The Science Behind ISP Learning

Evidence-based principles that power your child's education

Why We Lead with Science

Most schools teach the way they've always taught — not because it works best, but because it's familiar.

At Iowa Sports Prep, we do things differently. Every feature of our program is grounded in decades of peer-reviewed research from cognitive psychology and learning science. We don't invent new theories. We apply what's already been proven.

This section explains the research behind our approach — written so you can understand it, evaluate it, and see exactly how we use it.

The Core Principles

Foundations

Principle	What It Means	ISP Application
Cognitive Load Theory	Your brain has limited processing power	2-hour focused sessions, no cognitive overload
Mastery Learning	Learn it before moving on	80%+ required to advance, no gaps compound

High-Impact Learning Strategies

Strategy	What It Means	ISP Application
Retrieval Practice	Testing IS learning, not just measurement	Daily quizzes, boss battles, active recall
Spaced Practice	Spread it out, remember it longer	Spaced reviews, forgetting curve management
Worked Examples	Show how before asking to do	I Do → We Do → You Do scaffolding
Interleaving	Mix it up to learn it deeper	Mixed practice, discrimination learning
Deliberate Practice	Focused effort on weaknesses	Persona challenges, targeted skill building
Desirable Difficulties	Hard now = easy later	Productive struggle, not busy work
Automaticity	Fast basics = space for hard stuff	Math facts fluency, instant recall

Design Principles

Principle	What It Means	ISP Application
Multimedia Learning	Words + pictures, done right	Video design, dual coding, no redundancy
Direct Instruction	Explicit teaching beats discovery for novices	Clear explanations before exploration
Feedback	Immediate, specific, actionable	Real-time corrections, not just grades
Webb's DOK	Depth of thinking, not just difficulty	"You Teach" = deepest learning

How This Connects

These aren't isolated techniques. They work together as a system:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY                     │
│         (The bottleneck: limited working memory)            │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
           ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐
           ▼               ▼               ▼
    ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐
    │   WORKED    │ │   DIRECT    │ │  MULTIMEDIA │
    │  EXAMPLES   │ │ INSTRUCTION │ │  PRINCIPLES │
    │ (reduce load)│ │(clear input)│ │(dual coding)│
    └──────┬──────┘ └──────┬──────┘ └──────┬──────┘
           │               │               │
           └───────────────┼───────────────┘
                           ▼
              ┌─────────────────────────┐
              │     MASTERY LEARNING    │
              │  (80%+ before advancing)│
              └───────────┬─────────────┘
                          │
          ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐
          ▼               ▼               ▼
   ┌────────────┐  ┌────────────┐  ┌────────────┐
   │ RETRIEVAL  │  │   SPACED   │  │INTERLEAVING│
   │  PRACTICE  │  │  PRACTICE  │  │   PRACTICE │
   │(strengthen)│  │ (maintain) │  │(discriminate)│
   └─────┬──────┘  └─────┬──────┘  └──────┬─────┘
         │               │                │
         └───────────────┼────────────────┘
                         ▼
              ┌─────────────────────────┐
              │      AUTOMATICITY       │
              │ (free working memory)   │
              └───────────┬─────────────┘
                          │
                          ▼
              ┌─────────────────────────┐
              │    DEEPER LEARNING      │
              │   (DOK 3-4, transfer)   │
              └─────────────────────────┘

The Researchers Behind This

We didn't invent these principles. These scientists did:

Researcher	Contribution	Key Work
Benjamin Bloom	Mastery Learning, 2-Sigma Problem	1968, 1984
John Sweller	Cognitive Load Theory	1988
Richard Mayer	Multimedia Learning Principles	2009
Robert Bjork	Desirable Difficulties	1994
Henry Roediger	Testing Effect / Retrieval Practice	2006
K. Anders Ericsson	Deliberate Practice	1993
Norman Webb	Depth of Knowledge (DOK)	1997
Barak Rosenshine	Principles of Instruction	2012
Siegfried Engelmann	Direct Instruction	1960s-2000s

Our Promise

We commit to:

Publishing our results — Every ISASP score, every mastery rate
Following the evidence — Not trends, not traditions, not opinions
Explaining our methods — No black boxes, no "trust us"
Updating when we learn — Science evolves, so do we

Dive Deeper

Each page in this section explains one principle in detail:

What the research says
How ISP applies it
What your child experiences

Start anywhere. They all connect.

The A-B-Z Framework → — Our core learning approach
Academics & Learning → — How 2 hours works
Motivation Science → — Why kids actually want to learn here
Meet Your SSC → — The human side of the system

"We don't guess about what works. We apply what's been proven."