Response to Intervention & Special Ed Stats: Progress Report

• May 7, 2013 by Norene Wiesen

Dr. Chris Weber is a former teacher and school administrator distinguished by his track record of helping at-risk students achieve. He’s an expert on Response to Intervention (RtI) and has authored several bestselling books on the subject. In his recent webinar for Scientific Learning, he gives a progress report on RtI, including trends in special education statistics to date.

Dr. Weber begins by returning to the question of why we have Response to Intervention at all. In answer, he explains that special ed hasn’t been all that successful in keeping students on track to graduate ready for college or a skilled career. Students with disabilities drop out at twice the rate of their peers, and 80% never learn to read. CLD students (learners who are culturally and linguistically diverse) are over-represented in special ed, for no supportable reason. And, most significant, perhaps, is the fact that very few learners who enter special ed ever exit—only about 3%.

Weber’s criticism is not about how well special ed has performed for students who have profound disabilities, but instead for the very high percentage of students who have a mild to moderate specific learning disability, defined as a disorder in one of the basic processes (reasoning, memory, processing, attention, etc.) underlying a student’s ability to use language, spoken or written, to read, spell, write, or to do mathematical calculations. Often, schools still offer separate courses for special ed learners, an approach that sends a clear message of lower expectations, intentionally or not. He also cites students who are “curriculum casualties”—learners who have not responded to intervention and who are prematurely or wrongly given a disability diagnosis despite the fact that the intervention, or instruction, provided was actually ineffective. 

It’s a moral imperative, says Weber, that we correct this state of affairs. Socioeconomic status and home language should not make a difference, nor should ethnicity or gender. The decisions we make for all students, he says, should be made with the same care and commitment as those we make for our own sons and daughters.

Another, sometimes unacknowledged driver of RtI, says Weber, is the urgency of helping all students develop 21^st century skills. RtI is not just for students who we’ve traditionally thought of as underperforming. In some districts, students who are currently meeting state proficiency standards—which in many states, he says, have been set too low—are still not making the year-to-year growth they need in order to graduate ready for college or a skilled career. RtI can be the framework that accelerates learners to competency on the path that follows graduation.

Weber goes on to discuss several additional points:

• Where did RtI come from?
• How can we measure RtI’s impacts?
• What might RtI look like?

He also discusses the tradeoffs that must be made in prioritizing both academic and behavioral skills, as both are essential for success in school and career. Watch the full webinar to get all the details, including special ed stats and data that you may not see elsewhere.

Related reading:

RTI is a Verb

Fast ForWord® Language Series Has Greatest Impact of Any Intervention Listed by NCRTI

 

 

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Categories: Education Trends, Fast ForWord, Reading Assistant, Special Education

Tags: accelerate learning, intervention, learning disabilities, response to intervention tier i, response to intervention tier ii, response to intervention tier iii, rti tier i, rti tier ii, rti tier iii, struggling students, technology in education, webinar

Growing Together: Join Our Annual Visionary Conference on May 17th

• April 16, 2013 by Norene Wiesen

This May 17^th, we will be hosting our annual Visionary Conference for Fast ForWord Providers entirely online for the very first time.

Save on travel expenses, spend less time away, and learn just as much as in years past—maybe even more.

This year’s theme is Growing Together, and we’re thrilled to announce that our esteemed Visionary Conference presenters Dr. Paula Tallal and Dr. Martha Burns will be sharing exciting new research on the brain and learning.

Dr. Tallal will be reporting on the latest research with college students who used the Fast ForWord program and saw improvements in a number of skill areas.

Dr. Burns will present research from the Human Connectome Project (a project studying the connectivity of the human brain) and research on memory and attention disorders and interventions.

Additional sessions will review the latest Fast ForWord product updates, best practices for getting the most from the products, marketing resources, and professional development opportunities to help you thrive as a Fast ForWord Provider and help more children succeed.

