Shownotes
Dr. Kimberly Nix Berens is the Founder of Fit Learning and Regional Director of Fit Learning Tri-State. She is an educational researcher who has published and presented extensively on science-based approaches to education, speaking at over 30 regional, national, and international conferences. Nick and Dr. Berens sit down today to discuss several talking points from her first book, "Blind Spots: Why Students Fail and the Science That Can Save Them".
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 driven the expansion of Fit Learning by establishing a formal certification in her method of instruction, The Technology of Teaching.
Fit Learning now has 31 locations worldwide, with 3 to 5 new locations opening each year. For the past 20 years, Dr. Berens and her team have refined their system of instruction using behavioral and cognitive science. As a result, her system produces over one year of academic growth in just 40 hours of instruction.
Timestamps:
- 2:47: A brief bio of Dr. Kimberly Berens
- 4:17: Dr. Barens' path to becoming a behavioral scientist
- 8:04: Dr. Berens' early career working with autistic children
- 11:43: Dr. Barens continues discussing her career
- 16:45: Dr. Barens' opinion on teachers and the system they are currently in
- 23:25: Statistics on the current educational crisis in America
- 31:38: Dr. Barens recounts a story of her then-preschool-age son, Jack
- 39:01: How the structure video games use to progress in difficulty can apply to the educational system
- 43:25: If a punishment isn't working, it's likely because it isn't as bad to the child as the alternative
- 48:20: The problem with IQ and psychological tests
- 56:29: Hope and advice for parents of children with learning disability diagnosis
Resources:
Connect With Nick Nanton:
