NEUROMITE (FAQs)
ABOUT NEUROMITE
What is the NeuroMite program?
NeuroMite is a student training program that develops cognitive abilities and positive mindsets, which are linked to learning engagement and academic performance. The program is for students in Grade 3 to Grade 10 and is conducted by teachers within the school setting. NeuroMite is designed from research and principles from neuroscience, psychology and educational pedagogy.
What student abilities and attributes are developed by NeuroMite?
The NeuroMite program focuses on building two areas that are closely associated with academic outcomes:
- Cognitive abilities of attention, focus, impulse control, memory and executive functions.
- Positive mindsets or non-cognitive attributes such as academic self efficacy, conscientiousness, resilience, and growth mindset.
Why are these abilities and attributes important?
Research indicates that around 50% of a students’ academic performance is due to factors within the individual student themselves (Hattie, 2009). The balance is due to the impact of teachers (which accounts for 30%) and the home and school environments (accounting for 20%).
Our research has found similar findings to academic research literature which identifies the critical student factors to be cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, these are developed by the NeuroMite program. Indeed the factors targeted by NeuroMite have been shown to predict a student’s academic results.
How will NeuroMite help students?
Within the NeuroMite program of development for students, a target set of age relevant cognitive and non-cognitive abilities training focuses on:
- Increasing self-regulatory behaviours
- Increasing student settling and focusing behaviours
- Promoting a positive attitude towards learning
- Developing emotional and social abilities
- Improving engagement and ability to fully participate in learning activities
The program intervention also helps to improve classroom learning behaviours, and as a result, benefits teaching productivity and teacher job satisfaction.
What is the link between the NeuroMite program and student academic performance?
Levels of cognitive and non-cognitive factors are strongly linked to academic performance. Students with higher levels of these abilities and attributes are more engaged in the learning process and have the personal resources to better understand, encode, and recall information than those with lower levels. Based on our own preliminary research conducted here in Australia, there is a strong correlation between NeuroMite student assessment (of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities) and actual academic performance measures such as GPA, NAPLAN and ICAS scores.
For further details, click on the following link to our research poster, which explains the connection between abilities and academic performance.
How is the NeuroMite program different?
The program builds and enhances essential student abilities required for effective learning, confidence and resilience. It also rehabilitates students with ability-based deficits. Learning difficulties are often caused by one or more deficits in areas such as attention, memory, impulse control, and concentration. These deficits can be accurately diagnosed and addressed through targeted development, tailored to students’ specific learning support needs.
NeuroMite psychologists advise teachers where deficits may be blocking access to strengths, helping to adjust their teaching strategy and learning support. Once rehabilitated, these abilities are available to help students successfully learn.
STUDENT ASSESSMENT AND DATA MEASUREMENT
How is the ability assessment conducted?
Students undertake a standardised battery of psychometric tests designed to precisely assess their ability levels, to ensure NeuroMite specifically targets critical abilities to be developed. These tests are designed to be simple to undertake and are similar to those used by psychologists around the world to assess cognitive abilities for rehabilitation and educational purposes. Assessment takes about 1 hour and is conducted on computers.
What is assessed?
Specific test batteries using scientifically valid, reliable, and accurate tests are used to measure age-related cognitive abilities. Different grades receive slightly different tests that assess age appropriate abilities. The categories of assessment usually focus on attention, memory and executive functioning but vary according to grade.
For example, younger students receive attention tests that focus on alertness and capacity to sustain attention, late primary grades receive multi-modal selective attention tests, and middle school students undertake complex and divided attention tests.
Is feedback on assessment results provided?
Our team provides teachers with feedback and interpretation of the test results down to the individual student level where required. This is a particularly valuable process for teachers as it informs about each student's cognitive and non-cognitive profile, orientation towards learning, and capacity for the acquisition of knowledge. What emerges is meaningful insight into student learning implications and teaching strategies.
Will NEUROMITE staff assist the school to conduct data analysis to demonstrate learning outcomes?
Yes, this is highly recommended. The school receives benchmark levels and improvements made in cognitive and non-cognitive abilities upon completion of the term program.
Will the school need to supply any additional data?
It is in the school’s best interest to provide academic performance data, as another measure of how ability improvements achieved transfer to better academic performance and classroom behaviours such as resilience, confidence, persistence, emotional and social awareness, and conscientiousness. NeuroMite psychologists will do the analysis to assess developmental effectiveness, once the school provides academic data.
RESOURCES AND FACILITIES REQUIRED
What facilities are required by the school before the program can begin?
Each NeuroMite training session is run within a normal classroom environment and scheduled class times. We use a range of multi-media instructional materials during the sessions, which require a large TV monitor (e.g., 50 inch screen) or projector.
What will students need to participate?
Each student will need access to a computer with MS-Windows (or Tablet PC) in order to run our pre and post training online tests and our CogniPlus cognitive training software. CogniPlus sessions require a headset to be plugged into the student’s computer.
My school uses Apple Mac/software, will it still work?
Students with Apple Macs can run CogniPlus software using standard Mac Boot Camp software which boots the Mac in a Windows environment for the NeuroMite class session.
Does the NeuroMite program require the internet?
For the online diagnostic tests, students will require internet access on their computer. For the NeuroMite training classes, internet access is not required. Students simply run the CogniPlus software installed on their Laptop or computers from the school’s computer lab.
Can students access the NeuroMite program outside of the classroom session?