Because this year’s conference is online, we’re welcoming any and all attendees, whether you’re a provider or not! There is no charge for any of the sessions, so you can attend one or attend them all. If you’ve been to past conferences then you already know…It’s the highlight of the year!

 

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Categories: Brain Fitness, Brain Research, Fast ForWord, Reading Assistant

Tags: accelerate learning, attention, brain training, improving reading skills, intervention, learning disabilities, literacy, memory, reading comprehension, Scientific Learning events, student growth, technology in education, writing

Dyslexia, Auditory Processing Disorder, and the Road to College: Maria’s Story

• April 9, 2013 by Cory Armes

I remember the early years with my children and the dreams I had for their success. Of course, my dreams and theirs didn’t exactly end up being the same. But what happens when a mother realizes that her dreams for her child may be shattered because that child struggles with auditory processing issues, dyslexia, or other challenges never imagined? That’s exactly what Irene experienced with her daughter, Maria.

Attending school proved difficult for Maria. As she advanced from grade to grade and the work became progressively more difficult, anything presented in auditory form was especially challenging. By sixth grade, Maria had been diagnosed with dyslexia and Auditory Processing Disorder and was labeled with a language impairment. 

For obvious reasons, Maria struggled in school. Because of this, she was shy around other students, avoided reading, and required extensive help at home. Her family considered sending her to a private school, but Maria was unable to pass the entrance exams. 

By the middle of sixth grade, Maria had attended several different schools and the last was a disaster. It was then that one of her mother’s friends suggested Bridges Academy, a private school that specializes in serving students with learning challenges. Upon enrollment, Maria’s life began to turn in a new direction. When she got into her mother’s car after school she often said, “Mom, they understand me here!”

At Bridges Academy, Maria’s dyslexia and auditory processing issues were analyzed further and the Fast ForWord program was recommended in addition to Maria’s coursework and intervention regimen. Jacky Egli, the Director at Bridges Academy, explained to Maria’s mother that she personally researched every program thoroughly and only used programs that were scientifically based. Irene trusted Jacky and felt it was important to follow her recommendation, so Maria gave Fast ForWord a try.

Maria’s reading level was at least three to four years below grade level when she entered Bridges.  She also had struggled in other subjects, because every subject—even math—requires reading. But that soon began to change and, in time, Maria made significant improvements. Maria’s comprehension level increased more than two full grade levels last year. This improvement aligned with her participation in the Fast ForWord Reading and Reading Assistant programs.  Over the last 6 years, despite the odds, Maria improved on the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test 7.3 grade levels.   Because of this significant improvement, she no longer receives remedial instruction.  

Irene sought the best for her daughter and found it in the caring attitude of the staff at Bridges Academy and the innovative programs they use to make a difference for struggling students. “Jacky walks the walk and talks the talk of the school’s mission,” says Irene.

Maria has transformed from a shy, struggling child to a vibrant, engaged student who participates in class, reads aloud to her peers and conducts presentations for content area classes in front of her classmates. She is an ambassador for the school who greets and escorts new students and parents through the campus as she participates in open house and school events.

And, most exciting of all, Maria has been accepted into a local college and is thrilled about rising to meet a challenge and a future that once seemed entirely out of reach.

Related reading:

What Makes a Good Reader? The Foundations of Reading Proficiency

The Essential Nature of Developing Oral Reading Fluency

 

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Categories: Brain Fitness, Education Trends, Family Focus, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant

Tags: academic problems, academic success, accelerate learning, at-risk, auditory processing, child reading development, Florida, improving reading skills, intervention, language learning, learning disabilities, school leader effectiveness, self-esteem, struggling readers, struggling students, success stories

Daily Reading Practice: More Important Than You Would Ever Imagine

• March 5, 2013 by Maura Deptula

Many students enter our classrooms with limited vocabulary and loads of catching up to do. I’ve seen teachers discouraged by the challenge they are faced with, and yet doing valuable things in their classrooms everyday to not only meet challenges but to exceed expectations. The good news is that the little things we do everyday can have a great impact. 

