Cognitive Fitness within Every Child s Reach

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1 Cognitive Fitness within Every Child s Reach The Fit Learning Method culminates from over 15 years of work with over 1,500 learners. We have a vast understanding of how to produce profound learning gains with every kind of student, which results in our continually achieving the impossible with every learner who walks through our doors. There are many characteristics of our approach that contribute to its effectiveness and distinguish it dramatically from more traditional approaches. Our Roots Our method has its basis in learning science or behavior analysis, which provides the guiding framework for everything we do. Learning science adheres to pragmatism as its philosophical system where effective action serves as the rubric by which we judge our work as scientists and clinicians. In other words, we evaluate our work in terms of its effectiveness at producing a desired result or outcome. Conversely, in traditional education, constructivism is the guiding theoretical framework; whereby, descriptions of what practices should be are constructed and work is evaluated in terms of how closely educational practices match the constructed descriptions of what these practices should be. In other words, educational practices are evaluated in terms of whether what is happening in classrooms matches what theorists say should be happening. Unfortunately, there is little connection between practice and evaluation of outcomes in traditional education. The scientific principles of learning serve as the guiding system for our work. Humans have evolved as a species to be sensitive to specific features of our environment. Although biology clearly plays a role, over 70 years of research indicates that the environment assumes a much greater role in learning. These critical features of the environment have been systematically studied and they are now scientifically validated principles of learning. It is these principles that have guided the development and refinement of our method. The Instructional Environment as Primary We view a learner s current and past instructional environments as primarily responsible for learning gains. Instructional environments encompass a vast array of features such as 1) how motivational systems are designed, 2) how learning materials are designed and presented, 3) how responses by the learner are prompted, secured, and strengthened 4) how feedback is provided, 5) how learning is measured and evaluated, 6) how instruction is modified based on this evaluation, and 7) how skill mastery is determined and produced. These are a few of the critical features of instructional environments that impact the learning gains made by a

2 student. When students fail, struggle, stagnate, or require any kind of acceleration, we turn to an analysis and modification of the critical features of that student s instructional environment. Conversely, traditional education holds the student s role in his or her own learning as primary. From the traditional perspective, when a student struggles it has to do with inherent characteristics of that student rather than due to a faulty instructional environment. Struggling students are tested, labeled, placed in special classes, and generally classified as having something wrong with them. As a result, teaching practices and instructional environments remain unexamined, ineffective practices become institutionalized, and special education placements and learning disability diagnoses increase. When learning problems are seen as existing inside the student, it limits access to effective action. We have been profoundly effective with every student due to our adherence to an examination of instructional environments rather than viewing struggling students as having some inherent flaw. Yes, some students have a predisposition to struggling more significantly in particular areas than others; however, faulty instructional environments profoundly exacerbate such predispositions. The key to producing profound learning gains with every single student lies in an analysis of that learner s history with respect to their current instructional environment. Component Skill Building The push in education today is content over competency. In other words, the theory is that by exposing students to more and more information at younger and younger ages they will eventually acquire enough knowledge to be successful. Constructivist theories posit that educators simply must provide opportunities for students to discover knowledge. Teachers are also trained that directly teaching things somehow minimizes a student s educational experience and suppresses creativity or individuality. However, there is little scientific evidence to support these current educational theories. Conversely, scientific evidence in combination with 10 years of outcome data obtained with our own learners indicates that long- term academic success depends upon the achievement of competency in core skill areas. Rather than exposing students to large amounts of content, competency- based educational practices, like those used at Fit Learning, entail building essential skills to proficiency and following a logical, linear progression through a skill sequence where larger, more advanced skills are not expected until the core, component skills are sufficiently in place. For example, we would not expect a learner to be able to effectively solve a complex math word problem before achieving mastery of core numeration and basic computation skills. However, students today are expected to perform these kinds of complicated skills with little time spent training and mastering the components.

