How to choose a program or combination of programs

If you have read through this site, you have probably already come to the conclusion that cognitive training, as presented in the PACE and Master the Code programs by a licences trainer and at home through our on-line cognitive skills program BrainSkills, may be the solution you have been seeking.  The Brain Trainers would like you to make the best and most informed decision.  To help you with your decision making, we offer the following:

1.  Getting started with a learning skills assessment using The Gibson Test of Brain Skills.

2.  Should I  go through PACE training or sign up for BrainSkills on-line? 

3.  How do I know if we also need to follow up with Master the Code or Debbie Hepplewhite's Can Do Cubes for Systematic Phonics after completing PACE or BrainSkills?  Is there anyone who can help us further with these assessments?

4.  Why Master the Code or Debbie Hepplewhite's Can Do Cubes for Systematic Phonics?  Won't any phonics program do?

1.  Getting started with a learning skills assessment using The Gibson Test of Brain Skills.

The ability to learn is significantly dependent upon a person’s ability to process information, which is defined as a person’s cognitive skills. One or more weak cognitive skills generally cause learning difficulty. Thereby, if a student is under performing, it is critical to learn whether weak cognitive skills are an issue, and if so, which ones. Until weak cognitive skills are improved, most academic-based remediation efforts are ineffective and the student becomes frustrated. The Gibson Test of Brain Skills serves as a red light/green light indicator. Red light means you need to address weak cognitive skills to empower the student to learn. Green light means the student has the foundational cognitive capacity to learn and other limiting factors can be addressed.

Prior to now, professional cognitive skill testing was resource intensive and expensive. This type of testing has historically been used to diagnose learning disabilities and thereby has a negative connotation. IQ tests usually only provide an average score and do not break out detailed individual cognitive skill scores. Because of these barriers, there has been only limited and often inadequate testing and identification of cognitive weakness.

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2.  Should I choose to go through PACE training?  

This is a very important question.  There are many programs available on the market that purport to improve learning skills.  We at The Brain Trainers have personally used PACE and Master the Code and can attest to their effectiveness first hand.  PACE and Master the Code are presented one-on-one with non-academic activities that never put off students who think of school work as a dirty word.  The results are long lasting but are accomplished over a short period of time.  This is very important as, especially children, can't envision years of tutoring or training.  The thought of an unending program often defeats them from the start.  The new on-line BrainSkills Core Cognitive Skill Exercise Program has been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated by The Brain Trainers and we endorse this product without reservation.

Specifically looking at PACE, the biggest and most obvious difference between PACE and many other programs is that it is a one-on-one training program designed and tailored for each individual student by a licensed PACE provider.  Many other programs work in a group setting of 3 or more students.  This leaves much of the "tutoring" time with the student working on their own, feeling bored or overwhelmed.  PACE is intense and from the moment the student begins their hour of training each day, their mind is actively challenged and exercised at an appropriate level of complexity and intensity. 

On-line BrainSkills differs from other on-line training or computer based programs.  Like PACE, BrainSkills is designed to create new neural pathways using the science of neural-plasticity.  With 10 activities addressing 6 primary underlying learning skills (processing speed, visual processing, working memory, auditory analysis, words attack, and executive functioning skills), each increasing in complexity and intensity, the brain not only gets a work out, but is forced to develop new neural connections.  These new connections create connections where there previously were none or where the connections were ineffective.

If you were to train to run a 10K race but only ran 100 meters in any one stretch, you would not be prepared on race day to run 100 meters 10 times back to back.  Sustained focus, attention and application for the full 60 minutes is a feature regularly lacking in other programs - not so with PACE or BrainSkills

Both PACE and BrainSkills, require a significant commitment and dedication.  Since the program is completed on average in 12 - 15 consecutive weeks, you need to dedicate about one hour a day for 6 days out of the week.  Your PACE trainer at The Brain Tainers will work to keep you and your student motivated to continue with the program.  Much like a personal trainer in a gym we will ensure you are getting the most out of your training.  If you choose BrainSkills, we offer telephonic and Skype consultation services on an hourly rate.  If you are interested in this option, please call us for details.  We do offer discounts for advance purchases of consultation hours in excess of 10 hours.