Why Modeled Reading Matters

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.”  - Emilie Buchwald

Our students have a wide range of lap hours logged. For some, the idea of climbing up to listen as someone reads to them is more natural than putting on a pair of socks, while for others it’s a rare event.  In classrooms, all children benefit from listening as we read. 

Modeling fluent reading in our classrooms and displaying our love for the written word benefits every student, but it is essential for those students who do not get this benefit at home.

Older students can benefit as well. On this topic, Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, says, “Every read-aloud is an advertisement for pleasure, every worksheet is an ad for pain. If the pain outweighs the pleasure, the customers go elsewhere.” When we read and showcase our love of reading we are advertising the very thing we want our students to buy.

Get Students Reading More, More, More (and More)

“There is ample evidence that one of the major differences between poor and good readers is the difference in the quantity of total time they spend reading.” - National Reading Panel, 2000

The best way to improve reading skill is through reading practice. If we’ve modeled fluent reading for students and chosen material that is a great fit for their ability and their interest, then we have set the stage for practice.

It’s no wonder that good readers read a lot and poor readers read little. If an activity is not pleasurable, devoting time to it is not desirable. However, as good readers read and poor readers do not, the gap in their ability grows. We must encourage all of our students to read. We must find ways to make reading pleasurable for all students.

*Note that I’ve indicated Children A, B & C are all reading at the same rate (100WPM).  Though this scenario may be unlikely, it highlights the gains that are possible for all students.  As their reading improves, their rate will increase along with more words devoured.

For those with poor skills, the need to practice is critical—not only to improve their reading ability, but also to open their world. These “words” represent new vocabulary, new ideas, new topics, and new learning. By getting students to read more we are expanding their imaginations and building their background. When students read little they miss out on so much more than slow-growing reading skills.

A Deep and Continuing Need

One final note on quality.  To incent students to read and to help them read well, we must also focus on motivation and help students choose reading material that will be inspiring and well suited to them.

“Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.
”  - Maya Angelou

I’ve always been struck by some of the reading material we put in front of our struggling readers.  As I’ve worked with students on their assigned texts, I can’t help but find myself bored and listless. How can we expect students to develop a fondness for reading if what we’re asking them to read is not particularly good? Think about why you read and what you like to read. I’ve yet to find the well-read adult who chooses reading material based on their ability level alone. Instead, they read to gather information, to soak up a genre they are especially fond of, to escape and to dream. To foster this ‘deep and continuing need’, we need to provide our students with delicious, fantastic literature. They need rich vocabulary, exotic stories and variety. At times this beautiful content is beyond the reach of our students’ ability, but we are wise to help them reach, to scaffold, to encourage and to make every attempt to give them the good stuff.

“It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations—something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own.”  - Katherine Patterson

Related reading:

Building Fluent Readers: How Oral Reading Practice Helps Reading Comprehension

After Just 24 Days, Summer School Students Significantly Improve Reading Scores

 

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Categories: Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant

Tags: academic success, accelerate learning, child reading development, how children learn, improving reading skills, reading comprehension, reading intervention, struggling readers, teacher effectiveness, teacher impact, technology in education

Adolescent Learning: Why Reading Interventions Aren't Working

• February 26, 2013 by Cara Gipson

It’s exciting when a child learns to read—combining letters and sounds to form words for the first time until they’re stringing those words together to create sentences. But what happens when a child goes from “getting by” in the early grades to struggling in adolescence when cognitive demand increases along with the difficulty of required texts?

How Adolescent Learning is Different

There are important differences between childhood and adolescent brain function, and developmentally appropriate regression in abilities such as impulse control can affect adolescent learning.

