A Community for Science-Based Learning.
Our efforts are concentrated on educating teachers, coaches, parents, and students about how the science of learning can be leveraged to enhance educational practices. We debunk popular myths of learning and discuss fundamental learning principles that can—and should—take their place. To this end, we have led in-person and virtual presentations around the country and have worked closely with a variety of schools and sports clubs (for a list of our work partners, scroll to the bottom of this page). Seeking to inspire a cultural shift in how we think about and facilitate learning, we offer the following services:
Our professional development sessions with teachers focus on understanding and applying evidence-based teaching strategies in the classroom and online. Working with educators from elementary school to the college level, we equip teachers from all subject areas with simple, easy-to-use techniques that can have a major impact on student achievement. We offer in-person and virtual teacher training sessions that range from single, 45-minute talks to multi-part, in-depth workshops. Are you interested in a subject-specific talk focused on mathematics, English, or another area? We do that, too!
Parent & Student Talks
Educating parents and students—in addition to teachers—about the science of learning is a critical part of the equation for student success. Therefore, our parent talks focus on helping parents understand how they can support their children’s learning at home, and our student talks concentrate on how students can use research-informed strategies to study more effectively. These talks, which can be general in nature or subject-specific, usually run approximately 60 minutes in duration. However, we also offer multi-week after-school student courses for those interested. As an example, we led a 6-week long class (that met once a week for one hour) at Arleta High School (CA) called, Learning 101: When, Where, and How to Study Effectively. At this same school, we also led a three-day orientation on the science of learning for all the students.
LAUSD Salary Point Course
Approved by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), we offer a salary point course entitled, Improving Student Achievement with the Science of Learning. This is a 15-hour (30 hours of outside preparation/homework) course that covers the basics of human learning and memory and how to apply evidence-based teaching and learning strategies in the classroom (see picture for our flyer). Per the LAUSD contract, taking part in this class results in educators increasing their annual salary.
SAT/ACT Workshops and Webinars
The SAT and ACT are widely used for college admissions. There are many options for SAT/ACT prep, but they all focus on what to study, not how to study. We have developed workshops and webinars for high school students (juniors and seniors) and parents interested in learning about the ideal timeline to follow and how to use several proven strategies to study more effectively for these important tests.
Homeschooling is becoming more popular in the U.S. and became a reality for most parents during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. Understandably, parents may be concerned that students will not learn as much from home on their own as they would in school with a teacher. The good news is that there are easy-to-use learning strategies that can help parents homeschool more effectively and to turn students at any grade level into better self-learners. We offer online (Zoom) talks for parents that cover the Do’s and Don’ts of effective homeschooling. To illustrate, we gave three 1-hour-long talks to parents at Toluca Lake Elementary School (CA) during the pandemic. The talks covered key learning strategies, the importance of the right mindset, and how to boost math learning, specifically.
We have worked with coaches and athletes from around the world to improve their training programs. Very few individuals in the sports world are knowledgeable about how learning works and, therefore, their training regimens are not nearly as effective as they could be. We want to change that! We consult with coaches and athletes on how they can leverage the science of learning to teach and train more efficiently and effectively in their respective sports.
Click HERE for a podcast we did with the Los Angeles Teqers (featuring the new sport of teqball).
Research Studies in Schools and Sports
Are you interested in putting the learning strategies we talk about to the test? Or perhaps you have different strategy that you would like to evaluate? If so, we are here help! Two members of the Lasting Learning team—Nick Soderstrom, Ph.D. and Saskia Giebl, Ph.D.(c)—are trained learning scientists and are very familiar with research design and analysis. We would be happy set up an online (Zoom) meeting to assist you in setting up your experiment properly and measuring and analyzing your results correctly. We are currently working with several schools and coaches along these lines.
Here is a list of the schools and sports clubs we have had the privilege to work with (listed alphabetically):
Arleta High School (CA, USA)
Bozeman High School (MT, USA)
Burnley Football Club Academy (UK)
Chief Joseph Middle School (MT, USA)
College of DuPage (IL, USA)
Dickinson College (PA, USA)
Emily Dickinson Elementary School (MT, USA)
Geffen Academy at UCLA (CA, USA)
Hyalite Elementary School (MT, USA)
Los Angeles Teqers (Teqball team, USA)
Meadowlark Elementary School (MT, USA)
Montana State University (MT, USA)
Morning Star Elementary School (MT, USA)
Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies (CA, USA)
Toluca Lake Elementary School (CA, USA)
Village School (CA, USA)
A co-founder of SUGARFISH and investor of various technology start-ups, Cameron is our ringmaster with all things related to business, scientific research and education and technology convergence for Lasting Learning.
