smart brain training in education
DESCRIPTION
How SMART brain training can be used in education and schoolsTRANSCRIPT
Dr. Sarah CassidyB.S. (Hons) Psychology, PhD Psych Science
Cert. CBTProfessional Member APA, ACAMH (Ireland), NEPS (SCPA
Panel)Educational Psychologist
Behaviour TherapistLecturer in Educational Psychology and Child
Developmentwww.raiseyouriq.com
S.M.A.R.T Brain TrainingS.M.A.R.T Brain TrainingStrengthening Mental Abilities
with Relational Training
What is SMART?What is SMART?SMART is a scientifically developed
educational brain training programme that has been proven in published scientific research to raise intelligence levels (measured using standardised IQ tests) by 20 - 30 IQ points. That makes SMART training a breakthrough in psychological science.
What is SMART?What is SMART?SMART is based on the new
scientific discovery that "relational skills" underlie most forms of intelligence. Our computer based online brain training programme helps people to enhance their relational skills and their intellectual skills go up as a result.
Let’s see if you have got good relational skills....
Who is your father’s sister’s sister-in-law ?
Some background information....Some background information....What is Intelligence?What is Intelligence?
• “The ability to learn, understand and make judgments or have opinions that are based on reason”
-Cambridge Advance Learner’s Dictionary (2006)
• “Ability to adapt oneself adequately to relatively new situations in life.” -R. Pinter, quoted in Sterberg (2000)
• “Intelligence measures an agent’s ability to achieve goals in a wide range of environments.” -S. Legg and M. Hutter (2006)
• “Intelligence is a general factor that runs through all types of performance.” -A. Jensen
What is Intelligence??What is Intelligence??“Viewed narrowly, there seem to
be almost as many definitions of intelligence as there were experts asked to define it.”
--RJ SternbergIn a nutshell, intelligence is a
summary of a set of skills that allows us to interact successfully with our environments.
What is IQ?What is IQ?
An Intelligence Quotient is the measure of your performance on an IQ test RELATIVE to people of your own age and sex.
IQ RangesIQ Ranges
67%
96%
WISC-IVWISC-IV
Problems with intelligence Problems with intelligence teststestsWhile the WISC-
IV does measure g, it fails to take other possible intelligences into account
Intelligence tests do not reward novel, creative, or divergent responses
Intelligence tests may be culturally biased
More recent evidenceMore recent evidenceIQ scores are often stable across time
◦i.e., if two tests are taken a few months / years apart the results are likely to be quite similar particularly for older children and adolescents.
Test-retest correlations typically range from .70 - .85
We also know that IQ scores are good predictors of academic success, career success, and even health and happiness.
Some factors that that are Some factors that that are linked to increases in IQlinked to increases in IQQuality parent-child interactions:
◦ Emotionally responsive◦ Language-rich◦ Complex, stimulating environment◦ High expectations◦ Operate in children's ZPD
Early intervention e.g. Head Start, Carolina Abecedarian Project
Education: “A year in education most likely increases IQ by somewhere between 2 and 4 points” (Winship & Korenman, 1997)
Nutrition (e.g., Lynn)
Enriched environments -- Brain plasticity (e.g. Rosenzweig ). Studies have shown that intellectual stimulation in the form of “cognitive training” can help to slow down cognitive decline in the elderly and among those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (Belleville, Gilbert, Fontaine, Gagnon, Menard & Gauthier, 2006; de la Fuente-Fernandez, 2006; Spector, et al., 2003; Willis et al., 2006; Wilson, et al., 2002).
Brain PlasticityThe big challenge is to show that
such interventions do more than simply improve people’s skills at the very tasks at which they practice. What is needed is evidence that training at one task type generalizes at least to real-life situations (e.g., involving problem-solving or remembering) or to other aspects of cognitive functioning.
Behavioral Psychologists study the SKILLS underlying intelligent behaviour.
… and we study how to best teach them
A behavioral approach assumes A behavioral approach assumes intelligence to be a malleable skill set intelligence to be a malleable skill set (Cassidy, Roche, & O’Hora, 2010). (Cassidy, Roche, & O’Hora, 2010).
