Education Applications: Performance

Language Arts Skills

• Facts at a Glance
• Who Needs HeartMath Research-Based Programs?
• HeartMath and Language Arts Skills
• IHM Research Related to Language Arts Skills
• HeartMath Products & Programs to Support Language Arts Skills
• Funding Tips for Educators

What we are able to understand, learn, endeavor to achieve and enjoy is enhanced on an advancing scale as our skill levels increase in reading, writing, listening, speaking and visual literacy – the language arts. The little girl who recognizes letters and words on her very first day of school is set on a course of learning at a greater pace than peers who are less adept at these skills. The boy who enters high school with inferior reading and other language skills likely will experience gradually diminishing prospects of what he can hope to achieve in an increasingly complex, technology-focused world where global communication has gone local.

Reading, writing and speaking effectively can be strong contributors to a student’s success later in life: whether it’s reading and interpreting the shipping manifest for a trucking concern, making a coherent case for nuclear disarmament or setting an example for a child ambivalent about school. Conversely, there is ample documentation that poor language skills can narrow an individual’s employment prospects, limit job advancement opportunities and ultimately restrict earning power.

Sadly, in November 2007, the National Endowment for the Arts wrote in To Read or Not to Read, A Question of National Consequence, "This study shows the startling declines, in how much and how well Americans read, that are adversely affecting this country’s culture, economy, and civic life as well as our children’s educational achievement."

Among other findings, To Read or Not to Read noted:

• Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier.
• Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of nonreaders doubled over a 20-year period, from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.
• On average, Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.
• Reading scores for American adults of almost all education levels have deteriorated, notably among the best-educated groups. From 1992 to 2003, the percentage of adults with graduate school experience who were rated proficient in prose reading dropped by 10 points, a 20 percent rate of decline.

Facts at a Glance: Nearly two-thirds of employers ranked reading comprehension "very important" for high school graduates. Yet 38 percent consider most high school graduates deficient in this basic skill. – To Read or Not to Read. 54.3% of Medicare enrollees with inadequate literacy levels did not know how to take medication on an empty stomach, compared to 33.7% with marginal health literacy and 15.6% with adequate health literacy. – 1997 study of Medicare enrollees in a managed-care organization. Of employers asked to state why they rejected applicants for hourly production positions, 31.6% stated inadequate reading/writing skills. – The National Association of Manufacturers 2001 members’ survey. Readers of literature are more likely than nonreaders to engage in positive civic and individual activities ranging from volunteering, attending sports or cultural events and exercising. – To Read or Not to Read. The U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study in 1998 compared children who were read to at least three days per week (the first percentage below) as they entered kindergarten with those read to fewer than three days per week (the second percentage): 76% had mastered the letter-sound relationship at the beginning of words, compared to 64%. 57% had mastered the letter-sound relationship at the end of words, compared to 43%. 15% had sight-word recognition skills, compared to 8%. 5% could understand words in context, compared to 2%. Among the findings of Diploma to Nowhere†, a report released in September 2008, 60% of freshmen at California State University campuses – the largest university system in the nation – needed remedial work in English, including reading and writing, and math, or both. Although methods of reporting and reporting periods varied from state to state, the findings showed: Four-year colleges nationwide cited a substantial need for remedial work by first-year students; and large percentages of community college students were enrolled in remedial classes. The combined cost of remedial classes at two-year and four-year colleges nationwide was calculated at $2.3 billion to $2.9 billion for the 2004-05 school years, with students and their families paying an estimated $706 million to $886 million in remedial education tuition and fees. † The Diploma to Nowhere study was conducted through Strong American Schools, a project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a nonpartisan campaign supported by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Who Needs HeartMath Research-Based Programs?

• Students of all ages who study the language arts.
• Teachers, reading specialists and other educators involved in teaching the language arts.

