"Reasoning to learn, learning to reason"

Silvia Bunge, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology & Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute
Director, Building Blocks of Cognition Laboratory
University of California at Berkeley

Reasoning, or the ability to think logically and solve novel problems, is a prerequisite for scholastic achievement. Despite – or rather because of – its central role in theories of human intelligence, reasoning has in recent years fallen out of favor as a topic of research. However, as the United States slips behind other industrialized nations in mathematics and science education, it is worth revisiting this line of work with a fresh perspective. In this talk, I will review what my research tells us about the brain mechanisms that support reasoning and its growth over childhood and adolescence – in particular, the neural changes that best predict future reasoning ability. I will then feature new data showing that intensive practice of reasoning skills can alter brain structure, function, and behavior. Before closing, I will describe our current efforts to use eyetracking methodology to probe how practicing reasoning skills changes the way we think. 

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 29 at 5:30 - 6:30 pm
THE BIOLOGICAL LABS, ROOM 1080
16 DIVINITY AVENUE, CAMBRIDGE

Free and open to the public
Please click to register HERE