The Learning Success Blog

Researchers suggest that engagement in risky play provides children an opportunity to navigate and cope with uncertainty, resulting in decreased anxiety, according to a recent Canadian study.

Risky play is defined as a thrilling activity involving challenges that test limits and the possibility of getting injured. Typically, children love trying out new things and, in the process, seek opportunities that allow them to engage in challenging activities or risky play.

While risky play might seem dangerous for kids, it offers many benefits, including improved social, motor, and spatial skills, critical aspects in building student learning capacity. Below are some of the essential roles of risky play in early childhood learning and development.

Fast ForWord and MATHia have been named as Award (Gong) winners in the 2021 Best Tools for Back to School (USA). They were awarded for helping students, parents, and teachers succeed as they head back to school.

The new Awards of Excellence program is published by:
Tech&Learning (techlearning.com) TOOLS & IDEAS TO TRANSFORM EDUCATION

And is designed to help their readers find the most impressive products and solutions for their work in any learning environment.

Every minute that passes we age, and most people believe that advancing age will inevitably mean a decline in our mental abilities.

I know that at 66 years old it takes me longer to remember things that once I could bring quickly to mind.

However a recent study has found that not every mental faculty declines and that some even improve!

Now new research from Georgetown University Medical Center offers surprisingly good news.

If you’d like your child or students to be a better reader then Fast ForWord Reading Comprehension program could help.

The exercises work on the underlying skills of Working Memory, Attention,Processing and Sequencing this helps all learning becomes easier.

What to expect from Reading Comprehension

• A concentrated focus on reading comprehension and the sub-skills that build it, from fluent decoding and grammar skills, to comprehension strategies 
• Practice in reading for understanding with a wide range of texts, including fiction, expository prose, tables, instructions, diagrams, and flowcharts—the kinds of texts that students encounter when reading to learn across the subject areas
• A new look and feel, with graphics age-appropriate for secondary learners and motivational features to keep students engaged and learning
• Improved adaptivity and responsiveness, so that individual students get the content they need at the right level of challenge
• Just-in-time supports, to help students work more independently and stay motivated
• A safe learning environment, where students can take chances without fear of judgment by their peers
• The same research-driven design and content that have made Fast ForWord a reliable, evidence-based solution for over 20 years.

“I heard from a school about the great results they are getting from a neuroscience program.  Then one of my staff pointed out a meta analysis that is critical of the program. I can’t understand why supposedly gold standard research - a meta analysis - is saying something totally different from what I hear is happening in other schools.” 

That’s what a school principal said to us.

She understood the value of educational neuroscience and was considering whether to use the Fast ForWord neuroscience program in her school to assist teachers to help improve students' learning and reading abilities.

The meta analysis was published in 2010, using research from the previous decade. The authors, Strong et al, selected 5 of 79 published studies they had found on Fast ForWord.

If you are considering a product to help your brain or improve academic performance, what evidence would you rely on?

Many people don't want to read research and thus seek a trusted advisor. Sadly, they are often unaware of potential conflicts of interest.

A case in point is the Macquarie University's Special Education Centre (MUSEC) brief discussed herein, where Macquarie University crudely used one meta-analysis to support their commercial initiative.

Can you rely on MUSEC for an independent, impartial and unbiased opinion?

What about the practical, real world gold standard evidence: 20+ years of product validation by millions of users around the world:

In 1996 four world leaders in neuroscience, after 25 years of ground-breaking research, formed a company (Scientific Learning Corporation). Their core product - Fast ForWord® translates neuroplasticity-based training research into educational programs to develop learning capacity and reading skills. It has been continually revised and enhanced ever since.

Over the past 10 years, sustainable living has become increasingly popular among Australian families. A study from Planet Ark and HP Australia found that more than 90% of Australians are worried about sustainability.

There is, however, still a long way to go before the nation as a whole becomes adequately sustainable. One way to accelerate the process is to teach children about the importance of sustainable living from a young age.

It is fairly well understood that a good night’s sleep helps us learn better.

Now scientists have discovered people who take short breaks while learning a new skill make more gains than after a night's sleep.

In a Study at the USA National Institutes of Health 33 right-handed volunteers were shown a five-digit code "41234" on a screen and asked to type it out with their left hands as many times as possible for 10 seconds and then take a 10 second break. Subjects were asked to repeat this cycle of alternating practice and rest sessions a total of 35 times.

Australian kids are more than halfway through the school term, and it's likely that most of them are already tired and stressed over homework and revising for exams. According to a recent survey, over 30 percent of students said that their homework workload is their biggest source of stress, while more than 25 percent said that tests like NAPLAN are causing them anxiety in school.

Being worried over grades and performance can cause a child to lose interest in their school work. This is why parents should take active steps to ensure that their kids stay engaged during the school year, and have a love for learning that goes beyond the classroom.

Here are some simple yet effective ways to keep kids interested in learning.

Our world is in constant flux. Rapid digitisation, partly due to the global pandemic, has made information, work, education, services and products more accessible online. And since teenagers spend more time online compared to other demographics, it is no surprise that this added accessibility impacts their financial behaviour the most as well.

While online shopping may discourage frugality at times, internet use may also increase financial literacy as well. According to recent statistics, 61% of teenagers have already started actively saving their money in a bank account. Meanwhile, 64% had sought out financial advice already.

Why Should Teens Learn Financial Literacy?