Students Who Build Brain Fitness Improve Performance on State Tests

Students Who Build Brain Fitness Improve Performance on State Tests

Mar. 29, 2011 (Business Wire) — On state tests administered each spring, even bright young learners worry about their performance. Take Garrett, for example. The son of an elementary school principal, Garrett had the benefit of a strong preschool education and dedicated parents who read with him every day. Yet, Garrett struggled with reading in first and second grades, and scored below grade level on the Idaho Reading Indicator (IRI).

Then, in the third grade, everything changed. Garrett gained 3.7 years of growth, jumping from a second-grade to nearly a sixth-grade reading level. For the first time, he also scored at the proficient level in reading on his state test, the Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). What changed? From September to April, Garrett participated in a brain fitness program called Fast ForWord® that exercised his cognitive muscles and improved his brain function. This allowed Garrett to better take advantage of the content presented to him in school and at home, and maintain an accelerated rate of learning even after the program ended.

As Garrett’s story illustrates, successful preparation for state tests involves more than high quality, standards-based subject area instruction. Forward-thinking schools are accelerating learning and improving performance on high-stakes tests by building students’ brain fitness. By exercising the parts of the brain that contribute to learning — memory, attention, processing and sequencing — schools can improve students’ ability to learn and retain knowledge.

At Discovery Elementary, the Title I school in Idaho Falls where Garrett’s father, Ken Marlowe, serves as principal, students began using the Fast ForWord software in 2008 to exercise and train their brains to process more efficiently, and build critical reading skills. In 2010, students in grades three through six made significant gains on the ISAT in reading, language usage, and math. For example, from 2009 to 2010, the percentage of Discovery Elementary students achieving proficiency jumped from 86 to 95 percent in reading, 81 to 84 percent in language usage, and 85 to 95 percent in math. In addition, Discovery Elementary students surpassed district averages across all subjects.

“I have found the Fast ForWord program to be the difference maker in meeting the ever-growing expectations of student proficiency in reading, language, and math. This is not only true for the students I work with at Discovery Elementary, but for my own son as well,” said Marlowe. “Now, of course, I wondered if these skills would carry forward or not after a student stops using the Fast ForWord program. I’m here to tell you that at the end of fourth grade, my son scored in the advanced range on all state tests in reading, language, and math. The Fast ForWord program really turned things around for him. He went from dreading to read to loving to read, and you can’t stop him now. It’s a tribute to the Fast ForWord program and what it’s able to do. Students maintain their gains even after the program ends. And that’s just one story. I’ve got a school full of them.”

Building brain fitness can also improve high school students’ performance on state tests. At Collins Career Center, a vocational school for 11^th and 12^th graders in rural Chesapeake, Ohio, students improved their reading skill levels and achieved significant gains on the Ohio Graduation Tests (OGT) in reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies. In 2009, for example, students who used the Fast ForWord program achieved a 10-to-1 gain over their peers on all five tests of the OGT.
“I was flabbergasted at how quickly we were able to move students forward in their reading ability and comprehension after purchasing the Fast ForWord program,” said Stephen Dodgion, superintendent of the Lawrence County Joint Vocational School District. “We were so excited about the results, we felt we needed to get the software to every student on this campus. Our scores have gone up considerably and I feel strongly that it is a result of this software.”

About Scientific Learning Corp.
We accelerate learning by applying proven research on how the brain learns. Scientific Learning’s results are demonstrated in over 200 research studies and protected by over 55 patents. Learners can realize achievement gains of one to two years in as little as eight to 12 weeks and maintain an accelerated rate of learning even after the programs end.

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Goodnight Room: Story Strategies for Building the Best Bedtimes

March 8, 2011 by Martha Burns, Ph. D

Remember Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown? When I think of this book, I think about how the bunny is snuggled into bed, toys put a way, moon peeking in through the window, and everyone and everything is whispering “good night.” I’ve noted that the “old lady whispering hush” is rocking in her chair far across the room, and the book The Runaway Bunny sits on the bedside table; story time has ended for this little bunny and now it’s time for sleep.
Everything is perfect and quiet. What might the perfect story time have looked like in that “good night room” 15 minutes before the book opens? First of all, the old lady would have been sitting much closer, maybe on the edge of the bed. And her soft, clear voice would be helping that little bunny not only relax, but learn to love books as well as solidify the rudiments of language.
Whenever possible, make a consistent habit of 15-30 minutes each evening to tell or read stories before bed. Just as it did for your child at a year of age, for your tot it will serve two purposes: quiet him down and prepare him for sleep, as well as introduce the repetition of words and sentence forms that build the school-important left hemisphere. As your two-year old begins to develop a love of specific books or stories, you will have a wealth of material to settle her down on car and plane trips where sitting still for long periods is mandatory.
And remember, a bedroom is usually the quietest room in a home. All the soft materials (the bedding, window coverings, rugs, and even “goodnight socks and bears”) actually absorb what hearing specialists call ambient noise, rendering your speech clearer and easier to perceive. Reading in this quiet room helps your child learn to discriminate the subtle differences in speech sounds. As a bonus, if you read or tell stories to your tot in the bedroom, where you will be sitting right next to him, you will be providing the best speech signal available. The easy rule I use to describe this is, “An arms span, from mouth to ear, makes sure all bunnies’ hearing is clear.”
It probably doesn’t matter what stories you tell or read. It is the natural clarity of the speech signal that occurs in a ”goodnight room,” the repetition that results from your child’s own preference for certain stories, and the closeness and attention that the child receives from the most important people in her life that make this short period of the day so important to your child. And, it goes without saying that the benefit to you will be that after this small investment of time, you will have some time to yourself to relax, read, enjoy a favorite television show, or just interact with your spouse.
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The Old Grey Matter Test... How to keep your brain at its best

