Director of Graduate Program
Ph.D., Harvard University, 1978
Office: McGuinn 436
Lab: McGuinn 430
Phone: (617) 552-4118
Email: winner@bc.edu
Website: http://www2.bc.edu/~winner
Scholarly Interests: Developmental psychology of the arts in typical and gifted children; cognition and learning in the arts; transfer of learning from arts to non-arts learning.
Academic Profile: Ellen Winner's research focuses on two areas of research on cognition in the arts. (1) The study of the creative process in the visual arts, including what broad thinking dispositions are acquired by studying the arts, how students make sense of the arts, the role of arts in their lives and how students learn by reflecting on their portfolios; (2) The study of the effects of music training on children's brain growth (through brain imaging) and on their cognition (musical, spatial, and verbal) and motoric development. This research is based on a view of the arts as cognitive as well as affective, and on the assumption that the arts are a central aspect of human behavior which must be incoporated into our understading of human development and education.
Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
Course Syllabi:
PS021 The Psychology of Art and Creativity - Spring 2006
PS363 Early Cognitive Development - Spring 2007
PS499 Honors Seminar - Spring 2007
PS560 Advanced Developmental Psychology - Fall 2005
Office Hours (PDF)