Led by PhDs and expert instructors, our after-school enrichment programs in Math & Problem Solving, Language Arts, and Public Speaking provide bright, curious students with stimulation and sanctuary in a learning community that equips them with the mental agility, insight, and intellectual confidence to tackle the next generation of challenges.
We specialize in the development of creative, critical, and insightful thinking. We love finding new and novel ways to solve problems. In fact, we have spent a great deal of time and effort considering this one:
How do you engage bright students that are easily bored, under-achieving, or seeking a more rigorous learning experience that truly challenges their curiosity and maximizes their potential?
Did you know that high-potential students are easily bored and thrive when they are learning at a faster pace and with like-minded peers? Brain Power programs are at least 2-3 grades above Ministry Standards and delivered in ability-aligned peer groups.
Did you know that 60% of high-potential students underachieve based on their potential and grow at a slower rate than their peers? Brain Power classes do not rely on rote worksheets, drills or memorization of facts, which are too easy for high-potential students. Our curriculum is calibrated to the highest cognitive domains (creating, evaluating, analyzing). Deep intellectual discourse is a corepart of every Brain Power experience!
Did you know that students learn more effectively when they are actively engaged in their learning? Brain Power’s small class sizes, cross-curricular activities & social events foster personalized student engagement and a strong sense of community.
Did you know that expert mentorship provides talented students with the rigour, personalization, and challenges required to grow? Brain Power’s faculty have university-level teaching experience, hold advanced degrees and are experts in their fields of study. They are uniquely equipped to mold and advise talented students.
Did you know that students who hold the belief that their talents can be developed achieve more than those who believe their talents are innate gifts? Brain Power students are trained to adopt a ‘growth mindset.’ Students & parents receive and implement specific feedback in a continuous growth loop.
These challenging and fun courses promote problem-solving skills, structured logic,and clear thinking, preparing students for STEM careers and developing their ability to solve problems of all kinds as future global citizens.
Available as a full year 34 lesson program and in 4-week workshops.
In these thought-provoking courses, students grapple with multi-faceted challenges, fostering critical thinking and adaptability, while falling in love with literature and deepening their analytical skills.
Available as a full year 34 lesson program and in 4-week workshops.
Drawing on classical philosophy, law, psychology, sociology, communication science, and behavioral economics, our public speaking programs guide students to reach their full potential as confident and engaging speakers, rhetoricians, and persuaders.
Available as a full year 34 lesson program and in 4-week workshops.
These varied 2-16 week workshops are offered throughout the year to provide students with a competitive edge in the high school and university admissions process, and explore unique, interdisciplinary topics, tailored to changing admission standards.
We know that the thinking that goes into solving a problem is as important as finding the answer.
And we know from experience that that kind of thinking can be taught. We’ve been doing it for over 30 years.
Think you’ve got the answers? Click through to find out…
First, let’s simplify the problem to ensure we understand it. Here’s what we know:
(Drawing or modeling helps us visualize and break down overly complex information, which is great, especially as the problems get more difficult.)
So how many fish does each fisherman get? One.
How long does it take the fishermen to eat the fish? Three days.
So that means one fisherman will eat one fish in three days.
Now that we’ve simplified what we know, we can better address what we need to figure out:
There are five fishermen and five fish, so again there is one fish per person. We know it takes one person three days to eat one fish.
Therefore, five fishermen will eat five fish in three days!
You may have noticed that finding the answer itself was not the most important part – it was rather the “a-ha!” moment, the moment that the problem was fully understood that mattered most. Tapping into that insight is what we do.
This is a famous thought experiment known as the Ship of Theseus Paradox. Theseus was the mythological founder of Athens who rescued Athenian children, slayed the minotaur that was going to eat them, and then fled on a ship headed for the sacred Greek island of Delos. In commemoration, so the story goes, Athenians maintained the ship for hundreds of years, replacing the rotting parts one by one.
Ancient philosophers asked: If all the original parts were removed and replaced, one at a time over many years, is it still the same ship?
This question challenges our concept of identity and continuity. While there is no agreed-upon answer, the exercise itself prompts a layer-by-layer, question-by-question inquiry that trains and sharpens critical thinking skills while simultaneously expanding a student’s perspective. Is the identity of something to be found in its form and function? Or does it only remain unchanged if its physical parts stay the same? In class we take it even further: if the cells in our bodies die off and are replaced by new ones, are we the same person we were a decade ago?
We consider the question and its implications from multiple viewpoints, open-mindedly discussing the nature of objects, the passage of time, and what makes a human a human.
This riddle plays with the concept of a journey as a metaphor for a story or narrative. As you solve it, you’re challenged to think beyond your assumptions and what appears at face value. When the answer is revealed, you’re reminded of the metaphorical journeys you’ve taken through stories and novels, some of which have undoubtedly changed the landscape of your mind.
While this is a mere riddle, it’s also a reflection of our approach to literature in our Language Arts programs. Our passionate, expert instructors are tour guides, encouraging students to peer deeper between the lines, to excavate and examine meanings, to illuminate assumptions, and to bravely veer off course to ask the questions students might otherwise not have the opportunity, nor courage, to explore.
“In every problem there is a moment of ‘a-ha!’ It comes not when you solve it, but when you realize that you understand it. Geniuses can feel it early. Regular people, we have to learn how to do it – and it’s learnable.”
- Dr Reuven Rashkovsky, PhD Mathematician Founder of Brain Power
At Brain Power Enrichment Programs, we recognize that life will present our children with a spectrum of challenges requiring varied approaches. Our curriculum is thoughtfully crafted to prepare students for the many types of problem-solving and analysis they will require to thrive.
Some challenges demand structured logic and rational thinking, addressed through our math and problem-solving programs. But, on the other hand, and often ignored, life also presents nuanced, multifaceted challenges that seem paradoxical or require advanced communication decoding skills.
Our programs provide the space for students to grapple with these complexities, fostering critical thinking and adaptability.
“Teaching the understanding of the problem is what gets you to the place where you can solve new problems, and eventually to a place where you might be able to solve problems in the future that no one’s solved.”
- Ruven Raizman, Brain Power alumnus, Biomedical Engineering Student at the University of Waterloo