By Dr Tracy Packiam Alloway
Last updated at 3:58 AM on 16th January 2011

Everyone wants their brain to work at its best - whether you need to stay sharp to keep up with your children or to come up on top at work. The exciting thing is that science now provides evidence for what works and what does not. So training your brain no longer has to be a case of trial and error.

Those who use their brain more efficiently tend to have better jobs, better relationships and happier and more fulfilling lives. And you can change your brain and, as a result, change your circumstances.

WHAT'S YOUR COGNITIVE RESERVE?

Ever heard of cognitive reserve? It's a buzzword in the scientific community. The theory is based on the idea that those who have a larger reserve of neurons and stronger cognitive abilities can tolerate some brain deterioration without showing symptoms. In other words, the more you use your brain, the greater your chances of avoiding symptoms of memory loss.

TALK FAST AND REMEMBER MORE

Speaking quickly can do wonders for your verbal short-term memory. The length of a word makes a big difference in how well you can remember it. Look at these words: refrigerator, hippopotamus, Mississippi, aluminium.

You're more likely to forget them compared with words that you can repeat more easily, such as bus, clock, spoon and fish. The longer it takes to repeat or rehearse something, the harder it is to remember.

This is known as the wordlength effect, which means that longer words are harder to remember. To boost your memory of longer words, ask to look at a list, rather than just listen to it.

SOUNDS MATTER

A list of words that are distinct (such as bus, clock, spoon, fish, mouse) are much easier to remember than a list of words that sound similar (rhyming words such as cat, mat, cap, map, can, man).

When things sound similar, you're more likely to get confused. So if you're trying to remember a shopping list, group your items by categories (dairy, meat, bread) rather than alphabetically.

WHY DOES IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO REMEMBER?

As you get older, you take longer to come up with an answer because you have so many more life experiences and it takes longer to sift through them all to find the right word or image.

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

I looked at working memory in people aged five to 85. This continues developing in your 20s and peaks in the 30s, and actually declines very little over the decades.

Working memory in those in their 60s looks like those in their 20s. Studies show that at any age, you can do something to make a difference to your memory. As you age, your brain shrinks by about two per cent every ten years, although it is unlikely to be noticeable until you hit your 60s.

WHY 20s AND 30s ARE THE MOST MEMORABLE YEARS

If you were to list your top 20 memories, you may find most are from your 20s and 30s. This is not unusual. People tend to try things for the first time during this period so often remember them more clearly.

This may include first loves, holidays and first mortgages. This period is known as the reminiscence bump, because there is a bump or peak in the number of memories you can easily recall from this time.

BANISH THE TIP-OF-THE-TONGUE PHENOMENON

Everyone struggles with the tip of-the-tongue phenomenon (TOT for short). This is when you can describe a word's meaning in detail but you just can't remember what it is.

Here's how TOT works. I'm thinking of a fruit, I ate one for breakfast, it's juicy and I can see it in my head but I just can't remember what it's called. Two hours later, the name pops into my head while I'm in the middle of a meeting - I was thinking of a pomegranate.

This example is simple - you more commonly search for words you say less frequently. So don't get stuck in a rut, using the same words and same ideas every day. The more often you use language and seek out opportunities to use language creatively, the less likely you are to experience TOT.

TOP TIP

Play a mental memory game with yourself or, alternatively, challenge someone else. Set yourself a target - for example, name as many animals as you can in 30 seconds. Try to name one animal per second.

Now make it harder - name as many animals as you can with names that start with the letter P in 30 seconds. Then try a different topic, with fruit or furniture. You can add time on if you find it too difficult, or pick harder letters.

The aim of this game is to challenge your mind to create connections between items in a category. You may even find yourself making a mental store of animal names when you read the newspaper.

