Master and move on!

In the last 100 years, behavioural scientists have made profound discoveries regarding how humans learn. These discoveries have led to the ever-evolving development of evidence based teaching methodologies, Direct Instruction and Precision Teaching. Both instructional methods that are based on the concepts of mastery and repeated practice – two things that are generally lacking in tradition methods of education. More often than not, traditional education focuses on providing students with learning experiences without ever mastering concepts before moving on – this is based on the premise that exposure to learning experiences is sufficient to master and complex subject matters. As such, early childhood students are expected to write stories, regardless of the fact that they may only just be beginning to form letter or recall information, or order ideas – never mind complex skills of grammar.

Both Direct Instruction and Precision Teaching methods are based on the principle that complexities within learning can be broken down into component skills, and that these presented to students in a multitude of ways through repeated practiced until mastery is attained. Elite sportspersons understand these concepts well – to be an expert basket- baller you need to master the component skills of ball handling, dribbling, footwork, speed, footwork, shooting goals, passing – and these are separately practiced to mastery before they expect to be experts on the court. Similarly, one cannot effectively perform academically without mastery of component skills of fluent reading, writing, math numeracy and computation – and the myriad of other components that allow students to learn complex skills.

When students are given the time required to learn and master the basics, more complex skills emerge automatically, with little to no training. Unfortunately, within the Australian schooling system, early steps are often skipped and students are prematurely exposed complex skills at the top of a curriculum ladder. Within precision teaching, the goal of educating children is of far higher value than satisfying teaching criteria on a term by term basis.

True mastery of component skills is the core of precision teaching. By definition, this means that a skill is neurologically permanent, resistant to distractions and fatigue, and usable for the learning of more complex skills.  Fluency , which is measured as accuracy plus speed, is the most appropriate measure of skill mastery and reliably predicts the desired outcomes described above. It is known that fluency can only be achieved through repeated and reinforced practice of skills over time.

At Cognilab, we ensure consistent and ongoing measurement of skills specific to each learner so fluency can be reliably determined. Thus, when a student is fluent across a broad array of components, or core skill areas, they experience a transformation as learners. At Cognilab, our Mission Statement is to empower children of all abilities through using evidence-based instruction — combining Precision Teaching, Direct Instruction and transformative learning methodologies to build fluent, confident, lifelong learners, thus creating an environment where learners can build a fluent foundation at their pace until students can demonstrate cognitive fitness — the ability to perform as an expert in any academic setting on any type of task.  If your child is struggling academically, it is important to know that there is likely nothing wrong with your child but something missing in their instructional environment. What is likely missing is that they are being moved on truly mastering skills. What eventuates from this type of teaching environment is a majority of struggling students simply require the opportunity to practice essential academic skills to mastery. To book your child in for an assessment to determine which components they missing or have not obtained fluency in, contact us on (08) 6110-9348.