Eric Jensen is a Highly Engaging, World-Class Staff Developer Who Blends Cutting-Edge Research, with School-Tested Strategies Your Teaching Staff Can Use Immediately!

Dear Colleague...

My name is Eric Jensen. Read closely to decide if I am the right person for your upcoming professional development event. But first, I thought you’d appreciate a story that speaks volumes about the problem you are trying to solve.

It goes like this:

“A teacher dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter welcomes her in and says he will show her the magnificent place in heaven saved for teachers. The neighborhood is lovely with park-like lawns, gorgeous homes, not a piece of trash anywhere, Bar-B-Qs are ready, there are new luxury cars, tennis courts and swimming pools. But no one is visible anywhere and the houses appear to be empty. "Well, here you are," said St. Peter with a smile, "Isn't this great?” "Yes it is, but I see no one here; not a single soul anywhere," replied the disappointed teacher. “Don't many teachers make it to heaven? “Oh sure, we get lots of teachers. Relax, they'll all be back tomorrow. They're in hell for their in-service day.”

Ouch.

Staff development has a terrible reputation, doesn’t it? I’m sure you’ve experienced professional development that was either weak on content, weak on excitement or, on a really bad day, BOTH. Aaaaghh! There’s nothing worse than exposing busy, stressed-out teachers to another boring, irrelevant, time-wasting day of professional development. Maybe I can help you out of this jam.

How can I make that promise to you?

Three reasons.

Experience... you get a staff developer who has worked internationally for over 20 years. You get the confidence knowing that your staff is in good hands.
Passion... you know that passion is contagious and you’ll get a passionate (never “canned”) presentation every time.
Research-based... you can rest assured that I am fanatic about getting the facts and getting them right.

Your staff gets quality information every time. I have been (and I still am) in your shoes. I have to pick speakers for my own conferences. I can guess that you are very, very picky. You want current research and you want it to be coherent, easy to understand. You want to help your staff or district boost student learning, raise achievement scores and become more excited about teaching again. Guess what? That’s what I do for a living.

I can make it a great day for you. If you’re an administrator trying to get your school moving up, continue reading. I have experienced brain-based success like few others. You can get effective staff development, in fact, nearly instant staff development with tools for engagement every staff can use. I am about fierce teaching; the type that brings a driven, mission-focused, passionate teacher to school every day. No, teachers aren’t born that way; they are developed. Here’s an example:

"Having you as a lead-off speaker for the National Speakers Series at Harris County Department of Education was a stroke of genius! I knew that first timers... would be bowled over and your faithful followers would be grateful. The evaluations bore that out... Your evaluations were among the highest we have received for presenters." - Mary Lynn Johnson, Consultant, Harris County Department of Education

Eric Jensen Brain Expo Workshop For Teachers

I’ll bet you want the day to be relevant to the teacher’s needs. And finally, I’ll bet you want teachers to enjoy the learning by being involved and engaged all day long. I know the risks you have to take. I make those risks every year to fill conferences of my own. I can appreciate your challenge. You can relax; I can engage your audience all day long with quality, relevant content that can boost learning.

Unlike some high-priced speakers, I’m no “ivory tower” professor. Yes, I was adjunct faculty for three universities, University of San Diego, National University and University of California at San Diego. But I have dedicated my life to transforming lives. I’m a former classroom teacher (middle school reading and study skills). I have taught demonstration classes at high school, middle school and elementary levels, as well as worked for five years at a residential academic summer camp. I know what works with kids and I know the research behind it. My experience is essential for those in adult education, such as staff developers, support staff and administrators.

“I have been sharing your teaching and learning ideas with my school district for two years now, and everyone is excited with the work that they are doing. I cannot begin to thank you enough for giving me the tools to be a better staff developer. Again, I look forward to working and learning from you again.” Susan Marsh, staff developer.

"I have heard nothing but glowing comments about your workshop. Your presentation was fast paced, lively and very educational… The evaluations for the day were outstanding! Everyone attending walked out of the workshop with the feeling that they had gained many useful tools to improve classroom teaching and student learning." Lance Ellmann, Director, Strengthening Professional Practices Center, Cooperative Educational Service Agency

I have spent five hot summers working with recalcitrant teens at an extraordinary summer camp. It’s not just that I have spent time with kids for two decades, it’s that I have innovated programs, trained staff and taken risks to learn how to work miracles with kids. I have earned the right to work with your staff when it comes to succeeding with kids. I have done it over and over and over. I don’t “hope” that positive change can happen; I have seen, heard and felt stunning, heart-warming miracles happen with kids over and over and over. I KNOW we can turn kids around.

You will NEVER, EVER get a “canned presentation”. Every single presentation is unique, with fresh examples, relevant activities and up-to-date information to take action on ASAP. How do I do that? How do I stay fresh so that your audience always feels like they’re getting the first, and best session on earth?

