What is Mind in the Making

In 2000, MITM founder Ellen Galinsky began a research journey fueled by a question: how to keep the fire for learning — which every child is born with — lighting up the eyes of children? To answer the question, she reviewed more than 2,000 studies and conducted in-depth interviews with and filmed more than 130 leading researchers who study children’s development and learning.

From what she learned, Galinsky developed a framework of the 7 Essential Life Skills. The work grew into MITM, a national movement to share scientifically based research and strategies for promoting Life Skills, reaching millions of people in communities across the country, and counting.

Transforming groundbreaking science into practice for more than 15 years.

MITM combines deep research focused on executive function skills, with signature science-fueled training and resources, for professionals across sectors who work with children and families.

Training

About 100,000 people in communities across the United States have participated in the MITM training learning modules. In a survey with 1,750 respondents who attended the trainings, 98% reported it helped them improve their skills with children and learn new knowledge and approaches.

Curating the Science

The MITM team has reviewed over 2,000 studies, and interviewed and filmed more than 160 leading researchers, all work used to create MITM training and tools.

Presentations

The MITM team has offered 300+ presentations to national, state and community groups interested in education, workforce development, parenting and brain science.

Resources

More than ½-million readers have downloaded MITM’s 100+ free resources that help bridge the gap between knowledge and practice.

For nearly two decades, MITM has helped transform groundbreaking research into practice to build essential life skills in children and adults.

Meet the Researchers Interviewed for MITM

Leading researchers have shared their science in ways that continue to inform and inspire MITM.

J. Lawrence Aber, PhD

Willner Family Professor of Psychology and Public Policy and University Professor, New York University

Lauren Adamson, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Center for Research on Atypical Development and Learning, Georgia State University

Nameera Akhtar, PhD

Professor, Developmental Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz

Heidelise Als, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Daniel Anderson, PhD

Professor Emeritus, Department of Brain and Psychological Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Patricia J. Bauer, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Senior Associate Dean, Research, Emory University

Clancy Blair, PhD

Professor, Department of Applied Psychology, Steinhardt School of Education, New York University

T. Berry Brazelton, MD (Deceased)

Professor of Pediatrics, Emeritus, Harvard Medical School, Founder, Brazelton Touchpoints Center

Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, PhD

Professor of Child Development and Education, Co-Director, National Center for Children and Families, Co-Director, Columbia University Institute for Child and Family Policy, Teachers College and College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University

Laurie Brotman, PhD

Bezos Family Foundation Professor of Early Childhood Development and Professor of Population Health and Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine

Maureen A. Callanan, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz

Joseph J. Campos, PhD

Professor of the Graduate School, Department of Psychology University of California, Berkeley

Stephanie Carlson, PhD

Associate Professor, Institute of Child Development University of Minnesota

Suzanne C. Carothers, PhD

Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning, The Steinhardt School of Education, New York University

Stanislas Dehaene, PhD

Professor, Chair, Experimental Cognitive Psychology, College of France

Judy S. DeLoache, PhD

Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia

Rebecca Distefano

Doctoral Student, Institute of Child Development, Cognitive development; Families and parenting; Prevention and intervention; Resilience; Vulnerable populations, University of Minnesota

Adele Diamond, PhD

Canada Research Chair Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, University of British Columbia Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, British Columbia Children’s Hospital, Vancouver

Carol S. Dweck, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Stanford University

Felton J. Earls, PhD

Emeritus, Professor of Child Psychiatry Harvard Medical School, Professor of Human Behavior and Development Scientific Director, Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, Harvard School of Public Health

Anne Fernald, PhD

Associate Professor, Developmental Psychology, Stanford University

Kurt Fischer, PhD

Professor of Education, Director, Mind, Brain and Education Program, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

Kelly Fisher, PhD

SRCD/AAAS Executive Branch Fellow, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Division of Child and Family Development (DCFD), U.S. Department of Health and Human Service

Nathan A. Fox, PhD

Distinguished University Professor, Department of Human Development, University of Maryland