HeartMath and Language Arts Skills

The Physiology of Learning

Your Emotions…

Deficiency in the language arts, mathematics and other academic subjects can contribute directly to anxiety, frustration, anger and elevated stress in students. This frequently leads to a vicious cycle. Studies by the Institute of HeartMath have shown that students – third-graders or third-year collegians – who are anxious and feeling excessive stress frequently experience "noise" or mental static in the brain, especially when it comes time to take a test. Their ability to retrieve what’s stored in the memory is greatly impaired, along with the capacity for comprehension and reason. In young children, this can cause severe emotional and physical upset, sometimes long before an important upcoming test.

Researchers at the Institute of HeartMath have identified a measurable physiological state that underlies optimal learning and performance. The feelings of anxiety, anger, etc., cause the neural activity in the two branches of the autonomic nervous system to get out of sync. This in turn affects the synchronized activity in the brain, disrupting our ability to think clearly. Experiencing uplifting feelings such as appreciation and caring, however, lead to increased harmony and distinct synchronization between the brain and nervous system and this facilitates our ability to think clearly. Numerous HeartMath studies have catalogued case after case of subjects enhancing their cognitive abilities by intentionally self-regulating their emotions.

Your Heart…

Did you know your heart maintains a sophisticated circuitry of neurons, neurotransmitters, proteins and support cells that qualify it as an intelligent brain? The heart is constantly involved with processes throughout the body, whether it is pumping blood through your system, communicating with cells or sending out strong rhythmic signals to the cranial brain that dramatically affect thinking, perception and performance. Achieving the optimal state described above depends on the synchronicity/harmony of our bodily systems, and maintaining what is known as a coherent heart, one that is marked by smooth rhythms, helps a great deal. The coherent heart sends out coherent signals to the brain and the rest of the body, thus promoting systemwide harmony.

HeartMath understands the role of emotions and the heart in how we learn and how effectively we learn because its research team has explored the physiology of learning for many years. Researchers at HeartMath and independent organizations and individuals interested in the efficacy of IHM’s methods and technology have conducted numerous scientifically controlled studies to validate them. They have demonstrated in thousands of cases that practicing HeartMath’s emotion self-regulation and heart-coherence techniques routinely achieve significant benefits and frequently dramatic improvements in academic performance.

Moreover, HeartMath has developed science-based learning programs – TestEdge^® and HeartSmarts^®, described below – and its internationally acclaimed emWave^® technology to help students, from preschoolers to college age, take personal control over personal management of their emotions, reduce stress and improve academic performance.

IHM Research Related to Language Arts Skills

• TestEdge^® National Demonstration Study (TENDS): Students who participated in this U.S. Department of Education-funded study experienced major reductions in test anxiety and significant improvements in test scores after taking part in HeartMath training. The study, conducted by IHM researchers in collaboration with faculty and graduate students at Claremont Graduate University, showed that student proficiency in English-language arts grew from 26% to 47%; and in mathematics from 60% to 71%. Other TENDS results include:

• 75% of those who had test anxiety at the start of the study reported lower levels by the end of it.
• 75% of all classrooms – from the lowest to highest test-performing classes – showed significant reductions in text anxiety.
• There were large increases in state-mandated test scores, far exceeding academic targets for the year.

• Read the complete TENDS summary.

• The Social Psychology of Reading/Language Arts Achievement: "The results of this study indicate that negative emotions adversely affect student achievement," notes the abstract for the study/dissertation, whose focus was the social relationships and emotion management issues related to language arts achievement. "More specifically, the study shows that when stress goes unmanaged, achievement is negatively affected." Click here to read the study abstract.
  
  Among other findings, the study’s author, Kimberly Hartnett-Edwards, observed the following:

• Emotions affect all aspects of the educational setting, including achievement in reading/language arts. Schools would affect achievement more if they addressed the emotional state of their students in and out of schools.
• Achievement is socially, psychologically and physiologically based. Reading/language arts instruction and research should consider the physiology of achievement as the cornerstone of a new paradigm for learning. Through implementation and application of the new science of brain, heart and emotion this new paradigm can begin to mold a new approach to reading/language arts theory, implementation and achievement.