Dr. Martha Burns’ webinar “Reading and the Adolescent Brain: What Works?” provides research-based insights for busy educators interested in the science of adolescent learning. Tune in and discover…

• What changes in the adolescent brain can affect academics, attention and other cognitive skills?
• Why does the adolescent learner often plateau and in some cases even decrease in certain skills? 
• Why are so many reading interventions failing to make a difference, and what can be done?

Understanding what’s happening in the adolescent brain can give you the tools to educate your students, support them in their struggles, and provide the help they need to get back on track academically.

Why Reading Interventions Fail

One reason that many reading interventions may not work for the adolescent learner is that they fail to provide the cognitive skills and oral reading practice required for reading fluency. Research shows that using the Fast ForWord program has been correlated with positive neurological changes in the brain corresponding to the cognitive skills that underlie reading.

By incorporating the use of the Fast ForWord program to build cognitive skills and the Reading Assistant program to ensure sufficient reading practice, you can help your adolescent students jumpstart their reading progress instead of remaining stagnant. Dr. Burns takes you on a detailed tour of how these programs strengthen cognitive skills, fluency and comprehension; reinforce learning; and shorten the time it takes to achieve significant milestones in achievement. 

Changing the Future

Advanced literacy skills are needed not only in order to succeed in college but also to obtain and hold future jobs. When a teen is struggling in the present, it becomes more difficult for them to see a bright future, often causing them to erect a protective wall against learning and life. Informed educators can help transform these struggles into victory.

 

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Categories: Brain Fitness, Brain Research, Fast ForWord, Reading & Learning

Tags: academic problems, accelerate learning, brain development, cognitive skills, high school learning, improving reading skills, intervention, literacy, middle school learning, motivating students, reading comprehension, reading intervention, struggling readers, struggling students, technology in education

How to Create an Effective Summer Learning Program

• February 12, 2013 by Hallie Smith, MA CCC-SLP

For many educators, summer school planning is in full gear! Districts are determining the who, the what and the how, and all with limited resources.

When I was working in the school system, summer school left something to be desired. The students were doing the same activities from the school year (and were still bored by them), and the teachers were working with students they didn’t know, struggling to individualize instruction. Making an effective summer learning program isn't easy; I appreciate the work that goes into making any instructional plan effective. Educating our students, during the year or summer, is not for the faint of heart. It takes an enormous amount of collaboration, planning, expertise, creativity and energy (lots of energy!) to be done well. 

The Rand Corporation’s 2011 report on summer school effectiveness makes many recommendations; here are just a few:

1. Do something different. Often the students coming to summer school are those who have struggled during the year. Summer school is the ideal time to try something new, to include enrichment activities, and to engage these kids in a new way.  The Rand Corporation’s report recommends moving beyond remediation to “…go beyond "drill-and-kill" instruction and provide students with (1) expanded learning through innovative instruction that accelerates learning and (2) opportunities for enrichment.”
2. Individualize instruction.  This is nothing new: we know differentiating instruction leads to better learning. Summer school is an ideal time for this, but there are still only 4-6 weeks and more kids than one teacher alone can target in any given day. One effective way to individualize is through technology.  When teachers are individualizing instruction during guided reading groups, for example, let the computer differentiate for the students who are (supposed to be) reading independently. The Reading Assistant™ program is the perfect tool for this – it’s an online reading software that uses voice recognition to “listen” to each child as he/she reads aloud, providing individualized reading coaching and decoding support.
3. Incent students to show up. Attendance is key: no educational program is effective when the students don’t come to school. When students are challenged, having fun, learning something new, feeling successful, and their parents are involved, it’s a recipe for success. The Rand Corporation’s report suggests incentives such as “payments, prizes, parental pledges, parental benefits, bus passes, and enrichment opportunities.”

After all is said and done, it’s important to know whether your summer school program was effective. Did all the work you put in lead to improved reading scores, for example? For schools that used Reading Assistant in their summer school programs, the answer was a resounding yes:

• In a 4-week summer program in Marion County, GA, students who used Reading Assistant gained more than 6 months in reading comprehension, on average.
• In a 5-week summer program in Wayne County Public Schools in North Carolina, students improved from the 21^st percentile to the 30^th percentile after working with Reading Assistant—a statistically significant improvement. They also improved their average reading level, moving from “struggling readers” to “emerging readers.”