Eric Jensen Teacher Workshops

It’s Contagious: Get a Massive Dose of Passion for Learning

First, I love to learn. I have a B.A. in English, M.A. in Organizational Development and Ph.D. in Human Development. Second, you can be assured that every presentation is scientifically accurate and teacher relevant. I’ve written 28 books over four decades, published by five different publishers. Teaching with Poverty in Mind and Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind are well known and well-used. While many know me from Teaching with the Brain in Mind, one of my best-known works, others know me from SuperTeaching, Brain-Based Learning or Enriching the Brain. Finally, as you can tell, learning is a passion for me and I love to share that passion with your staff.

Second, I am a relentless fanatic for perfection. If I reach 98.5% of a keynote audience, I stay up half the night figuring out what could I do differently next time to “hook in” the other 1.5%. If I uncover a crucial study that your audience should know about, they will hear about. Not a year later, but the very next day.

While some presenters can reach 70% and be satisfied, I am not. And the first thing I do is hold up a mirror. “How could I improve?” is always my first question. I feel driven by the relentless pursuit of that elusive perfection. Of course, I’ll never get there, but the journey’s the joy.

Have you heard the critics talk about brain-based education? Every year, the voices are diminishing, not increasing. Why? Today, as a result of years of exposure by brain-based presenters, educators are a far more informed profession. They are more professional, they look more for research, and they are increasingly more capable of understanding and incorporating new cognitive neuroscience discoveries than they were ten years ago.

Why Neuroscientists Support Scientific Teaching

Two major conference organizations, including my own, the Learning Brain EXPO (www.brainexpo.com) have produced “science to the classroom” events for ten years. These four times a year events (two by each company) have engaged over 100 highly reputable, often award-winning, neuroscientists to speak in translational terms to educators. The list of conference neuroscientists has been a veritable “who’s who” in cutting edge interdisciplinary neuroscientists from Harvard, Yale, UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, UCSF, University of Texas at San Antonio, University of Chicago, UCSD, Rutgers, Georgetown and the Salk Institute. This has only come about as a result of the collaboration of educators and scientists linking the research directly to those in the schools. Scientists support brain-based education because it makes sense. It takes a partnership between educators and scientists to get it all right. Whether the presenter was a biological psychologist, neuroscientist or cognitive scientist is irrelevant; they’ve all been brain-based education supporters.

Harvard Offers Mind, Brain Education Degree Programs.

This Ivy League University now has both master and doctoral degrees, known as the Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) program. Every year, Harvard produces about 40 graduates with masters and two to four doctors of education, who go on to interdisciplinary positions in research and practice. The director says that the mission is to build a movement in which cognitive science and neuroscience are integrated with education so that we train people to make that integration both in research and in practice. This is a strong statement and other universities like University of Texas at Dallas also have strong programs, too. This intersection of biology and cognitive science with pedagogy has become a new focus in education.

Interest for the Harvard program comes from around the world (from Canada, Japan, Australia, South Korea, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina, and other countries.)

This same excitement comes across in every presentation I make. There is also a peer-reviewed scientific journal on brain-based education. The journal, published quarterly by the reputable Blackwell Publishers and the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES), features research reports, conceptual papers, reviews, debates, and dialogue. This is a worldwide movement. My own conferences have had delegates from Thailand, Sweden, Bolivia, Canada, New Zealand, Argentina, Denmark, South Africa, Brazil, Australia and China. This is an exploding paradigm!

“It is with great enthusiasm that I endorse Eric Jensen as the most dynamic and well-informed professional development speaker…we count on Eric to stay current with neuroscientific research, to accurately interpret findings, and to offer very practical and doable suggestions for classroom activities”
Dr. Char Myklebust, Director, SES Services. MN

I have made over 45 visits to neuroscience laboratories to talk directly with the scientists who do the studies. I often bring teacher groups into the labs to see, hear and touch HOW the research is actually done. I want to know, straight from the scientists who are actually doing the research, what it says and how to translate it. NOBODY is that obsessed with getting the facts right. I was one of the first educators in the world to be invited into the Society for Neuroscience, an invitation-only organization of neuroscientists. This inner circle membership is just one of many ways you get an inside track to the latest, breaking news in the world of learning. Why is that so important? Getting your teachers better trained is my #1 priority. Why? Good teaching is highly correlated with student achievement.

Read the connections below:

Teacher quality - Brain-Based Eric Jensen

I know your staff has to be “spot-on” good. To help your staff be the best, I try to be the best in my field.

