FAQ

For further information, please contact Mind Lab NZ

1) About the Development of the Method

1.1) Who developed the curriculum?
The curriculum was first developed in Israel in the early 90s by Mr. Ehud Shachar and Mr. Dan Gendelman, senior chess players who both have Master degrees in education. Today Mind Lab's research team includes experts from the fields of education, thinking games, humanities and social sciences, as well as computer sciences and engineering. The staff is constantly updating and improving the material in the curriculum based on the extensive feedback received from the thousands of educational institutions with which the system is implemented.

1.2) Does the curriculum have academic backing?
Yes. The curriculum is founded upon strong theoretical foundations in the field of education and thinking, borrowing upon the theories of Dewey (who places the learner at the centre of the learning experience), Gardner (Multiple Intelligences), Perkins (Transfer) and Feuerstein (Instrumental Enrichment) and applying them practically. The curriculum has won wide scale support and praise from researchers and academicians representing universities throughout the world, first and foremost Yale University in the US. The extensive series of studies performed by Yale demonstrates that the Mind Lab method boosts Math and Verbal scores as well as other important life skills.

1.3) What are the educational objectives of the curriculum?
The Mind Lab method contributes to the personal development of each learner by helping them improve their cognitive, emotional and social skills. The real strength of the curriculum is rooted in the ability to improve life skills in an enjoyable and experiential way which is the way that children and adults alike prefer. Plato said: "Not out of obligation shall the children learn, but out of play."

1.4) Is the curriculum connected to formal education?
The Mind Lab curriculum is exceptionally flexible and versatile. On the one hand, it is a stand alone and independent curriculum accessible to each and every learner, regardless of age and prior knowledge. On the other hand, it touches upon the basis of human thinking and as such is connected to formal education - to mathematics (numbers and counting, planes and spatial orientation, groups, probabilities, problems solving), communication (developing articulation skills, asking questions, expressiveness) and of course in other formal education subjects (interpersonal communication, cooperation and collaboration, violence prevention, emotional intelligence). The added value of the Mind Lab curriculum is in its ability to transform the formal subjects into an enjoyable and playful experience that leaves a deep imprint in the children's minds.

2) About the curriculum

2.1) What subjects are taught?
Essentially the curriculum deals with three branches of thinking skills: cognitive, social and emotional. The main subject areas are: problem solving, question asking, planning and execution, gathering and analyzing information, resource management, tactics and strategy, mathematical thinking, creative thinking, cooperation Vs. competition, teamwork, articulation skills, learning from mistakes, management of emotions.

2.2) What age groups can benefit from the curriculum?
The curriculum is divided into five Steps suitable for children aged 5-14. The advanced Steps can be even used to teach high-school students or adults.

2.3) How many lessons are there in the curriculum?
In each of the five Steps there are 36 lessons. The 36 lessons are flexibly divided into 6 Courses, each of which focuses on a different thinking subject.

2.4) What is the duration of each lesson?
Lessons typically last 45-60 minutes.
Some special lessons are extended to 90 minutes with additional practice (using games, workbooks or computers).

2.5) How are the lessons structured?
A typical lesson features the following:
A) A group discussion about the central theme and central concepts of the lesson subject, or: a class activity that intuitively illustrates the concepts.
B) Explanation of the rules of the games, or: recap on the rules and a close examination of game principles and thinking concepts.
C) Playing in groups (usually in pairs or in foursomes). Sometimes there are two parts of the game playing session, one immediately after the rules and the other after an explanation of the relevant thinking concepts.
D) Learning relevant game strategies and discussing how they can be applied both in the game and in real life situations.
E) A reflective summary in which the children relate to their feelings and thoughts during the lesson.
About one quarter of the lessons are integrative, meaning they combine a number of previously learnt games. These lessons sometimes include pupil worksheets and computerized exercises. In all the curricula, but especially in the Think Kids curriculum, emphasis is placed upon activities which combine movement, drama and stories, according to Gardner's ideas.

2.6) How many games are taught during the course of the year?
Most of the games are taught over two lessons, so around 15 games are taught for each age group during the course of the year.

2.7) Do all the children play with the same game at a given lesson?
Yes. In most lessons all the children take part in the game being taught. A quarter of the lessons are integrative whereby the children play and rotate between a number of previously learnt games.

2.8) Are all the children involved in the game experience?
Absolutely. The entire curriculum is centred around direct child participation and involvement.

2.9) How many consecutive years can a child learn the Mind Lab curriculum?
The curriculum is spiral and contains all in all 180 lessons such that each child can be part of the curriculum for at least 5 consecutive years. In practical terms the child can benefit from the curriculum for a longer period as the game experience confers benefits far beyond the framework of the formal structured lessons.

2.10) How many games are there in the Mind Lab Curriculum?
There are 50+ types of physical games used for teaching a number of different abstract games.

2.11) Who has developed the Mind Lab games?
Several of the games are classical and generic, while others are produced by some of the world's leading thinking game companies: Gigamic, Fox Mind, Thinkfun and Mind Lab itself. The Mind Lab Group reviews scores of games each year and chooses those games most suited for integration within the curriculum.

