These are handouts for a presentation I'm doing today for the SmartKids Asia Expo 2014 held at the Singapore Expo, on the topic Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius. The event was sponsored by Wyeth Nutrition Singapore.

1. Awakening the Genius in Every Child
Discovering and Reviving the Natural Motivation that
Exists in All Children at Birth
Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. (www.thomasarmstrong.com)
SmartKids Asia - 2014
Singapore Expo Hall 5
March 22, 2014

2. 12 Qualities of Genius
• Curiosity
• Playfulness
• Imagination
• Creativity
• Wonder
• Wisdom
• Inventiveness
• Vitality
• Sensitivity
• Flexibility
• Humor
• Joy

3. Theoretical Foundations
• Every Child is a Genius
– Neurological Basis
– Evolutionary Basis
– Biographical Basis
– Phenomenological Basis

4. Home-miliation
• Dysfunctional Family
• Disadvantaged Family
• Fast-Track Family
• Rigid-Ideology Family

5. Dysteachia
• Testing and Grading
• Talk and Tedium
• Textbooks and Worksheets
• Tracking and Labeling

6. Media-ocrity
• Mind-Numbing Violence
• Trivial Content
• Insipid Language
• Stereotypical Images

7. How to Awaken This Genius
• (Re)awaken Genius in Ourselves
• Provide Simple Experiences
• See Genius in Many Colors
• Create a Genial Climate

8. The Eight Intelligences
 Word SmartWord Smart
 Logic SmartLogic Smart
 Picture SmartPicture Smart
 Body SmartBody Smart
 Music SmartMusic Smart
 People SmartPeople Smart
 Self SmartSelf Smart
 Nature SmartNature Smart

9. Create a Genial Climate
• Freedom to Choose
• Open-Ended Exploration
• Freedom from Judgement
• Honoring Every Child’s Experience
• Believing in Every Child’s Genius
• Supporting Optimal Nutrition

10. Learning
is a broad, holistic experience that begins early in the life course
During the first 3 years, the early foundations of learning –
including language & visual development, reasoning, memory and
problem solving – are established
Optimal growth and development early in the life course can serve
to prepare children for lifelong learning and later accomplishments
in school and beyond.
““Good health and nutrition are needed to achieve one’s fullGood health and nutrition are needed to achieve one’s full
educational potential because nutrition affects intellectualeducational potential because nutrition affects intellectual
development and learning ability”development and learning ability”
- World Health Organization (WHO) Information Series on School Health

11. Nutrition Can Impact
Early Brain Development & Learning
• Early childhood is a critical period for cognitive,Early childhood is a critical period for cognitive,
social and emotional growth.social and emotional growth.

12. Key Contributors to Learning
• Key contributors to learning impacted by nutrition include:
Perception Cognition Physical Vitality
• Described as perception through
sensory development
• A child employs all 5 senses to
form their perception of the world
around them
• Described as the ability to think
and encompasses such intellectual
processes as:
̶ Reasoning
̶ Recognition
̶ Problem-solving
• Continuous experiences support
cognitive development by
improving neuronal connections
and memory efficiency2,3
̶ These experiences also facilitate
infants to handle more
complicated tasks, promote
cognitive development, and
ultimately help to learn4
• Described as the ability to actively
engage in one’s environment and
in opportunities to learn
• Supported by growth, digestive
health, and immunity
̶ Optimal growth & motor
development allows child to
interact with the world
̶ Proper digestion and absorption
ensures bio-availability of
essential nutrients
̶ Healthy immune system enables
greater opportunity to learn

13. Role of Nutrients that Support
Learning
Key
Contributors
Nutrient
Associated
Processes
Structural Impact Functional Benefits
DHA1,2
• Synaptogenesis
• Myelin
• Global
• Visual cortex, retina
• Cortex
• Supports visual and
cognitive development
Lutein 2,3
• Antioxidant, filters
blue UV light
• Retina and macula
• Frontal, auditory,
occipital cortex, and
hippocampus
• Supports visual development
and may support brain
development
Choline 1
• Acetylcholine
synthesis
• DNA methylation
• Myelin synthesis
• Global
• Hippocampus
• White matter
• Supports brain and memory
development
High Quality Alpha
Protein
• Rich source of
essential amino acids
• Growth and
development
• Gastrointestinal tract
• Supports growth outcomes
and gastrointestinal
tolerability similar to breast
milk fed infants.
Reference: Trabulsi study
Dietary Fibre
(Oligofructose)6
• Promotes growth of
bifidobacteria
• Gastrointestinal
tract
• Softens stools and promotes
the growth of healthy
gastrointestinal bacterial

14. Resources
Thomas Armstrong, Awakening Your Child’s Natural Genius. New York: Putnam/Tarcher, 1991.
Thomas Armstrong, Awakening Genius in the Classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1998.
Thomas Armstrong. In Their Own Way: Discovering and Encouraging Your Children’s Multiple
Intelligences, 2nd
Ed. New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2000.
Marian Diamond and Janet Hopson. Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture Your Child’s
Intelligence, Creativity, and Healthy Emotions from Birth through Adolescence. New York: Dutton,
1998.
David Elkind. The Hurried Child. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1981.
Jane Healy, Endangered Minds. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
Jonathan Kozol. Savage Inequalities. New York: Crown, 1991.
Ashley Montagu. Growing Young. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983..
Joseph Chilton Pearce. Magical Child. New York: Bantam, 1980.
Teaching Tolerance magazine. Southern Poverty Law Center (400 Washington Ave., Montgomery, AL
36104).

15. Contact Information
• Email: thomas@institute4learning.com
• Website: www.institute4learning.com
• Blog: http://institute4learning.com/blog/
• Twitter: @Dr_Armstrong