other important skills needed for success in school and later life.

In this talk, Professor Fred Morrison will review what we know about the most important child, parenting, schooling, and larger sociocultural factors that impact achievement in school and beyond. The discussion will also point to how we can begin to improve literacy in America.

Dr. Morrison is currently Professor of Psychology, Professor in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology and Research Professor in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. In recent years, his research has focused on understanding the nature and sources of children’s cognitive, literacy, and social development over the school transition period. He has been recognized for his contributions to development and education, being awarded the Dina Feitelson award for the best research article published in both 2005 and 2015.

This talk is part of the "Exploring the Mind" series and is cosponsored by the University of Michigan Department of Psychology.

Nerd Nite #36 - Memory Systems and Motor Learning

As we learn motor skills we use two memory systems. These systems are separate and can compete with each other. My talk will go over some evidence of this interaction within the brain.

About Lorraine: Lorraine is a PhD candidate in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Genetics from the University of Western Brittany (Universit de Bretagne Occidentale. She now works on understanding how learning new motor skills affects brain networks.

Living Competently in a Global World

We live in an increasingly global world where people live, work, and study in countries other than their own. Even when living in our home countries, we interact with people from all over the world.

What are the skills that are needed to succeed in this global world? How do we develop and learn these skills? Recent research has shown that the answer to these questions are not as intuitive as one would suspect. Exposing yourself to other cultures does not always help and can sometimes backfire.

However, there are also many things you can do to develop your global competence skills, even if you have never left your home country!

In this talk, Professor Fiona Lee of the U-M Department of Psychology discusses some of this research, and provides concrete strategies you can use to increase your global competence. Professor Lee's research focuses on 3 main topics under the broad topic of social behaviors in organizational and work contexts: Identity Integration: How do people negotiate between their multiple identities? Power: How does having power (or not) affect the way people behave? Culture: When do cultural differences affect people and organizations?

This program was part of the Fall "Exploring the Mind" series of talks, and was co-sponsored by The University of Michigan Department of Psychology.

Crossing Racial and Social Divides

The United States is moving toward being a majority-minority country where less than half of our population will be classified as white. Already four states and the District of Columbia have more than 50% non-white populations, and, as of 2015, Nevada was evenly split white and non-white. A central question for our multiracial and multicultural United States is how to achieve both unity and appreciation for racial and ethnic diversity. The key is talking and collaborating across differences.

In this presentation, Dr. Patricia Gurin will describe the challenges we face in talking and collaborating with people whose racial/ethnic backgrounds and experiences differ from our own, and offer the example of intergroup dialogue as an effective practice for accomplishing it.

Patricia Gurin is the Nancy Cantor Distinguished University Professor Emerita of Psychology and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan. She is a Faculty Associate of the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the Institute for Social Research and of the Center for African and Afro-American Studies, and she directs the research program of the Program on Intergroup Relations, a curricular program co-sponsored by the College of LS&A and the Division of Student Affairs. A social psychologist, Dr. Gurin’s work has focused on social identity, the role of social identity in political attitudes and behavior, motivation and cognition in achievement settings, and the role of social structure in intergroup relations.

This program is co-sponsored by the University of Michigan Department of Psychology.

Backyard Brains: DIY Neuroscience with Greg Gage

Greg Gage, neuroscience PhD and founder of Backyard Brains, joins us to discuss and demonstrate topics in do-it-yourself neuroscience. Gage introduces neurological basics, tells the story of cyborg scorpions, and invites volunteers from the audience to assist in an experiment in anesthetizing, operating on, and listening to the neuron spike of a South American cockroach.

Bullying in Our Schools: Strategies for Students, Parents and Educators

Huron High School basketball coach Waleed Samaha lead this informative program on the destructive effects of bullying. The discussion features teens and adults he has worked with to promote a safe, respectful, and positive educational environment at Huron High School and provide strategies for dealing with bullies.

This event was in partnership with the U-M Council for Disability Concerns as part of their 2015 Investing in Ability programming.