PREPARE YOUR BRAIN

Different parts of the brain show more activation just before a problem is presented. This means the brain gets ready and gathers information from different parts in order to generate a solution.

When you're faced with a problem, the solution seldom comes from thin air. The answer is often the result of hours (and sometimes years) of preparation. So, the next time you have a problem to tackle, do your homework and prepare well. A creative solution will soon follow.

STOP TALKING!

Sometimes talking about a problem that needs to be solved can ruin the creative process. Studies have found the creative process works best if you're not constantly vocalising plans.

In many ways, the creative solution is an automatic process. So next time you're trying to be creative, avoid talking about it and let your brain do the work.

STRESS SHRINKS YOUR BRAIN

Scientists have found that high levels of stress can reduce the volume of the hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for absorbing new information), as well as the anterior cingulate cortex, which is linked to controlling stress hormones.

Stress leads to hypertension and high blood pressure. In a group of almost 1,000 adults aged 65 years and older, scientists found that those with high blood pressure were at a greater risk of mild cognitive impairment.

This means that these adults found it harder to focus, had a hard time performing simple cognitive activities and reported that they forgot things more frequently.

MOVE IT!

You cannot use the excuse that you're too tired to exercise. Scientists have discovered that 15 minutes a day can make a big difference to your sleep cycle. Exercise helps you get REM (deep sleep) and feel more awake during the day.

CHANGE YOUR ROUTE

A change of scene can make a big difference to your mental health. For example, if you take the dog for a walk in the same place every day, change your route.

You may not realise this, but looking at the same trees or flowers each day may be dragging you down. Finding somewhere new to go for a walk is a quick pick-me-up. You may be surprised by how energised you feel.

WHY WORD SEARCHES ARE STRESS-FREE

Some people adore puzzles that allow them to play with words: crosswords, logic puzzles, riddles, word searches, word scrambles and so on. Some just seem to have the knack of solving them.

Others don't have the knack at all and wouldn't recognise the answer if it smacked them in the forehead.

So how do you get the knack? Start with something like a word search. Most of us will have done these in school to reinforce spelling and vocabulary.

The thing I love about word searches is that they're really low-stress. If the word list is provided, I guarantee you can complete the search - no matter how large the grid or how many words you're looking for.

How often in life do you get the satisfaction of knowing you're going to get the right answers?

That fact, in itself, makes working word searches fun. Plus, they're great puzzles for increasing concentration and blocking out the world for a while.

Training Your Brain For Dummies, by Dr Tracy Packiam Alloway

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A workout for working memory

New research suggests that mental exercises might enhance one of the brain's central components for reasoning and problem-solving.

By SADIE F. DINGFELDER

Monitor Staff

September 2005, Vol 36, No. 8

Print version: page 48

People may be able to remember a nearly infinite number of facts, but only a handful of items--held in working memory--can be accessed and considered at any given moment. It's the reason why a person might forget to buy an item or two on a mental grocery list, or why most people have difficulty adding together large numbers. In fact, working memory could be the basis for general intelligence and reasoning: Those who can hold many items in their mind may be well equipped to consider different angles of a complex problem simultaneously.

If psychologists could help people expand their working-memory capacity or make it function more efficiently, everyone could benefit, from chess masters to learning-disabled children, says Torkel Klingberg, MD, PhD, an assistant cognitive neuroscience professor at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), for example, might especially benefit from working-memory training, says Rosemary Tannock, PhD, a psychologist and psychiatry professor at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

"It could be that working-memory problems give rise to observable behavioral symptoms of ADHD: distractibility and also poor academic achievement," she says. Working-memory deficits might also underpin some reading disabilities, as it controls the ability to recall words read earlier in a sentence, says Tannock.

But how--or even if--working memory can be expanded through training remains a topic of hot contention among psychologists. Some argue that working memory has a set limit of about four items, and that individual differences in working memory arise from the ability to group small bits of information into larger chunks. However, new research suggests that working-memory capacity could expand with practice--a finding that could shed new light on this central part of the mind's architecture, as well as potentially lead to treatments for ADHD or other learning disabilities.

Functional limitations

One such study--by researchers at Syracuse University--hit upon the potential trainability while attempting to resolve a debate in the literature on the limits of working memory.

Since the 1950s, psychologists have found one aspect of working memory--sometimes referred to as the focus of attention--to have severe limitations. For example, George Miller, PhD--a founder of cognitive psychology and a psychology professor at Princeton University--established that people generally can't recall lists of numbers more than seven digits long. Those who exceeded that limit tended to make smaller groups of numbers into larger ones, using a process called "chunking." For example, people familiar with U.S. intelligence agencies would see the letter group "FBICIA" as two chunks, rather the six letters, and that set of letters would only occupy two slots in a person's memory, rather than six.

