Great Brain Learning

07/07/2026

https://www.todaysparent.com/family/story-search/?fbclid=IwZnRzaAS5NVNwZG9mAWZkaWQWUKHmvY0NLrILGiK7htizLGOsoX1KO2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6p84W8B1Yy_q-AJy1ZVppNoNkns-6ojkraadWod7c_r_kBdgyqWKbwGFA6VA_aem_Q1GztZbomZHecEWdueoIJw

Story Search Canada: Kids Edition is inviting children ages 7 to 12 to submit original stories for the chance to win prizes and see their work published.

04/24/2026

I’ve seen firsthand how short, intentional pauses turn unmotivated study time into clearer, more confident learning sessions.

Try this: study for a focused block (20-25 minutes), then take a 2–5 minute break — and make it a by jotting down:
-one sentence about what you learned;
-name one confusing point; and
-decide right then what next step you want to take.

These tiny reflective moments help students of all ages strengthen understanding, notice gaps, and choose a productive strategy to move things forward.

Parents: model the pause, ask process-focused questions, and praise *the strategy use* over just answering.

Bilingual learners and students who need accommodations will also find these reflection habits useful because they are practical ways to build confidence and resilience.

Independence is the number one indicator that students are building confidence. It's the "I've got this" moment.

Follow me for other evidence-based strategies you can use right away. Read the full post on Metacognition by Dr. June Starkey for research-backed tips and study templates. Tell us: what will you ask yourself during your next learning break? 👇📚✨

Short breaks with reflection can boost focus, understanding, and retention for students of all ages. Discover simple strategies backed by research to make study time more effective. Learning is not only about absorbing information. It is also about monitoring understanding, noticing confusion, and a...

04/23/2026

I’m proud to share the research-validated method behind Great Brain Learning. It's a blend of decades of literacy research and 3+ decades of classroom 'practice' by me, Dr. June Starkey, Ontario-certified educator. Why does it work? It works because empirically validated tools work—they’ve been proven effective over time.

By the time a student gets to my learning lab, many have stopped believing that they can learn at all. When this happens it is truly heartbreaking. My first task, therefore, is to make sure that a learner knows that they CAN learn. So before I begin work with a new student, I use my knowledge and training to know where to start.

Next, we build strong phonemic awareness skills. Being able to decode 5-sound words accurately and quickly (i.e. automatically) is the prerequisite for comprehension skills.

If the brain uses all of its 'bandwidth' for decoding, it doesn't have any resources left for synthesizing, inferencing and predicting what happens next in the story—in other words, there’s no space for understanding what is being read.

A student recently moved from struggling with grade-level texts in Grade 6 to reading confidently and writing clear paragraphs after focused sessions — their parent and their teachers reported noticeable literacy gains and renewed motivation.

Our approach is designed to support students with tailored strategies and flexible pacing, so every learner can thrive. That's because I know how learning processes work, in the brain.

The reality is that tracking measurable gains in reading and writing isn't hard if you know what to look for. But parents may not know, so if you are curious about what reading comprehension skill growth looks like in real learners, stay tuned. I have a blog post coming out this weekend on the topic of reading comprehension and reading fluency.

Want to learn more or book a complimentary assessment? Visit https://wix.to/LJBm4ye and let’s start your next chapter together.

Evidence-based practice is the cornerstone of all the teaching we do at Great Brain Learning, grounded in more than 50 years of peer-reviewed research.

04/23/2026

At Great Brain Learning, we tailor metacognitive coaching to fit your child’s IEP so learning feels both achievable and meaningful. We use research-backed strategies—like adapting Dr. June Starkey’s metacognitive routines—to help neurodiverse learners plan, monitor, and reflect on reading tasks in ways that match their accommodations. How does that look in practice? We might break a reading goal into clear, manageable steps, add visual organizers, and teach self-questioning prompts that your child can use independently. The result: coaching that complements formal supports and builds sustained literacy growth for students from K through graduate school. Serving families LIVE ONLINE across Canada and LIVE in person at the Toronto Public Library - North York Central Branch in the Yonge and Sheppard area. Learn more and book a consultation starting Monday, May 11, 2026: https://wix.to/1i7PW26 🌟📘 : Ready to explore a personalized plan? Visit our site to get started!

04/21/2026

We teach three learning skills that change how students develop their writing: planning, self-monitoring and reflection. Which one could help your child today? 🎯

At home and in class, we give concrete tasks for each age: early primary students receive simple routines and visual cues to segment sounds; middle‑schoolers learn checklists, goal‑setting routines, and short self‑assessments; high‑schoolers develop multidimensional goal‑setting, progress tracking and reflective journals to build a growth mindset (confidence and resilience). These metacognitive habits transfer directly into stronger writing and sharper critical thinking — especially for learners across Canada navigating challenging academic tasks.

We see measurable gains when instruction is personalized to a student’s needs. Ready to build practical skills that last? Visit https://wix.to/bwW0j87 to learn more and book a consultation.

