I've been reading a lot of articles about dyslexia lately. For no particular reason, as, to my knowledge, there is no dyslexia in my family. Well, ok, when I was just learning to write, I confused the small “d” and the small “b” (it’s a stick with a circle, but which way does the circle point?), as well as ”u” and “y” (it’s the same letter, but one of them has a tail, now which one?). But I think that particular muddle was due to the fact that I’m not a (picture) visual person, not due to dyslexia.
Simply put, dyslexia is a hereditary neurological disorder that makes it extremely difficult for the person to read, write and spell in their native language. It may also impede remembering names, placing events into the correct sequence, reading comprehension and the ability to follow a story line. But that’s only a tiny insight into what dyslexia is all about.
Imogen Stubbs, in her brilliant article about her dyslexic son, writes: “when asked what you got when you added two plus two, he replied: "April?"”. Now, before you laugh his reply off as nonsense, let me tell you that "April" is a perfectly valid and correct answer. April is the 4th month of the year, and the little boy wanted to say that two plus two equals "4"... and yet, the word that came to his mind was the one that described another aspect of the number 4, namely the month that is 4th on the list! That’s thinking outside the box for you. That’s creative and non-linear.
Research shows that people with dyslexia actually are brain-different, i.e., they have a significantly larger right-hemisphere. So it’s not surprising that they often excel in areas controlled by the right-side of the brain (art, music, mechanical manipulation, 3-D visualisation, creative problem solving skills, people skills).
This has been partially recognised in the book “Thinking Like Einstein” by Thomas G. West, who argues that visual-spatial abilities and difficulties with language often go hand in hand. According to him, "the kids who were at the bottom of the class in the old system based on words and numbers are already at the top of the class in the new system based on information-rich computer images. But almost no one knows this - least of all the educational professionals who are stuck in the old ways of thinking."
So, are dyslexic children the new gifted learners? We’d love to find out. If your child is dyslexic, please send us his or her Learning Style Analysis (LSA) report. To complete one, click on www.creativelearningcentre.com and the address to send it to is yvonne@clc.co.nz. We look forward to hearing from you!
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Thursday, March 16, 2006
How to stop violence before it starts
“Jump in boys' violent crimes alarms judge”
“The judge in charge of sentencing young offenders is becoming increasingly worried by a surge in serious violent offences by teenagers,” states a New Zealand Herald front-page article (27 February 2006). Although its title implies that it is the jump in “boys' violent crimes” that alarmed the judge so, it is a sad fact that it’s both boys and girls who are becoming more violent, not only in NZ but also in Germany and other countries.
The increased violence among very young offenders (teenagers aged between 14 and 16) is disturbing. We can blame the TV, or drugs, or the divorce rate, or the Double Income Long Hours family model. But it’s not about blame, it’s about solutions.
To solve the problem, let us examine the reason behind it. Let’s ask ourselves what is really going on with these troubled teenagers.
So what is really going on? Chances are, these young people turn to violence out of frustration, boredom, low self-image or the sense of not belonging (reasoning that it’s better to belong to a criminal gang than not to belong at all). In all likelihood they don’t have a support structure at home and they don’t perform well at school. (To improve your child’s school results, please check Learning Styles on www.creativelearningcentre.com.)
Now, I’m not saying that Learning Styles are a cure for all evils of today’s society, but I can’t read about these violent incidents without wondering whether we could reduce the future crime rate by making teachers and parents aware of children’s needs at school and at home.
Of course, it would lead to better school performance and a better self-image for the teenagers, but Learning Styles are not just about learning. Learning Styles are about day-to-day behaviour. They are about understanding why your teenager seems listless or hyperactive or stressed. They are about knowing what it means when they answer with an “I dunno”, or stare into space when you’re talking to them.
Knowing your teenager’s Learning Style will help you know your teenager. And that’s the first step towards keeping them safe from ill influences.
“The judge in charge of sentencing young offenders is becoming increasingly worried by a surge in serious violent offences by teenagers,” states a New Zealand Herald front-page article (27 February 2006). Although its title implies that it is the jump in “boys' violent crimes” that alarmed the judge so, it is a sad fact that it’s both boys and girls who are becoming more violent, not only in NZ but also in Germany and other countries.
The increased violence among very young offenders (teenagers aged between 14 and 16) is disturbing. We can blame the TV, or drugs, or the divorce rate, or the Double Income Long Hours family model. But it’s not about blame, it’s about solutions.
To solve the problem, let us examine the reason behind it. Let’s ask ourselves what is really going on with these troubled teenagers.
