We need to get to a state of innovation in education. There’s a million things attracting the attention of students. If we’re not engaging students with relevant experiences that are high-quality, we’re going to miss them.
- Brian Coffey, Partnerships Enablement, MIND
This summer, our organization held its annual learning and sharing conference for all MIND Research Institute colleagues: MINDShare. MINDers from all across the country came together for an awesome week of work and play near the MIND headquarters in Irvine, CA.
JiJi made an appearance at MINDShare!
More than 50% of our colleagues work remotely, representing regionally diverse perspectives that reflect our partner base. So MINDShare is an opportunity for us to come together as an organization, embrace our core values, and strengthen and build connections that make a high level of teamwork and collaboration possible.
From celebrating 20 years of MIND’s history and impact, to learning about how to apply neuroscience to education (including the four neural subsystems), to getting a glimpse into the possibilities of edtech, this year’s MINDShare covered a variety of topics focused on purpose, people and passion.
Great week of learning and inspiration last week at @MIND_Research MINDShare2018 in Irvine. I’m fired up continuing to making a difference with mathematical thinking and problem solving. People-Purpose-Passion @STMath @MIND_MPeterson @brettwoudenberg pic.twitter.com/gFnRk4tXcK
— Ken Miller (@kennon_miller) August 9, 2018
One of the highlights of this year’s MINDshare was a short talk from our newest colleague, Brian Coffey. Brian has served multiple roles in education as a humanities teacher, instructional coach, STEM administrator and principal of both elementary and junior high schools. Over the last few years, Coffey has brought MIND's flagship program ST Math to several buildings in different districts. He obviously has experienced and believes in the impact of the program - but what led him to join MIND?
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Brian Coffey shared his experience as an ST Math partner at MINDShare.
“We’re just tapping the surface of the possibilities of edtech," says Coffey. "I love the innovation of MIND, how we’re moving edtech forward. I really thought about my philosophy before choosing to join MIND. What I found is that my personal philosophy aligns with MIND’s mission: we need quality technology, that relevantly engages kids, for humanity to be inspired. If we can’t help students find their passion for how they can impact society - then what are we doing as educators?”
Many of our colleagues have similar experiences in the education space. They’ve worked with students as well as the bureaucracy of the education system. They share with the rest of us what it means to be a teacher with 25 or more students and a million items on your to-do list. Even with all of the increasing demands educators face, we find that they want what is best for their students. And that’s what all of us at MIND want too.
“I am excited to support educators with tools and strategies to break away from the traditional model of education," Coffey remarked. About his colleagues? "So far I am impressed by the synergy and creativity of MIND colleagues - it’s apparent that MIND colleagues have the skills and desire to get involved, be hands-on and work as a team.”
It took less than five minutes to gather and take this group photo - that’s good teamwork!
MINDshare is driven by our colleagues. Without the teammates who put in the time to create great content and activities, we wouldn’t get as much out of it. MIND colleagues know better than anyone how to create great learning experiences: utilizing active learning, stories, and discourse throughout the content. And we’re excited to see what we can do better next year.
Informative feedback is so important. It’s one thing to say that, but MIND models what their programs teach students. MIND is continuously trying new things and testing them with the goal of having a bigger impact on learning. That approach and transparency is only going to help MIND evolve and be even more relevant in this space.
-Brian Coffey, Partnerships Enablement, MIND
Interested in learning more about life at MIND?
Calli Wright was the Marketing Manager at MIND Research Institute. She loves playing and designing board games, which she often talks about on twitter @CalliWrights.
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