Steve Kay, Ph.D. Benjamin G. McClure, Ed.D. Moshe Zeidner, Ph.D. Gal Richter, Ph.D. Steveda Chekpo, Ed.D. |
Suad Majet, Ed.D. Jian Zuo, M.D. Britton Brewer, Ph.D. Hector Mendiola Natarajan Subramani
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The Simply Smarter Project is an initiative of The National Academy for Child Development (NACD) under the direction of Robert J. Doman Jr. The Simply Smarter Project is an international campaign to improve and maximize the abilities and function of the individual, communities, societies and nations so that they may grow and flourish within a global context of peace and unity. Function within the context of THE PROJECT refers to the ability to think, understand, learn and communicate.
For the past twenty-five years, NACD has worked on an international level to maximize the function of children and adults. Throughout literally millions of hours of intervention, Bob Doman and the NACD have learned some valuable lessons that have incredible significance for the individual and the planet.
Phase I of The Simply Smarter Project is to gather baseline data. As individuals, communities, societies, nations and a planet, we first need to know where we are.
Phase I of The Simply Smarter Project is designed to help us find out where we are in digit span/processing skills. Our plan is to gather data from children and adults from all over the world so that we can determine where the processing abilities are for any given segment of the population. As we progress, we will be adding more and more languages to the baseline tester and encouraging the participation of more and more nations. We firmly believe that this data is going to open the eyes of the world. We believe that the data is going to reflect a significant lack of processing ability in huge segments of the world’s populations. Our preliminary data would suggest that as many as 50% of the world’s children and adults lack the necessary processing skills to function (think, understand, learn and communicate) well. Preliminary evidence also suggests that there has actually been a regression in auditory processing during the past 50 to 100 years, leading to a frightening loss of cognitive function, the specific function needed to help solve the tremendous problems confronting the world.
The Simply Smarter Project's research team will record and analyze data by catagory and classification; such as age, gender, occupation, education, health, family size and cognitive engagement. As many factors as possible will be identified and studied so that we can determine which influences and opportunities have the greatest effect on the development of these cognitive functions.
The information gathered will be used to establish new norms by which individuals will be able to identify their levels relative to a wide variety of criteria. Researchers, schools, communities and companies will be able to analyze the data so that they can identify the need and then the means with which to create meaningful, effective intervention.
As part of Phase I, NACD will continue with its ongoing research to further the understanding of sequential processing and its correlation to learning and cognitive function. This information will be used to further our understanding of cognitive function and to aide in the development of new methodologies to enhance sequential processing and other neurological and physiological factors which contribute to our overall ability to think, understand, learn and communicate.
Phase II of The Simply Smarter Project is the implementation of sequential processing intervention. This phase of The Simply Smarter Project will involves public awareness campaigns, as well as the provision of activities and strategies to enhance the sequential processing skills of children and adults on an international scale. Educational materials, videos and software programs are being developed and disseminated. In addition, further research and education is being conducted into the development of nutritional, educational and cognitive methodologies to enhance both physical and cognitive function.
A significant aspect of Phase II is going to be an attempt to create a paradigm shift, redefining education. The definition of education needs to be modified to fit our times. We need to move from a skill-based perspective to a neurologically-based perspective, assisting individuals in achieving their innate potentials rather than simply attempting to teach skills to minds that are not capable of processing the information or doing so at levels far below their genetic potentials.
NACD believes that our strength as a species lies in our individuality and innate genetic potentials. Present approaches are denying these strengths and fostering conformity to mediocrity.
Achievement of our individual and collective potentials requires a new perspective, one which believes in our innate untapped potentials, welcomes our individuality and provides individuals with the means with which to achieve said potential.
Perhaps there is no facet of human function that is more remarkable than this simple fact: Human beings can change their minds. By this, we don’t mean simply that we can change our opinions, or our attitudes or moods. What we mean is that we can actually change the mind itself; we can change the structure of the brain. And, when the brain is changed, when the mind is improved, our lives improve as well.
The purpose of Phase II is to inform and provide the means with which to begin changing minds.
The goal is to change the norm, to raise sequential processing levels from today’s present levels which are somewhere around seven plus or minus two digits to nine plus or minus two digits. The immediate implication of The Simply Smarter Project is to enhance the quality of life for those with sequential processing issues – those processing below a seven. For the average person, we want to increase basic processing, thus globally improving function. For those who function above a seven, we want to enable them to develop superior mental abilities, which could help solve the critical problems facing our planet today.
How well we function as individuals is directly related to our ability to take in and process sequential pieces of information. We receive information visually (through our eyes) and aurally (through our ears). The vast majority of what we learn comes through seeing and listening. Our ability to process this information depends on our short-term working memory. This is what determines how much we can absorb from our environment. Auditory and visual sequential processing provides the basis for cognitive sequential thought and thus the framework upon which many mental functions are based. Assuming that the majority of the population relies heavily on the visual channel, which can interfere with function of the auditory channel, the auditory exercises may benefit visualizers better. Individuals, who conceptualize well (conceptualization vs. visualization) during problem solving, may benefit from focusing on the visual exercises.
NACD's Sequential Processing program offers diverse cognitive exercises designed to improve the capacity to process information with greater ease, speed and efficiency. The exercises are short, fun and individualized to your specific needs.
You will notice that some of the exercises are in a “forward” format while others are in a “reverse” format. Digit/letter forward involves rote learning and short-term memory whereas digit/letter reverse requires transformation of the stimulus input prior to recall and this involves working memory (Sattler, 1988). Digit/letter reverse demands further attention and concentration than digit/letter forward because you need to manipulate the information. In digit/letter reverse, you have to plan and organize the retained information. Since digit/letter reverse exercises require higher levels of information processing than the forward exercises, the benefits of completing these exercises may be more apparent. For more information about how you could sign up for the program visit NACD website at www.nacd.org.