It was a true pleasure to welcome colleagues, educators, and researchers for a special CANDLE Conversations gathering at the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE) last week!
⏰ Final call: Applications for the USC CANDLE Summer Design Sprint close tomorrow, Friday, April 3, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT.
Apply and learn more: candle.usc.edu/summer-2026-...
⏰Priority deadline approaching: March 30, 2026
Applications are open for the USC CANDLE Summer 2026 Design Sprint, a fully funded, 5-day experience at USC (July 20–24, Los Angeles) where educator teams design research-informed classroom innovations grounded in the science of adolescent development.
The USC CANDLE Summer 2026 Design Sprint (July 20–24, Los Angeles) invites teams of middle and high school educators to design research-informed classroom innovations grounded in the science of how adolescents think, feel, and learn.
Apply and learn more: lnkd.in/gqnntzrK
The Spring 2026 issue of American Educator is out now! Learn about how to help students thrive in a world full of digital distractions and the ways that cellphone policies and use of AI tools in the classroom impact students' learning and engagement.
www.aft.org/ae/spring2026
A new article from the USC CANDLE team, published in the professional journal of the AFT.
"When Students Think Beyond the Moment: Enhancing Adolescents' Development by Engaging Their Emotions"
By Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, Christina Kundrak, PhD, and Kori Street.
Link here: lnkd.in/gnRmWTMC
⏰Priority deadline approaching: March 30, 2026
Applications are open for the USC CANDLE Summer 2026 Design Sprint, a fully funded, 5-day experience at USC (July 20–24, Los Angeles) where educator teams design research-informed classroom innovations grounded in the science of adolescent development.
We are excited to share an upcoming CIBM Visitors Talk featuring Mary Helen Immordino-Yang from USC CANDLE, hosted by Solange Denervaud!
🔗 Join in person (for those in Switzerland) or online for this exciting discussion on brain development, education, and wellbeing.
lnkd.in/gsVVxGtG
The USC CANDLE Summer 2026 Design Sprint (July 20–24, Los Angeles) invites teams of middle and high school educators to design research-informed classroom innovations grounded in the science of how adolescents think, feel, and learn.
Apply and learn more: lnkd.in/gqnntzrK
🎥 What happens when educators design learning with adolescent development in mind?
Hear directly from educators as they share the challenges they’re navigating in their classrooms and how their experience with USC CANDLE shifted their thinking about teaching and learning.
lnkd.in/gZcgrqVH
✨ Check out USC CANDLE’s very own Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang featured in this Perception Box video exploring the science of glimmers and gratitude—highlighting how brief moments of meaning and emotional connection support wellbeing and learning. ✨
www.medicinalmedia.com/perception-b...
Thank you to USC Rossier for highlighting the launch of the USC CANDLE Innovation Lab and our first cohort of COLABS! We are grateful to share this work, which brings together neuroscience, education, culture, and lived classroom experience in a genuinely collaborative way.
Article: lnkd.in/gzVDt-S5
We are thrilled to share that Dr. Cheyeon Ha, USC Assistant Research Professor CANDLE, has co-authored a major new study published in the Review of Educational Research — one of the education field’s leading journals.
Read the full press release from the AERA: lnkd.in/eEHaQB8F
Join Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, along with Jon Valant, Rebecca Winthrop, Ellen Galinsky, and John Malloy, for a thought-provoking Brookings Institution webinar on “The Importance of Real Skills for the AI World.”
👉 Register and learn more here: connect.brookings.edu/register-to-...
Dr. Immordino-Yang joins New View EDU to explore the science of transcendent thinking—how reflective meaning-making shapes who we are and our potential. She shares insights on how this process supports brain development and the kinds of teaching that inspires growth.
lnkd.in/gpT9Mvks
The team at USC CANDLE congratulates Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang on her induction into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and Sciences.
See the full list of new members here: lnkd.in/gZrKGGA8
#Neuroscience #Psychology #Education
#BrainDevelopment #AdolescentDevelopment #EmotionsInLearning
Dr. Immordino-Yang joins Hidden Brain to explore the science behind curiosity, motivation, and engagement by unpacking:
- Why schools and workplaces often dampen curiosity
- How emotion, personal relevance, and social connection drive deep learning
🎧 Listen here: hiddenbrain.org/podcast/how-...
We are delighted to welcome a new team member!
Doug Knecht, CANDLE’s new Senior Director of Educational Practice and Innovation! Doug brings 25+ years of experience leading equity-focused education programs—from classroom teaching to national school system partnerships.
Thrilled to share SEL Muscle Mastery: 6 tools for Building Resilience and Connection in Schools and Communities. With input from Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang & foreword by USC Rossier Dean Pedro Noguera.
Learn more here: lnkd.in/g7pbJm_D
#SEL #Resilience #Education
🌟 🍎Happy Teacher Appreciation Week 🍎
At USC CANDLE, we celebrate the educators who light the path of learning with compassion, curiosity, and courage.
Thank you to the teachers who inspire minds and nurture the potential in every student. 🧠
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD was thriving as a guest on the new podcast With & For where she joined Dr. Pam King to discuss how transcendent thinking, story, and emotional engagement fuel identity formation and long-term flourishing. Check out the conversation here: lnkd.in/gMFnEmm2
Big congrats to Professor Mary Helen Immordino-Yang of @uscedu.bsky.social for being elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences! Her research on how culture and emotion shape the adolescent brain is changing how we understand learning.
#Neuroscience #Education #USC #AdolescentDevelopment
Join us on April 10 for a special event on helping teens learn and thrive! Featuring authors Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, and Mary Helen Immordino-Yang of USC. The first 50 in-person guests get a FREE signed copy of The Disengaged Teen!
Register Now: bit.ly/uscCANDLE
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Join us on April 10 for a special event on helping teens learn and thrive! Featuring authors Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, and Mary Helen Immordino-Yang of USC. The first 50 in-person guests get a FREE signed copy of The Disengaged Teen!
Register Now: bit.ly/uscCANDLE
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Follow us for more news coverage: go.bsky.app/FMYrjbD
The Academic Minute is now on npr.org! Featuring Mary Helen Immordino-Yang!
www.npr.org/podcasts/564...
Mary Helen returned from a very well received keynote at the 10th Annual CRADLE Symposium in Singapore last week! Here is the link to learn more about the event. www.ntu.edu.sg/cradle/event...