Cameron is a Los Angeles native and a graduate of USC. After a brief stint as a professional golfer, he joined his family’s commercial real estate business in 1997. Broman Development (**Broumand Development).
Founder, Product Development
Clement is an award winning designer, digital pioneer, software publisher, app developer, author, design patent holder and serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley since the late 80’s. He manages and creates the user experiences for our products and services.
Clement, a former creative director for the education market at Apple, and Chief Creative Officer of Sapient is also an active founding partner of SUGARFISH as well as advisor to various schools, non-profits and technology start-ups.
Research Advisor / Business Consultant
Saskia Giebl has an extensive background in both business management and learning and memory. She received a Masters of Science in Change Management and Consultancy from the University of London, UK. Saskia is currently working with Drs. Robert and Elizabeth Bjork, Dr. Naomi Eisenberger, Dr. Matthew Lieberman, and Dr. Shelley Taylor as a Research Associate at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Saskia contributed to various publications and often gives presentations on how we can master lasting learning to both academic and business audiences. As well, her expertise extends to the sports field where she applied science-based training methodologies to promote better performance.
Nicholas (Nick) Soderstrom is an expert in human learning and memory. He received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Colorado State University and is currently working with Drs. Robert and Elizabeth Bjork as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Nick has taught several classes in Cognitive Psychology and has published numerous research articles on how people learn vs. how people think they learn, and has been recognized for his excellence in both teaching and research. As an active liaison between learning scientists and the general public, he gives talks and writes highly accessible articles on the most effective ways to achieve lasting learning in the classroom and in sports.
Dr. Robert Bjork (Ph.D., Stanford University; B. A., Minnesota) is Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research focuses on human learning and memory and on the implications of the science of learning for instruction and training. He has served as Editor of Memory & Cognition (1981-85) and PsychologicalReview (1995-2000), Co-editor of Psychological Science in the Public Interest (1998-2004), and Chair of a National Research Council Committee on Techniques for the Enhancement of Human Performance (1988-1994). He is a past president or chair of the American Psychological Society (APS); the Western Psychological Association; the Psychonomic Society; the Society of Experimental Psychologists; the Council of Editors of the American Psychological Association (APA); and the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology. He is a recipient of UCLA’s Distinguished Teaching Award; the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientist Lecturer and Distinguished Service to Psychological Science Awards; the American Physiological Society’s Claude Bernard Distinguished Lectureship Award, and the Society of Experimental Psychologists’ Norman Anderson Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Elizabeth Ligon Bjork (Ph.D., Psychology, University of Michigan; B. A., Mathematics, University of Florida) is a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to joining the UCLA Psychology Department, she was a faculty member in the Mathematical Psychology Laboratory at Rockefeller University in New York City and in the Psychology Department at the University of Michigan. She has also been a Visiting Scholar or Visiting Professor at the University of California, San Diego; Bell Labs (Murray Hill); Dartmouth College; and St. Andrews University, Scotland. She has served as a member of the Editorial Boards for Perception & Psychophysics and Memory & Cognition, and as a member of the Initial Review Group for the National Institute of Mental Health, Basic Behavioral Processes. She is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. At UCLA, she is the Faculty Sponsor for Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology for undergraduates and the Psychology Department’s Annual Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference. Within the Department, Dr. Bjork is in charge of the Teacher Training Seminar and Program for Teaching Assistants, and she also chairs the campus-wide Teaching Assistant Training Committee. At the campus-wide level, she has chaired a number of committees concerned with undergraduate education and campus life, including the Committee on Undergraduate Student Support, Honors, and Prizes; the Committee on Student Development; and the Undergraduate Council, which is the overarching committee for all undergraduate programs and affairs.
James W. Stigler is Professor of Psychology at UCLA. He is co-author of The Teaching Gap (with James Hiebert, Free Press, 1999) and The Learning Gap (with Harold Stevenson, Simon & Schuster, 1992). He directed the TIMSS video studies (1993-2003), and in 1998 founded LessonLab Inc., a company whose mission was to study and improve classroom teaching, which became part of Pearson Education in 2003. He received his A.B. from Brown University in 1976, a Masters in Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1982. Before moving to Los Angeles in 1991, he served eight years on the faculty of the University of Chicago. He has received numerous awards for his research, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the QuEST award from the American Federation of Teachers. Dr. Stigler is best known for his observational work in classrooms, and has pioneered the use of multimedia technology for the study of classroom instruction. His research focuses on understanding processes of teaching and learning, especially of mathematics and science, from kindergarten through college. He’s also interested in re-thinking the role of research and development in education, and in particular, how researchers can work with designer/developers and practitioners to build and improve education interventions.
