November 2001

Welcome to the Alite newsletter, November 2001

We hope you had a well-earned rest over half term! If you still haven't decided what to have for dinner tonight, we think you might be interested in our piece about the benefits of spinach! We also bring you information about recent research into early years language development, and input from Alistair Smith on common fallacies about the brain and learning.

Want an intelligent child? Talk to It!

Peter Jusczk of Johns Hopkins University scientist discovered why language input is critical before a child even begins to speak or utter any sort of sound. His evidence suggests that infants are using long-term memory to store spoken words before they can speak them. Word learning may begin around eight months, not 12-16 as many parents have thought.

According to Professor John Stein of the University of Oxford nearly 2/3rds of the differences in 11yr old reading ability in the United Kingdom can be explained by poor auditory and visual transient sensitivity. This means that the brain is not yet good enough at tracking subtle changes in sounds nor in tracking the changing shapes of words represented on a page as the eyes move across that page. Developmental dyslexics are known to be less sensitive to changes in sound frequency and intensity. Illiterate subjects have different patterns of brain activation to literates when asked to do language activities that do not require reading.

Popeye would not be surprised

Studies at Tufts University in Boston found that a daily dose of spinach extract prevented some loss of long-term memory and learning ability normally experienced by middle-aged rats.

6-month-old rats were divided into groups each with a different feeding programme. Two groups were given a diet fortified with either strawberry or spinach extract, one ate a diet containing extra vitamin E, while a fourth had an unfortified diet.

Typically, rats start to lose motor function at around 12 months old, and memory at 15 months. The researchers found that none of the diets prevented motor loss. However, rats on the spinach-fortified diet had significantly better long-term memory than the animals on the control diet or the strawberry-fortified diet. The vitamin E-fed rats were also less protected against memory loss than the spinach group.

Ten fads that fooled the world

1) You only use 10% or less of your brain
2) You have three brains in one
3) Stress stops you learning
4) Your left brain is logical and your right is creative
5) You have an emotional brain
6) Mozart makes you more intelligent
7) Enriched learning environments give your child a better start in life
8) The brain cells you get at birth are those you have for life
9) Your memory is perfect
10) Male and female brains are so different we ought to teach boys and girls in different ways

Watch out in weeks to come for the explanations!

Adding value

The Head Teacher of a junior school in Surrey has used Accelerated Learning methods to raise maths SATs results from 72% level 4 or above to 91%. To read more about how this was achieved and, just as importantly, how a group of children gained in confidence and self-esteem in the process, visit the case study section on the website

This month's top ten
The ten most cited authors of all time:

William Shakespeare
Charles Dickens
Sir Walter Scott
Johann Goethe
Aristotle
Alexander Dumas
Robert Louis Stevenson
Mark Twain
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Honore de Balzac

Based on a search of US library database, Citations

Alps Storymaker
This highly-acclaimed new book by Steve Bowkett uses the medium of creative fiction to offer a wide range of techniques and activities utilising children's enjoyment of fiction, and exploits the powerful dynamic of narrative structures to enable both students and teachers to practise the techniques of accelerated brain-based learning, and so fulfil their potential.

Some of Alite's customers will also know Steve from his excellent Creative Writing, Creative Thinking workshops. Steve is passionate about brain-based learning and accelerated learning techniques; his workshops are inspiring and engaging, leaving children highly motivated to write their own stories and poems.

Twilight Accelerated Learning sessions

Would you like your staff to learn more about Accelerated Learning, but find it difficult to get cover for a full INSET day? We are now able to offer 2 hour twilight sessions in some areas of the country. The sessions cover the essentials of AL, as well as giving practical examples of how to use AL tools and techniques.

To learn more, please contact Melanie on 01628 810700, or email office@alite.co.uk

The ALPS Approach

We are delighted with the ongoing success of the Alps Approach course, our practical, interactive programme for primary schools. Demand has been so high that we have taken on another trainer. Cliff Hopwood will be available to run the course from January, and we now have the capacity to take new bookings.

To make a booking, please call Melanie on 01628 810700 or email office@alite.co.uk.