The Arrowsmith Program was first pioneered at a learning centre in Toronto, Canada in 1978 and then at the Arrowsmith School, which opened in 1980 in Toronto.

 

The program is well established at over 90 sites in Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Spain, Switzerland, Cayman Islands, and Hong Kong.

Since 1997 there have been more than 20 research studies involving some 800 students across six universities and nineteen different educational organisations all evaluating the effectiveness of the Arrowsmith Program across its different program offerings. Five of these studies have had control groups and eleven have been peer reviewed. There are ongoing research projects currently underway.

 

Research on the Arrowsmith Program indicates that students develop:

  • Increased connectivity in neural networks involved in sustained attention, executive functioning, planning, thinking, problem solving, comprehension, memory, perspective taking, empathy, self-awareness, and mental initiative.
  • Cognitive abilities critical for learning including memory, reasoning, processing speed, verbal fluency, working memory, auditory processing, cognitive efficiency, verbal auditory learning and vigilance – a form of sustained attention; and
  • Academic skill gains in word reading, reading fluency, spelling, reading comprehension, maths fluency and computation, written expression and fluency, receptive language and academic fluency.

 

Beyond the benefits to cognitive functioning and academic achievement, Arrowsmith learners also see social-emotional and well-being outcomes such as:

  • Greater sense of happiness and wellbeing.
  • Increased sense of themselves as the agent of change in their own lives.
  • Development of an incremental theory of mind: the belief that intelligence and ability are malleable traits which can be improved upon with hard work and effort.
  • Better adaptability, leadership and social skills.
  • Reduction in feelings of depression, anxiety, aggression and hyperactivity.

 

For research information visit arrowsmithschool.org/research/



Jo Burns

Head of Primary, Director of International Students
(04) 476 8707
Contact Jo Burns for more information about the Primary Whole Cohort Arrowsmith Program®.