The Brain Trainers will happily discuss the hourly fees for PACE at the time of a consultation.  We provide discounted intial testing and consultations.  If you are not within the area serviced by The Brain Trainers, you would need to check with your local PACE provider regarding their fees and policies.  If you are in the Conroe, Texas area, we recommend Kid Potential Inc.  If you are in New Jersey I recommend you contact Colleen Bain at Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids.  For further information about Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids, please visit www.els4kids.com.   Other PACE providers can be located by calling  (866) 679-1569.

PACE and BrainSkills provides comprehensive processing and cognitive enhancement training, which improves processing speed, memory, visual processing, word attack skills, auditory analysis, and logic and reasoning skills.  PACE and BrainSkills let your student succeed better and faster than other programs available in tutoring centers or in other home training or on-line environments.  Also, the results are lasting.  Having said that, there are some differences between the specifics of these programs.

PACE has a total of 33 different activities, with 9 of these in Auditory.  There are a total of 183 elements in these activities, with 82 of these in Auditory.  Each level and activity can be increased or decreased in its intensity and complexity by your trained PACE provider.  Training consists of verbal and hand-written responses by the student.  Many activities incorporate full body movement and activity, including crossing of the mid-line. BrainSkills, being computer based, relies primarily upon keyed in responses using a key board or mouse.  Verbal responses (that work a different part of the brain), are encouraged and should be monitored by the parent or other adult assisting in the training for accuracy.  Although there are some variations in the activities, the underlying skills being worked are comparable.  Changes made lend themselves to the difference in the media of instruction. 

 

Please select BrainSkills to preview of some activities of this cutting edge program.

PACE and BrainSkills cover what is needed to create the neural pathways to improve the learning skills necessary to make learning faster and more enjoyable.  They presents some of the skills in a variety of ways to make the training more individualized and keeps the training exciting.  Variety in proceedures can also help with a child or adult who is truly struggling in an area.  For example:  Keeping on beat is a very important aspect of PACE and subsequently Master the Code.  My husband, as his trainers soon found out, has no rhythm.  Clapping to a metronome beat was very difficult for him.  It is one of the activities present in PACE.  If, however, this were the only way to present "getting on beat" to someone, it could become a little tedious and boring.  Several other techniques are also used to help with this feature of the training, including finger tap activities and a trampoline element.  These alternative activities also work on this very important ability and add a little spice to the training.  Children especially love the use of the trampoline as it is so far from traditional academics they feel as if they are "getting away with not doing work".  Because activities are presented in a variety of ways, students can work on skill in several different ways and help them overcome any limitations more quickly and with more variety.  Consultation with The Brain Trainers will allow for some of these variations to be employed while using BrainSkills too.

The Brain Trainers licensed PACE provider comes to the training session with modifications that can be implemented when working on basic program activities and can make suggestions and modifications for any of the BrainSkills activities in onsulation sessions.  These modifications can make the acitivities easier until mastery is accomplished, and then the modifications are removed so the student is working without them.  Other activities can be added to increase the complexity of the activities when a student needs added challenge.  This is particularly the case in older students to really push them up to the adult levels.  Your trainer will help your student to acheive each new level of activity, but will not compromise and "pass" a student when the appropriate level of mastery hasn't been obtained.  BrainSkills has a built in passing system that ensures adequate accuracy has been obtained.  This is crucial since neural pathways are developed incrementally.

Unlike other training programs (especially most of the computer training programs on the market, you get immediate feedback with both programs.  PACE feedback is provided by the trainer and BrainSkills has a built in mechanism for immediate feedback as well as overall activity percentage of accuracy. 

