- Can you give me a quick overview of PACE?
Yes, here is a very quick 11 point overview:
PACE is based on the best scientific research available and is continually modified to incorporate new scientific data.
PACE targets and trains those skills that are most likely to have a meaningful impact on learning performance and academic abilities.
PACE is provided individually to achieve significant results quickly.
PACE consists of sequenced procedures to challenge - not bore or frustrate - the student.
PACE is provided on a one-on-one basis to allow immediate feedback (error correction and positive reinforcement).
PACE improves the student's self-esteem by allowing him or her to actually see the difference in his or her own performance.
PACE drives new skills to the subconscious so that they become habitual and automatic.
PACE procedures appear to be non-academic so that they are different from the schoolwork with which the student may have had negative experiences.
PACE develops meaningful skills that are used in the student's daily activities so that there is a high level of retention.
PACE produces valuable results (there is a high return) when considering committed effort, time, and finances.
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- What are the major causes of learning problems?
About 85 to 90 percent of learning difficulties are due to poor underlying learning skills. These skills include:
Attention/Concentration: the ability to stay on task or ignore distraction; for example, continuing to read a book while another group is in a discussion.
Phonetic awareness: the ability to blend sounds, segment (unglue) sounds, and analyze sounds. Problems with reading new words or spelling errors in writing result from poor phonetic awareness.
Memory: the ability to recall short- or long-term information; for example, copying from a board (short term) or taking a final history exam (long term).
Comprehension: the ability to understand.
Visualization: the ability to create mental pictures; for example, seeing "in the mind" a math word problem before trying to solve it.
Processing Speed: the ability to handle and process information quickly.
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- Is a lack of motivation the cause of learning problems?
Very few enter school or a job not wanting to succeed. It is only after they find it difficult, experience failure, or are ridiculed that they avoid the activities that give them pain. In other words, a lack of motivation is usually the result of a learning problem - not the cause.
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- Can a child with normal intelligence have a problem with learning?
Absolutely. IQ is only an average of many different learning skills, which means it's possible for someone who has "normal" intelligence to have scored high on some skills and low on others. And if those "low" scores are in the skills required for reading or math, then reading or math achievement will be low even though IQ is "normal." Read more about the misinterpretation of achievement and IQ test scores.
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- Why is PACE provided one-on-one rather than in a group?
PACE is done one-on-one for two reasons. First, the activities need to be sequenced according to each student's skill level. Each training task demands very specific skills. The student needs to be constantly challenged. If the task is too easy, it's boring. But if it's too hard, it's frustrating. Procedures that are challenging will cause the most improvement.
Second, we need to provide immediate feedback. Students need praise when performing correctly as an incentive to keep working, and they need correction when making an error so they are aware of the mistake. Later, they learn to recognize and correct their own errors.
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- How does PACE affect motivation and self-image?
Internal motivation comes from within a person. It is a person's individual need - for a reason that others may not even be aware of - to attain a goal. Those with a history of learning problems are often lacking in this area. They do not feel that they can attain goals, so they do not have the motivation to try to attain them. The possibility for improvement seems so poor that they do not sustain the maximum effort that should be put forth to accomplish a task. Therefore, in PACE, we make sure students quickly achieve many small successes. In many cases, within three weeks, students have moved beyond what they had previously thought would be impossible, and they are then ready and eager for new and greater challenges. Success breeds success, and as students experience improved skills and capabilities, their self-image will soar!
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Testimonial
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"My son feels good about his accomplishments with PACE , and we tell him we're proud of him. He seem more willing to spend time on homework than at the begining of the program. I think he really enjoyed working with Jessica. My son seems to be more attentive and some of that is attributed to PACE . Plus , he started taking ADHD meds about the time of starting the program. My son's memory has always been one of his strengths but we see more evidence with the program. He can do things in his PACE homework with memory that the rest of us in the family would struggle with. I know his self-image has improved especially when we tell him how impressed we are with his accomplishments. Thanks, for taking time with him, Jessica!"
Student 10 yrs.old
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