Read Carefully Before You Decide

By now, you may be thinking I’m the right person for you or your organization. But there are several reasons I might not be the right person for you:

First, if you are thinking that 100% of your staff will make miraculous changes instantly with a one-time “tune-up” you’re mistaken. Teachers need support over the long haul. Unless you are willing to provide that support in the form of coaching, books, longer summer institutes and follow-up staff development, you’ll miss out on the real power of change. I’m good, but teachers need on-going support. Do not spend a penny on anyone until you have a long-term plan.
If you’re expecting me to show how your staff can better conform to meet NCLB standards and raise your test scores, that’s not going to happen. That’s not what I do, though you will get indirect benefits that do improve test scores. I’m committed to student learning and student success in the broad view. I want students to be optimistic, talented, passionate, contributing members of society. If you only want higher reading and math scores, hire a reading, math or test prep consultant. They are specialists. If you want better teaching and learning in ALL areas, I can help.
If you are hoping I can help you out next week, it might not happen. While I occasionally do have freaky one-time gaps in my schedule to add a commitment, please be thinking a few months from now. To find out my availability, email my wife, Diane, at diane@jlcbrain.com. She’ll do her best to fit you in to your best date possible. Here’s an illustration of the kind of quality you’ll get…

"There was simply no time to be bored…all ratings were from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Wow’ with comments about hands-on environment, practical suggestions and ideas, the opportunity for group interaction followed by immediate feedback created a blockbuster presentation.” Ruth Hinson, Director, LAEF, New Orleans, LA

You get fresh information that’s up to date every time I speak. You are investing in the lives of your staff and every penny you spend on quality staff development will pay off. How do I know that? Because studies show that the difference between your best teachers and your underperforming ones is HUGE.

Here’s what the data says:

Student Achievment with Brain Based Learning

If this looks like good teaching can really drive student achievement, you’re right. But there’s more to it. Every year that your students have good teaching, the effect is cumulative. The good things just keep adding up and the student just keeps getting better. In fact, when you have students getting good teaching for three years in a row, you can flat-out expect miracles!

Teacher quality and learning- Worshop with Eric Jensen

Quality teaching matters not just a little; it is the single greatest ingredient that you have influence over. You have very little influence over the student’s nutrition, the student-parent interactions, the quality of the student’s living conditions, their neighborhood or their peers. BUT, you do have influence over the 30 hours a week that the student spends in school. That’s why so much of the success of a child can be traced to good teaching.

Get a Pioneer and Leader in the Education Field

Long before the big brain “bandwagon” began, way back in 1983, I was the co-founder of the most innovative academic enrichment camp in history (SuperCamp). Featuring a brain-compatible curriculum, it has been held in 16 countries and boasts over 45,000 graduates from 80 countries. This innovative program has been featured in hundreds of newspapers, magazines and media from The Wall Street Journal, USA Today to Good Morning America. Thousands of schools around the world have made changes in their teaching, environment and curriculum based on the new brain research.

Today, years after the mudslinging criticism of brain-based education, it’s appropriate to say, “We were right.” In fact, because of the efforts of the brain-based community to inform educators, thousands are currently using this knowledge appropriately to enhance educational policy and practice. There are degree programs in it, scientific journals, conferences and the peer-reviewed brain-related research now supports the discipline. There are countless neuroscientists who support the movement and they demonstrate their support by writing and speaking at educational conferences.

How Relevant is the Brain to Your Teaching Staff?

The big picture is that our brain is involved with everything we do at school. The brain is the most relevant feature to explore, because it affects every strategy, action, behavior and policy at your school. New journals explore essential topics such as social conditions, exercise, neurogenesis, arts, stress and nutrition. A school cannot remove arts, career education and physical education and at the same time, claim to be doing what’s best for the brain of their students. Yes, we are in the infancy of brain research--there’s so much more to learn that we don't know. But dismissing it is not only shortsighted but also dead wrong.

Three Ways to Save Money on Eric Jensen

Hiring top-tier staff developers who “practice what they preach” is not cheap. I make no apology for the price I have to charge to bring world-class experience, credibility, relevancy, engagement and professionalism to your event. A one-day event often means four days of time for me (travel, workbook prep, presentation prep, research, etc.). Here’s how you can save money when you bring me to your area.

Involve others in the process. Include other schools, even opening up the event to other districts that can share the daily fee to help reduce your costs.
Grants can make it happen. There are hundreds of potential sources of funding IF you plan ahead. Multiple days can cost less per day.
Get a price break on two to five days of work. More days embed the learning better.
Be flexible: ask for a date that can share the expenses with another.

Nothing is more relevant to educators than your brain or the brains of your students, parents, or staff. Scientific teaching, passionate teaching and brain-based education are here to stay and I can bring it to your staff like no other.

Are you are ready to bring me to your conference, school, district or business? If so, email my wife: diane@jlcbrain.com.

Yours in learning

Eric Jensen

President, Jensen Learning

P.S. The organizing genius in my life is my wife, Diane.
Simply contact her at (808) 552-0110 - 9-5 (PDT) or better yet,
email her at diane@jlcbrain.com, she’ll do her best to find
the dates you need. I look forward to working with you.