Relational Frame Theory and human intelligence
A modern behavioral research programe has been designed specifically to understand how the skills associated with high intelligence might be established in educational interventions.
In a nutshell, RFT is a functional-analytic behavioural theory of human language and cognition.
RFT claims that the foundational skill for most intellectual abilities is Derived Relational Responding.
RFT and human intelligence
What is Derived Relational Responding??
DRR is the skill of relating objects to each other in accordance with a small family of mathematical relationships (e.g. symmetry, equivalence, opposition, more-than, less-than).
Equivalence is the most basic of the relations that can be trained.
Dog(spoken)
“Dog”(written)
Taught
Derived
“New” Verbal response
Multiple Exemplar Training
Relations are taught by caregivers across multiple exemplars in normal language interaction (whether the caregiver realizes it or not).
Equivalent
Multiple Exemplar Training
By giving a child multiple exemplars, a caregiver is teaching a child skills that become more and more abstracted over time.
From RFT perspective - all language for humans involves being able to use words in this abstracted way - that is use and respond to words whose meaning has been derived through equivalence.
So according to RFT - language and deriving relations involve the same process.
What do we know so far??What do we know so far??Relational skills are foundational
to language.Language and intelligence are
highly correlated. We can train language through
MET.
Empirical evidenceRelational skills are foundational to
language (Lipkens, Hayes and Hayes, 1993, Devany, Hayes & Nelson, 1986; Barnes, McCullagh & Keenan, 1990).
There is a correlation between WAIS subtests and a complex relational skill (O’Hora, Pelaez & Barnes-Holmes; 2005).
Relational skills are foundational to language
O’Toole and Barnes-Holmes (2009) found that fluency at a complex relational task correlated with IQ as measured by the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test
Gore, Barnes-Holmes and Murphy (2010) found significant correlations between performance on a test for deictic relations (i.e., perspective taking relations involving “I” and “You”, and “here” and “there” relations) and Full Scale (r = .43), Verbal (r = .45) and Performance IQ (r = .45; p.12) as measured by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI; Psychological Corporation, 1999).
Related Experimental WorkBarnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes,
Smeets, Strand & Friman (2004). Barnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes &
Smeets (2004).Berens & Hayes (2006).Gomez, Lopez, Martin, Barnes-Holmes
& Barnes-Holmes (2007).
These studies all showed that MET was an effective means of
developing relational responding skills and these relational responding skills then successfully
generalized to novel stimuli.
Implications……If there is a connection between
language, intelligence and relational skills (as all of the foregoing research has shown that there is) then improving relational skills should improve intelligence (as measured by commonly used IQ tests such as WISC, WAIS).
Barring this research body, no other study to date has attempted to use MET to improve general cognitive abilities.
Cassidy, Roche & Hayes, (2011) Cassidy, Roche & Hayes, (2011) researchresearch
Experiment 1Experiment 1Found mild and modest correlations between almost all subtests of WISC-IIIUK and speed of deriving symmetrical and transitive relations.
Found that providing intensive relational skills Found that providing intensive relational skills training to normally developing children raises training to normally developing children raises their IQ by more than one standard deviation their IQ by more than one standard deviation and in some cases by as much as 2 standard and in some cases by as much as 2 standard deviations.deviations.
Also found increases of as much as 30 points in full scale IQ scores in a small sample of normally functioning children who participated in a MET intervention designed to raise IQ score.
Cassidy, Roche & Hayes (2011)Experiment 2
8 children presenting with learning difficulties were administered a comprehensive psychometric assessment (IQ and attainment test) and a baseline test of relational abilities.
All children then took part in an intensive relational training intervention programme over the course of an academic year.
All children showed increased relational abilities and increased performance on an IQ test following the research programme. Mean IQ rise was 13 points. Many children moved from the categorisation of “LD” to the categorisation of “normal range”.
