Mind, Brain, and Education Speaker Series 2008-09

Illusions, Art, and Attention:
Dynamic Perception and its Implications for Learning

Dr. Todd Rose
Harvard University

Wednesday, Sept 24, 2008
Planetarium Conference Room (CRB 303)
3:00-4:30 pm

In order to learn, a student must first perceive. Perception is a gateway to learning, and models of perception have long served as a foundation for theories of learning and teaching. In recent years, emerging neuroscience, psychophysical, and educational research has changed the way we think about perception: Rather than a static process—where the goal is to replicate reality—perception is now understood to be highly dynamic, actively constructive, and usefully subjective. This has genuine educational implications! In this talk, Dr. Rose used hands-on examples, illusions, and visual art to demonstrate the nature of dynamic perception.  He also discussed the implications of dynamic perception for education and educational research, with a focus on his current work exploring the relationship between dyslexia and visual abilities in astrophysics.

L. Todd Rose Ed.D
L. Todd Rose is a research scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research focuses on understanding AD/HD and dyslexia from a developmental systems perspective, with a focus on quantitative variability instead of qualitative ‘disorder.’ Dr. Rose lectures nationally to educators and parents on the science of learning disabilities and the role of neuroscience in education.