3 Fluency as a True Measure of Mastery Grading serves as the primary means of progress monitoring in schools. However, grades also tend to be a fairly insensitive, subjective measure of student performance. In the early years, teachers tend to grade based on effort, enthusiasm, or maybe general cuteness of the kid. These kinds of subjective grading practices tend to shift dramatically by 3 rd or 4 th grade, where students actually receive grades based upon competency. Unfortunately, instructional practices do not tend to shift with increasing strenuousness of grading practices. In other words, more starts being expected of students but instructional practices do not ensure that all students can meet those increased expectations. Similarly, most students are evaluated by infrequent test grades. A teacher covers a unit of material for a week or two and then students are tested on that material. The class moves on to a new unit of material following the test regardless of how each student performed on the test. None of these practices are predictive in nature. In other words, an A on a test fails to predict if that student will remember the material in a week, a month, or several years down the road. Also, an A fails to predict whether or not that student will be able to use that material to learn something more difficult. Grades tend to predict nothing about future performance. Conversely, we adhere to the notion that students should truly master basic skills. By mastery, we mean that a student s competency on a particular skill should reliably predict that he/she remembers the skill over time in the absence of on- going practice, can perform the skill under distracting conditions over long periods of time without showing degradation in performance, and can effectively use that skill for the learning of something more complex. Our science has determined that fluency or a measure of accuracy plus pace is the most appropriate measure of skill mastery and reliable predicts the desired outcomes described above. Fluency serves as the goal for everything we train at Fit Learning. We have tested and evaluated hundreds of students on thousands of skills and have established fluency aims for every skill we train. These aims have been established by systematically evaluating the levels of speed and accuracy on a skill that reliably produce the desired outcomes described. Cognitive Fitness When students achieve fluency across a broad array of core skill areas for a particular subject, they experience an actual transformation as a learner. A fluent foundation produces learners who have cognitive fitness or the ability to learn and perform as an expert in any academic setting on any type of task. Students who are cognitively fit tend to be agile, flexible, focused, perseverant, confident, determined, and able to think critically. Fluency is synonymous with being an expert. With the type of training that Fit Learning provides, students become experts in the core skill areas of reading, math, thinking, and writing. As such, they can effortlessly complete classroom and homework assignments and engage with material in such a way that

4 they actually begin teaching themselves new things. It is these kinds of students who will go on to impact our world in profound ways. It is our commitment that we provide the type of training such that every student who walks through our doors develops the kinds of skills and expertise that will allow them to do great things and make a difference for humankind.

5 The model has been successfully applied to children who display the following characteristics: Dyslexia Dysgraphia Dyscalculia ADD ADHD Auditory Processing Disorder Processing Disorders (General) Tactile Defensive Disorder Language Delays Developmental Delay Pervasive Development Delay Downs Syndrome Cerebral Palsy Acquired Brain Injury General Learning Disability Autism Spectrum Disorders Gifted and Talented Students Students who are just struggling and need a boost And Students looking for preparation for participation in advanced Private Schools Specialized services have been developed and rigorously tested in the general areas of: Early Reading Phonemic/Phonetic Awareness Spelling Vocabulary Development Reading Reading Comprehension Listening Comprehension Math (Number Sense through Algebra 1) Expressive Writing Study Skills Early Language Training Advanced Cognitive & Language Skills