Is your district on track to make this the best summer school yet? If there were two recommendations I’d make, I’d say:

1. Read the Rand Report and
2. Use the Reading Assistant program.

For further reading:

Rand Report:  Make Summer Count 

Results on Reading Assistant: 

Students jump from 21st to 30th percentile in reading after summer school with Reading Assistant

One-half year increase in reading after a one-month summer program using Reading Assistant

 

 

 

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Categories: Education Trends, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant, Scientific Learning Research

Tags: accelerate learning, how children learn, improving reading skills, increased test scores, reading intervention, struggling readers, struggling students, success stories, teacher effectiveness, teacher impact, technology in education

"What’s in the Common Core, but Missing in Your Curriculum” webinar by Dr. Martha Burns

• January 29, 2013 by Scott Sterling

Earlier this month, Dr. Martha Burns presented a webinar titled “What’s in the Common Core, but Missing in Your Curriculum.” One of the exciting new changes that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) bring is a great deal more emphasis on how students learn rather than focusing solely on what they learn. The emphasis of previous standards have focused more on memorization of facts rather than on higher order thinking skills. In this webinar, Dr. Burns reviews the learning capacities spelled out in the CCSS and describes the skills that students need to be successful as lifelong learners, e.g., the ability to evaluate, to adapt, adjust and critique, etc. At the foundation of these higher order abilities lie the foundational skills below. Together, these skills can be termed the “process of learning.”

· Attention

· Memory

· Executive control or self-control

· Adaptability

Students with deficiencies in these foundational skills may be labeled as “trouble makers” or “at risk” and have difficulty keeping up in today’s growing classroom. Experienced educators have always recognized the importance of these skills, but the idea that they can be specifically addressed and improved is relatively new. Without the ability to remember the details of a non-fiction text, how would a student be able to evaluate and critique it?

Dr. Burns describes new insights in neuroscience that are contributing to our understanding of the process of learning and what can be done to strengthen these skills in all learners, even those with learning disabilities and other challenges. The idea that these skills are inherent in students and cannot be changed is simply untrue. With the right training, all students can become stronger, more capable learners.

One efficient way for students to practice the skills needed to meet the rigor of the Common Core Standards is through the research-based learning tools employed by Scientific Learning’s Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant programs. Dr. Burns concluded her presentation with a walkthrough of the programs, highlighting the aspects of the programs that speak directly to the foundational skills needed to create college and career ready students. She also describes what happens in the student’s brain when they are engaged with the software and the results that can be expected.

This new approach by the Common Core State Standards to draw attention to the “process” of learning, rather than just content, is important for all stakeholders to understand. With this new understanding comes a greater importance to use all of the tools at our disposal to help all learners succeed.

Related reading:

Teaching Reading in Science Class: A Common Core Trend?

Common Core Reading Recommendations and the Role of the Teacher

 

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Attend one of our popular webinars with thought leaders in learning. Live and pre-recorded webinars are available. Register today!

Categories: Education Trends, Fast ForWord, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant, Special Education

Tags: academic problems, academic success, accelerate learning, at-risk, attention, cognitive skills, Common Core, curriculum, executive function, how children learn, improving reading skills, increased test scores, innovation, literacy, memory, reading intervention, struggling readers, struggling students, teacher effectiveness, webinar

How a Low Performing School Achieved Double-Digit Gains on the California Standards Tests (CSTs)

• November 20, 2012 by Scott Sterling

On November 5^th, Dr. Martha Burns and Mr. Charles Wilson, principal of the Korematsu Discovery Academy in the Oakland Unified School District, presented a live webinar that explained the research behind the Fast ForWord program and how it took Korematsu from NCLB Program Improvement (PI) status to achieving double-digit learning gains -- and emerging from PI status in only two school years!

