Press Release

Julie Gates at Julie Gates Public Relations
562-429-5972
jgatespr@yahoo.com
for MIND Research Institute

Non-Profit MIND Research Institute Ships New Algebra Readiness Supplemental Courseware to Address Low Success Rate in Algebra I Classes

ST Math™: Algebra Readiness Supplemental extends MIND Research’s award-winning visual math courseware to prepare middle school students to succeed in Algebra I

SANTA ANA, Sept. 27, 2007 – The non-profit education researcher and software developer MIND Research Institute shipped ST Math™ : Algebra Readiness Supplemental, a new courseware title that prepares struggling middle school students for success in algebra. The program expands MIND Research’s line of research-based mathematics courseware for elementary students into the middle school level. This supplemental program was developed in response to the national crisis of students failing algebra in middle schools and inspired by the recent call from California for a new core course in Algebra Readiness. ST Math: Algebra Readiness Supplemental supports the Algebra Readiness concept, which covers a tightly focused set of foundational math skills (grades 2 to 7 content) to help students below grade level get fully prepared to succeed in Algebra I.

ST Math: Algebra Readiness Supplemental, for students requiring math intervention in grades 6 and above, applies MIND Research’s proven Spatial Temporal (ST) computer exercises to help meet this need. The comprehensive courseware provides a powerful visual learning path for pre-algebra skills from a basic level of math principles up through introductory algebraic equations. The program can be used to either prepare students before they enter an Algebra I class, or as an intervention to help students already struggling with algebra. The program was developed by MIND Research Co-Founder, Dr. Matthew Peterson, the neuroscientist who created the original ST Math™ program and whose research has focused on applications of neuroscience to learning environments.

“MIND Research developed the ST Math: Algebra Readiness Supplemental courseware recognizing that our visual, foundational approach to building math proficiency is perfect to help struggling students master the mathematical building blocks necessary for algebra success,” said Dr. Peterson. “It is motivating and specifically designed to help middle school or higher students build a solid foundation and confidence to learn and pass algebra.”

Dr. Peterson uses the Los Angeles Unified School District as one of the most shocking examples of where algebra readiness intervention is needed, citing that only 39 percent of students in that district who took Algebra I for the first time passed with a C or better. Those who failed were routinely sent back to take it again, and without effective remediation, most failed again on their second try. This led to student frustration and contributed to high dropout rates. The problem is not that students are incapable of learning algebra. It’s that they are lacking both confidence and a solid foundation in more basic math skills, such as fractions or operations on rational numbers, which prevent them from building past that point.

MIND Research has invested over a decade of research, development, and real-world implementation into interactive computerized math lessons. The ST Math™ product family includes the ST Math+Music™ program and the ST Math™ courseware suites for grades K to 5. The products develop a balance of mathematical-reasoning, procedural-skills development, and problem-solving abilities through a unique visual approach. Multiple research studies have consistently shown a significant benefit to students at all academic performance levels and increases of 20 percent or more in the number of students scoring proficient and above on standardized tests. The unique software features language-independent, interactive visual animations to present the mathematical content and exercises, making it particularly effective for visual learners and students with limited English proficiency. Engaging game strategy, which moves students from basic to challenging levels, motivates and rewards even the most disengaged learners.

ST Math: Algebra Readiness Supplemental gives secondary teachers a flexible and powerful tool to build critical math foundation skills that students need for algebra success, while boosting their overall math competency and confidence. Algebra is generalized arithmetic, which is why it is critical for students to have a firm grasp of basic arithmetic skills. ST Math: Algebra Readiness Supplemental is organized into modules that enable students to learn and practice major concepts such as the number line, variables, place value, rates and ratios, long division, fractions, decimals, negative numbers, word problems, the coordinate plane, equations of a line, and exponents. The content is mapped to both national and state standards.

The program helps each student build this arithmetic foundation through language-independent visualization of math concepts that facilitates both self-paced instruction and solid understanding and retention of concepts. The game metaphor of the instructional activities fully engages students regardless of initial math proficiency, and provides a gradual increase in problem difficulty, from simple confidence-inspiring levels up to challenging multi-step problem-solving. Students progress at their own rate, advancing to the next level or game only after they master each skill.

ST Math: Algebra Readiness Supplemental can be used to supplement any core Algebra Readiness, Pre-Algebra, or Algebra I curriculum. As with all of MIND Research’s ST Math™ products, there are virtually no prerequisites required for success with the games, which are designed to ensure all students in a class can make connections to their regular classroom instruction. The program also includes Internet-based teacher reports for tracking and reporting of student progress.

The ST Math: Algebra Readiness Supplemental courseware is available now through MIND Research in a hybrid Power Macintosh® and Windows® format. The program includes the software, a printed teacher resource guide, professional development for teachers, and access to daily student status reports over the Internet. The program will be offered to schools as either a perpetual license or on a subscription basis. The subscription price is about $89 per individual student license or $120 per sequential user license, inclusive of training and support. Perpetual site licensing is also offered. For information about ST Math: Algebra Readiness Supplemental, educators can call the MIND Research toll free at (888) 751-5443 or visit its website at www.mindinstitute.net.

The MIND Research Institute is a community-based non-profit research organization formed in 1998 and located in Santa Ana, CA. It is dedicated to neuroscience and learning research and to preparing students in grades K-12, regardless of cultural or socio-economic background, for math success in school, work and society. MIND Research has successfully integrated more than 30 years of breakthrough academic research on the brain and learning at the University of California, Irvine, into applied math education programs for elementary school students and recently completed development of an Algebra Readiness curriculum that has been submitted for adoption by the State of California. Student test results at schools that use MIND’s ST Math+Music™ program have shown consistent dramatic improvements in standardized test scores. There are currently over 250 schools in California, Texas and 10 other states, and more than 40,000 students and 2,000 teachers participating in the program.