Some demographicsSome demographicsSpecific learning difficulty in readingMild General Learning Disability, borderline
general learning disabilitiesMild to moderate delay in comprehension and
expression of language, mild to moderate delay in vocabulary development,
Specific learning difficulties in reading, writing and spelling
ADHDADHD, Specific learning difficulty in reading
and mathematicsDyspraxia
Involvement with other Involvement with other professionalsprofessionals
PsychiatristClinical PsychologistEducational PsychologistSpeech and Language TherapistOccupational TherapistLearning Support TeacherResource TeacherSNA
•Children were re-assessed 4 years Children were re-assessed 4 years later and it was found that no child later and it was found that no child returned to their previously lower returned to their previously lower than average IQ score. than average IQ score.
All IQ rises were largely All IQ rises were largely maintained and in many maintained and in many instances, the IQ scores instances, the IQ scores (particularly verbal and (particularly verbal and reasoning skills) continued to reasoning skills) continued to rise. rise.
Read this again pleaseRead this again please
IQ RISES WERE MAINTAINED FOUR YEARS LATER!
Cassidy et al. (2011, Experiment 2)...
Baseline Post-Intervention Four-year Follow-up
Mean SD Range Mean SD Range Mean SD Range
Full Scale IQ 82.9 8.3 70-92 95.9 10.6 76-111 102.57 12.19 91-126 Verbal
Comprehension 82.3 7.3 73-93 92.4 9.2 83-110 100.86 6.91 90-112 Perceptual Reasoning 82.1 10.3 65-96 94.5 6.7 84-106 103.14 16.12 83-123 Working Memory 94.9 16.6 59-116 97.5 12.3 77-116 88.14 14.78 65-103
Processing Speed
91.0 9.8 83-109 107 15.6 78-121 98.86 10.33 86-114
✔
✔
✔
✖
See Roche, Cassidy & Stewart, 2013 for more on four year follow-up
✖
Recent Study in a SchoolRecent Study in a SchoolReplication of Cassidy et al (2011), using an Replication of Cassidy et al (2011), using an
online relational skills training intervention as online relational skills training intervention as offered at RaiseYourIQ.comoffered at RaiseYourIQ.com
Fifteen mainstream school children (normal IQs)Fifteen mainstream school children (normal IQs)Administered the WISC-IV UK, standard Administered the WISC-IV UK, standard
scholastic tests, and a specially designed scholastic tests, and a specially designed Relational Abilities IndexRelational Abilities Index (RAI). (RAI).
Twice weekly training sessions in Same, Twice weekly training sessions in Same, Opposite, More-than/Less-than relational Opposite, More-than/Less-than relational responding. responding.
Standardised tests re-administered following Standardised tests re-administered following trainingtraining
Recent StudyRecent Study
55 training and testing stages 55 training and testing stages 100% accuracy and high speed 100% accuracy and high speed
required on each block of training and required on each block of training and testingtesting
16-20 weeks to complete 16-20 weeks to complete All stimuli were nonsense syllablesAll stimuli were nonsense syllablesEvery training and testing trial was Every training and testing trial was
unique – only the FORMAT of derived unique – only the FORMAT of derived relational responding was taughtrelational responding was taught
40
Sample trial from one level of Sample trial from one level of training….training….
Relational Statements
Relational Question30s to Respond
Q: Which of these two coins is bigger?
The size relation between these coins is non-arbitrarynon-arbitrary
A: The 5c.
Which of these two coins is more valuable?
“is greater than”
In the context of value the relation between the coins is ARBITRARY.
Kids must learn the ABSTRACT nature of “More than”
RAI ScoresRAI Scores
Increase in relational abilities was significant (t=7.235, df =14, p<0.000). Increase in relational abilities was significant (t=7.235, df =14, p<0.000). Effect size (Cohen’s Effect size (Cohen’s dd) = 1.89 (very large).) = 1.89 (very large).
46
Full Scale IQ ScoresFull Scale IQ Scores
The increase in IQ from baseline to follow up was significant (t=19.18, df =14, p<0.000). Effect size = 4.96 (Cohen’s d, very large)
47
Increase in IQ Percentile Rank
IQ Rises by Diagnostic IQ Rises by Diagnostic CategoryCategory
Sigma T Sten ScoresSigma T Sten Scores
Sigma T Sigma T test measures standard mathematical ability in Irish Schoolstest measures standard mathematical ability in Irish Schools.