6 Fit Learning Affiliates By 2010, it became obvious that the results being produced with children at the three Fit Learning locations were unique and exceptional. Upon this realization, the team at Fit assumed the mission of disseminating the knowledge gained in transforming the educational futures of children beyond the walls of its centers. However, it also became clear that typical forms of dissemination (e.g., franchising, publishing etc.) would mean sacrificing the precision, integrity, and love that created the context for the evolution of the Fit Learning Method. Thus, in an effort to transform the lives of more families and children across the country and across the world, the Fit Learning Affiliate distinction was created. What is a Fit Learning Affiliate? Fit Learning Affiliates are individuals and organizations displaying the same commitment to producing unparalleled outcomes, impeccable service delivery, and share the belief that all children have the potential to be exceptional. The Founders of the Fit Learning Method take on only a small number of these individuals and serve as their mentors through intensive training and on- going supervision. Each organization must demonstrate expert levels of knowledge and implementation to achieve Fit Learning Affiliate status. Furthermore, to maintain Affiliate status these individuals and or organizations must maintain the outstanding outcomes and superior customer satisfaction associated with the Fit Learning name. Does being a Fit Learning Affiliate mean they can work with any child on any problem? A Fit Learning Affiliate is a person or organization with a knowledge base and skill set that is broadly applicable to most childhood populations and academic areas. However, Affiliate status is only designated for children ages 4-18 who are not on the autism spectrum and do not display severe behavioral or emotional challenges. Furthermore, individuals and organizations receive Affiliate status one domain at a time. For example, an organization or individual may have completed training and granted Affiliate status on Fit ReadingTM and Fit LogicTM but are still in training on Fit MathTM. That being said, many of our affiliates have a vast array of clinical and educational experience and may hold independent degrees and credentials. As such, they may be qualified to provide services beyond and independent from their Affiliate status.

7 Are Fit Learning Affiliates tutors? The answer to this question is simple, NO. Fit Learning Affiliates are experts in the delivery of the Fit Learning MethodTM. Affiliates are skilled in isolating core academic barriers and providing training that allows for a fundamental and permanent transformation in what is possible for your child. The typical approach of tutoring is homework help and serves as a temporary band- aide that masks other underlying challenges. Furthermore, private tutors and franchise tutoring centers do not engage in the rigorous and precise daily measurements of student learning that is standard in the Fit Learning MethodTM. Without objective frequent measurement, tutors and tutoring conglomerates are inherently insensitive to important changes in learner performance. The frequent and precise measurement of individual academic and behavioral targets is absolute in the Fit Learning MethodTM. Through standard measurement practices, Fit Learning Affiliates are trained to be objectively sensitive to their learners, therefore, they are able to make immediate data based decisions to move a learner ahead so they do not stagnate or to move them back to prevent unnecessary frustration. How can Fit Learning Affiliates and the Fit Learning MethodTM help my child? The first benefit to you child is true mastery of core academic skills. Years of research and program evaluation clearly indicate performing something at 100% is not a valid measure of mastery. Students must also perform core component skills with speed/automaticity. The instructional systems of the Fit Learning MethodTM are specifically designed to maximize the time it takes students to achieve fluency. Our students typically grow 1-2 years in the targeted academic domain with 40- hours. The second benefit is that your child will experience a profound shift in confidence. At Fit, we define confidence as doing something quickly, strongly, and with a high personal sense of certainty that your actions will produce the intended result. Training sequences are designed to allow children to intimately experience what it means to be masterful. However, mastering anything involves a lot of failure that requires individuals to persevere. Perseverance is the third benefit noted in children who have received the Fit Learning Method. The measurement system employed in the Fit Learning Method allows providers the intimate and objective knowledge of your precise level of proficiency on every academic target. In the pursuit of mastery, your child will have 1,000s of specifically designed opportunities to meet personal goals. He or she will not always achieve these goals; however, the precision with which these goals are set ensures that the successes will outweigh the failures. Under these conditions,

8 your child will have daily practice in persevering and immediately contact the direct benefits of sticking with something until a goal is achieved Finally, as was stated previously, people involved with the delivery of the Fit Learning MethodTM share a common belief that all children can be exceptional. The Method is designed to relentlessly turn that belief into a reality for every child receiving Fit services. Thus, your child will spend his or her time at Fit with an expert who sees them as who they can be and not who they are in that point in time. Individuals who implement the Fit Learning MethodTM do so because they want your child to be everything they want to be and achieve everything they want to achieve, even if your child doesn t know what that is yet.