So what is really going on? Chances are, these young people turn to violence out of frustration, boredom, low self-image or the sense of not belonging (reasoning that it’s better to belong to a criminal gang than not to belong at all). In all likelihood they don’t have a support structure at home and they don’t perform well at school. (To improve your child’s school results, please check Learning Styles on www.creativelearningcentre.com.)
Now, I’m not saying that Learning Styles are a cure for all evils of today’s society, but I can’t read about these violent incidents without wondering whether we could reduce the future crime rate by making teachers and parents aware of children’s needs at school and at home.
Of course, it would lead to better school performance and a better self-image for the teenagers, but Learning Styles are not just about learning. Learning Styles are about day-to-day behaviour. They are about understanding why your teenager seems listless or hyperactive or stressed. They are about knowing what it means when they answer with an “I dunno”, or stare into space when you’re talking to them.
Knowing your teenager’s Learning Style will help you know your teenager. And that’s the first step towards keeping them safe from ill influences.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Barbara's New Book
Good news, everybody: Barbara's written a new book. This one is called "Learning Styles in Action", and is precisely that: the application of Learning Styles. Think of "The Power of Diversity" as the textbook, and of "Learning Styles in Action" as the workbook.
The book is full of scenarios and diverse real-life situations. Among others, Barbara's book shows you:
- How learning styles can help underachieving or disruptive students
- Multi-sensory teaching and learning in action
- Ways to integrate learning styles and ICT (computer technology)
- How to create a real learning styles classroom
- The do’s and don’ts of using learning styles.
The book will be out later this month, so please contact us if you'd like to pre-order a copy.
The book is full of scenarios and diverse real-life situations. Among others, Barbara's book shows you:
- How learning styles can help underachieving or disruptive students
- Multi-sensory teaching and learning in action
- Ways to integrate learning styles and ICT (computer technology)
- How to create a real learning styles classroom
- The do’s and don’ts of using learning styles.
The book will be out later this month, so please contact us if you'd like to pre-order a copy.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
The Video Gaming Debate
The video gaming debate? What video gaming debate, you may well ask. We all know that playing video games, computer games, Gameboy games... call them what you will... is a bad idea, right?
Right. So I was understandably shaken when I read the following:
"Before you assume gadgets and video games fry the minds of the future, consider this: Canadian researchers are finding evidence that the high-speed, multitasking of the young and wireless can help protect their brains from aging."
(Better living through video games?, CAROLYN ABRAHAM, Globe and Mail)
Research carried out on 100 students in Toronto suggests that playing video games provides benefits in exercising the mind. Video gamers become skilled at shutting out distractions in order to be able to switch attention between different tasks.
In effect, the study suggests that playing video games may help you learn the skill of multitasking. But before you rush off to play Doom - or whatever it is teenagers play nowadays - consider this: multitasking is not always a desirable thing. Multitasking can lead to stress and burnout in certain individuals. If you want to find out how susceptible you are to stress in a multitasking situation, please purchase a Working Style Analysis profile from our website (www.creativelearningcentre.com).
Also, bear in mind that video gaming can become addictive. To see whether you or your family are at risk, please see our earlier blog on Internet Safety.
So, to video game or not to video game, that is the question. Well, here is a thought for you: remember our recent blog about the benefits of knowing more than one language? Consider this: video gamers consistently outperform their non-playing counterparts in tricky mental tests... BUT... if they also happened to be bilingual, they are invincible.
In other words, if you want to be on the safe side, instead of perfecting your Nintendo skills, you might like to consider learning Esperanto. :-)
Right. So I was understandably shaken when I read the following:
"Before you assume gadgets and video games fry the minds of the future, consider this: Canadian researchers are finding evidence that the high-speed, multitasking of the young and wireless can help protect their brains from aging."
(Better living through video games?, CAROLYN ABRAHAM, Globe and Mail)
Research carried out on 100 students in Toronto suggests that playing video games provides benefits in exercising the mind. Video gamers become skilled at shutting out distractions in order to be able to switch attention between different tasks.
In effect, the study suggests that playing video games may help you learn the skill of multitasking. But before you rush off to play Doom - or whatever it is teenagers play nowadays - consider this: multitasking is not always a desirable thing. Multitasking can lead to stress and burnout in certain individuals. If you want to find out how susceptible you are to stress in a multitasking situation, please purchase a Working Style Analysis profile from our website (www.creativelearningcentre.com).
Also, bear in mind that video gaming can become addictive. To see whether you or your family are at risk, please see our earlier blog on Internet Safety.
So, to video game or not to video game, that is the question. Well, here is a thought for you: remember our recent blog about the benefits of knowing more than one language? Consider this: video gamers consistently outperform their non-playing counterparts in tricky mental tests... BUT... if they also happened to be bilingual, they are invincible.
