Blind Spots: Why Students Fail and the Science That Can Save Them

by Kimberly Nix Berens

Overview

In the United States, a majority of students graduate below proficiency in all academic subjects. Parents of struggling students feel overwhelmed and confused about how to help their children simply survive school, let alone succeed. Various school reform efforts have been tried and all have failed. But all hope is not lost. A science exists that allows children to learn as individuals even though at school they are educated in groups. One that avoids senseless labels that sentence children to lifetimes of failure and mediocrity.

Dr. Kimberly Berens and a team of scientists have spent the last 20 years perfecting a powerful system of instruction based on the learning, behavioral, and cognitive sciences that they call Fit Learning. This method of teaching has been proven to markedly improve how students understand and achieve, even for children who have been told they have learning disabilities or other disorders that interfere with their ability to learn.

Blind Spots reveals the history of our broken education system and shows that by using this teaching system in the classroom, we can unlock the vast potential hidden within every child.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951412098
Publisher:	The Collective Book Studio
Publication date:	10/27/2020
Pages:	232
Sales rank:	999,965
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Kimberly Nix Berens, Ph.D., is the founder of Fit Learning and regional director of Fit Learning Tri-State. In 1998, as a doctoral student in learning and behavioral science, Dr. Berens founded Fit Learning in a broom closet on campus at the University of Nevada, Reno. Since her humble beginnings, Dr. Berens has helped drive the expansion of her organization by establishing a formal certification and licensure in her powerful method of instruction. As a result, Fit Learning now has 31 locations worldwide, with 3 to 5 new locations opening each year. In 2010, Dr. Berens relocated to New York to open locations throughout the Tri-State area and beyond. Dr. Berens has been an invited speaker at over 30 regional, national, and international conferences and has given over 100 presentations throughout her career on a variety of topics.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 The Crisis 13

2 The Establishments 35

3 The Outcasts 59

4 The Traditions 91

5 The Myths 109

6 The Solution 133

7 The Evidence 165

8 The Future 183

Appendix 191

References 209

Acknowledgments 219

Index 223

Editorial Reviews

[Dr.] Berens also shows how we can correct that dismal situation once we focus on the behavioral science of learning.

Steven C. Hayes

[Dr. Berens] debunks many popular myths that pervade current educational practices [...]

Matt Circoria

Using data and science, Berens opens educators and parents’ eyes to the atrocities of our educational system.

For the Love of the Page JReynolds

An easy-to-read and evidenced-based book meant for anyone providing or receiving education.

Ryan O'Donnell

Kimberly Nix Berens has written a straightforward and highly readable book about the failure of our education system and what it is possible to achieve when science is at the heart of instruction.

Cathy L. Watkins

Kimberly Berens has written a book about education that every teacher, every policymaker, and every parent should read.

From the Publisher

A great read for anyone - teacher, school administrator, or parent - who wants to examine approaches to education and refine their school to better fit the needs of more students.

"Motherhood Moments"

Dr. Berens position is that educators should . . . use only what works and let science lead the way.

Patrick C. Friman

Kimberly Berens has written a book about education that every teacher, every policymaker, and every parent should read. In a warm and engaging way, she shows us how much more effectively we could be teaching our children. She addresses common myths that have been standing in the way of effective teaching. Then she describes a set of carefully researched approaches to teaching that can help every child learn. If you are a teacher that is not satisfied with how much your students are learning, this book could change your life. If you are a policymaker who is dedicated to seeing that every child succeeds, this book has the information you need to advance learning. If you are a parent, this book will tell you what to look for in your children’s schools and how to advocate for the teaching practices that Dr. Berens describes.

Kimberly Berens has written a book about education that every teacher

I think it's a great read for anyone - teacher, school administrator, or parent - who wants to examine approaches to education and refine their school to better fit the needs of more students.

Motherhood Moments

2020-10-12
A behavioral scientist suggests improvements for the teaching process.

In this debut education book, Berens challenges pedagogical orthodoxy and argues that all children, including those with neurological differences, can acquire fundamental skills if teachers understand how learning happens and how to measure it. The volume opens with an evaluation of standardized test data that shows how students fail to achieve proficiency and explains how the educational establishment declines to provide most pupils with an environment conducive to learning. The author, drawing on a behavioral science background, sees learning as a pattern of actions, consequences, and responses selected for the desired outcome—praise and encouragement in some cases, tangible rewards in others, with the educator responsible for determining what the student needs. The book explains, with clear examples, how this works in a classroom setting and in broader human development and how contemporary schools can implement the techniques. The volume also addresses the needs of neurodiverse children, arguing that many diagnosed learning disabilities are actually responses to ineffective teaching that can be eliminated through more helpful instruction. Even children with physiological differences can learn in an appropriately designed environment (“The failure to acquire skills results from ineffective instruction, just like for children without disabilities”). Berens is a successful advocate for the behaviorally informed interpretation of the learning process, both explaining the underlying theory and laying out evidence in favor of her arguments. Traditional educators do not come off well in the book’s portrayal, but they are presented as misguided rather than malicious practitioners of a system based on ideology instead of data. While the frequent mentions of the author’s tutoring business can give the text the feeling of an infomercial at times, they also serve to remind readers that the work’s conclusions are based not only on theory, but also on decades of practical experience with a variety of students. The writing is strong and the topic is intriguing, accessible to readers with little prior knowledge of education practices.

A well-argued challenge to educational orthodoxy that calls for a systemic overhaul.

Kirkus Reviews