Dr. Burns focused on the neurophysiology of learning, specifically the importance of several key left hemisphere pathways. Dr. Burns noted that these pathways appear to be originally founded in object naming networks but gradually expand to symbolic representation systems. She described how information is moved from perceptual/comprehension regions in the rear of the brain to the anterior regions of the frontal lobe, where the learner can utilize the information in useful ways.

This process is particularly important in reading. Reading represents one form of symbolic processing in which the visual symbol corresponds initially to speech sounds and ultimately to words and sentences. Fast ForWord is particularly designed to activate and strengthen speech perception, comprehension and production regions and those key pathways that enable processing for struggling learners by:

• Targeting key neurological centers for language, perceptual processing and sequencing
• Enhancing processing speed and accuracy through repetition and practice of brain fitness exercises
• Building executive functions (life skills) through exercises that increase students’ ability to control their attention and retain information (working memory)

The best testament to Fast ForWord’s capabilities is real-world success, which is exactly what Mr. Wilson provided in his section of the webinar. Korematsu is a heavily disadvantaged school with a 95% free lunch rate and a high percentage of ELL students. Korematsu found itself in NCLB Program Intervention status due to not meeting AYP requirements, at which point Wilson and his staff adopted Fast ForWord. In the subsequent school year, the Academy experienced double-digit gains on the CSTs and was named the Alameda County English Learner School of the Year.

Those of us who have worked in a low-performing school understand the immense challenge it is to improve student achievement, especially in the midst of record budget cuts.  A lot can be learned from Mr. Wilson, a man who has achieved such great success for students in one of the most challenging educational environments.  With a mix of leadership, determination, innovation, and inspiration, Mr. Wilson shows us that anything is possible. 

 

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Categories: Brain Research, Education Trends, English Language Learners, Fast ForWord, Reading & Learning

Tags: academic assistance, academic problems, academic proficiency, academic success, accelerate learning, achievement gap, ayp, below grade level, brain training, improving reading skills, increased test scores, learning to read, literacy, reading intervention, school leader effectiveness, student growth, student reading growth, student reading improvement, success stories, technology in education, webinar

What Educators May Not Know about the Neuroscience of Learning

• November 6, 2012 by Scott Sterling

On October 30^th, noted neuroscience researcher and co-founder of Scientific Learning, Dr. Paula Tallal, conducted a live webinar titled “What do Neuroscientists Know About Learning That Most Educators Don’t?” In her presentation, Dr. Tallal discussed her original research on auditory processing, its relationship to language development, and the far-reaching effects that deficiencies in those areas can have on learning.

Research continues to support the hypothesis that difficulty discriminating between small changes in sound is at the heart of learning problems both in students who have a diagnosed difficulty and those who do not.  Dr. Tallal described how oral language is the foundation for learning and for most successful educational outcomes, adding that oral language itself is dependent on the brain’s ability to discriminate and process auditory information. Children who have difficulty perceiving the many subtleties of language find the deck stacked against them in their educational careers. They can experience a variety of impediments to learning, including:

• Limited attention: Humans are less likely to pay attention to someone speaking if they only understand a portion of what is said. Recall the last time you spoke to someone with a heavy accent or were on a bad phone line.
• Difficulty following directions: When you only understand a portion of a spoken “order of operations” - like a set of directions – the chance that you follow the order decreases dramatically.
• Memory issues: As Dr. Tallal describes, if you have to concentrate so much on understanding spoken text, you are less able to move information from working to long-term memory, and therefore are less likely to remember it.

Students with this subtle level of auditory processing problem need specific differentiation that is not possible in most classrooms. The good news, as Dr. Tallal describes, is that modern technology can be used to address the difficulties these children face and help bridge these skill gaps. In fact, it is this level of research and development that informed the development of Scientific Learning’s software programs, including Fast ForWord.