04/20/2026

We've seen students transform from hesitant readers to confident learners — and it is amazing to witness. YOU can help that happen at home and in the classroom. Picture this: a Grade 1 French immersion learner struggled to decode 5-sound words in both English and French and often avoided reading aloud altogether. After working with me in the structured, evidence‑based literacy coaching program I lead, this learner gained a measurable boost in fluency and comprehension — reading with smoother expression, answering reading comprehension questions, and tackling longer texts with less frustration. Best news? Once this learner saw that they could read, they wanted to read. My methods work for diverse learners and are designed to fit real family routines and classroom schedules.

Try these concrete tasks this week: 1) Daily paired reading (10–15 minutes) switching languages every other day; 2) Short oral retell prompts after each book to build comprehension; 3) Sound‑segmenting games; 4) Home writing journals where your child summarizes in one language and lists new words in the other. These simple practices support lasting academic confidence and stronger bilingual skills. I'm available online in my Zoom Lab and LIVE in person at the North York Central Library on Yonge Street beginning on Monday, May 11. I’d love to show you how to adapt these strategies for your child or classroom. Visit https://wix.to/93SxcAi to learn more and book a complimentary consult online.

03/24/2026

Part 4 of 4

Last week I concluded that to “fix” declining EQAO test scores, we need to “fix” equity. Fortunately/unfortunately, however, there’s no way equity can be fixed until we SEE what is inequitable. When we ignore the conditions that perpetuate inequities in educational contexts, the status quo becomes “the trouble with normal is it always gets worse” (Cockburn, 1983). The status quo is rarely a complimentary one—but because inertia is the biggest enemy of change in education systems, more of the same re: declining test scores is exactly what is ahead if we don’t change our approach to equity.

Every time we act as if privilege didn’t exist, we step further away from the schools we need and we reinforce the status quo, i.e., the schooling system we already have. That space, that gap between what is and what could be, undermines potential and limits futures. The reality that privilege exists is not only the reason for declining test scores in Ontario, but it could also help us begin to resolve the mess. Today I want to talk about hope and moving forward.

WHEN we consider that:
- white students are overrepresented in gifted programs in the Toronto District School Board (Brown & Parekh, 2010), underscoring systemic biases;
- racialized groups face higher suspension rates than averages in boards like Hamilton‑Wentworth and Peel (Tozer, 2023; CBC News, 2020); and
- nearly half (48%) of expelled students over a five‑year period in Ontario self‑identified as Black despite Black students comprising a smaller proportion of the overall population (Radebe, 2024),
we must acknowledge that educational statistics in Canada tell a story about belonging.

Paul Kuttner’s (2023) work on the right to belong in school makes it clear that belonging is complex, and not simply an experience but an active process that is “reciprocal, interpersonal…that involves choice, even though that choice is constrained by factors out of a person’s control” (p. 3).

Kuttner dismantles the notion of belonging as something that students are given (or not given) by others in schools, and posits a 6‑component framework of belongingness. Belonging at school is about many things, but foundationally is about how students negotiate their identities within the context of a larger community. For Kuttner, education is an inherently political space because it is here that human experience and agency come into direct contact with the boundaries concerning expectations and policies, and locates us within a grid of power. Kuttner asks, “Who is Us—and who is Them?” (Kuttner, 2023, p. 5).

In the coming days, I will be doing a deeper dive into the edges of what I am calling a Pedagogy of Possibility. Asking critical questions that define a more equitable, productive, and safe educational system that includes ALL students at the table of learning is a priority. Everyone has the right to belong, to learn, and to thrive in school. Stay tuned.

Resources cited in the comments below. References
Brown, R. S., & Parekh, G. (2010). Special education: Structural overview and student demographics (Research Report No. 10/11‑03). Toronto District School Board.https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/research/docs/reports/SpecEdStructuralOverviewStudentDemo.pdf

Cockburn, B. (1983). The trouble with normal is it always gets worse [Song]. On The trouble with normal [Album]. Columbia Records.

Kuttner, P. J. (2023). The right to belong in school: A critical, transdisciplinary conceptualization of school belonging. AERA Open, 9(3), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231183407

Radebe, P. (2024). Anti‑Black racism in the Ontario public school system: Problematizing the labeling of young Black students as troublemakers. Journal of Black Studies, 55(5), 555–572. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347241245365

Tozer, A. (2023, May 15). Data shows racialized students suspended at higher rate: HWDSB examines anti‑Islamophobia strategy and suspensions. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/hwdsb-anti-islamophobia-strategy-school-suspensions-1.6881150

CBC News. (2020, March 12). Review finds Black students disproportionately suspended in Peel. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/peel-school-board-racism-1.5496611

Ontario's education minister has issued more than two dozen directives to the Peel District School Board following a review of the board looking at anti-black racism.

03/23/2026

03/21/2026

Des preuves à l'enseignement, un sens nouveau à l'apprentissage ! www.greatbrainlearning.com

03/21/2026

When evidence guides the teaching, learning is transformed. Forever.