Training Procedures
are
Non-academic
Most training procedures are non-academic because
academic improvement is not the short-range goal of PACE — improved learning
performance is. Also, academic content could cause the student to resist training because
it may seem too much like school, which he or she may associate with negative experiences.
Rather, PACE improves the student’s learning performance so that he or she is able to
learn more easily and efficiently. Then, the student’s improved processing abilities
can help accomplish the long-range goal of PACE — improved academic or job related
performance.
The
Basic Elements Underlying the Training Tasks
Most training procedures include the cognitive
processing elements of attention, short and long term memory, speed, and visual and
auditory thinking. These are the primary cognitive processes that allow the student to
maintain an input, handle more than one input at a time, link a series of inputs over
time, and determine the best out of all possible strategies.
Task Progressively Increases in
Difficulty
These training procedures are made up of tasks
that are intense; repetitive; integrative; and have varied relationships, rules,
principles, methods of operation, and strategies. There are multiple tasks within each
procedure, and they all focus on a particular mental function, but address other functions
as well. The tasks are also graded according to difficulty and arranged so that they
progressively increase in difficulty. Students must first complete the lowest
un-passed
task of the procedure. Then, once the student completes that task, he or she must complete
the next higher task.
The
Training
is Intense
Our program is intense. (The students call it
mental boot camp.) During the 10 weeks of training, the student receives 60 hours of
one-on-one help. This is a great deal of time, especially when compared to the six hours
of one-on-one instruction that the average public school student receives over 13 years!
(Reported in Psychology Today.)
One-on-One
Training for Two Reasons
PACE is done on a one-to-one basis for two
reasons. The first reason is that the activities need to be sequenced according to each
student's skill level. Each training task demands very specific skills. The student needs
to be constantly challenged. If the task is too easy, it's boring. But if it's too hard,
it's frustrating. Procedures that are challenging will cause the most improvement.
The second reason PACE is done one-on-one is
to provide immediate feedback. Students need praise when performing correctly as an incentive to keep working,
and they need correction when making an error so they are aware of the mistake. Later,
they even learn to recognize and correct their own errors.
A
Sample
Procedures
"Color Arrows"
(attention
skills)"
are provided to illustrate the above principles.
