Memory Training for The Child Who Can’t Remember

MEMORY IS THE ABILITY TO RETRIEVE INFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY UNDERSTOOD. "My child just can't remember!" When I hear this statement from a parent or educator, my mind switches into a questioning mode. What kinds of things don’t they remember? Can you give me an example of what they can’t remember? Is it just one thing? Is it multiple things? Is it situational? What’s happening when they can’t remember? Is the information they don’t remember visual or auditory? Is the difficulty in remembering information or numbers? No, I don’t badger the witness; I just wonder. The good news is…

Certified Learning: Practice Makes Progress

“Would you choose to build a house on top of an unfinished foundation? Of course not. Why, then, do we rush students through education when they haven't always grasped the basics?” Mastery based learning is a concept we embrace at Shady Oak Learning. Sal Kahn, who created the now famous Kahn Academy, recently illustrated this in a Ted Talk. Kahn created a carefully structured series of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and, now, other subjects. I get excited when I see well-known experts validate what we know to be true with our students in our school. SOI Certified…

SOI Success In My Classroom

I’ve had the pleasure of being the SOI/IPP teacher at Southcrest Christian School in Lubbock, Texas for four years. In those four years I’ve learned more about people and education than I ever did in college, and I know there is so much more to learn! I think the thing that gives me the most pleasure in working my students is the self-confidence and happiness I see develop in them. I have so many success stories to share, but I will just give some snapshots of a few of them. One particular student began to ride his scooter and bike…

Announcement: New Online Learning Abilities Tests

In 2010, Dr. Robert Meeker upgraded and integrated 50 years of experience into two new SOI tests. The ALA (Advanced Learning Abilities) and PLA (Primary Learning Abilities) tests were originally designed for our colleagues in other countries, but the need for an online version of SOI testing was another driving force behind the project. The ALA and PLA tests are currently in paper-pencil format and will be available online in September 2016. GENERAL INFORMATION The addition of Critical Thinking subtests within the ALA adds value for the career-oriented client. SOI continues to offer paper-pencil versions of both tests as a…

SOI Support for Dyslexia

I believe the best support for struggling students with dyslexia symptoms is the full spectrum of Structure of Intellect interventions. Most of the students at Positive Learning Solutions have some degree of dyslexic symptoms, and have made much reading progress with their program and are progressing in school. First, identifying visual and auditory perceptual processing problems and remediating them is necessary for success in overcoming any learning problem, and dyslexia is no exception. SOI-IPP and specific SOI computer and paper modules provide that underlying support for visual, auditory, and spatial abilities. Any referrals to Meeker Paradigm Area 3 health professionals…

ALA-PLA: Remote SOI Career & School Placement Testing

CASE STUDY: 20 YEAR OLD MALE ON THE SPECTRUM I have come to really enjoy using the ALA-PLA test globally. The SOI ALA results below illustrate a difficult case, and I’d like to explain how I, as a psychologist, discussed the results with the parents. The goal of testing was to provide guidance for future (college) educational and career paths. First, it was important for me to identify his interests: classic comic books, film editing, and photography. He took the SOI test on 2 medications: Focalin (ADHD) and Strattera. SOI identified his intellectual gift as transformational thinking (which I found…

The Door Opener to the Visual System

The SOI assessments provide information about an individual’s ability to process visual information. Over the years, I have actually become more impressed with how hard the eyes have to work in order to actively engage the mind in the learning process, in remembering visual information, and in correctly solving problems with that information. This is perhaps the most misunderstood group of sub-tests in the SOI Model. Vision is thought of as eyesight, visual acuity, and the health of the eyes. We are often told that an individual is concerned about his/her poor reading ability, lack of comprehension, and misreading words,…

Using the SOI Creativity Short Form Test

SOME KINDS OF INTELLECTUAL GIFTEDNESS RELATE STRONGLY TO ACADEMICS, OTHERS TO LEADERSHIP, AND STILL OTHERS TO THE CREATIVITY & WRITING. The Creativity Short Form profiles the creativity areas in which the student is gifted, near-gifted, above average, average, or below average. This test is often used by schools for highly capable programs, as well as gifted and talented programs. CREATIVITY SHORT FORM SUBTESTS DFU: CREATIVITY USING FIGURAL UNITS Academic Skill: creativity with things Curricular Area: spatial/graphic arts Strength if well-developed: good fluency and confidence with ideas Consequences if not well-developed: will be inhibited in tasks without explicit instructions DMU: CREATIVITY…

The Brain. Did You Know?

Did you know an ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain? Did you know that even though your brain weighs 2% of your total body weight, it uses 25% of all oxygen you breathe and 15% of your body’s blood supply? Did you know the average human brain contains around 78% water? Did you know that when recognizing a persons’ face you use the right side of your brain? Our brains are so intricate and interesting! Let’s look at the CEREBRUM which is the largest part of our brain; it is divided into four sections or lobes. The FRONTAL lobe…

Alternate Schools – Alternate Programs

There is a very strong case to support the existence of alternate programs. Most people are aware of alternate programs that are geared to students who are at risk socially or who struggle academically. Many students can be guided to become successful, productive members of the community with the right kind of intervention. What you may be less likely to know about is that there is a profile for the “Gifted with Learning Problems” student. These are the ones we refer to as having mountains and valleys. These students’ potential may be completely derailed as their needs go unmet. They…

Memory Training for The Child Who Can’t Remember

Certified Learning: Practice Makes Progress

SOI Success In My Classroom

Announcement: New Online Learning Abilities Tests

SOI Support for Dyslexia

ALA-PLA: Remote SOI Career & School Placement Testing

The Door Opener to the Visual System

Using the SOI Creativity Short Form Test

The Brain. Did You Know?

Alternate Schools – Alternate Programs

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