NeuroMite is effective because it is conducted in a standardised classroom setting – it is not designed as a do-it-yourself or at home program. Students can only access CogniPlus training software during the NeuroMite class sessions.
NEUROMITE IN SCHOOLS
What does the NeuroMite program involve?
NeuroMite involves 3 components:
- Student ability assessment using psychometric tests that assess the critical abilities and non-cognitive attributes.
- A training program combining computer cognitive training (called CogniPlus) and positive psychology activities.
- Retesting of abilities to identify improvements and areas for further development.
These components can be reconfigured to address particular needs such as: profiling student abilities in order to customise teaching strategies (student profiling), developing students with below expected learning performance (remedial interventions), or developing a whole class level of students (standard cohort training).
How is the standard NeuroMite program conducted in the school setting?
NeuroMite is designed as a structured program based on a Teachers Manual and including video and guided activities alongside the cognitive training software. The program is conducted within the school setting typically over a single term. The standard “whole of class” development program requires three classes per week over 8 weeks, with 24 classroom sessions in total during the term. Each of the 24 training sessions is designed to fit into a normal classroom period (e.g., 45 minutes).
What is involved in a NeuroMite session?
The prime developmental component of a NeuroMite session is hands-on computer-based cognitive training for around 20 to 30 minutes. The training is specific to a set of cognitive abilities that are targeted for the age and capacity of each student. The cognitive software automatically adapts to the progress of the student, presenting an optimised set of stimuli and learning tasks in order to maximise student motivation and development.
At the beginning of the session, the first 10 minutes of a session involves teacher facilitated activities as directed by the Teacher’s NeuroMite manual. The teacher introduces the training session and the objectives for the session. The teacher may then play a short NeuroMite instructional video for the class or depending upon the session, provide some tips on how to approach the training or run some engaging practice techniques to demonstrate cognitive abilities such as the different types of attention and memory.
Throughout the sessions, there are several interactive discussions facilitated by the teacher focusing on non-cognitive skills such as persistence and resilience. The last 5 minutes of the class period is used for review, interactive discussions and coaching.
Can NeuroMite benefit all students?
Students of all ability levels can benefit from NeuroMite development. Even students with high levels of academic performance can advance. Interestingly, these students often show a range of cognitive abilities and rarely have high levels in all areas of cognitive function (i.e., concentration, memory, and executive functioning).
Students who have below average academic records or learning difficulties stand to gain much from NeuroMite development. These students can display low levels of, or deficits in, alertness, concentration, impulse control, memory, or planning functions. Whether students are strong, moderate or weak academic performers, NeuroMite uses cognitive training software that allows for a wide range of abilities to be developed.
Does NeuroMite have a program for students requiring special learning support?
Yes, the NeuroMite Bridging and Enhancement package is designed for students requiring special learning support. For example, students below the minimum acceptable NAPLAN benchmarks. It is a more intense program compared to the standard whole-of-class program and is conducted over two terms.
How does NeuroMite adjust to the abilities of students in different grades?
The design of NeuroMite is based on principles and research from education, neuroscience and psychology. The NeuroMite program targets age-related sensitive periods and cognitive developmental windows that occur from early childhood through to late teens. NeuroMite assesses and develops key cognitive abilities from grades 3 up to grade 10. The cognitive training software and positive coaching activities involved in the program develop cognitive and non-cognitive abilities that are relevant to the age and capacity of the student.
What is the advantage of schools running NeuroMite for student cohorts as they move from grade to grade?
Schools that engage the NeuroMite program from early grades and continue year by year, will significantly enhance and accelerate the development of student cognitive abilities and positive mindsets for learning success and academic performance.
Here is how it works...
Each student grade participates in 1 term per year to undertake NeuroMite development. The balance of the year is intentionally absent from cognitive training so that the abilities are given time to further develop through the typical school curriculum. In subsequent years, as students move from grade to grade, NeuroMite is implemented 1 term per year for each grade, targeting the next level of cognitive abilities.
The program of development (from grades 3 to 6 and 7 to 10) of cognitive abilities is therefore, progressive (building abilities) and expansive (moving from foundation to more advanced cognitive abilities – e.g., from basic alertness to concentration, from visual memory to verbal memory, from impulse control to planning).
TEACHER INVOLVEMENT
Will training be provided to teachers and support staff?
To facilitate NeuroMite training sessions, nominated school staff would complete NeuroMite accreditation training prior to commencing the classroom sessions with their students. This is a 3 hour workshop, which provides the scientific background to the program, trains teachers to conduct the training sessions with reference to the Teacher Manual, and hands-on experience with the NeuroMite training software.
Through the training and in conducting the program itself, teachers gain new insights and understanding about student abilities and how they link to classroom behaviour, socio-emotional development, confidence, resilience, and academic performance.
Armed with this new knowledge, and with the support of our psychologists, teachers can generate customised strategies to manage individual students learning outside of the program.
What specialist support can NeuroMite offer?
NeuroMite program roll-out at a school begins with teachers being accredited by our psychologists to conduct training sessions – teacher involvement is key to ensuring NeuroMite becomes embedded within the learning environment of the school. NeuroMite psychologists are also involved in diagnostic ability testing and student profiling to identify developmental targets.
When the program is underway, our psychologists and coaches typically support the first few sessions to assist teachers to facilitate the training sessions. Additional support and assistance is also provided as required by the teachers throughout the program delivery.