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New programs provide educators with more flexible opportunities to address learning differences among students and help schools, districts tap into federal stimulus dollars
DURHAM, N.C. – June 2 – Responding to the urgent need to stem the chronic underperformance of too many elementary and secondary students, All Kinds of Minds, a world-recognized nonprofit institute, has launched new professional development programs aimed at bringing the science of learning to classrooms around the United States.
All Kinds of Minds integrates brain research, cognition and learning into groundbreaking programs for K-12 educators. Available in June, the new programs build on the organization’s renowned Schools Attuned® program, which has equipped nearly 45,000 teachers worldwide to better understand, identify, and address learning differences among students.
The new programs also offer schools and districts high-quality options for using federal education funds recently made available via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
“Helping teachers and schools meet the expectation that every student should be successful is central to our mission,” said Mary-Dean Barringer, Chief Executive Officer of All Kinds of Minds. “No one wants to see a student fail, but many do—not because they can’t learn, but because their brains are wired to learn differently. Our programs teach how students learn, how to pinpoint where learning has been stymied and where undiscovered learning strengths exist, and how to use this knowledge to make teaching more effective for all students. This builds the type of capacity that federal officials have identified as a goal of education stimulus dollars.”
Research suggests that 20% of students—an estimated 10 million in the United States—struggle with at least some aspect of learning in school. While some of these students require and qualify for special services due to specific learning disabilities, many more struggle needlessly because their learning needs are misunderstood or unrecognized. Tragically, students with poor academic performance are at greatest risk for dropping out of school or otherwise “slipping through the cracks.”
Barringer added, “We have numerous independent studies, along with a decade of program evaluation data, that prove that training from All Kinds of Minds can lead to greater engagement in learning and higher academic achievement for students, as well as greater instructional effectiveness for teachers.”
New courses
The new programs include a three-day course, Teaching All Kinds of Minds, which introduces educators to eight “neurodevelopmental constructs,” illustrates how strengths and weaknesses within various areas of brain function affect student performance, and provides next-day activities and tools for classroom implementation. Participants also become more aware of their own learning styles, and how those styles influence their efficacy with different learners.
All Kinds of Minds will continue to offer its successful five-day course, Schools Attuned to All Kinds of Minds. Participants in this intensive program learn about the eight neurodevelopment constructs and explore how to use this knowledge to pinpoint and address learning breakdowns. Cohorts of educators who participate in the course gain knowledge to help them build a “learning expertise” team within their school. Two different tracks address implementation at the elementary and secondary school levels.
Graduates of either the new three-day course or the classic five-day course can also select from more than a dozen modules included in the new Tools for Learning Success Catalog. Designed to help educators and schools deepen and implement their knowledge about the science of learning and its applications, these modules address such topics as lesson analysis, parent engagement in student learning, and Response to Intervention (RtI).
For communities and schools interested in learning more about this groundbreaking approach, a new one-day “exploring level” workshop, Understanding Learning and Learners, introduces participants to All Kinds of Minds’ approach to helping educators understand how students learn and how this knowledge can help teachers more effectively manage diverse learning needs among their students.
Members of All Kinds of Minds’ national faculty – highly qualified educators trained by All Kinds of Minds to teach these programs – deliver all programs in a face-to-face setting. Participants in these programs can earn continuing education units (CEUs); the number of hours earned varies by course.
All Kinds of Minds will also introduce its first online professional development for educators in September. These online modules will offer participant self-paced opportunities to develop their understanding of various neurodevelopmental constructs and their relevant in the classroom.
All Kinds of Minds’ new programs come at a time when the demand for teacher training based on the science of learning is growing. More than $20 billion in federal recovery (ARRA) funds going to state and local districts for education target, among other goals, professional development for teachers to help them boost academic achievement for at-risk students, improve outcomes for students with learning disabilities, and make better use of data to inform and improve instruction. At the same time, numerous states have implemented performance and assessment standards that require public school teachers to understand how different students learn and to be able to match their instructional strategies to student learning needs
In addition, the National Association of Independent Schools cites “brain-compatible teaching and learning” as one of the key areas that will drive educational reform in the coming years.
About All Kinds of Minds –
All Kinds of Minds is a world-recognized nonprofit organization that translates groundbreaking research from neuroscience and other disciplines on how children learn – and vary in their learning – into a powerful framework that educators can use in their classrooms. In addition to delivering high-quality professional development for educators, All Kinds of Minds advocates for learning-focused education policies and reform efforts to help transform schools and school systems to better meet the needs of all students.
More information about the new programs is available on the All Kinds of Minds website at www.allkindsofminds.org/pd
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Press Contact:
Julie Schmidt
All Kinds of Minds
(919) 933-8082 x2114
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