By Norm Erickson, Contributing Editor
for Education and the Environment
This excerpt is reprinted with permission
of the Rochester Post Bulletin newspaper.
Central to the work of Jan Kuyper-Erland, Mem-ExSpan, Inc., is the assumption that higher-order thinking skills are dependent on lower-level information processing skills. The presence or absence of those lower-level skills affects our ability to learn and function in a complex world.
Strength or weakness in these skills is indicated by intelligence measurements and by academic performance, especially in mathematics, reading, and in the ability to comprehend and follow complex instructions.
Following verbal or written directions, as in taking an exam, following assembly and test procedures, operating a VCR or computer are also heavily dependent on information processing skills.
Most of us have some weaknesses in our basic information processing skills. These skills include several types of verbal processing and retention skills, and non-verbal visual or image processing skills.
The researcher had previously proven that just 24 hours of drill can increase information processing and recall of visual and verbal information as measured on several standardized tests on intellectual functioning. IQs increased +16 points for participants ranging in age from 10 to 55. A three-year longitudinal study confirmed that the changes were permanent.
A subsequent study, modified the program delivery to enable teachers to administer the training in the classroom. A fifth-grade teacher and twenty students partaicipated. Much of the program used videotaped puppets to deliver the drills.
What were the results of the 16 weeks of training, 30 minutes daily? IQ's of the twenty students averaged an increase of +25 points. The seven students with learning disabilities averaged a 24-point gain in intelligence. The grade-equivalent gain mesured by the SRA reading subtest was +3.76 years for the current year, and +1.66 years for the controls from a previous year by the same teacher.
Doesn't it look like this would be a useful program to offer in our Rochester area school system? The researchers' prior work indicated that the IQ gains and related skill improvements were permanent, and that people with greater needs benefitted from repeated experience with the training program.
It might be a wonderful alternative to some learning disabled and reading impaired special education students. Instead of teaching to students with deficiencies (the old paradigm), train away the problems and let the students become like the rest of the population.
Norm Erickson is a member of the Rochester Energy Action Committee. He has had a long time interest in energy, the environment, and education. He uses the most current information available and the opinions expressed are his.
Jan Kuyper Erland, M. S. Intervention Consultant
Mem-ExSpan, Inc.
The Bridge To Achievement ®
Tele: 785-749-5402 web: http://www.memspan.com email:jan@memspan.com