Alan Castel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his PhD from the University of Toronto in 2004, completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, and has been a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at UCLA since 2006. His research focus on how cognition changes with age and the degree to which people are aware of their memory ability (a form of metamemory). He is particularly interested in how younger and older adults can selectively remember important information, and how ability is influenced by attentional and metacognitive processes. He conducts research with people across the lifespan, and gains insight about development and cognitive aging from experimental methods, structured and informal interviews, and personal interaction. He has published over 50 research papers and book chapters, was recognized as a “Rising Star” by the Association for Psychological Science, received the Springer Early Career Achievement Award in Research on Adult Development and Aging from the American Psychological Association, and serves on several editorial boards. His work has been featured in various media outlets, including the New York Times and AARP. Currently, he is working on a book about “Successful Aging”.
James W. Parkinson (Brigham Young University, B.A. 1973, Magna Cum Laude, J.D., 1976) is an attorney with offices in Fallbrook and La Quinta,California. He is “of counsel” to the law firm of Jackson and Parkinson. Mr. Parkinson is an international businessman with hotel interests in Tanzania. Mr. Parkinson is an author who has written one book and co-authored four others. He has also produced a documentary, “The Inheritances of War”— based on one of his books—“Soldier Slaves.” For the last several years Mr. Parkinson has been very involved in education. He was a Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Waterford Institute which produces interactive software for early learning. Mr. Parkinson co-authored, with the Chairman of The Waterford Institute Mr. Dustin Heuston, the book “The Third Source, A Message of Hope for Education.” The book describes the potential of technology and how it will make the educational delivery system more efficient and affordable. Mr. Parkinson is the founder and Chairman of Literacy for the 21st Century. The program is designed to inspire high school and college students to take personal responsibility for their own education. Mr Parkinson has lectured to over 15,000 students across America and Tanzania. As part of the presentation each student is given a copy of Mr. Parkinson’s book “Autodidactic; Self-Taught.” The books shares Mr. Parkinson’s keys to success; developing a great vocabulary, becoming a voracious reader and learning to write. In 2006, Mr. Parkinson was Honored Alumni of the Year for Brigham Young University Law School. That same year Mr. Parkinson and his co-author, Lee Benson, were awarded the Naval Institute Press 2006 Author of the Year Award for their book “Soldier Slaves.” Mr. Parkinson was the 2008 Federal Bar Association Defender of the Constitution for the Inland Empire. He also received The Jefferson Award for Public Service in 2007.
Dr. Fran Pirozzolo is a neuroscientist and sports psychologist with unique credentials, training, and experience in the study of leadership and talent development. He completed a comprehensive interdisciplinary Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago and the University of Rochester, combining neuroscience training at the Center for Brain Research, neuropsychology training from the Department of Psychology, and training in developmental psychology and education from the School of Education. He has held professorships at the University of California, Los Angeles (1977-1978), the University of Minnesota Medical School (1978-1981), and the Baylor College of Medicine (1981-1997) where he also served as Chief of the Neuropsychology Service. He also completed a year of sabbatical research at the NASA Johnson Space Station. He was the Founding Editor of an international scientific journal, Developmental Neuropsychology, which deals with issues of learning and development, and has published over 300 scientific articles and 14 books. He is currently engaged in research aimed at understanding the role of the “default network” in creativity and in the simulation of possible future experiences. His work in sports coaching has also been extensive and exceptional. He won four World Series rings as the Mental Skills Coach for the New York Yankees (1996-2002), was Mental Skills Coach for the Houston Astros (1988-1995) and the Texas Rangers (2009-2011), coached in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Texans (2002-2006), and has carried a sports psychologist teaching credential on the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour for over three decades. He has won numerous academic and professional sports awards, including the Phillip Rennick Award for research excellence from the International Neuropsychological Society, and the Winston Shell Award for excellence in player development in the NFL.
Aaron Benjamin is Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he directed the Human Memory and Cognition Laboratory. He holds appointments in the Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience, and at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. He is Chair-Elect of the Psychonomic Society, Co-President of the International Association for Metacognition, Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and Fellow of the Psychonomic Society. His research interests include human memory, metamemory, and decision-making.
Will Emeny is a well-known and highly regarded UK maths teacher, speaker, researcher and author. He leads the high achieving maths department at Wyvern College and also holds the role of Leading Practitioner. A specialist in, cognitive science, memory and curriculum design, Will speaks regularly at conferences and teacher training events to share his research findings. Will was an author for Pearson on the 9-1 Maths GCSE ActiveTeach product and also authored the maths bestselling book, The Magic of Pineapples: A Brain Tingling Adventure Through Amazing Mathematics. In 2016, Will won a Pearson Silver Award for Secondary Teacher of the Year. His blog, Great Maths Teaching Ideas receives over 500,000 visits annually. Will is the founder of Numeracy Ninjas, a high-impacting, free whole school numeracy intervention used in over 2500 schools worldwide.