In recent years, however, evidence is mounting that the limitation of working memory is somewhere between one and four information chunks. The downward revision results from new techniques to keep people from chunking information, which can create the illusion of greater fundamental storage capacity, says Nelson Cowan, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In one common chunking-prevention method, participants repeat meaningless phrases over and over while performing working memory tasks such as memorizing lists of numbers.

A recent literature review by Cowan, published in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (Vol. 24, No. 1, pages 87-185), makes the case that a variety of working-memory measures all converge on a set limit of four items.

Other researchers have suggested that working-memory capacity is limited even further--to just a single item. In a study by Brian McElree, PhD, a psychology professor at New York University, participants underwent a test of working memory called "n-back." In the task, the participants read a series of numbers, presented one at a time on a computer screen. In the easiest version of the task, the computer presents a new digit, and then prompts participants to recall what number immediately preceded the current one. More difficult versions might ask participants to recall what number appeared two, three or four digits ago.

McElree found that participants recalled the immediately preceding numbers in a fraction of the time it took them to recall numbers presented more than one number ago--a finding published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition (Vol. 27, No. 1, pages 817-835.)

"There is clear and compelling evidence of one unit being maintained in focal attention and no direct evidence for more than one item of information extended over time," says McElree.

In an attempt to reconcile the two theories, psychology professor Paul Verhaeghen, PhD, and his colleagues at Syracuse University replicated McElree's experiment, but tracked participants' response times as they practiced at the task for 10 hours over five days. (See November Monitor , page 35.)

"We found that by the end of day five...their working memory [capacity] had expanded from one to four items, but not to five," says Verhaeghen. "It seems that both theories are correct."

The focus of attention might expand as other working-memory processes become automated, Verhaeghen says. Perhaps practice improves the process of attaching a position to a number, freeing up the mind to recall up to four numbers, he notes.

Some researchers believe the practice effect uncovered by Verhaeghen reflects more efficient information encoding rather than expanded working-memory capacity. According to McElree, the response time measures used by Verhaeghen do not provide pure measures of memory-retrieval speed, and the changes in response time with practice could indicate that participants in his study simply became more practiced at encoding numbers vividly, he says.

If Verhaeghen's findings can be replicated using other tasks, it could change how scientists conceptualize working-memory limitations. Rather than there being a set limitation, working-memory capacity could improve through practice--suggesting that those with working-memory problems could improve their capacities through repetition. However, practice would need to occur on a task-by-task basis, says Verhaeghen, and, as he points out, "It is doubtful that practice on n-back generalizes to anything in real life."

Stretching the limits

New research on children with ADHD, however, might show tasks such as n-back can improve working memory in general, and could help children with the condition.

People with ADHD tend to have difficulty with working-memory capacity, and that deficit could be responsible for their tendency to be distracted and resulting problems at school, says Tannock.

Seeking to alleviate such difficulties with his research, Klingberg ran a randomized controlled trial of 53 children with ADHD in which half of the participants practiced working-memory tasks that gradually increased in difficulty. The other half completed tasks that did not get harder as the children became better at them. Both groups of children--who were 7 to 12 years old--practiced tasks such as recalling lists of numbers for 40 minutes a day over five weeks.

The children who practiced with increasingly difficult memory tasks performed better on two working memory tests--which were different than the practice tasks--than the control group, reported Klingberg in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (Vol. 44, No. 2, pages 177-186.) In addition, the parents of children with memory training reported a reduction in their children's hyperactivity and inattention three months after the intervention, while the parents of the control group participants did not.

Subsequent, yet-unpublished experiments build on those results, Klingberg says.

"We have looked at other groups too: adults with stroke, young adults without ADHD, children with...traumatic brain injuries," he says. "A general pattern [we've found] is as long as you have working-memory problems and you have the ability to train, you can improve your abilities."

Some researchers suggest that memory training may have more of an effect on motivation than working memory.

"It seems to me that children in the training group may have learned to have a better attitude toward the testing situation, whereas children in the control group--who repeated easy problems--may have learned that the testing situation was boring and uninteresting," says Cowan. "The differences that emerged on a variety of tasks could be the result of better motivation and attitude rather than a basic improvement in working memory."

Or, says Klaus Oberauer, PhD, a psychology professor and memory researcher at the University of Bristol in England, the practice effect in both Klingberg's studies might result from people learning to use their limited working-memory capacity more efficiently--perhaps by grouping information into larger chunks or by enlisting long-term memory.

"I think the practice effect [they found] basically is just an ordinary practice effect, in that everything gets faster," he says.

So, even if working memory can't be expanded, adults with grocery lists and children with ADHD may be able to make better use of what little space is available by practicing the task itself or repeating tests of general working memory. And, in the end, the milk gets bought and the reading assignment finished.

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