Cognitive Brain Training
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CROSS-TRAINER
Cross-Trainer is cognitive intervention software designed to enhance visual-spatial and logical reasoning abilities. Students of all abilities can benefit from improving their cognitive skills, however it is especially recommended for those who experience visual-memory, processing or concentration difficulties, including those diagnosed with: ADHD, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, NVLD, and Aspergers.
Learning of any new skill will include times of challenge, without which nothing new is being learned! As with a good teacher, the software is designed to branch upward when the student succeeds, and provide more help before the student gets frustrated. Students may also need extra support and encouragement at these times, especially if they are in the habit of giving up when things get too hard, as may be the case for students who have had negative learning experiences in the past.
COGNITIVE BRAIN TRAINING
Improved cognition results in improved learning capabilities.
The goal of cognitive interventions is the development and improvement of fundamental cognitive abilities that will transfer to more efficient and meaningful learning. We all have weaknesses somewhere e.g. a student struggling with math or science might improve his performance by receiving extra coaching, but he could also develop the visual-spatial skills that make it easier to learn math and science, resulting in a permanent improvement in their ability to learn in this area.
Cross-Trainer cognitive brain training software has been scientifically designed to improve Visual-Spatial and Logical Reasoning abilities.
VISUAL-SPATIAL SKILLS
Improved Visual Spatial skills will help with subjects that emphasise visual and conceptual learning, such as reading, maths and science. Students with an under-developed visual-memory may for example struggle to copy from the white board.
The Visual-Spatial skills reinforced in Cross-Trainer include:
- Visualisation
- Visual Tracking
- Mental Rotations
- Spatial Orientation
- Multi-Perspective Coordination
Click here to see all 22 Visual-Spatial skills addressed in Cross-Trainer.
The Visual-Spatial activities each work on different skill areas or "muscles": visualisation, visual memory, mental rotation, visual tracking, spatial orientation, and multi-perspective coordination, among other skills.
Waterworld
Tangrams
Spaytial Delivery
Flips
Cubes
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LOGICAL REASONING SKILLS
Logical Reasoning provides the foundation for creating new ideas, comprehending theories, and recognising relationships. Logical reasoning skills are crucial to basic organisation, discerning patterns, and drawing inferences, all of which are necessary in conceptual learning.
The Logical Reasoning skills reinforced in Cross-Trainer include:
- Classification
- Exclusion
- Inductive Reasoning
- Deductive Reasoning
- Conjunction
- Patterning
Click here to see all 13 Logical Reasoning skills addressed in Cross-Trainer.
Each of the Logical Reasoning activities focus on different aspects of logic that are fundamental to comprehension and problem-solving.
Satelite
Stepping Stones
World Cup
Fishing Derby
Bridge Builder
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USES
Cross-Trainer can be used for both Remediation and Enhancement purposes for ages 7 to adult.
There’s scope for everyone to improve their brains cognitive skills with 10 different activities, and automatic branching that keeps students in a challenged state, minimising boredom and frustration. All 10 Cross-Trainer activities have 25 levels, with 20 micro-levels within each level. Students will not gain access to all activities at the same time; they will automatically be offered the activities that provide an appropriate level of challenge for them as they work through the program.
Cross-Trainer is designed to enhance the way students understand and learn by improving the thinking strategies and conceptual skills that are required in a variety of learning situations, and is especially recommended for those students who experience visual-memory, processing or concentration difficulties.
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GAME FORMAT
 | Cross-Trainer has a game like feel that provides a fun and novel approach to brain training. The use of a hand-held controller to navigate activities is familiar to most students, and especially motivating for those who may struggle with pen and paper based activities. Students are not required to read anything, with all instructions being audibly spoken. Student enthusiasm is maintained through use of tested and proved methods: non-distracting backgrounds, direct manipulation of learning target elements, immediate positive feedback, and lack of negative feedback.
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RESEARCH
The topic of cognitive interventions is not an uncontroversial one. However, despite some believing that cognitive abilities are fixed from birth, on the other side of the debate a number of researchers point to considerable evidence that cognitive abilities and school achievement can be improved through sophisticated cognitive developmental interventions (e.g., Adey & Shayer, 1994; Case & Griffin 1993; Stevens 2000).
Given that examples of effective cognitive interventions do exist, it follows that cognitive abilities can be improved under the right conditions. The really important question, therefore, is whether these abilities can be improved on a wide enough scale and in an efficient enough manner to make this approach a feasible solution to poor school achievement. The central issues here are implementation and scalability of the intervention.
Cross-Trainer provides a cost effective and reliable way of developing skills that are now fairly commonly accepted as foundational building blocks of brain development – skills that if lacking can cause considerable stumbling blocks in other learning outcomes.
Read for yourself some of the results from a variety of Cross-Trainer program users.
