Center for Advanced Learning | Tool Skill Fluency Program, Grades K

What are tool skills? As the name implies, such skills are literally the "tools" that your child uses to learn new and more challenging things. For example, your child uses his/her ability to name numbers when solving addition problems- without the number naming skill, the computation concept could not develop. However, simply being able to perform tool skills accurately, or without making errors, is not enough to guarantee academic success. Published findings suggest that true mastery of tool skills involves the development of fluency, or a kind of performance that combines both accuracy and speed. Fluency can also be thought of as the automatic processing of information.

Think of each time you drive your car. Are you actively thinking about each action required to drive it? Do you have to look at the gas and brake pedals before using them or pause to think before stepping on the brake? Probably not or you wouldn't get very far without having an accident. Instead, you are so fluent at the tool skills required to operate your car that you automatically perform the skills without having to think. The result is effortless, expert performance- it is this kind of performance that we aim to develop in students enrolled at our center.

Published findings indicate that students with fluent tool skills have a better attention span, memory and ability to apply knowledge in new and complex ways. The broad-scale result of such expert levels of performance is a learner with the confidence and ability to succeed in any academic environment.

Now that we understand how important tool skill fluency is for a child's academic success, we need to tackle the issue of how to produce this kind of mastery. Published findings indicate that the surest way to develop fluency in a learner is through the use of a highly effective teaching process known as Precision Teaching.

Precision Teaching is a systematic method of evaluating learning and ensuring that rapid progress is continually being made. This approach serves as the hallmark of our Tool Skill Fluency Program. Our highly trained Instructors break-down complex skills into learnable components, set-up structured practice opportunities specifically designed for fluency development, and continually monitor progress through the use of a precise measurement system that guarantees your child's success.

Our Tool Skill Fluency Program is a fast-paced, exciting, and highly rewarding learning experience that will build your child's confidence and dramatically increase his/her success in the classroom. Your child's sessions will involve 1:1 interactions with his/her Instructor. However, our aim is to continually evaluate your child's learning such that his/her eligibility for small group instruction can be determined. The aim of our Tool Skill Fluency programs is to establish the kind of proficiency required for your child to succeed in the classroom. When Dr. Berens determines that your child has acquired the necessary tool skills, she will recommend that your child transition to small group instruction in preparation for completion of our program. Systematically reducing the amount of support given enables your child to take control of his/her learning experience — ultimately leading to a genuine love of learning, strong study skills, and on-going success in the classroom.

How is Fluency Produced? For More Information on Precision Teaching and Tool Skill Fluency...

Berens, K., Boyce, T., Berens, N., Doney, J. & Kenzer, A. (2003). A technology for evaluating relations between response frequency and academic performance outcomes. Journal of Precision Teaching and Celeration, 19(1), 20- 34.

Johnson, K. & Street, E. (2004). The Morningside Model of Generative Instruction: What it Means to Leave no Child Behind. Concord, MA: Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.

West, R. & Hamerlynck, L. (1992). Designs for Excellence in Education. Longmont, CO.: Sopris West, Inc.

Basic Skills Assessment

Prior to enrollment, a tool skill assessment will be conducted with your child in order to design a fluency building program that best meets his/her needs. The assessment is a Curriculum-Based Assessment, rather than a standardized test, in that it is designed from grade-level skills your child is required to perform in the classroom. Published findings indicate that Curriculum-Based Assessments lead to the design of more effective intervention programs and allow for the more exact identification of deficits when compared with traditional tests. Dr. Berens will evaluate your child's assesable results with respect to both accuracy and fluency criteria. You will receive an assessment report that highlights your child's weaker areas and describes the plan that Dr. Berens will design to increase your child's overall tool skill fluency.

For More Information on Curriculum- Based Assessment...

Berens, K., et al. (2003). A technology for evaluating relations between response frequency and academic performance outcomes. Journal of Precision Teaching and Celeration, 19(1), 20- 34.

Deno, S. (1985). Curriculum-Based Measurement: The emerging alternative. Exceptional Children, 52, 219-231.

Witt, J. C., Elliot, S. N., & Gresham, F. M. (1988). Handbook of Behavior Therapy in Education. New York: Plenum Press.

Tool Skill Fluency Program: Reading, Math, and/or Handwriting

Program Description

Tool Skill Fluency

Basic Skills Assessment

For More Information on Curriculum- Based Assessment...