2.12) What other features are included in the Mind Lab curriculum?
Mind Lab provides a comprehensive curriculum and contains:
A) Instructor books with 180 detailed lesson plans.
B) Student books with many additional exercises.
C) A computerized training course for teachers.
D) Practicing software for students.
E) Learning accessories, posters, roll-ups etc.
F) And of-course extensive training and on-going support.

2.13) Are updates and upgrades made in the Mind Lab?
Mind Lab updates all its curricula yearly: adds new games and lessons to the curriculum, upgrades the computerized elements, on-line services and of-course supports the exisiting centres with additional training.

2.14) Who actually presents the lessons?
In principle, a Mind Lab teacher is in charge of teaching the curriculum. The Mind Lab teacher may reside at the school or visit each school to deliver the training. Of-course, all Mind Lab teachers are fully quailified in the NZ education system. They will also have the required pedagogic tools for the successful imparting of the Mind Lab curriculum and provide training courses to school teachers, provide professional instruction and ongoing support to schools where required.

2.15) Can the Mind Lab class be operated apart from the "standard" lessons?
The Mind Lab offers a wide range of activities. First and foremost - structured lessons. In addition it enables teachers to teach smaller groups and to answer the special needs of both gifted children and special education children. The Mind Lab can be used to run local Mind Game Olympic tournaments, and children & parent evenings (as part of school activities or after school activities).

2.16) What is the best way to present Mind Lab to the parents and the children?
As far as the children are concerned, Mind Lab is a marvelous experience, which they refer to as a "game-playing lesson" since first and foremost they play games. The parents and educational staff refer to it as a "thinking lesson" - admittedly the children do play games for about half of the lesson but all are well aware of the huge educational value embodied within the game experience. We can therefore compare the curriculum to a tasty candy (for the children) with high nutritional value (for the parents and teaching staff).

3) In what ways is Mind Lab available to our school?

3.1) External Mind Lab teacher
Your school can choose to utilise the resources of an external Mind Lab teacher who is trained in the Mind Lab education system and will also be a teacher trained in the NZ education system. This teacher will visit your school on required days and times to teach the whole school or selected groups of 20 children per class per lesson. Since most NZ schools have class groups greater than 20, these larger groups can also be accomodated so long as the Mind Lab teacher is accompanied by the regular class room teacher to help facilitation.


3.2) Internal Mind Lab teacher
Mind Lab will train a teacher or teachers at your school in the Mind Lab curriculum through a comprehensive 40 hour training course.
Your school will be required to fulfill certain contractual obligations including the payment for training and use of all Mind Lab materials, games and resources in order to successfully deliver the curriculum.
An annual support fee will also be required to be paid each year the school maintains use of the curriculum.
In order to maintain the highest delivery and ensure Mind Lab quality expectations are achieved, all schools and trained Mind Lab teachers will also be subject to regular observation and feeback sessions. These sessions will involve an external Mind Lab educator visiting your school and providing assesment and feedback at regular times throughout the year. 

4. What does Mind Lab cost?

Mind Lab provides a number of different pricing packages. The most signifcant difference in pricing for the curriculum will depend on whether the Mind Lab teacher comes from your own school staff  or whether you require an external Mind Lab teacher to visit your school. Therefore, pricing will be dependent on your school needs and what circumstances your school faces with respect to education budgets and available teaching resources. We will be happy to discuss all the pricing options when we understand all your requirements.
Since we have now developed a number of different pricing options to suit all schools requirements and budgets we are confident there will be a suitable option available to your school.

4.1) Can more than one school or a cluster of schools combine the use of their Mind Lab teaching resources and share Mind Lab teachers to further reduce costs? 
Yes, and more importantly we encourage this approach. Schools operate extremely effectively in their cluster groupings throughout NZ and by sharing Mind Lab teachers and resources, this will ensure lower costs and also shared teaching skills acoss many more students making the curriculum much more accessible to all children. Sharing Mind Lab teachers and resources across local cluster schools in particular can ensure that most children follow the modular structure of the curriculum through years 1 - 6 and therefore as children move into the next level of school for the year 7 and 8  teaching years they will learn consistent thinking concepts and life skills developed through Mind Lab.

5. Mind Lab Olympics

Each year Mind Lab NZ will be looking to host local and national Mind Lab Olympic tournaments in which schools can send a team from their school to compete in. The Mind Lab Olympic tournament begins with inter school competitions in which preselected age appropriate Mind Lab games are used in an Oympic type tournament to ascertain a team to compete at the next level . It is hoped that as Mind Lab grows in NZ we will be able to send a team to compete at the international Mind Lab Olympic tournament held each year. In 2006 the international tournament was held in the UK, in 2007 it was held in Spain, and in 2008 it will be hosted in Turkey. Schools from all nations participate in the Olympic tournament and not only gain experience in participating in a competition but also meeting various children from other countries and cultures in a fascinating and magical educational experience!

For more information on any of the above FAQ's please contact Mind Lab NZ