Thinking training for children and teenagers
The thinking training for children and youth is a series of cognitive training, by Karl Josef Klauer were developed, and their aim is to promote the ability to think. The trainings are particularly widespread in educational psychology .
Goal setting
The thinking training aims to systematically promote inductive thinking and reasoning. By this, Klauer understands the ability to recognize regularities and laws from given examples. Regularities can refer to similarities of objects in terms of their characteristics (e.g. color, shape, ...) or in terms of their relationships to one another (e.g. object 1 is larger than object 2). They are derived from given examples by comparing objects with one another and discovering differences or similarities. The strategy of comparison is therefore the ideal solution in dealing with inductive tasks. It plays a central role in many learning processes. Inductive thinking is essential for practically all school and scientific areas, especially in order to form concepts and to be able to differentiate them from one another. Due to the great importance in many school subjects (the ability to analyze, compare and systematize are practically indispensable in all subjects, as well as history and mathematics ...), this is a potential starting point for the fundamental promotion of cognitive processes and the improvement of school performance. An improvement in inductive thinking can therefore not only lead to an increase in intelligence, but also in school performance.
Thinking operations
In his trainings, Klauer differentiates between different thinking operations, depending on whether it is about characteristics or relationships, and whether it is about equality, difference or equality and difference. Accordingly, six different thinking operations are possible:
| Comparison task | Comparison object | Task class |
|---|---|---|
| equality | of features | Generalization |
| Diversity | of features | Discrimination |
| Equality and diversity | of features | Cross classification |
| equality | of relations | Relationship capture |
| Diversity | of relations | Relationship distinction |
| Equality and diversity | of relations | System formation |
In the trainings, these thinking operations are applied to verbal, visual, geometrical-figural and numerical task material.
Structure of the training
The thinking training is available in three versions and can be used in different age ranges:
- Thinking training for children I for five to eight year old children
- Thinking training for children II for ten to 13 year old children
- Thinking training for teenagers
The last of the three training courses is specifically geared towards young people with learning disabilities between the ages of 14 and 17. The training programs are structurally identical and each comprise 120 tasks from the six different task classes. The training sessions consist of ten sessions of 45 minutes each.
effectiveness
Klauer's thinking training is the best-studied training program in educational psychology in Germany. Klauer and Leutner report on a total of 74 experimental studies from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the USA. In addition to studies in an experimental design, there are also results on long-term effects and effects on children with learning difficulties. On average, the result is a mean, weighted effect size of d = .52, which can be rated as a mean effect. With d = .67, the effect on school performance is even greater than the effect on intelligence. This effect increases over time and averages d = .74 after 6 months. Overall, therefore, there is convincing evidence to promote reasoning and academic achievement. The training is theoretically sound, practically significant and effective.
outlook
The original trainings are no longer available in stores. Karl Josef Klauer published various trainings for children and also for older people, which follow the same principle and are still available. The current development consists of a computer-based version of the thinking training for children I, which is called Puzzle Games with Elfe and Mathis. has appeared. The computer version has a comparable effectiveness as the earlier trainings.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b K. J. Klauer: Thinking training for children. I. Hogrefe, Göttingen 1989.
- ↑ a b K. J. Klauer: Thinking training for children. II. Hogrefe, Göttingen 1991.
- ↑ a b K. J. Klauer: Thinking training for young people. Hogrefe, Göttingen 1993.
- ↑ KJ Klauer, D. Leutner: Teaching and learning: Introduction to instruction psychology. Beltz, Weinheim 2007, p. 298.
- ^ A b c E. Souvignier: Thinking training for children and adolescents: Programs for intellectual advancement. In: HP Langfeldt (Hrsg.): Training programs for school support: A compendium for practice. Beltz, Weinheim 2003, pp. 127–149.
- ↑ KJ Klauer, D. Leutner: Teaching and learning: Introduction to instruction psychology. Beltz, Weinheim 2007, p. 299.
- ↑ M. Hasselhorn, A. Gold: Pedagogical Psychology. Hogrefe, Göttingen 2006.
- ↑ KJ Klauer, D. Leutner: Teaching and learning: Introduction to instruction psychology. Beltz, Weinheim 2007, p. 300.
- ↑ E. Marx, KJ Klauer: Nobody is as smart as I am. I. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2009.
- ↑ E. Marx, KJ Klauer: Nobody is as smart as I am. II. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2009.
- ↑ KJ Klauer: Brain training for the elderly: stay mentally fit. Hogrefe, Göttingen 2008.
- ^ A. Lenhard, W. Lenhard, KJ Klauer: Brain games with Elfe and Mathis. Hogrefe, Göttingen 2011.
- ↑ A. Lenhard, W. Lenhard: Computer-based intelligence promotion with the "Puzzle with Elfe and Mathis" - Presentation and evaluation of a computer program for pre-school and primary school students. (PDF file; 753 kB) Empirical Special Education, 2011-2.