Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Art of Communication

49 elements make up your personal learning style, and about half of them have a direct bearing on the way in which you communicate with others:

· Visual communication versus auditory communication

  • Whether you give and receive new information sequentially or holistically
  • Time of day (some people tend to think better first thing in the morning, others do not).

· Setting (formal or informal - they both mean different things to different people and can make them feel uneasy).

· Mobility (some people think better when literally on their feet).

· Light (the lighting in the room should vary according to the needs of the individuals. It really is a myth that brighter light is better. People who prefer dimmer lighting find bright fluorescent light stressful and bothersome.)

· Background noise (to some people, a silent environment is the only way to work, but others may feel energised by the friendly hum of a busy office or by quiet music.)

· Speed (is the person you’re speaking to somebody who likes to make quick decisions, or do they need time to reflect on what you’d said).

· Content (is humour going to be appreciated? Should you use a real-life example or an anecdote? Is a list a good idea? Bullet points? Graphs and pictures? Are you better off with a set of slides or one really good physical model of what you’re trying to convey?)

How do you communicate? Find out today.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Practical, useful, encouraging!

(by a spokesperson from Ballarat Secondary College, excerpt)

If you were going to be asked to ‘learn something new and difficult’ how would you go about doing it? You might find that you need to talk with someone or find a quiet place with natural light and that a cup of tea would help. Others may find that breaking the task down to a checklist and then lying on the floor while listening to music may make the task more manageable.

At Ballarat Secondary College we are discovering that knowing a student’s learning style assists us in developing personalised learning strategies for the individual and the preferred learning styles of entire class cohorts. Undertaking Learning Styles Analysis, with both our staff and students, has opened up a greater understanding of how we learn. In the past we have worked with Bloom’s Taxonomy and Gardiner’s Multiple Intelligences amongst others, which was beneficial, but the Learning Styles Analysis takes this to another level, one that is far richer and holistic.

The LSA brings the complex interrelationship between biological, learned and environmental learning preferences into a simple diagram. In addition, it interweaves brain dominance, sensory modalities along with physical, environmental, social and attitudinal components of learning in such a way students as young as twelve through to staff can successfully interpret it. All agree that they have learnt more about themselves and others as learners.

(...) At Ballarat Secondary College we are so impressed with Keys to Success and Learning Styles Analysis we are embedding it into our College curriculum.


Thursday, April 15, 2010

Charlotte Reznick speaks about The Power of Your Child's Imagination


Is your child's Learning Style suited to the Tools of Imagination?

Q1. In your book, The Power of Your Child’s Imaginationyou share with us the importance of accessing a child’s imagination to help them handle everyday problems. Dr. Reznick, why is it important to access your child’s imagination to handle their problems?

Dr. CR: Parents come to me with all sorts of concerns. Like not sleeping at night, having all sorts of fears and worries, not doing well at school or sports, not being able to manage their anger and frustration, not getting along with their brothers and sisters, being devastated when their parents fight or divorce, having stress headaches and stomach-aches, and sometimes just feeling awful about themselves. Yet kids have many of the answers they need to solve their everyday problems right inside. With a little guidance to help them tap into their own imagination and develop their intuition, I’ve seen thousands of kids figure out what works for them. Like nine-year-old Alex who imagined a magical white dragon around his bed to keep him safe at night. Or six-year-old Sara who received a Gift of a crystal star from her Wizard to remember to love herself no matter what.

Basically, Moms and Dads are good at handling their kids’ problems, but sometimes we don’t always know which tool to apply when. This book assists you in choosing what’s best when. It’s as if it puts nine of my secret ingredients into your pantry and helps you choose what’s right for your child right now. There are Nine Imagination Tools that you can teach your child to use with most of the problems they face each day. The book teaches you what these tools are, and which ones work best for which problem. It gives scripts for the Nine Tools and guided journeys you can use immediately. You can mix and match the Tools to suit what works best for your child in each particular situation. There is also support for you as a Parent, on how to nurture yourself while raising your kids, and will lead to less stress for you, and more relaxed parenting.

Q2: You say that sleep issues are a major concern for kids today. How can parents use imagination to help their children fall asleep quickly and easily?

Dr. CR.: Parents ask me all the time about sleep problems. No matter how old a child is, trouble falling asleep is the most common complaint, followed by trouble staying asleep. 30 to 70 percent of kids have a sleep problem at some point. Let me tell you about Sophie. You might recognize some of her issues in your child. Eight-year-old Sophie was exhausted. She tossed and turned for hours. She was short-tempered all day from her lack of sleep. Her parents were exhausted and exasperated. When I met her, Sophie told me exactly what her problem was. She said, “I can’t turn off my brain. Stuff keeps spilling out.” She drew a picture of her life – dark, rainy, with no love. But, when I asked her if she could imagine what her life would be like when she could turn off her brain and sleep easily, she transformed that picture. She imagined a land of Love with the sun shining and flowers growing. She said her crabbiness would be gone and she’d feel really happy and proud of herself.

This simple spark of her imagination was the first step toward change. It’s important that she acknowledged where she was, and could imagine where she wanted to go. Then we took the steps to get there. The Imagination Tools that worked best for Sophie were… one, the “Balloon Breath,” breathing deeply into her tummy to calm herself. Second, imagining a “Special Place” to fall asleep. She loved to imagine falling asleep peacefully while floating on a fluffy white cloud or in her favorite vacation place. She was lucky enough to go Hawaii the year before and she loved swinging on the hammock in front of the room. And third, meeting a wise “Wizard” who gave her “Gifts.” Sophie imagined a Harry Potter type teenage wizard who dressed in a cool violet skirt and a hot pink blouse with a gold crown, who gave her magic berries that helped her body relax deeply and fall asleep. And her Wizard’s wise advice to her was, “If you believe you’re already sleeping, you’ll be asleep in a minute,” Of course that’s clearly coming from Sophie herself. Which is the point – you child has the wisdom and answers inside. All you have to do is choose which Nine Tools work best.

Dr. Charlotte Reznick has dedicated her life to helping children, adolescents, parents, and professionals. She is a nationally recognized child and educational Psychologist and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at UCLA. Upon earning her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California, she was honored with "Dissertation of the Year" for her work on the effects of parental divorce on adolescents.

The Power of Your Child’s Imagination is a heart-felt guide that shows parents and professionals how to empower children with easy, effective, and creative skills for surviving – and thriving – in our stressful world. It’s an indispensable guide that provides nine simple tools to help kids access their natural strengths and resources. There’s a mini-primer for each Tool—a sample script, troubleshooting tips, and real-life examples of how it is used. The Tools are adaptable to all ages (even adults can use them), and their benefits accumulate over time.

For more information, or to purchase a copy of The Power of Your Child's Imagination, please visit
http://www.imageryforkids.com/

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Are You a Stressed-Out Parent?

If you're a stressed-out parent, you're not alone. Even those seemingly-perfect dads and those yummy mummies have their moments.

Parenting is probably the most rewarding, yet the most strenuous job ever.

Why?

It all comes down to your working style:
  • if you operate best in silence, shrieking children will drive you crazy within half an hour;
  • if you are not an early riser, looking after your children at 6A.M. places enough biological stress on your body even when there are no squabbles or ripped pillows to deal with;
  • if you're an analytic thinker, it'll be mega-stressful for you to deal with three simultaneous parenting issues (like feeding the baby while taking the toddler to the toilet and telling the older child to put down the scissors);
  • click here to see more Style Elements that may clash with your parenting responsibilities.
Are you ready to find out what your Working Style as a Parent is? Simply complete your WSA Combo and send us the resulting PDF file. We will email you back with a detailed analysis of your Parenting Style.

Communication is the second contributor to your levels of stress. If you issue verbal commands, yet your children are not auditory, you are on the road to Burnout Land, fast.

What is the best way to get through to your children? Let them complete their Learning Style Analysis to find out.

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Easter Fun for Children


While almost all children world-wide gladly participate in chocolate egg hunts, their enthusiasm many other activities - including painting Easter eggs - will be dictated by their learning style.

Wondering what your child's learning style is? Find out here.

Have a happy and safe Easter!