The science of how the brain learns
Thirty years of neuroscience show that the brain can be trained, and that frequent, intense, adaptive practice speeds that training up. Everything Spark builds starts here.
The brain can be trained
Brain plasticity is the brain's ability to change through experience. Research shows that learning tasks done in a frequent, intense timeframe accelerate learning. This principle sits behind every programme we offer.
Reading is a cultural invention, not an instinct
Humans did not evolve to read. Writing is far too recent for evolution to have built a dedicated reading circuit. Cognitive neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene explains that the brain recycles regions that evolved for recognising objects and faces, and adapts them to recognise written words. A region in the left side of the brain, called the visual word form area, becomes tuned to letters as a child learns to read. That is why reading and writing must be taught, and why how they are taught matters.
Four cognitive skills decide how well a child learns
Memory
Storing information and ideas; essential for recognising words, understanding long sentences and remembering instructions.
Attention
Focusing on information and tasks while ignoring distractions.
Processing rate
How quickly and accurately a learner perceives and manipulates information; in reading, telling speech sounds, letters and words apart to create meaning.
Sequencing
Placing details in their right order, such as letters within words and words within sentences.
Children with stronger working memory, inhibition and attentional skills have been found to make larger gains on tests of early math, language and literacy development.
Language is natural. Reading is not.
Language has four parts: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Listening and speaking develop naturally. Reading and writing do not; they have to be taught. A child first learns to read, and then reads to learn.
Are you having chicken for dinner tonight?
Fluency is not speed
Fluency means reading with enough ease and accuracy that attention can go to meaning. Less fluent readers spend their limited mental resources on decoding words, leaving little for expression and understanding. More fluent readers have those resources free.
Small changes in timing and expression change meaning.
How we turn research into practice
Frequency and intensity
Frequent, intense practice accelerates learning.
Adaptivity
Exercises adjust to each learner's skill level and responses, keeping them challenged but not frustrated.
Simultaneous development
Cognitive and reading skills grow together, so gains last.
Timely motivation
Tiered rewards keep learners going from start to finish.
The researchers behind the science
Our programmes are the result of 30 years of neuro-scientific research by four eminent neuroscientists on how the brain learns.
Dr. Michael Merzenich
Neuroscientist, co-founder, Scientific Learning
Dr. Paula Tallal
Neuroscientist, co-founder, Scientific Learning
Dr. William Jenkins
Dr. Steven Miller
Research validated by leading institutions
Approved by What Works Clearinghouse, US Department of Education
- Stanford
- Harvard
- Rutgers
- UC Berkeley
- UC San Francisco
- University of California
- Cambridge
- Johns Hopkins
- years of neuro-scientific research
- 30
- research papers
- 300+
- patents, with 21 more pending
- 87+
- students benefit every year
- 10M+
- countries
- 45
Figures from our science partner, Scientific Learning Corporation, USA.
FAQ
What is brain plasticity?
It is the brain's ability to change itself through experience. Frequent, intense practice speeds up that change.
Is reading natural for the brain?
No. Humans did not evolve a dedicated reading circuit. The brain adapts existing regions to read, and this happens only when a child is taught.
Which cognitive skills support learning?
Memory, attention, processing rate and sequencing.
What is reading fluency?
Reading with enough ease and accuracy to focus on meaning. Fluency is not the same as speed.
Let's build skills that last
Tell us about your school, your teachers or your organisation, and we will suggest where to begin.