Especially for Smart, Really Smart, and Gifted Students Who Learn Differently and have Executive Function Challenges
Many visual-spatial learners are far more capable than their school performance suggests. These are the kids who learn best when they see and experience information. Another subset of students struggles with executive function (e.g. working memory, processing speed, attention, and flexible thinking). 3D Learner also recognizes that a large subset of kids who learn differently need both visual-experiential learning and improved executive function skills.
Note, it is not uncommon for smart or gifted visual-spatial learners to have many of their IQ scores in the 120 to 140 range and for their working memory and processing speed scores to be in the 85 to 100 range. These students are often referred to as twice-exceptional students, with both gifts and challenges. These kids face the risk of struggling for a long time, and they also have the potential to make significant gains in months — with the right training.
A recently released study showed significant declines in both working memory and flexible thinking from before to after the pandemic for students and teachers
What We Have Seen for Visual Spatial Learners with Executive Function Issues
Students may be able to hyper-focus for hours on something that interests them, yet struggle to focus on homework, reading assignments, or classroom instruction.
They may have an amazing visual memory yet forget what they heard in class or what they just read.
They may process visual information quickly, yet read slowly, struggle with fluency, or lose meaning as they read.
For many of these students, the issue is not intelligence. The issue is often the combination of executive function challenges, weak foundational skills, and instruction that does not match the way they learn best.
Traditional school instruction is often logical, sequential, auditory, and language-heavy. That works for some students. But for many visual-spatial learners, it can lead to frustration, underperformance, anxiety, and loss of confidence.
At 3D Learner, we take a different approach.
We recognize that many smart and gifted students learn best when they see, experience, move, visualize, and make connections. When these students are taught through a visual-experiential approach, they can often make meaningful gains in reading fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, confidence, and self-esteem.
But for many students, academic improvement is only part of the answer.
Executive function skills also matter.
Students may need help improving working memory, attention, flexible thinking, planning, organization, processing speed, and self-monitoring. When parents understand both their child’s executive function challenges and their strengths, they can make far better decisions.
That is why 3D Learner now offers both the 3D Learner Program ® and BrainWare Safari®, a cognitive skills training program designed to strengthen key thinking and learning skills.
For some students, the 3D Learner Program is the right starting point.
For others, BrainWare Safari may be the best first step.
And for many smart, really smart, and gifted students who learn differently, the combination of Executive Skills Training and Visual-Experiential Learning may be the most powerful option.
When we identify a child’s strengths, address the real challenges, and teach in the way the child learns best, we can change more than school performance.
We can change confidence.
We can change motivation.
And we can help a smart struggling child begin to see what is truly possible
