FAQ
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1.What has been the practical result of students who study the Supera method?
Our students’ “reports/records” are our main indicator, and they are very positive:
“Teacher, do you want to know my grades? The lowest is 6, and now I don’t even have to take remedial classes.”
“Supera made the entire difference for my approval on the college entrance examination.”
“Man, do you know what it’s like to get a 9 in science and math? Before it was only 4.5. It’s just Supera!”
“My son was insecure and had no friends. Now he has changed, believes in himself and makes many friends.”
We can say that our students have advanced a lot, developing their potentials and reaching a much higher level, regarding the skills developed by the method.
Developing concentration, thinking speed, logical thinking, laterality, capacity to solve problems, self-esteem and self-confidence, students improve school, professional and personal performance.
2.What intelligences does Supera develop?
Howard Gardner, American psychologist, professor at Harvard, with over twenty published books and one of the greatest world authorities on the subject, was who first divided human intelligence into 7 areas and currently proposes the eighth intelligence.
They are :http://www.miresearch.org/mitheory.php
Logical-Mathematical: capacity to perform mathematical operations and to analyze problems through logical thinking. Mathematicians, engineers and scientists have this developed skill.
Linguistic: ability to learn languages and to use the spoken and written language to reach goals. Lawyers, writers and announcers explore it well.
Spatial: capacity to recognize and handle a wide or more restricted spatial situation. It is important for navigators such as surgeons or sculptors.
Physical-Kinesthetic: potential for motor skills and body command. Dancers, athletes and surgeons benefit from it.
Interpersonal (relationships): capacity to understand other people’s intentions and desires and, consequently, to relate well with them. It is necessary for salespeople, religious leaders, politicians and, most importantly, professors.
Intrapersonal (work on feelings): capacity to understand one’s self, including one’s desires, and to use this information to reach personal goals.
Musical (listening): skill to reproduce, appreciate and compose musical standards.
Naturalist: the eighth intelligence, which is the ability to recognize objects in nature.
According to him, the main factor for success in the modern world is logical-mathematical intelligence, since all phenomena and interpretations are conducted by science, accompanied by interpersonal intelligence.
These are the two main intelligences that the Supera Method develops.
As we recover assurance, self-esteem and self-confidence, we develop interpersonal intelligence, and by developing motor skills, we develop corporal intelligence.
3. What pedagogic line fundaments the Supera Method?
Development of the Supera Method was guided by seeking PRACTICAL AND REAL results, not seeking alignment with one sole great educator or specific pedagogic line. Actually, the methods steps aside from theoretical discussions and uses the most renowned pedagogic lines, always seeking to optimize practical results.
The method respects the students’ learning rhythm, offering moments of thoughts so that they can reorganize themselves in the process of construction/elaboration of individual/collective knowledge, considering the quality of the presented product, without disregard to the quality and importance of each one’s process/path, guiding them to use their potential and inviting them to exceed their own limits.
4. What are educators’ opinions regarding Supera?
Educators, pedagogues and psycho-pedagogues unanimously and unrestrictedly approve the methodology adopted by Supera, because they understand that the adopted tools develop students’ positive skills.
These same educators disapprove methods based on repetition, because they understand that they develop conditioning and are not beneficial, since they do not privilege logical thinking, creativity and the capacity to solve problems. After innumerous repetitions the student learns the subject without knowing why and for what.
5. What are the differences between the Supera Method and the others?
The main difference is that Supera is the only method specifically created to develop attributes necessary to 21st century citizens, according to Howard Gardner: interpersonal and logical-mathematical intelligence. It also develops intrapersonal intelligence and the ability to see multiple solutions and approaches for a situation/problem.
Supera is not a course to reinforce school subjects and it does not teach the school program like the others. Normally, existing courses reinforce the contents, acting specifically on the problem, while SUPERA acts globally, increasing students’ learning capacity so that they do not present difficulties, in math or in the other areas of knowledge.
6. How is mental calculus training conducted?
Mental calculus training, with younger children, basically starts using an interesting and exciting finger calculus method. The lessons motivate students to learn, and they also help them with the interrelationship of their hand movements and mind functions. Then, the abacus is presented and students develop great calculus skills, improving concentration and motor skills very much. The calculus considers the difficulty and execution time. At higher levels, they use skills acquired with the abacus to project it in their minds. Numbers are converted into abacus operations in the students’ minds. With practice, students’ mental calculus skills are developed naturally with fun. Upon finishing the course, students will have developed incredible mental calculus skills, besides speed at performing them, only by looking at the numbers.
7. What age range is the method indicated to?
Starting at the age of 5 (They begin at age 3 in Japan), whereas there is teaching material specifically developed for the younger ages. There are also special groups for students preparing for the college entrance examination, adults and senior citizens.
8. How long does the course last?
Since it is a course focused on each student’s individual capacity, it will last about 18 months, depending on each one’s development and dedication. Dedicated students normally finish in one year.
9. Does the Supera Method teach contents during classes?
Supera does not teach contents; it develops the mind and enables students to concentrate, understand and absorb the contents while they attend their own classes and study. Supera improves concentration, logical thinking and creativity capacities so that the student does not present learning difficulties in the future. It is like developing an athlete’s muscles for future competitions. It is strengthening the brain to be faster and to have greater learning capacity in subjects that require logical thinking as well as those that require memorization.
10. Is the Supera Method new?
The Supera Method in whole is an entirely new pedagogic proposal, although the main tools used (mental calculus using the abacus, logical exercises and group dynamics) are very old and their efficiency is widely proven and accepted by pedagogy. Particularly regarding mental calculus using the abacus (secular method largely used in oriental countries such as Japan, China, India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea and others), the Supera Method is the result of an occidentalization process, where abacus practice was adapted to our habits and contextualized for our culture.