Klauer, K: Cognitive Training for Children - Manual

This system trains children and adolescents to achieve greater competence in problem solving and inductive reasoning. As a result, it can be of great value to young children in the early grades, in helping them increase their fundamental ability to solve analytical problems, and reason inductively. Studies in both Germany and the USA have shown measurable increases in general problem solving ability using this training system. The training can be used in a one-on-one context, in small groups, or for entire classrooms of students at once, using color overhead versions of the training materials. Particular success has been achieved by teachers and school psychologists working with gifted students, as well as those with clinical and learning disabilities. The system consists of 120 very carefully developed "problems," presented via full color and durable plates. Twenty inductive reasoning problems are provided for each of six basic types of information processing procedures: - generalization - discrimination - cross classification - recognizing relationships - discriminating relationships, and - systems construction. For each type of process to be trained, the complexity of the problems presented increases systematically. In the initial lessons concrete objects and picture-oriented problems are utilized. During the middle lessons, a greater portion of problems depicting daily life are employed, and the last two lessons are dominated by problems in which only symbols occur. This is a superb, and proven, tool for teachers, counselors, school psychologists, and special education teachers.