The human contact and input is a crucial factor when dealing with students who have learning difficulties.  Students need to hear from another human being that they can do things and get positive verbal and visual reassurance that they are progressing.  Many students with learning disabilities have low self esteem.  A computer score alone or a written grade is inadequate to help change a student's underlying negative impression.  People need to experience the improvement, and a personal one-on-one session 3-5 days a week for 12 weeks will work wonders on this behavioral symptom of learning difficulties.  For this reason, BrainSkills encourages a parent or other adult sit with the student in training to encourage and support them through the hour of training each day for the duration of the 12-15 week training time frame.

PACE is guaranteed by us at The Brain Trainers when we provide the PACE training.  We guarantee that after 12 weeks of PACE there will be a minimum of two years improvement in any one of the cognitive functions that tested low during the pretest.  If this improvement is not realized at the time of the post-test, we will provide two additional weeks of training ABSOLUTELY FREE, along with another free post-test.  Needless to say, we believe this will rarely, if ever, happen.  If you go to a different PACE provider, you will need to check with them for their guarantee.

If you have any other questions about the difference between PACE, BrainSkills, and other programs you may be sconsidering, please check out the section on PACE.  If your concerns are still not addressed, please contact us with your specific questions and we will endeavor to respond to your satisfaction.

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4.  Why Master the Code or Debbie Hepplewhite's Can Do Cubes for Systematic Phonics ?  Won't any phonics program do?

At The Brain Trainers we are definitely biased towards Master the Code, but this bias not without justification.  Master the Code is preferable over other phonics and reading programs as it incorporates everything you need. The Brain Trainers also highly endorses Debbie Hepplewhite's Can Do Cubes for Systematic Phonics, a brand new product to the US. We are the first to get it! Non-consumable high quality wooden product. Here is a quick rundown of these two programs.

• Master the Code teaches reading, but it also teaches spelling and combines it with comprehension techniques.  Most other phonics and reading programs deal only with the ability to sound out words.  They regularly don't even address comprehension and spelling is deferred to a "spelling" program often consisting of word lists that are set out by age or grade "appropriateness".
• Master the Code address both the decoding and encoding of the English language.  The purpose of reading and writing is to communicate.  Master the Code, in addressing comprehension, covers this crucial element often regarded as a separate learning skill.  Master the Code knows they are all interrelated.
• Unlike most other programs, Master the Code teaches the sounds first and the written code for the sound second.  This follows the way we learn language.  First we listen, then we learn to speak, and then finally we learn to write down those sounds in written code.  Most programs start at the written code and work backwards.  Not only is this confusing but many programs then introduce a number of  "exceptions to the rule" and "sight words".  If the sound-to-code method used in Master the Code is employed, many of these coping techniques are not needed.
• Each written code for the sound is associated with a visual picture to help remember the codes for that sound. Combined, these tools will help a student make an educated guess about which code is used in a word with which they are unfamiliar. 
• Using a dictionary is no longer a frustration as students learn how to systematically search to confirm their spelling starting with each sound and proceeding to the next sound in the word, looking up the written code possibilities for each sound one at a time and ruling them out.  Since a student will try out the most common written code first and proceed from there, they will increase their chances of "finding" the word faster and will avoid forgetting a possible written code option.
• Master the Code allows you to throw out your spelling lists and "grade level" rules for spelling!  Words are taught based on sound so there is no "age appropriate level".  The Code is taught so all words can be read and spelled (some first attempts may need refinement of the code choice for spelling using a dictionary until they become familiar to the student).  This program allows the student to literally Master the Code, not individual words.  Sound to code rules for nearly all English words are covered.
• Master the Code uses the same training techniques employed in PACE.  This further enhances all the underlying learning skills and takes them to a practical application level. 
• Learning to Master the Code is not rote memorization.  Visual processing skills are utilized along with memory.  Logic and reasoning skills (to determine which code is the correct fit for a word) are reinforced and put into practice.  Processing speed is both enhanced and relied upon to make sounding out words and selection of code for spelling quick and fun.  With speed comes better flow and comprehension, as well as less chance of distraction, frustration and wander off topic.  Auditory processing skills are a vital part of "hearing" the sounds and their placement within a word, and the ability to take apart and reassemble those sounds and their corresponding written code.
• One of the many highlights of Master the Code is that it is easy to teach and implement.  Parents will be able to reinforce the lessons learned without feeling as though they need a degree to get through the material themselves.  There are many very good programs on the market, but they require a great deal of sweat and determination on the part of a parent or teacher to muster through.  Fancy written symbols are often required and the complexity and time to work through these programs is daunting.  A student going through Master the Code will encounter daily "AH HA" moments.  The simplicity of Master the Code belies its efficacy. 
• Unlike many other phonics or reading programs that take years to complete or leave gaps (sight word emphasis, additional spelling lists year after year, no focus on spelling so another program is needed, etc.), Master the Code not only covers reading, spelling and comprehension, but it does this all to mastery in an average of 12 weeks!  That is only one hour a day five days a week if taught exclusively by a trainer or one hour a day 3 days a week by a trainer and an additional four hours a week at home.  In just 12 weeks and about 72 hours your student will be reading, spelling and comprehending well beyond what is obtainable during the same time frame with other programs.  Rapid improvements also increase self-esteem and help restore battered self-images.  Combined with PACE, your student's perception of school and work will dramatically improve as they see successes.  For an example of the dramatic changes in a student's ability to spell, see Sierra's Story.