To close, Dr. Tallal took questions from the educators relating to how these insights can be used to improve educational outcomes in all classrooms. Teachers left this insightful webinar with practical strategies that can be used to help learners of all abilities.

 

 

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Categories: Brain Fitness, Brain Research, Education Trends, Fast ForWord, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant, Scientific Learning Research, Special Education

Tags: academic problems, academic success, accelerate learning, at-risk, attention, brain development, brain plasticity, brain training, child reading development, cognitive skills, dyslexia, Fast ForWord characters, how children learn, improving reading skills, language learning, learning disabilities, literacy, memory, oral language skills, processing, reading intervention, sequencing, struggling readers, struggling students, technology in education, webinar

Join Us for Our 2012 Fall Webinar Series for Educators

• September 4, 2012 by Carrie Gajowski

Our Fall Webinar Series for Educators is here!  Join us for presentations on topics from how the brain learn to how you can increase test scores and reading proficiency for your students. 

How the Brain Learns

9/12 - The Development of Executive Function: Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System

Dr. William Jenkins, one of our four founders and an expert in learning-based brain plasticity, will review the three dimensions of executive function often highlighted by scientists—working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. Learn about the development of these skills across childhood and look at some popular misconceptions about executive function in children.  His last webinar on executive function was a big hit—you‘ll want to join us for this one!

10/11 - Teaching with the Brain in Mind

Brain-based learning expert Eric Jensen returns to share specific, practical brain-compatible strategies you can use in the classroom right away. Discover how the brain works, how teaching changes the brain, and what it takes for students to acquire complex learning and achieve their best. Jensen’s webinars are always packed—be sure to register and arrive early!

10/30  -  What do Neuroscientists Know About Learning That Most Educators Don't?

Dr. Paula Tallal will join us to discuss the latest neuroscience research on learning, her original research on auditory processing and language, and the classroom application of these scientific findings to help struggling learners succeed.  Dr. Tallal is one of our four founders and a very engaging presenter—don’t miss this rare opportunity to learn from her!

Real Life Results with Scientific Learning Programs

9/5  - 79% of Arizona English Language Learners Improve One or More Proficiency Levels In One School Year

Returning presenter Cory Armes will discuss how the Fast ForWord program supports English Language Learners by simultaneously developing academic skills critical for reading, such as English language conventions, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and comprehension. A live Fast ForWord demo will be included in this webinar.

9/17  -  Administrators from Westfield-Washington Schools (IN) Discuss How Their Students Achieved Nearly Double Expected Gains In Reading

Dr. Martha Burns will open the webinar with an overview of how the brain learns.  Then, special guests Dr. Dave Mundy and Cindy Keever from Westfield-Washington Schools in Indiana will discuss how students achieved nearly double their expected gains in reading with the Fast ForWord program.   Bring your questions for our guests!

9/26 - Students Surpass Reading Level Gain Expectations by 50% With Reading Assistant

Maura Deptula will provide an in-depth look at the Reading Assistant online reading coach and results achieved by students using it. Reading practice with Reading Assistant helps strengthen fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. This webinar will include a live product demonstration.

For Parents

9/10 - The Science of Learning

One of our most popular presenters, Dr. Burns returns to discuss ways to accelerate your children’s learning. Recent brain research shows that developing the critical cognitive skills of memory, attention, processing, and sequencing can make a significant difference for your children and result in improved test scores. Dr. Burns will discuss key areas of the brain and how these areas influence reading and academic performance. Angela, a parent from Wisconsin, will discuss her son’s progress and results with the BrainPro program.

 

 

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Categories: Brain Fitness, Brain Research, Education Trends, English Language Learners, Fast ForWord, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant, Scientific Learning Research

Tags: academic proficiency, academic success, accelerate learning, brain development, brain plasticity, cognitive skills, executive function, how children learn, improving reading skills, increased test scores, learning to read, literacy, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, reading intervention, success stories, technology in education, webinar