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| A lot of doubt and criticism has emerged, including from psychologists, neurologists and learning experts, on the credibility of the Arrowsmith program due to the lack of evidence of change in learning skills as well as the high costs. | A lot of doubt and criticism has emerged, including from psychologists, neurologists and learning experts, on the credibility of the Arrowsmith program due to the lack of evidence of change in learning skills as well as the high costs. | ||
| Australian scholars ] and ], cognitive science specialists from ], publicly rejected Arrowsmith's conclusions in a 2013 article. They held that the organisation's fundamental methodology of "brain training" was flawed, noting that the human brain ceaselessly receives and interprets vast numbers of stimuli and concluding that any human brain would already be well trained. While noting that Arrowsmith relies on the accepted concept of ], i.e. that the brain can adapt to different situations, they also noted that the ideal method of stimulating the brain could not be discerned and consequently rejected the organisation's reliance on the concept. Finally, they concentrated on its lack of rigourous support, observing that no clinical trial had ever observed the organisation's methods, in contrast to traditional methods, which have attracted significant support in such contexts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ldaustralia.org/client/documents/BULLETIN_APR13-AC-GM.pdf|title=‘Brain-training’... | |||
| ] is deputy director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders at ], Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ldaustralia.org/lda-council-2013-2014.html|title=LDA Council 2013-2014 - LDA - Learning Difficulties Australia|author=Learning Difficulties Australia|publisher=}}</ref> Castles has stated in an article in the Learning Difficulties Australia Bulletin, an organization she is a council member of, that there is "''a clear lack of independent research to support the program's claims''", and no study has been published in a peer-reviewed journal on the Arrowsmith program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/experts-question-arrowsmith-learning-program-20121103-28qcc.html|title=Experts question Arrowsmith learning program|work=The Age}}</ref> | |||
| In a separate commentary co-written with Genevieve McArthur, associate professor at the Department of Cognitive Science at Macquarie University, Castles gives her analysis why she is not in favour of the Arrowsmith Program.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/brain-training-or-learning-as-we-like-to-call-it-9951|title='Brain-Training' … or learning, as we like to call it|work=Anne Castles, Gene McArthur|date=5 October 2012|publisher=The Conversation}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ldaustralia.org/client/documents/BULLETIN_APR13-AC-GM.pdf|title=‘Brain-training’... | |||
| or learning as we like to call it|work=Anne Castles, Gene McArthur|date=April 2013|publisher=LDA Bulletin}}</ref> | or learning as we like to call it|work=Anne Castles, Gene McArthur|date=April 2013|publisher=LDA Bulletin}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 14:53, 25 May 2015
School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada| Arrowsmith School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
| 245 St. Clair Avenue West Toronto, Ontario, M4V 1R3 Canada | |
| Coordinates | 43°41′08″N 79°24′20″W / 43.6856°N 79.4056°W / 43.6856; -79.4056 |
| Information | |
| School type | Private, Co-educational brain training day school |
| Founded | 1980 (1980) |
| Principal | Barbara Arrowsmith Young |
| Language | English |
| Affiliation | None |
| Website | arrowsmithschool |
The Arrowsmith School is a private school in Toronto, Ontario, that focuses on children with learning disabilities (also referred to as "specific learning difficulties".) The original Arrowsmith School was founded in Toronto in 1980. A second location was opened in May 2005 in Peterborough, Ontario. Another branch, known as the Eaton Arrowsmith School, was also opened in 2005 in Victoria, British Columbia.
The school's philosophy and methods, known as the Arrowsmith Program, have been incorporated in other public and private schools in Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
Founded by Barbara Arrowsmith Young in 1978, the Arrowsmith Program helps students with learning disabilities by claims of using research in the principle of neuroplasticity, which suggests that the brain is dynamic and constantly rewiring itself. It is also founded on Arrowsmith Young’s personal experience of living with learning disabilities. In her late 20s, she had logical and verbal impairments that were so severe she could not tell time by reading a clock – a struggle detailed in her book The Woman Who Changed Her Brain.
To help herself, Arrowsmith Young developed cognitive exercises that she claims help in stimulating the growth of neural pathways. She now has her students – who are not only children but include adults into their 80s – follow a similar approach.
Barbara Arrowsmith Young
Barbara Arrowsmith Young is the Founder and Director of the Arrowsmith Program, and author of The Woman Who Changed Her Brain.