49
Increase in Mathematical ability was significant (t=1.87, df=14, p<0.05, one-tailed)The Effect Size (Cohen’s d) was 0.5 (medium).
Micra T Sten ScoresMicra T Sten Scores
Micra T Micra T test measures standard reading ability in Irish Schools.test measures standard reading ability in Irish Schools.
50
Increase in Reading ability was not significant (t=1.45, df=14, p>0.05)The Effect Size (Cohen’s d) was 0.37 (medium).
51
If a woman were to marry her own adopted Son…
What relation would she be to herself?
School Principal has School Principal has noted....noted....
“The kids enjoyed the training. They were challenged by the varying sets of tasks and seem to have benefited from the programme in terms of their general intelligence. There were marked improvements in IQ scores, but also in terms of their ability to concentrate in school, in their reading and in their mathematics. We would definitely be interested in seeing all kids at the school benefit from this product.”
Resource Teacher has Resource Teacher has noted....noted....
“Having worked with some of the kids who have completed SMART, the improvements I have observed as a result of using this programme include increased confidence, increased ability to problem-solve, and greater speed and accuracy in completing tasks. I believe the repeated practice of a set of skills in a staged manner enables a student to gain these improvements. It is a type of 'brain training' that we, both adults and children, all can avail of to improve our cognitive abilities.”
Class Teacher has Class Teacher has noted....noted....“I have been working with many of these kids since they were in Junior Infants. I have seen the results of this programme in the last month and it is powerful. Not only have the children's IQ's risen, but many of them have improved significantly in their reading, spelling and mathematics.”
What kids have said about What kids have said about SMART...SMART...
P1/11 year old boy. I really liked the SMART training programme. It has helped me in school because I notice that it is easier to answer questions in maths. I’m also quicker to understand new stuff we haven’t learned before.
P2/12 year old boy. Maths are easier for me now and I am quicker at figuring things out in all my subjects. I feel like I am faster at everything in school now. I have definitely benefitted from this IQ programme. My reading and writing have improved too.
What parents have said about What parents have said about SMARTSMART I have noticed that my child’s problem solving skills are stronger since using the SMART programme. He seems to be using his head more. He is thinking more practically and approaching things more sensibly. For example, he is using concrete strategies to figure out why the SKY box wasn’t working. He thought of things that had never even crossed my mind. He also quickly rearranged some furniture in the office for me so that I could plug my phone charger in and use it at my desk while I worked. It was a silly thing that I should have probably thought of myself, but I didn’t and he did! He was not that type of child before. In fact, I would have described him as “flighty”. That’s why these things surprised me so much. He is also more settled into his work and he seems to be taking it more seriously now. His concentration and attitude toward his homework have improved. He also really enjoyed working at the programme so that was a relief to me because I really wanted him to do it.
Why Should This Matter to Why Should This Matter to You??You??
SMART training helps people to....
Reach Intellectual Potential Improve Problem Solving Skills Enhance Creative Thinking Increase Mental Processing Speed Improve Ability to Learn
Why Should This Matter to Why Should This Matter to You?You?The relational skills we train form
the very building blocks of intelligence and teaching these skills will increase student’s abilities to access the curriculum in all subject areas, incl. mathematics, reading and spelling, science, etc
THIS WILL MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER!!!
ImplicationsNow we can!
Perhaps for the first time in the history of psychology we have an educational technology with which we can literally nurture genius as well as supporting the students that most need our help, but for whom we very rarely have enough resources to properly support their needs.
Get a free two week trial for your school here: https://secure.raiseyouriq.com/schools
See some of our media coverage here:https://secure.raiseyouriq.com/media-coverage
Like us on Facebook here and listen to radio interviews:
https://www.facebook.com/RaiseYourIQ
Sign up for our newsletter here:https://secure.raiseyouriq.com/users/sign_up