Martin F. Gardiner, PhD

Researcher, Music, Learning and Development, Brown University, and Instructor, New England Conservatory of Music, The Music School, Providence

Michael S. Gazzaniga, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara

Rochel Gelman, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Co-Director of Cognitive Science, Rutgers University

Lisa Gennetian, PhD

Research Professor, Steinhardt School of Education, New York University

Herbert P. Ginsburg, PhD

Professor of Psychology and Education, Columbia University

Roberta M. Golinkoff, PhD

Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Education, Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Linguistics and Cognitive Science, University of Delaware

Alison Gopnik, DPhil

Professor of Psychology and Affiliate Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Berkeley

Megan R. Gunnar, PhD

Professor, Child Development, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota

J. Kiley Hamlin, PhD

Director, Centre for Infant Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia

Carollee Howes, PhD

Professor of Psychology, University of Chicago

Kathryn A. Hirsh-Pasek, PhD

Professor of Psychology Department of Psychology, Director, Infant Language Laboratory, Temple University

Jerome Kagan, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Harvard University

Frank C. Keil, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychology, Yale University

David Klahr, PhD

Walter van Dyke Bingham Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Development and Education Science, Carnegie Mellon University

Patricia K. Kuhl, PhD

Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Co-Director, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington

Susan Levine, PhD

Rebecca Anne Boylan Professor in Education and Society, Departments of Psychology and Comparative Human Development and Committee on Education, University of Chicago

Alicia F. Lieberman, PhD

Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco

Karen L. Mapp, EdD

Lecturer on Education, Program Director, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Andrew N. Meltzoff, PhD

Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Chair, Co-Director, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS), Professor of Psychology, University of Washington

Alyssa Meuwissen, PhD

Research Associate at the Center for Early Education and Development, University of Minnesota

Walter Mischel, PhD (Deceased)

Professor, Department of Psychology, Columbia University

Charles A. Nelson III, PhD

Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Director, Developmental Medicine Center Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Children’s Hospital Boston

Rochelle Newman, PhD

Associate Professor, University of Maryland

Gabriele Ottingen, PhD

Professor of Psychology Motivation Lab/WOOP, New York University

Geetha B. Ramani, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development, University of Maryland

Craig T. Ramey, PhD

Distinguished Research Scholar, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, & Human Development, Professor of Pediatrics, VTC School of Medicine, CSO for Human Development, Roanoke, VA, Virginia Tech Carilion School

Mitchel Resnick, PhD

Professor of Learning Research, MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Sharon A. Ritchie, PhD

Senior Scientist, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Bethany Rittle-Johnson, PhD

Anita S. and Antonio M. Gotto Chair in Child Development, Professor and Department Chair, Psychology and Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University

Jenny R. Saffran, PhD

Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Rebecca Saxe, PhD

Assistant Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Laura Schulz, PhD

Assistant Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jack P. Shonkoff, MD

Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and Development; Director, Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University

Daniel J. Siegel, MD

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry Center for Culture, Brain and Development School of Medicine University of California, Los Angeles Executive Director, Center for Human Development

Robert S. Siegler, PhD

Schiff Foundations Professor of Psychology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

Catherine Elizabeth Snow, PhD

Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

Elizabeth S. Spelke, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Director, Laboratory for Developmental Studies, Harvard University

Daniel N. Stern, MD (Deceased)

Professor of Psychology, University of Geneva, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College, Cornell University

Ross A. Thompson, PhD

Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis

Edward Z. Tronick, PhD

University Distinguished Professor, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Georgene L. Troseth, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychology, Vanderbilt University

Samuel S.-H. Wang, PhD

Professor of Molecular Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Director, Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University

Whitney Weikum, PhD

Infant Studies Centre, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia

Janet F. Werker, PhD

Director, Infant Studies Centre, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia

Amanda L. Woodward, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland

Karen Wynn, PhD

Lab Director, Yale University Infant Cognition Center, Professor of Psychology, Yale University

Philip David Zelazo, PhD

Nancy M. and John E. Lindahl Professor, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota