Our brain is plastic and loves to learn
WHAT WE DO
8 years ago a young boy who struggled to learn and who had lost his motivation and self-confidence suddenly started to thrive in school. Today this boy is a young man who fulfils his potential at a top rated high school. Since then many children have experienced a boost in their own learning through this specific cognitive brain training. Each story starts with one child, where the training is specifically tailored to the child’s needs and learning abilities. Together these stories give hope to other families where children struggle in school.
Fulfilling potential through cognitive brain training - how
By playing our digital learning tool, we can monitor progress in; focus, engagement, working memory, endurance and emotions. This is done 1:1 two to three times per week and by the child 2-4 times a week home. By the end of each training session we give an oral presentation of results, as well as a written report which is summarised and given to the parents by the end of the training period. The total training period is recommended to be minimum 6 weeks
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Our solutions and practice is developed in cooperation with experts from the field of Neuroscience, Psychology and Pedagogics at leading Universities in Norway, and special learning experts from schools in Norway and Finland. The solution has been used for several years in schools and kindergartens in Norway, and is used in individual training for children with learning disabilities. Our tools are designed around the individual’s cognitive process of learning, and the pedagogical training is learning to read. Our learning solution is approved and recommended by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training.
ABOUT US
Mia has several years of experience in cognitive training and is a certified Neurofeedback instructor from EEG Institute in California, USA. In 2016 she moved to Finland and experienced one of the best education systems in the world, where they believe each child learns in their own way. Mia has used her proven cognitive training methods on her own child with success, and this led to the development of a training solution for other children who struggle with low working memory. The solution has been used with success in many families and schools all over Norway. She also has experience tutoring children with ADHD, and understands the struggles parents experience.
Unni is a mother of two and an experienced and tech-savvy analyst, who combines insight from the training with the child’s mood and progress. Unni is great at adding value to the reports to the parents. Unni has also been our project manager in developing and testing the digital solution, and holds an MBA from a top-tier European business school.
Carita is an experienced teacher with MSc in pedagogics. She joined our team in 2018 and with her experience, we also give parents good advice on how to integrate learning activities into everyday life. Carita has personal experience from teaching her own two sons, and has valued methods in increasing motivation and self-esteem during the learning process.
Together we are Neuro Minders. Neuro Minders develops pedagogic working memory games on behalf of The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, and now this solution is developed in English in cooperation with a school in Wimbledon.
IMPACT
We are an impact-driven company. Our main impact is to give children confidence to thrive in a learning environment and to fulfil their own learning potential. Our measurement of impact is through individual user stories from teachers and parents, and the measurement of the child’s development which we can read during the training sessions. The development in each child is then reported back to the parent.
About working memory
Working memory capacity has a fairly long history and is associated with a lot of good effects. People with high working memory capacity tend to be good storytellers, they tend to solve and do well at standardized tests. They are able to have a high level of writing ability, and ability to reason at high levels.
What is working memory? Working memory has four basic components, and it allows us to
Store immediate experiences and knowledge,
Reach back in our long time memory and pull some knowledge back when we need it,
Mix and process information so that we can reach our current goals like solve a math task, learning the multiplication table or remember to wash our hands.
Our working memory is our capacity to use our knowledge and process it and at the same time get new input
A well-functioning working memory is important for your ability to learn and perform. Working memory can be trained.
In order for you to learn, your brain needs to listen and observe what is taught (concentration), remember it (memory) and re-use it to understand (processing). When you train your working memory, your concentration, memory and processing skills get stronger.
More on working memory development and children, report from Developing Child at Harvard University