The mind masters rediscover the value of tools of the mind

The kids who are sometimes known as the dynamic duo, and others call the mind masters, have known for some time that much of mind/brain science that is disseminated for public consumption is pure bull (see the file that can be downloaded at https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/69262164/mind%20masters.docx) .

The mind masters have developed a real nose and eye for spotting when hype is hype manufactured out of paper mache and bubble wrap. The kids have learned about scams that are often at the heart of info commercials. They may be kids but they know about seduction like proposals for getting you to buy stuff that will change your life. They giggle when they see and hear screaming headlines, “Change your life, and strengthen your mind for the introductory price of $99. “

The kids are smart and engaged and therefore have followed advances in mind/brain science that can enhance the cognitive skills of the young and old. It took some time and work but they can tell the difference between bull and sale pitches aimed at fooling the public that some product will improve their memory and ability to learn all sorts of stuff. Almost like a knee reflex the mind masters ask the question, “where is the evidence?”

One of the most ‘popular’ advertised brain-training program is Lumosity. The company claims that it is just the thing for building a stronger more effective brain. The company advertises that their programs are based on the work of their neuroscientists. WOW!! You work out to build up your muscles, strength, endurance and Luminosity promises the same value for strengthening your brain. But does it work?

Apparently the sales pitch is bull. Sure, with extensive practice you can train someone to do better on some task like remembering recipes but that does not translate to helping you remember things like where you left your car keys, much less learning to be a better problem solver. The psychologist Thomas Redick and his colleagues tested the general value of Luminosity training and found it didn’t measure up to the advertised promises of more brainpower. They reported their findings in (T. Redick et al. No evidence of intelligence improvement after working memory training: A randomized, placebo-controlled study. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Vol. 142, May 2013, p. 359).

More about tuning the brain to run better

For many decades researchers and clinicians have been trying to improve cognitive functions in both normal individuals as well as in patients with impaired cognition. Until recently these efforts have been pathetic but the accompanying claims have been impressive. For example testing functions like memory has been defined as an example of training (an absurd notion). Some attempts to improve functions like memory have been successful but effects have not generalized beyond the training material. For example you can train people to better remember a market shopping list but that improvement won’t show up in that same person trying to remember aunt Ida’s brisket recipe.

It is true that you can teach subjects to try and pay better attention, or train them to use mnemonics, or to attach images in their mind to to-be-remembered events, or to rehearse what they are trying to remember, or by motivating individuals to be more motivated. However none of these ‘techniques’ are altering the basic foundations of the memory system but rather the software that might be used to massage what it is to be learned and remembered.

I guess it might be useful to distinguish cognitive brain ‘software’ (acquired knowledge and skills for thinking, learning and remembering) from brain hardware (the underlying neurobiological basis of cognitive functions.

You don’t need a slick computer program to engage your head. Maybe learning prior to the advent of computers was so ineffective that the people that roamed the earth were village idiots. The kids know that there is a world of wonderful learning opportunities not just to enlarge what we know but also the skills we have to solve problems, think, plan what we will do, evaluate what we have done, predict outcomes in all sorts of situations. In fact, the mind masters know that their favorite form of learning is through play. Maybe that is why they found the research on how young elementary school age children can learn executive function skills so exciting and then told other kids about that research. They knew that executive functions are really important and without a full complement of those skills kids grow up in trouble. The dynamic duo they are doing, and also learn to delay gratification (learning to wait). It turns out that simple games can be used to teach kids the skills that are a must for any high functioning kid who is going to become an effective adult.

Also guess what, Obama must have read our email to him that early education of kids is really important, very important and also valuable, and stick to your bones for life. He should have also emphasized that this early stuff for making healthier happier kids should stress skills, cognitive skills and not just who wrote the “Cow jumped over the moon. One more thing. It turns out that kids, when they are fat early, like before going to school, are really likely to stay fat the rest of their lives. Can we train them to eat and like healthy foods, and know when they are full, and learn to not always reach for another snickers bar.

Here are the stories that were posted a few years ago on mindsinplay.com describing the research on training executive function skills in kiddies that were published in Science. This work is valuable, important and not bull.

Can you train executive function in young children in the preschooler classroom?

Posted on February 10, 2011 by admin

 Study by Diamond published in Science

This is a ‘most read’ article for educators, especially those working with at risk youngsters. The article appeared in Science, which means that it is technical and terse and the message that comes out of the study is loud and clear.

Diamond and her colleagues demonstrate that executive functions can be taught successfully. Up to now these functions were rarely direct targets of the teacher, especially not those teaching preschoolers (4 and 5 year olds). These are the very kids that can use such training because the training is a building block for so much other learning that takes place in the schools. These functions directly affect school learning readiness and measures of intelligence.

Diamond used a training vehicle called Tools of Mind, which uses dramatic play as an intervention. The method was administered by teachers to low income urban school kids in a well-designed study (a study that assured that results were readily and clearly interpretable). The results were so powerful and clear that educators felt it was unfair to withhold the treatment from the control group.

In a personal communication Adele Diamond pointed out that Tools of Mind could also be used in kindergarten and first grade. She also suggested that there are other fun ways of teaching executive function to young kids including dramatic make-believe play, storytelling, and simple games like Simple Simon Says and Red Light/Green Light.

The implications of this study are huge.

The exact title of her article is “Preschool Program Improves Cognitive Control.” The authors are Adele Diamond, W. Steven Barnett, Jessica Thomas, Sarah Munro, and it appeared in Science at the end of 2007; vol:318 iss:5855 pg:1387 -1388.

Can children be taught a full complement of executive functions and skills?

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Mindsinplay

Interventions to aid executive functions in child development are often successful.

In a recent issue of Science (19 August 2011; vol. 333; 959-964)  Adele Diamond and Kathleen Lee provide an excellent overview of the status of training of executive functions in children from 4-12 years old. There is no doubt that effective executive functions are critical for successful living. We would not be able to learn effectively and to adapt to our environment without being able to; inhibit impulses, delay gratification, be disciplined and controlled, play with ideas, plan future behavior, evaluate ones own performance. Executive functions are part of what is necessary to act intelligently. The development of executive functions in many children is incomplete putting them at risk for normal development including success in school.

Diamond has developed a program of research in which she showed that preschool children can be trained to acquire executive functions skills and that those skills can be maintained over time (see a synopsis of her research this website).

In the Science review paper points out that many types of activities can be used to improve children’s executive functions including activities that include computerized training, non-computerized games, aerobics, martial arts, yoga. While many different types of activities can be useful they all require repeated practice and progressively increase the challenge to executive functions. Diamond also points out that the children who benefit from executive functions training are those who start with worse executive functions (which is not a surprise).  The most important take away message is that executive functions can be trained in the classroom and not just in the home.