Have you ever questioned how to spell a word?  Were you ever told..."Look it up in the dictionary"?  Have you ever thought to yourself, "if I knew how to look it up in the dictionary I could spell it and wouldn't need to look it up"?  Master the Code addresses this apparent dilemma and many more.

Master the Code regularly finds students with good verbal skills increasing the complexity of their written work, as they are no longer hemmed in by word choice being limited by spelling ability.  It is amazing to see a child's writing expand from "America wanted to be free" to "Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress that independence be declared from Great Britain" in a matter of months not years.  And that was a seven year old!  Imagine the possibilities and the direct impact this can have on a student taking standardized tests.  The ability to look up vocabulary words and apply them in written work will only increase as time goes on even months after completion of the course.  Watch your students' communication skills soar as they are able to learn new words and their meaning by themselves.  New found independence in learning will only increase their interest in learning all the more.

PACE and BrainSkills each cover 17 of the 43 sounds in the English language.  Master the Code completes this training for students who need it, covering all 43 sounds in the English language, as well as the various spellings of each, in rank order from most to least common.  To gain a full understanding of reading and spelling the English language, some phonemic awareness enrichment program may be required (especially if there are auditory processing or word attack deficiencies).  The Brain Trainers recommend Master the Code.  To find out about our guarantees for this program please click on Master the Code.

Debbie Hepplewhite's Can Do Cubes for Systematic Phonics is a hands on phonics program imported from Great Britain that uses a "sound to code" approach, also known as synthetic or systematic phonics. Tara Jenner of The Brain Trainers is one of the editors of the North American version of this product "translating" the British pronunciation rules, spelling and word usage for compatability in North American. The program comes in a double set including Stage One (the simple codes) and Stage two (the complex codes). Why teach spelling and reading as two separate subjects when you can teach them simultaneously!

This new program is consistent with the phonics approach presented in our trainer driven program Master the Code and covers 44 sounds of the English language and all the ways those sounds can be written. The program takes about 12 weeks to complete. This program is not intended for individuals who have auditory processing problems. Those issues should be addressed first using either PACE or BrainSkills. 

Because of the unique engraved wooden cube manipulatives of this program, it can be used with all ages from 3 years old on up. It does not insult the intelligence of older more mature students but can also be used with the very young and those who have difficulty with writing.

This program is visual and kinesthetic in its approach, and does not require a masters degree by a parent or teacher before beginning instruction! This product is not consumable and, therefore, can be used with many ages as phonics is being introduced in your home. A school version is available for those who are interested in using this product in co-op, private and/or public school environments. Please contact us if you are interested in that version.  To find out more go to Can Do Cubes Phonics.

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