Diagnosed in grade one as having a mental block, which today would have been identified as multiple learning disabilities, she read and wrote everything backwards, had trouble processing concepts in language, continuously got lost and was physically uncoordinated. She eventually learned to read and write from left to right and claims to have masked a number of the symptoms of her learning disabilities through heroic effort; however she continued throughout her educational career to have difficulty with specific aspects of learning.
Arrowsmith Young holds both a B.A.Sc. in child studies from the University of Guelph and a master’s degree in school psychology from the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
In graduate school she came across two lines of research that intrigued her. Alexander Luria’s description of specific brain function lead her to a clearer understanding of her own learning problems and the work of Mark Rosenzweig suggested the possibility of improving brain function through specific stimulation, at least in animals. This lead to the creation of her first cognitive exercise designed to improve the learning capacity involved in logical reasoning. The results were positive according to Arrowsmith with gains in verbal reasoning, mathematical reasoning and conceptual understanding. This lead to a further exploration of the nature of specific learning capacities and to creating exercises to strengthen them.
The Arrowsmith Program
The Arrowsmith Program refers to the Arrowsmith school's methodology that is made available to students in public and private schools in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Founded by Barbara Arrowsmith Young in 1978, the Arrowsmith Program helps students with learning disabilities by using the research in neuroplasticity theories, which suggest the brain is dynamic, and constantly rewiring itself. It is also founded on Arrowsmith Young’s personal experience in living with learning disabilities.
The Arrowsmith Program is claimed to be founded on two lines of research, one of which established that different areas of the brain working together are responsible for complex mental activities, such as reading or writing, and that a weakness in one area can affect a number of different learning processes.
The other line of research investigated the principle of neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to physically change in response to stimulus and activity, to develop new neuronal/synaptic interconnections and thereby develop and adapt new functions and roles believed to be the physical mechanism of learning. Neuroplasticity refers to structural and functional changes in the brain that are brought about by training and experience.
The Arrowsmith Program can be used by children and adults with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia who have at least average intelligence. The program is not suitable for people who have an autism spectrum disorder.
Collectively in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, more than 65 schools use the Arrowsmith Program.
Skepticism and criticism
A lot of doubt and criticism has emerged, including from psychologists, neurologists and learning experts, on the credibility of the Arrowsmith program due to the lack of evidence of change in learning skills as well as the high costs.
Australian scholars Anne Castles and Genevieve McArthur, cognitive science specialists from Macquarie University, publicly rejected Arrowsmith's conclusions in a 2013 article. They held that the organisation's fundamental methodology of "brain training" was flawed, noting that the human brain ceaselessly receives and interprets vast numbers of stimuli and concluding that any human brain would already be well trained. While noting that Arrowsmith relies on the accepted concept of neuroplasticity, i.e. that the brain can adapt to different situations, they also noted that the ideal method of stimulating the brain could not be discerned and consequently rejected the organisation's reliance on the concept. Finally, they concentrated on its lack of rigourous support, observing that no clinical trial had ever observed the organisation's methods, in contrast to traditional methods, which have attracted significant support in such contexts.
According to the Department of Special Needs Education at Norway's University of Oslo, research and studies reveal that 'brain training' programs do not show any serious effectiveness in memory and other cognitive difficulties.
See also
References
- "What are Specific Learning Difficulties - About Dyslexia - The British Dyslexia Association".
- "Schools That Offer the Arrowsmith Program". Arrowsmith School. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - "The Woman Who Changed Her Brain".
- "Can a controversial learning program transform brains?". The Globe and Mail.
- "The Woman Who Changed Her Brain".
- "Profile".
- "Arrowsmith Program".
- http://www.arrowsmithschool.org/arrowsmithprogram-background/suitable-students.html
- Arrowsmith Program. "Suitable Students". ArrowsmithSchool.org. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
does not have acquired brain injury or an autism spectrum disorder
- http://www.arrowsmithschool.org/arrowsmithprogram/participating-schools.html
- "'Brain-training'... or learning as we like to call it" (PDF). Anne Castles, Gene McArthur. LDA Bulletin. April 2013.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 20 (help) - pubmeddev. "Is working memory training effective? A meta-ana... [Dev Psychol. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI".
- "Is Working Memory Training Effective? A Meta-Analytic Review" (PDF). 2012 American Psychological Association.
External links
- Official website
- Arrowsmith School Profile By OurKids.net: Canada's Private School Guide
- Brain-(not) Based Education: Dangers of Misunderstanding and Misapplication of Neuroscience Research by Larry A. Alferink and Valeri Farmer-Dougan of Illinois State University