In other words, if you want to be on the safe side, instead of perfecting your Nintendo skills, you might like to consider learning Esperanto. :-)
Friday, February 24, 2006
The Learning Styles Debate
The other day, I came across a debate on the web: are Learning Styles just a lot of hot air? Those who criticised said things like "Learning Styles are too simplistic", "they are a cog in the wheel of the learning process", "many other factors (am I hungry? do I like the subject? am I tired?) are at play" and "it is not very likely that the self-concept of a student, once he or she has reached a certain age, will drastically develop by learning about his or her personal style".
Let's take these comments one by one.
Learning Styles too simplistic? They may certainly seem simplistic, and some of them probably are. But our Learning Styles on http:\\www.creativelearningcentre.com consider almost 50 different elements and they go waaaay beyond the simple holistic-serial classification. Our report explains all the elements in a simple, accessible way, but let's not confuse "simple" with "simplistic".
A cog in the wheel of the learning process? Well, a cog is a good thing, it's a little gear that drives the learning machine. So if Learning Styles help the learning machine chug along, that's fantastic!
Many other factors (am I hungry? do I like the subject? am I tired?) are at play? You bet! Our Learning Styles on http:\\www.creativelearningcentre.com actually make Food Intake one of the elements of the Learning Style.
Now my favourite: not very likely that the self-concept of a student will drastically develop by learning about his or her personal style? I beg to differ. How can you not benefit from learning about yourself?
If I ever doubt whether Learning Styles worked, I only need to look at my 2 children: one is visual and right brained, one is tactile and left brained. I raised them the same way, but they came out different. That's genes and Learning Styles for you.
Let's take these comments one by one.
Learning Styles too simplistic? They may certainly seem simplistic, and some of them probably are. But our Learning Styles on http:\\www.creativelearningcentre.com consider almost 50 different elements and they go waaaay beyond the simple holistic-serial classification. Our report explains all the elements in a simple, accessible way, but let's not confuse "simple" with "simplistic".
A cog in the wheel of the learning process? Well, a cog is a good thing, it's a little gear that drives the learning machine. So if Learning Styles help the learning machine chug along, that's fantastic!
Many other factors (am I hungry? do I like the subject? am I tired?) are at play? You bet! Our Learning Styles on http:\\www.creativelearningcentre.com actually make Food Intake one of the elements of the Learning Style.
Now my favourite: not very likely that the self-concept of a student will drastically develop by learning about his or her personal style? I beg to differ. How can you not benefit from learning about yourself?
If I ever doubt whether Learning Styles worked, I only need to look at my 2 children: one is visual and right brained, one is tactile and left brained. I raised them the same way, but they came out different. That's genes and Learning Styles for you.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
2 languages good, 4 languages better?
The advantages of knowing more than one language are well known by now:
- Bilingualism increases mental flexibility for children.
- Bilingual children are more willing and able to learn a third language.
- They show an increased ability to analyse a language.
- They score higher on verbal tests conducted in English.
- They perform better in maths and logic skills than children.
- Bilingualism increases self-esteem, creativity and problem-solving skills.
- Bilingual children maintain a strong sense of their own identity and are more tolerant of other people and cultures.
About 20 years ago, Prof. Ellen Bialystok noticed that bilingual children were good at blocking out irrelevant information when it came to problem solving. When asked to identify a grammatically correct sentence, both bilinguals and monolinguals are, by age 5, able to choose, "Apples grow on trees," over "Apple trees on grow" as the correct one. But when it came to asking "Apples grow on noses" versus "Apples nose on grow," only the bilingual children were able to choose the right answer. Although the first sentence is grammatically correct, monolingual children could not get over its silliness. "That's crazy," they'd shout, "You can't say that!"
A range of cognitive tests has confirmed that bilinguals are always better at problems with tricky, misleading information. But did you know that it could also protect you from cognitive decline? Prof. Bialystok recently compared 94 bilinguals and monolinguals between the ages of 30 and 80. The study found that while both groups started showing cognitive decline by age 60, the rate of slowing for bilinguals was much slower.
The question now remains: if 2 languages are good, are 4 languages better? The jury is still out on that one.
Meanwhile, if you haven't started teaching your children a second language, it's never too early. Experts agree that before the age 4 is best, and that it will not lead to confusion with the mother tongue.
However, if your children are 5 years old or older, don't despair. The LSA report will show you how best to teach your child a new language. It will also tell you whether your child is likely to learn languages easily (children with a strong preference for words and for external auditory input are likely to enjoy learning foreign languages, as are children with a strong analytic component).
You can do your child's LSA assessment on www.creativelearningcentre.com.
- Bilingualism increases mental flexibility for children.
- Bilingual children are more willing and able to learn a third language.
- They show an increased ability to analyse a language.
- They score higher on verbal tests conducted in English.
- They perform better in maths and logic skills than children.
- Bilingualism increases self-esteem, creativity and problem-solving skills.
- Bilingual children maintain a strong sense of their own identity and are more tolerant of other people and cultures.
About 20 years ago, Prof. Ellen Bialystok noticed that bilingual children were good at blocking out irrelevant information when it came to problem solving. When asked to identify a grammatically correct sentence, both bilinguals and monolinguals are, by age 5, able to choose, "Apples grow on trees," over "Apple trees on grow" as the correct one. But when it came to asking "Apples grow on noses" versus "Apples nose on grow," only the bilingual children were able to choose the right answer. Although the first sentence is grammatically correct, monolingual children could not get over its silliness. "That's crazy," they'd shout, "You can't say that!"
A range of cognitive tests has confirmed that bilinguals are always better at problems with tricky, misleading information. But did you know that it could also protect you from cognitive decline? Prof. Bialystok recently compared 94 bilinguals and monolinguals between the ages of 30 and 80. The study found that while both groups started showing cognitive decline by age 60, the rate of slowing for bilinguals was much slower.
The question now remains: if 2 languages are good, are 4 languages better? The jury is still out on that one.
Meanwhile, if you haven't started teaching your children a second language, it's never too early. Experts agree that before the age 4 is best, and that it will not lead to confusion with the mother tongue.
However, if your children are 5 years old or older, don't despair. The LSA report will show you how best to teach your child a new language. It will also tell you whether your child is likely to learn languages easily (children with a strong preference for words and for external auditory input are likely to enjoy learning foreign languages, as are children with a strong analytic component).
You can do your child's LSA assessment on www.creativelearningcentre.com.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Is your child's IQ as high as yours was at their age?
Last week I read a fascinating article on http://rss.slashdot.org/Slashdot/slashdot?m=3379, one which I'd like to share with you today.
The message is not a happy one: after studying 25,000 children in the United Kingdom, a professor of education at King's College London declared that the intelligence of 11-year-olds had fallen by three years' worth in the last 20 years. He bases this observation on the results of a test that was given, in its original form, to 11-year old audiences today as well as 30 years ago.
The questions did not require any specific knowledge of the 1970s world. One of the tasks, for example, was to compare the volume of two containers based on the amount of liquid they could hold.
It seems that by giving our children more complex toys, more access to information (both on TV and on the Internet) and a more stimulating environment, we have actually done them more harm than good. And no wonder: while computers, the Internet and the Gameboy all have their place, they have left the youngsters with little time for playing with construction blocks, chemistry sets and microscopes.
Of course, it's all too easy to blame it all on the Internet and on inadequate amount sof time spent playing in the sandpit. Learning Styles play a crucial role in children's education, and I firmly believe that if today's youth were being taught to their unique Learning Style preferences, they would ace that test of 30 years ago... in fact, they would exceed our boldest expectations.
Take the example of the water containers. If the children were shown at school what happens to water when it's poured from a larger container into a smaller one, and vice versa, if they were allowed to watch it and perform the experiment themselves, then they would have no trouble answering the test question about container capacity.
Is _your_ child missing out on the best education they could possibly get?
If you think they might be, let them discover their unique Learning Style today on www.creativelearningcentre.com.
The message is not a happy one: after studying 25,000 children in the United Kingdom, a professor of education at King's College London declared that the intelligence of 11-year-olds had fallen by three years' worth in the last 20 years. He bases this observation on the results of a test that was given, in its original form, to 11-year old audiences today as well as 30 years ago.
The questions did not require any specific knowledge of the 1970s world. One of the tasks, for example, was to compare the volume of two containers based on the amount of liquid they could hold.
It seems that by giving our children more complex toys, more access to information (both on TV and on the Internet) and a more stimulating environment, we have actually done them more harm than good. And no wonder: while computers, the Internet and the Gameboy all have their place, they have left the youngsters with little time for playing with construction blocks, chemistry sets and microscopes.
Of course, it's all too easy to blame it all on the Internet and on inadequate amount sof time spent playing in the sandpit. Learning Styles play a crucial role in children's education, and I firmly believe that if today's youth were being taught to their unique Learning Style preferences, they would ace that test of 30 years ago... in fact, they would exceed our boldest expectations.
Take the example of the water containers. If the children were shown at school what happens to water when it's poured from a larger container into a smaller one, and vice versa, if they were allowed to watch it and perform the experiment themselves, then they would have no trouble answering the test question about container capacity.
Is _your_ child missing out on the best education they could possibly get?
If you think they might be, let them discover their unique Learning Style today on www.creativelearningcentre.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)