V.3 #2 A Handout for Parents and Teachers - How Can the Keyword Method Improve Memory?
The terms short-term memory and working memory are shorthand for a variety of thought processes that capture, for a few seconds or moments, information. Unless a child with reading disabilities or other learning disabilities quickly makes an active, focused, and concentrated attempt to remember the information, he will quickly lose most, if not all of it. So, how can a child with reading or other learning disabilities make sure he remembers the fragile, fleeting information i
V.3 #2 Best Practices - Motivating the Reluctant Learner: Tools for Inspiring the Genius in All Lear
The most important lesson I learned from my learning-disabled (LD) students was the value in believing that they could do anything that I prepared well to teach them, using direct instruction, paired with strategies (or tricks, as I told them) to assure that they would easily remember. I knew inherently that the most important influence in improving learning for students was a good teacher—one who did her homework. There were no magic potions or fancy strategies that made tea
V.3 #2 Counseling/School Psychology -Positive Behavior Support
Behavioral problems go hand in hand with learning difficulties (Todd, Horner, & Sugai, 1999). Oftentimes, it is unclear when a student is disruptive in the classroom if it is primarily due to a learning or a behavioral problem. Since challenging behaviors may often lead to learning difficulties and visa-versa, it is prudent for teachers to have adequate measures implemented in the classroom to prevent emerging or escalating disruptive behaviors. The research clearly indicates
V.3 #2 Social-Emotional Development -Friendship Characteristics and Students with Learning Disabilit
School based friendships are relationships that contribute to both the academic and social-emotional development of children. A body of research that spans many years has documented the numerous contributions that friendships make to an individual’s well being. One finding that has been repeatedly documented is that friendships can reduce the negative impact of social marginalization and peer rejection (Laursen, Bukowski, Aunola, & Nurmi, 2007). Knowing that social skills def
V.3 #2 Early Childhood -The Neurological Considerations for Understanding the Learning and Socializa
As our readers may be familiar, compromised social interactions and communication represent the defining characteristics of children with many developmental disorders, such as Learning Disorders (LD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Consequently, these children find it burdensome or sometimes even physically painful to greet others—particularly to make physical contacts (e.g., shaking hands or hugging). So, when I first met Pennington, a four-year-old who had been diagnos
V.3 #2 Literacy - Up, Up, and Away! Supporting Content Area Learning Through Movement
Many teachers recognize their students’ need to move throughout the day. They offer some wiggle time for younger students and an occasional stretch break for older ones. Many learners welcome the opportunity to get their blood flowing after sitting in the same position for awhile. I know that at times, I have been most grateful for the chance! However, moving while learning is something we rarely witness in classrooms beyond the primary grades. The older students get, the lon
V.3 #2 Mathematics - Fractions -Everybody’s Favorite!
Rational numbers such as fractions “...are among the most complex and important mathematical ideas that children encounter before they reach secondary school” (Behr, Wachsmuth, Post, & Lesh, 1984, p. 323)—a very powerful statement about a topic often dreaded by students regardless of their disability status. Educators at all grade levels recurrently experience students’ difficulties to understand and work with fractions. Because of these difficulties, students often desire to