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Phonemic Awareness as a Foundational Reading Skill
- May 18, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba
Phonemic awareness is the insight that every spoken word can be conceived as a sequence of phonemes. Phonemes are the speech sounds that are represented by the letters of the alphabet.
Phonemic decoding is the ability to capture the meaning of unfamiliar words by translating groups of letters back into the sounds that they represent, link them to one’s verbal vocabulary, and access their meaning.
Together, phonemic awareness and phonemic decoding are key foundational skills for beginning readers.
Learn more about teaching children to read from the National Reading Panel.
Categories: Reading & Learning
Announcing Our Spring Webinar Series--Register today!
- April 27, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba
It’s almost here! I’m happy to announce Scientific Learning’s Spring Webinar Series 2010 featuring five must-hear presentations by experienced, committed educators.
Register for one or all five of the webinars and stimulate your own brain while you absorb ideas and techniques that you can use with your own students.
1) Building Brain Fitness for Struggling Students to Succeed
Presenter: Dr. Deborah Kolonay, Superintendent at Penn Trafford SD
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 12 at 10:00am Pacific
2) Teaching Fluency: The Neglected Goal of the Reading Program
Presenter: Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D.
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 19 at 11:00am Pacific
3) Moving Students to Proficiency
Presenters: Dr. Mark Keen & Cindy Keever at Westfield Washington SD
Date & Time: Wednesday, May, 25 at 10:30am Pacific
4) Autism: Support and Interventions
Presenter: Ann Osterling
Date & Time: Thursday, May 27 at 10:00am Pacific
5) Autism: What is the Latest Research?
Presenter: Ann Osterling
Date & Time: Tuesday, June 15 at 10:00am Pacific
For a fuller description of each session, please visit our webinars page. And be sure to follow @scilearn on Twitter for updates as the webinar dates approach!
Categories: Brain Fitness, Brain Research, Education Trends, Fast ForWord®, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant™, Special Education
Apply for the “Science of Success” Classroom Microgrant for Teachers!
- April 13, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba
How would you use the knowledge gained from brain research to create the best learning experiences for kids
WeAreTeachers is offering a “Science of Success” microgrant for teachers, sponsored by Scientific Learning, that is designed to help educators enrich their classroom instruction by incorporating information and practices derived from research into how the brain learns.
Enter your project idea for a chance to win $200 and a Flip Video camera or iPod nano® that you can use to document your project! The application period starts today and ends May 13, 2010. Voting will take place on the WeAreTeachers website from May 13 – May 27, with winners announced May 31, 2010.
Categories: Brain Fitness, Brain Research, Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus
Child Reading Development and Language Skills Webinar
- April 8, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba
Updated June 1, 2010
Language learning begins at birth and continues throughout early childhood. A child’s brain needs plenty of early language exposure to map the phonemes—or speech sounds—of her native language.
Without a good language background, a child is likely to struggle with reading. Children who are reading below grade level in the first grade are at risk for remaining below grade level in reading ability throughout their school years, and being poor readers as adults.
Early reading intervention gets better results than remediation provided later in life. Listen to our pre-recorded child reading development webinar with Cory Armes and Dr. Joseph Noble and find out how struggling students in an Iowa school district boosted their language skills from the 36th to the 59th percentile.
The latter half of the child reading development webinar addresses various funding sources—including Stimulus Package opportunities—that districts can apply for to bring similar results to their learners.
Categories: Brain Fitness, Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus, Fast ForWord®, Reading Assistant™
Brain Fitness Summit in Utah
- March 30, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba
More than 60 people from Utah's state legislature, school districts, and education organizations congregated in Salt Lake City recently to learn about literacy, neuroscience in education, and brain fitness at the March Brain Fitness Summit presented by Scientific Learning.
Dr. Martha Burns gave a presentation about brain plasticity and how boosting the brain's processing efficiency accelerates quality learning. Guest speakers gave insightful and often emotional presentations about their experiences and how they funded and implemented Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ software.