HeartMath Products & Programs to Support Language Arts Skills

• TestEdge^® Interactive Learning Programs, for Grades 6-8 and 9-12+: The various levels of the TestEdge programs are designed especially for students’ participating in a formal education program – public or private. The interactive formats help students understand the link between their feelings and academic performance. They can see how stress and emotions can interfere with learning, getting along and communicating with other students, friends, family and teachers. The programs give several practical, easily learned stress-reducing techniques and practical tools for communicating more effectively. Real-life scenarios are presented that depict the ways stress can adversely impact students’ lives and how they can reverse that impact. These programs, presented on CDs with accompanying booklets are suitable for classroom and home use. Go to: TestEdge Interactive Learning Programs.
• HeartSmarts^®: HeartSmarts^® for Grades 3-5 and the new Early HeartSmarts^® for Ages 3-6 were especially developed to teach young children effective communication and relationship skills. Children in both programs learn to recognize their emotions, how their behavior affects themselves and others and how they can personally change negative emotions and behavior to achieve more desirable outcomes.

• The Early HeartSmarts child learns fun, simple, powerful skills for self-emotion management. Children work together in small groups learning about problem-solving, creativity, self-regulation and more that can help ease the transition from home to the classroom environment. Go to: Early HeartSmarts.
• HeartSmarts for Grades 3-5 continues building the bridge between emotions and academics for young learners. Age-appropriate lessons contain simple, visual, heart-centered activities and materials. Short lessons use experiential learning in pairs and small groups for problem-solving, improving relationships and engaging in collaborative discussion of topics related to school performance. Emphasis on emotion self-regulation and reliance on heart intelligence helps reinforce emotional, mental and physical balance and harmony essential for academic success throughout the learning years. Go to: HeartSmarts for Grades 3-5.

• emWave^® Desktop for Mac and PC: Students and educators will enjoy watching their heart rhythms in real time, seeing how their emotions affect them and discovering which emotions they can activate to effectively manage stress and emotions. HeartMath’s research shows reducing stress and balancing emotions are keys to optimal performance, whether it’s in front of a class or sitting at a desk. Individuals of all ages and academic pursuits will learn how the emWave Desktop for Mac and PC can help them intentionally shift to positive mental, physical and emotional states. Numerous field studies have shown that shift can enhance academic and personal and professional performance, boost energy and lead to improved health and well-being. Go to: emWave Desktop for Mac and PC.
• Qualified Instructor/Resilient Educator Programs: HeartMath understands how critical effective, committed and resilient teachers and educators are to student success, whether it is in the language arts, mathematics or character development. So we developed the Qualified Instructor Program^®, a train-the-trainer program for professional trainers, educators and consultants to provide HeartMath skills to teachers, administrators and other school staff. Those who complete the program are licensed to provide IHM workshops within educational settings in a cost-effective way. The first course offered under the program is the Resilient Educator^®, an engaging, activity-based, stress-management workshop for in-service staff development. It can be given in a two-, four- or six-hour sessions. The Resilient Educator is a highly relevant program that helps educators boost performance, improve school relationships and strengthen resiliency. Go to: The Qualified Instructor Program or The Resilient Educator.

A Special Story Related to Language Arts Learning

The benefits of using HeartMath programs and methods to help students academically and emotionally can be applied to all learning levels. Take, for example, Dr. Edie Fritz, a psychologist at Creighton Elementary School in Phoenix. Fritz conducted literacy exercises with a small group of struggling fifth- and sixth-graders, most with behavioral and/or academic problems. The summer class was intended to improve reading skills and thereby allow many of the children to be promoted to the next grade.

Various methodologies had achieved minimal success with these students over the years, but HeartMath proved to be different, Fritz said. Among other outcomes after HeartMath training, every student’s reading scores improved dramatically, with an average growth of 1.5 grades.

Funding Tips for Educators: The following website provides links to information about a variety of federal, state and private educational funding sources for schools and districts interested in purchasing Institute of HeartMath programs and products: Funding Sources for Institute of HeartMath Programs & Products. For information about and to learn how to apply to be a recipient of the IHM Heart-Based Education Sponsorship Fund, go to: Heart-Based Education Sponsorship Fund.