But Reading Isn’t Cool! | Smart Kids Smart Parents. Yesterday, I told you about my grandson Caleb's struggle with reading every evening for 15 minutes. But that's not the end of the story. Turns out reading isn't cool. Maybe you're more in tune than I am, but I was definitely startled. Huh? Reading isn't cool? It first started when he got home from school one day without the book he was supposed to read. I figured it was yet another way to get out of the requisite 15-minute evening reading requirement. Not to be deterred from my purpose, I mention that I have a few other books from my childhood. The next day he dutifully brings his book home from school--hidden under his hoodie--so at least he can read a book he's chosen.
I check this out with his teachers the next day. Still thinking that eventually I'll just give up, he comes home again without a book. But "someone might see me" isn't as logical. You can try taking your reluctant reader to a large bookstore. Please leave us a comment. Researchers debate gaming’s effects on the brain. Bavelier and Green also wrote there’s no black-and-white answer to the question of whether video games improve cognitive function because there are millions of games and hundreds of genres that can be played on various devices including computers, consoles, and cell phones.
“Simply put, if one wants to know what the effects of video games are, the devil is in the details,” they wrote. Two more scientists questioned by the journal also cited studies showing positive results. Two others wrote that effects on the brain and behavior are “uncertain” and that studies have not generally showing gaming enhances higher level reasoning. Duke University cognitive neuroscientist Marty Woldorff said he falls in the middle between Boot and Bavelier. He said some of her findings have been replicated but others have not. “The jury is still out,” Woldorff said. See also:The Science of Learning: How current brain research can improve educationCan gaming change education?
Reference: Knowledge Management: Knowledge Creation: Brainstorming: Software. Teachers as Brain-Changers: Neuroscience and Learning. Nine Stubborn Brain Myths That Just Won't Die, Debunked by Science. Home. How to Effectively Develop Social-Emotional and Reflection Skills. The most important part of any social-emotional learning (SEL) or social-emotional character development curriculum (SECD) is skill development. But the formal lessons only serve to introduce the skills. Whether or not the skills are learned and generalized depends on the pedagogical procedure used. Here are some tips for building any SEL skill in effective ways: Introduce the skill and/or concept and provide motivation for learning; discuss when the skill will and will not be useful.
Break down the skill into its behavioral components, model them, and clarify with descriptions and behavioral examples of using and not using the skill. Provide opportunities for practice of the skill in "kid-tested" enjoyable activities, to allow for corrective feedback and reinforcement until skill mastery is approached.Label the skill with a "prompt or cue" to establish a shared language that can be used to call for the use of the skill in future situations to promote transfer and generalization.
[Dr. Colored Overlays for Irlen Syndrome – Do They Work? (My Personal Story) Yesterday a story appeared in Reuters discussing a new study arguing that special colored overlays used by children with Irlen Syndrome may not provide immediate improvement in reading skills. If you are not familiar with Irlen Syndrome, it is a problem with the brain’s ability to process visual information. It can affect academic and work performance, behavior, attention, the ability to sit still and concentration. According to Dr. Helen Irlen, sufferers may experience: • Print looks different • Environment looks different • Slow or inefficient reading • Poor comprehension • Eye strain • Fatigue • Headaches • Difficulty with math computation • Difficulty copying • Difficulty reading music • Poor sports performance • Poor depth-perception • Low motivation • Low self-esteem Some symptoms include: Light sensitivity Reading problems Discomfort Writing problems Depth perception issues You can read more about it on The Irlen Method website.
My overlays were an added level of support. Memory Plan #3: Staying Sharp (for Seniors) 7 Tips To Help You Focus In Age of Distraction: Are You Content Fried! Mindmap by Jane Genovese This morning I learned a new word for information overload – “content fried” from a colleague at the Packard Foundation. It resonated. We have so much content in our professional lives. I’m talking about the stuff we consume daily to keep inform of our professional field. Then there’s the whole other world of organizational content that you need to consume or create to get stuff done! For those of us who work on social media and networks, “content fried” is an occupational hazard. I’m finding that my learning and online work is a fast forward, swimming in the stream experience. Howard Rheingold calls this process managing your attention or “Infoattention” and it is what he has been teaching in his courses. I decided to spend a little bit time reflecting on the diagram and pull out some tips for re-learning focus: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.)
What are your tips to help you focus in an age of distraction? Study Reveals Brain Biology Behind Self-Control. Published Online: September 20, 2011 Published in Print: September 21, 2011, as Study Reveals Brain Biology of Self-Control Eleven-year-olds Alaney Ocasio, left, and Nirisi Lopez give in to their impulse to eat marshmallows after a mini-lesson on self-control at the KIPP Academy Middle School in New York City. —Emile Wamsteker for Education Week A new neuroscience twist on a classic psychology study offers some clues to what makes one student able to buckle down for hours of homework before a test while his classmates party. The study , published in this month’s edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, suggests environmental cues may “hijack” the brain’s mechanisms of self-control in some people and some circumstances.
The findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that a student’s ability to delay gratification can be as important to academic success as his or her intelligence—and that educators may soon know how to teach it. The studies by Mr. Ms. Mr. Ms.