If you are a Superintendent, District/School Administrator, or Legislator and are interested in attending a Brain Fitness Summit, or if you wish to be placed on the mailing list to receive further information, email our Events team at brainevents@scilearn.com.
Categories: Brain Fitness, Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus, Education Trends, Fast ForWord®, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant™
Race to the Top Grant and the i3 Innovation Funding Webinar
- March 12, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba
Join us for a complimentary Live Webinar and learn about Race to the Top Grant and the i3 Innovation Funding. You will learn about grants available to your school district, as well as an introduction to grant writing.
Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant educational software programs offer innovative and evidence-based programs and strategies—both criteria for successful i3 and RTTT grants. We will also discuss what kind of support you can expect from Scientific Learning Corporation as you look and apply for these funding sources. Information about the research behind the products and their proven abilities to help struggling readers and other struggling students can be found by clicking here.
PRESENTER: Joseph Noble Ph.D
Manager, Grants and Proposals
Date: Tuesday, March 30
Time: 1:00pm PST / 4:00pm EST
Categories: Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus
Learn How to Improve Reading Skills for Secondary Students at the 2010 NASSP Convention
- February 23, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba
Are you attending the 2010 NASSP Convention March 11-13 in Phoenix?
Be sure to catch the presentation "Building Brain Fitness to Help Struggling Students Succeed" and learn how students using the Fast ForWord reading intervention program gained an average of 1.1 years in reading skill levels in just 30 days.
Presentation Details
Topic: Building Brain Fitness to Help Struggling Students Succeed
Speakers: Dr. Debbie Kolonay, Superintendent, Penn-Trafford School District, PA and Karen Garner, Principal, Trafford Middle School, PA
Date: Friday, March 12
Time: 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM Location: Room 127 B-C
Don't forget to stop by and see us at Booth #900. Learn more about improving reading skills for your struggling readers, and pick up one of our famous squishy brains for your take-home enjoyment.
Categories: Fast ForWord®, Reading & Learning, Scientific Learning® Research
Learn about Scientific Learning Reading Intervention Products at the 2010 ASCD Conference
- February 9, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba
Are you a Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Director, or District-level Administrator attending the 2010 ASCD conference in San Antonio?
Visit us March 6 - 8 at Booth #213 to learn about our research-validated Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ reading interventions. Schools around the United States have increased state assessment scores after implementing Scientific Learning products.
And when you stop by, don't forget to pick up one of our ever-popular "squishy brains"—a reminder of the importance of brain fitness in learning, and a great conversation piece.
Categories: Brain Fitness, Fast ForWord®, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant™
Davenport, IA, Succeeds with State-Funded Preschool
- January 26, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba
Three years ago, Iowa's Davenport School District created a state-funded preschool program for 4-year-olds. Enrolled students spend 2 or more hours a day in the classroom learning letters, colors, numbers, and more from a licensed teacher.
The program's curriculum is designed to prepare the students to succeed in kindergarten. So far, the program seems to be working: 90% of the Davenport students attending early childhood programs began kindergarten achieving at grade level, compared to 66% of students who did not participate.
Categories: Education Trends, Fast ForWord®, Reading & Learning
2010 Visionary Conference - Save the Date
- January 21, 2010 by Denise Ruvalcaba
Photo courtesy PDPhoto.orgAre you a private provider of Scientific Learning products in the U.S. or Canada? Then mark your calendars for our upcoming Visionary Conference in San Diego Thursday - Saturday, March 18 - 20, 2010. Speakers include Dr. Mike Merzenich, Dr. Paula Tallal, Dr. Bill Jenkins, Dr. Steve Miller, and Dr. Martha Burns. Be sure to let us know if you'd like to participate!
Categories: Brain Research, Fast ForWord®, Progress Tracker, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant™, Scientific Learning® Research