Keeping the fire for learning burning in all our eyes.
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.
For nearly two decades, MITM has helped transform groundbreaking research into practice to build essential life skills in children and adults.
By taking cutting-edge research and applying the principles of engaged learning to adult learning, the Mind in the Making program helps adults peer deeper to better understand how children learn, what they need to learn and how adults can take simple, effective steps to promote this learning. Meet the researchers who vital scientific work informed MITM.
A learning relationship with a child is a lifetime in the making.
Ellen Galinsky, co-founder of Families and Work Institute (FWI) in 1989, serves as its President. Additionally, she is the elected President of the Work and Family Researchers Network and holds advisory roles with various organizations including AASA. Prior to her current positions, she served as the Chief Science Officer of the Bezos Family Foundation and spent over two decades at the Bank Street College of Education. Galinsky's lifelong pursuit involves identifying societal questions, conducting research, and translating findings into actionable insights, focusing on work-life, children's development, and parental relationships. She is the author of numerous publications, including the best-selling book "Mind in the Making," and her recently published book on adolescence, "The Breakthrough Years," has received acclaim from notable figures in psychology and education.
MITM’s 7 Essential Life Skills help adults understand and encourage important executive function-based skills children need to thrive.
Learn MoreMITM’s 7 Essential Life Skills help adults understand and encourage important executive function-based skills children need to thrive.
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