PEN Distinguished Lecture Series

The PEN Distinguished Lecture Series in Educational Neuroscience was created in association with the Foundations Proseminar course for graduate students in the Ph.D. in Educational Neuroscience (PEN) program. Since its inception, the series has grown!

The lecture series focuses on the intersection of the Science of Learning (learning across the lifespan) and Educational Neuroscience (learning across early life). Scientists and researchers who are pioneers in the fields of Cognitive-Educational Neuroscience, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, and Child Development come to Gallaudet University's campus to talk about their research.

Register for Upcoming Lectures

All lectures are open to the public and are video recorded for online distribution.

PEN DLS brochure for 2023-2024


Using Spatial Learning to Increase STEM Achievement

Thursday, 18 February 2016

Dr. Nora S. Newcombe is a Professor of Psychology at Temple University and the PI of the NSF-funded Science of Learning Center Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (SILC) at Temple University, which also involves Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania as primary partners.

Dr. Newcombe’s major contributions to pioneering science and Educational Neuroscience involve her discoveries about spatial development and spatial cognition, including individual differences in spatial ability, spatial thinking in PK-12 education and college teaching, and the development of episodic and autobiographical memory.

Dr. Newcombe is the author of many publications. She has also served as Editor of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General and as Associate Editor of Psychological Bulletin, as well as on numerous editorial boards and grant review panels. She is currently an Associate Editor for Cognitive Psychology and for WIRES in Cognitive Science.

Dr. Newcombe was educated at Antioch College, where she graduated with a major in psychology in 1972; and at Harvard University, where she received her Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Relations in 1976. She taught previously at Penn State University. Dr. Newcombe is the recipient of the William James Fellow Award from APS, the George Miller Award and the G. Stanley Hall Awards from APA, the Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science, also from APA, and the Women in Cognitive Science Mentor Award. She is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Newcombe has been honored with Visiting Professorships at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin, Germany.