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About the Product MasterMind is learning software, which combines techniques of the SQ3R study method and the powerful Pimsleur Principles with state-of-the-art computer technology to give the learner an unprecedented opportunity to expand the mind. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review. The acronym summarizes a set of learning principles which embody the results of decades of research into the ways the mind works to acquire and retain knowledge. The SQ3R study method has been thoroughly student tested and professor-approved in learning labs and in the classroom; and with the implementation of Dr. Pimsleur’s principles of "Anticipation" and "Graduated Interval Recall", MasterMind™ software includes some of the most advanced ideas, systems, and techniques for rapid and permanent learning that are available in the world today. MasterMind™ is guaranteed to improve grades and cut homework time in half. Questions answered incorrectly are displayed repeatedly but randomly until answered correctly. Automatic review lessons are presented to further study the material. All events are automatic and require no typing just mouse clicks. Although you can control the timing you can also go manual if you prefer. The mechanics and design of the material display are subtle but powerful. There are not distracting graphics to interfere with the learning process. Each user/student logs in to keep track of individual progress and learning so it can be used by a number of different people. You can reverse the process and be quizzed by seeing the answer first. When you return for another session it will automatically present a review of material you have studied. There are three basic modes of learning; survey, learn, and review. Included is a "Creator" module where you can easily make your own personal custom study/ lesson material. Just enter the questions and answers by typing them into simple windows. It is extremely easy to use. This way you can customize MasterMind™ to material you need to learn such as names, places, formulas, dates, elementary-school, middle-school, high-school, college, graduate-school or research material. The possibilities are endless. The CD also comes with complete learning sets: States/Capital, World History, Vocabulary, Nations, US History, US Presidents, and Multiplication. Special Performance Guarantee for Students An added bonus is the special performance guarantee for students. The MasterMind Power Learning System is guaranteed to improve grades and reduce homework time for any student who will apply the MasterMind system for a full school semester. If the student is earning "B"s or lower then MasterMind is guaranteed to increase grades by a full letter grade. If the student is spending an hour or more a day on homework, then MasterMind is guaranteed to cut homework time in half. This guarantee extends through the end of next full school semester, or for a full 6 months, whichever is later.
Two of the learning and memory techniques, which have been incorporated into MasterMind were researched and documented by Dr. Paul Pimsleur. Dr. Paul Pimsleur devoted his life to teaching. He obtained his Ph.D. in French from Columbia University, taught French phonetics and phonemics, supervised the language laboratory at UCLA, served as a language educator at numerous other Universities, was a Fulbright lecturer in Heidelberg, Germany, a member of the AATF, and the American Educational Research Association, among other distinctions. Dr. Pimsleur outlined two primary principles of learning, which he called Anticipation and Graduated Interval Recall, both of which are integrated into the MasterMind system to accelerate learning, and to increase long-term recall. The paragraphs below summarize the principles researched by Dr. Pimsleur and how they are put to work in MasterMind to enhance the benefits of your study. Anticipation Pimsleur: The Principle of Anticipation requires you to anticipate a correct response before it is given to you. In this way, your brain is actively engaged in attempting to quickly recall the information from memory. MasterMind: During Drill and Review sessions, the question is presented to you and you must give a correct response, either by speaking or typing it, before it appears in the Answer window. This heightens the focus of your mind which helps you to learn more quickly, and to retain what you have learned. Graduated Interval Recall Pimsleur: Graduated Interval Recall simply means retrieving information you have learned at timed intervals which gradually become longer and longer. The learned material is reinforced more strongly in the memory with each review, which carries it from the short-term to the long-term memory easily and effectively. Through research, Dr. Pimsleur discovered how long his students remembered information and how frequently they needed to recall it in order for it to be reinforced and committed to their long-term memory and designed a "retrieval" schedule for maximum retention. MasterMind: The MasterMind SmartSchedule Review prompts you to recall information you have learned at timed intervals which gradually increase, as in Dr. Pimsleur’s principle of Graduated Interval Recall. When you first learn something new, it will be scheduled for review shortly thereafter. As you continue to successfully recall what you have learned, the review intervals will gradually become longer and longer until you will find that the information has become a part of your long-term memory and you will be able to easily retrieve it at will. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, and (the 3 R’s) Read, Recite, and Review. This acronym represents 5 steps which embody study principles researched and documented by Dr. Francis Pleasant Robinson, and which are detailed in his book "Effective Study". The design of MasterMind enables you to effortlessly employ these proven principles as you learn. Below is an outline of the 5 steps of SQ3R as defined by Dr. Robinson with a subsequent outline following each step, showing how MasterMind uses the principle to help you learn more effectively. Step 1: Survey – Objective: to gather information on the study material, and focus in on what you will be learning. SQ3R: Glance through the material you are preparing to learn to get an overview of the information contained therein. Look at titles, headings, subheadings, illustrations and captions, charts and graphs… everything which provides a general outline or summary of the material. MasterMind: The Survey feature in MasterMind gives you an overview of the information contained in the Question & Answer Set you have chosen to study. You can see how the material has been divided into Sections, as well as mark the items which you already know so that they can be excluded or automatically scheduled for later review. Items which you do not mark as "known" will be presented for study during a Drill session Step 2: Question – Objective: To stimulate curiosity and engage the mind to concentrate and begin learning. SQ3R: Turn the headings and titles, etc. into questions which will be answered as you learn. By formulating a question which needs to be answered, the brain becomes more focused and learns the material more quickly. MasterMind: After you select a Learning Set for study, you will determine what information is presented as the question and what information is presented as the answer. The questions are then presented during a Drill session(s) and you respond with the correct answer. By presenting the information in question form, Drill helps you learn faster, and more readily remember what you have learned. Steps 3, 4: Read, Recite – Objective: to relate the material you are learning to the questions you formed, and to increase retention by reciting the answers. SQ3R: Read the material and search for the answers to the questions you created. Recite the answer to each question. If you do not know the answer well enough, read over the material again until you are able to easily recite the answer. MasterMind: During Drill sessions, you read each question as it is presented, either silently or aloud as you prefer. You then recite the answer – again, either silently or aloud as you prefer – or type the answer, depending upon the study option you have selected. If you get the answer right, MasterMind will move on to the next question. If you get the answer wrong, you will be drilled on that question again and again until you know the correct answer. MasterMind remembers the questions you have difficulty with, and automatically drills you on them with greater frequency so that the correct answer will be reinforced in your memory. Step 5: Review – Objective: to increase retention and effortless recall of the learned material. SQ3R: Look over the material and attempt to recall the major points and sub points which you have learned and recite the information aloud. Read again anything that you have difficulty recalling, going through the Read and Recite steps as before. MasterMind: The Review feature presents the material you have already learned in the same question and answer form as the Drill sessions. This significantly increases short and long-term retention by requiring recall of the information at graduated intervals after you have already learned it. When you get an answer right during Review, it is scheduled again for review at a later date. When you get an answer wrong during Review, the review schedule for that question and answer will start over to ensure retention of the information. Advanced Features of the Product
…plus much, much more. Results A 10th grader, after learning the chemical symbols for half the periodic
table in less than 15 minutes commented, "I
FEEL LIKE I'M CHEATING." An 8th grader used MasterMind to help him win first
place in State Math Counts Competition -- and a free trip to Washington
D.C.
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