One of the key factors that sets Practickle apart from many other learning experiences is its ability to effectively and efficiently create long-term learning ability based in deep brain development.
Our approach is based in current research, some of which is presented here.
Repeated Interactive Read-Alouds in Preschool and Kindergarten, by Lea M. McGee and Judith Schickedanz, is the best we’ve seen at explaining the research that is the foundation of Practickle. A great place to start understanding the “why” behind the method.
The Practickle experience is also founded on these research-tested teaching methods:
Michael Pressley, education expert and editor of Journal of Educational Psychology, has compiled an excellent, comprehensive guide to current research in reading comprehension. Collectively, the data recommend the following, which are incorporated in the Practickle approach:
For a similar, expanded look into Pressley’s findings, see his related piece from Handbook of Reading Research: Volume III – Comprehension Instruction: What Makes Sense Now, What Might Make Sense Soon. Here is an excerpt we find pertinent:
“Traditionally, there has been a tendency among educators to view the primary grades as the time to hone word-recognition skills, with comprehension developed in the later grades. Increasingly, this view is rejected, with many demonstrations that interventions aimed at improving comprehension — that is, interventions beyond word-recognition instruction — do, in fact, make an impact during the primary years. … when researchers have asked primary-level students to use comprehension strategies and monitoring, the children have benefited greatly from it (Brown et al., 1996). There is definitely interest in expanding comprehension instruction in the early literacy experiences, with the expectation that such instruction will affect 5- to 8-year-olds dramatically in the short term and perhaps lead to development of better comprehension skills over the long term.”
In October 2013, the co-directors of the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington revealed exciting new research into early brain development. Their finding: In the first five years of life, there is an explosion in your brain that stays with you all your life. Minnesota Public Radio has published the entire presentation, which we recommend highly as an introduction to the value of strong early learning strategies.
In an article for Edutopia, neurologist and teacher Judy Willis MD encourages educators and students to develop their “brain literacy” by becoming familiar with the brain’s executive functions. Here is how the Practickle experience matches up with those executive functions: