Sunday, August 14, 2011
The Turkey and the Crow - The Tension Between Expertise and Creativity
Although we train students toward expertise and mastery, a tension seems to exist between cognitive efficiency and automaticity representing expertise, and divergent problem solving and innovation.
Once we started looking for the turkey-crow split, the more we started seeing it everywhere.
Please share your thoughts, comments, and criticisms, and share this video with your friends if you find it helpful. Education would really be much better if it recognized how fundamentally different turkey- and crow-biased thinkers approach learning. It wouldn't hurt either for more teachers, parents, professionals, and really everybody else came to appreciate the remarkable talents of the crow.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Dyscalculia: Recognising Consciousness
Students who struggle to learn mathematics may have a neurocognitive disorder that inhibits the acquisition of basic numerical and arithmetic concepts, according to a new paper.
Specialised teaching for individuals with dyscalculia, the mathematical equivalent of dyslexia, should be made widely available in mainstream education, according to a review of current research published in the journal Science.
Dyscalculia Search Results from Science Journal
Although just as common as dyslexia, with an estimated prevalence of up to 7% of the population, dyscalculia has been neglected as a disorder of cognitive development.
However, a world-wide effort by scientists and educators has established the essential neural network that supports arithmetic, and revealed abnormalities in this network in the brains of dyscalulic learners.
Neuroscience research shows what kind of help is most needed, strengthening simple number concepts.
This can be achieved with appropriate specially-designed teaching schemes, which can be supported by game-like software that adapts to the learner’s current level of competence.
Professor Brian Butterworth, co-author of the paper and a member of the Centre for Educational Neuroscience (CEN) from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said: “Dyscalculia is at least as much of a handicap for individuals as dyslexia and a very heavy burden on the state, with the estimated cost to the UK of low numeracy standing at £2.4 billion.”
“Nevertheless, there are only cursory references to the disorder on the Department of Education website, no indications are offered for help either for learners, teachers or parents. It’s as if the government does not want to acknowledge its existence.”
Like dyslexia, dyscalculia is a condition we are born with, and may be heritable in many or most cases. Research from twins and special populations suggests that an arithmetical disability has a large genetic component, but the genes responsible have not yet been located.
Specialised teaching for individuals with dyscalculia, the mathematical equivalent of dyslexia, should be made widely available in mainstream education, according to a review of current research published in the journal Science.
Dyscalculia Search Results from Science Journal
Although just as common as dyslexia, with an estimated prevalence of up to 7% of the population, dyscalculia has been neglected as a disorder of cognitive development.
However, a world-wide effort by scientists and educators has established the essential neural network that supports arithmetic, and revealed abnormalities in this network in the brains of dyscalulic learners.
Neuroscience research shows what kind of help is most needed, strengthening simple number concepts.
This can be achieved with appropriate specially-designed teaching schemes, which can be supported by game-like software that adapts to the learner’s current level of competence.
Professor Brian Butterworth, co-author of the paper and a member of the Centre for Educational Neuroscience (CEN) from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said: “Dyscalculia is at least as much of a handicap for individuals as dyslexia and a very heavy burden on the state, with the estimated cost to the UK of low numeracy standing at £2.4 billion.”
“Nevertheless, there are only cursory references to the disorder on the Department of Education website, no indications are offered for help either for learners, teachers or parents. It’s as if the government does not want to acknowledge its existence.”
Like dyslexia, dyscalculia is a condition we are born with, and may be heritable in many or most cases. Research from twins and special populations suggests that an arithmetical disability has a large genetic component, but the genes responsible have not yet been located.
Dyscalculia = Maths oriented Dyslexia
We have heard a number of stories concerning the lack of awareness and knowledge about Dyscalculia but we are always amazed and shocked when it pertains to educational institutes and teachers.
Recallinga recent letter concerning a mother and her daughter, who is in college working on her associates degree. She was doing very well in all her classes, with one exception, maths, and then only within the criteria of timed tests.
She had been tested when she was much younger and been told that she had issues with stress or timed testing of maths. Her parents tried to explain the circumstances to the college. They asked if their daughter could be tested in a one to one learning centre with supervision, but without the stressful time limits. Unfortunately, the institution said no and were very unsympathetic to the parent's and their daughter's plight.
Sadly, we are told that the college personnel and teachers were very dismissive and acted as if the family were imagining the condition or simply making the whole thing up. We find this completely unacceptable in this modern world where inclusion, accessibility and usability is uppermost in all our minds. Educational institutes sole role is to enable learning and comprehension NOT to create difficulties by exclusion, squashing enthusiasm and promoting elitism.
For parents and students in a similar situation there is a supportive and helpful forum on the Dyscalculia website; The Dyscalculia Forum. There’s even a good chance a member is close where you live and maybe know a local place to get help.
If you’re in the US you can find local learning disability associations on the LDA USA website. They are a good source for local facilities, support and testing. It is important that you seek support from your community and not work too much in isolation, especially in raising awareness and in communicating your needs to the colleges and institutions.
Raising awareness for Dyscalculia is extremely important because it is still somewhat unrecognised all over the world. You will come across barriers to understanding but remember that Dyscalculia is medically approved in the scientific and educational world and falls into the same category as dyslexia, and has been for Decades.
Dyscalculia is clearly described, and accepted, in Both the DSM-IV and WHO ICD-10, which is the global medical registers used by doctors and mental health professionals to diagnose. It would be useful for you to seek this out and to get good copies made, to distribute to non-believers or misinformed educators. Thus, helping raise awareness and your cause through evidence-based research.
Recallinga recent letter concerning a mother and her daughter, who is in college working on her associates degree. She was doing very well in all her classes, with one exception, maths, and then only within the criteria of timed tests.
She had been tested when she was much younger and been told that she had issues with stress or timed testing of maths. Her parents tried to explain the circumstances to the college. They asked if their daughter could be tested in a one to one learning centre with supervision, but without the stressful time limits. Unfortunately, the institution said no and were very unsympathetic to the parent's and their daughter's plight.
Sadly, we are told that the college personnel and teachers were very dismissive and acted as if the family were imagining the condition or simply making the whole thing up. We find this completely unacceptable in this modern world where inclusion, accessibility and usability is uppermost in all our minds. Educational institutes sole role is to enable learning and comprehension NOT to create difficulties by exclusion, squashing enthusiasm and promoting elitism.
For parents and students in a similar situation there is a supportive and helpful forum on the Dyscalculia website; The Dyscalculia Forum. There’s even a good chance a member is close where you live and maybe know a local place to get help.
If you’re in the US you can find local learning disability associations on the LDA USA website. They are a good source for local facilities, support and testing. It is important that you seek support from your community and not work too much in isolation, especially in raising awareness and in communicating your needs to the colleges and institutions.
Raising awareness for Dyscalculia is extremely important because it is still somewhat unrecognised all over the world. You will come across barriers to understanding but remember that Dyscalculia is medically approved in the scientific and educational world and falls into the same category as dyslexia, and has been for Decades.
Dyscalculia is clearly described, and accepted, in Both the DSM-IV and WHO ICD-10, which is the global medical registers used by doctors and mental health professionals to diagnose. It would be useful for you to seek this out and to get good copies made, to distribute to non-believers or misinformed educators. Thus, helping raise awareness and your cause through evidence-based research.
Unfortunately, you do need to become a pseudo or mini expert on dyscalculia to respond to the ignorance of others and to not only answer their questions but also to know what you are talking about. Also you should contact a local association and ask for their support and advocacy.
You will not only be helping your own or your family's situation you will be helping the many people who are excluded by the mere fact they have a Maths Dyscalculia.
You will not only be helping your own or your family's situation you will be helping the many people who are excluded by the mere fact they have a Maths Dyscalculia.
Non-Verbal learning disorder (NLD or NVLD)
A nonverbal learning disorder or nonverbal learning disability (NLD or NVLD) is a condition characterized by a significant discrepancy between higher verbal and lower motor, visuo-spatial, and social skills on an IQ test. Some proponents of the category believe that this discrepancy is attributable to dysfunction in the right cerebral hemisphere.
NLD involves deficits in perception, coordination, socialisation, non-verbal problem-solving and understanding of humour, along with well-developed rote memory. As most people with Asperger syndrome (AS) fit the criteria for NLD, a diagnosis of AS is often preferred.
In this instance, some researchers assert that an AS diagnosis is more clinically useful than an NLD diagnosis, and argue that NLD would be an example of excessive diagnostic splitting. However, NLD can also occur with other disorders. However, like Asperger syndrome, NLD exists on a spectrum, and those affected can experience it in a range of ways.
Those with an NLD diagnosis can experience some or all of the symptoms, and to varying degrees. Ongoing debate surrounds the relationship between Asperger syndrome and NLD, as research on the condition is ongoing and procedures can differ from AS research.
Eye contact can also be difficult for people with NLD, either because they are uncomfortable with maintaining it or because they do not remember that others expect it. Similarly, knowing when and how to use physical contact and recognizing emotions in others and expressing them for oneself can be problematic.
Trying to process too many non-verbal stimuli can confuse them.
People with NLD often have strong verbal skills, and learn how to use those to compensate.
Fine motor skills can also develop abnormally, causing difficulty with writing, drawing, and tying shoelaces. NLD sufferers are often labeled as "clumsy" or "stiff".
They may experience the world around them as a chaos, the actions that they must perform well and quickly creating a sense of helplessness.
Clumsiness in performing tasks may be criticised by teachers or in the workplace, causing further fear of failure.
There is a high incidence of suicide in the NLD population.
NLD involves deficits in perception, coordination, socialisation, non-verbal problem-solving and understanding of humour, along with well-developed rote memory. As most people with Asperger syndrome (AS) fit the criteria for NLD, a diagnosis of AS is often preferred.
In this instance, some researchers assert that an AS diagnosis is more clinically useful than an NLD diagnosis, and argue that NLD would be an example of excessive diagnostic splitting. However, NLD can also occur with other disorders. However, like Asperger syndrome, NLD exists on a spectrum, and those affected can experience it in a range of ways.
Those with an NLD diagnosis can experience some or all of the symptoms, and to varying degrees. Ongoing debate surrounds the relationship between Asperger syndrome and NLD, as research on the condition is ongoing and procedures can differ from AS research.
Symptoms
Non-verbal communication
People with this disability may misunderstand non-verbal communications, or they may understand the communications but be unable to formulate an appropriate response. This can make establishing and maintaining social contacts difficult.Eye contact can also be difficult for people with NLD, either because they are uncomfortable with maintaining it or because they do not remember that others expect it. Similarly, knowing when and how to use physical contact and recognizing emotions in others and expressing them for oneself can be problematic.
Verbal communication
People with NLD will often tend to lapse into "cocktail-speech," talking too much and too quickly. People with NLD have strong verbal communication skills and must often rely on verbal communication as their main method of gathering information.Trying to process too many non-verbal stimuli can confuse them.
People with NLD often have strong verbal skills, and learn how to use those to compensate.
Numerical and spatial awareness
Arithmetic and mathematics can be very difficult for people with NLD, and they often have problems with spatial awareness. Problematic areas may include:- Recognising faces
- Paying attention in noisy environments
- Navigation
- In mathematics: the confusion of X-axis and Y-axis
- Remembering the names and locations of places
- Map reading, or plotting or remembering routes. People with NLD are often best-served by giving landmarks along with repeated directions.
- Estimating the speed of cars while crossing the road
- Self-awareness of where their body is(frequently bump into other people and objects)
- Backing out a car
Motor
People with NLD often have motor difficulties. This can manifest in their walking and running, which are sometimes stiff, or in difficulty balancing. They may also be more likely to run into things, due to judging distances poorly.Fine motor skills can also develop abnormally, causing difficulty with writing, drawing, and tying shoelaces. NLD sufferers are often labeled as "clumsy" or "stiff".
Anxiety
People with NLD, more than many others, fear failure. They may feel that they have to do too much at once, and then do not know where to start. This allows them to stagnate, and then do nothing. Sometimes they try to multitask and again end up doing nothing, which can lead to frustration.They may experience the world around them as a chaos, the actions that they must perform well and quickly creating a sense of helplessness.
Clumsiness in performing tasks may be criticised by teachers or in the workplace, causing further fear of failure.
There is a high incidence of suicide in the NLD population.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
ADHD’s Impact on Relationships: 10 Tips to Help
Solutions for ADHD in Relationships
1. Get educated.Knowing how ADHD manifests in adults helps you know what to expect. As Orlov said, when you know that your partner’s lack of attention is the result of ADHD, and has little to do with how they feel about you, you’ll deal with the situation differently. Together you might brainstorm strategies to minimize distractibility instead of yelling at your partner.
In other words, “Once you start looking at ADHD symptoms, you can get to the root of the problem and start to manage and treat the symptoms as well as manage the responses,” Orlov said.
2. Seek optimal treatment.
Orlov likens optimal treatment for ADHD to a three-legged stool. (The first two steps are relevant for everyone with ADHD; the last is for people in relationships.)
“Leg 1” involves making “physical changes to balance out the chemical differences in the brain,” which includes medication, aerobic exercise and sufficient sleep. “Leg 2” is all about making behavioral changes, or “essentially creating new habits.” Which might include creating physical reminders and to-do lists, carrying a tape recorder and hiring help. “Leg 3” is “interactions with your partner,” such as scheduling time together and using verbal cues to stop fights from escalating.
3. Remember it takes two to tango.
Regardless of who has ADHD, both partners are responsible for working on the relationship, Orlov emphasized. Say a couple is struggling with a parent-child dynamic. A way to overcome this obstacle, according to Orlov, is for the non-ADHD partner to give away some of the responsibilities.
But this has to be a done in a thoughtful and reasonable way so you don’t set your partner up for failure. It requires a specific process that involves assessing the strengths of each partner, making sure the ADHD partner has the skills (which they can learn from a therapist, coach, support groups or books) and putting external structures in place, Orlov said.
Also helpful is generating ideas together about completing a project and “coordinating [your] expectations and goals.”
As you’re starting to work on your relationship, the partner with ADHD might initially react defensively because they assume that they’ll be blamed for everything. But this usually subsides “once they become more informed and less threatened and see that their partner is willing to take a chance [to improve the relationship] and make changes themselves” such as managing their own anger and nagging.
4. Set up structure.
External structural cues are key for people with ADHD and, again, make up another part of treatment. So it’s important to pick an organizational system that works for you and includes reminders. For instance, it’s tremendously helpful to break down a project into several actionable steps on paper and set cell phone reminders regularly, Orlov said.
5. Make time to connect.
“Marriage is all about attending to each other adequately,” said Orlov, who suggested that couples consider how they can better connect with each other.
This might involve going on weekly dates, talking about issues that are important and interesting to you (“not just logistics”) and even scheduling time for sex. (Because ADHD partners get easily distracted, they might spend hours on an activity like the computer, and before you know it, you’re fast asleep.)
6. Remember that ADHD is a disorder.
When untreated, ADHD might affect all areas of a person’s life, and it’s hard to separate the symptoms from the person you love, Orlov said. But “a person who has ADD shouldn’t be defined by their ADHD.” In the same vein, don’t take their symptoms personally.
7. Empathize.
Understanding the impact that ADHD has on both partners is critical to improving your relationship. Put yourself in their shoes. If you don’t have ADHD, try to appreciate just how difficult it is to live every day with a slew of intrusive symptoms. If you do have ADHD, try to understand how much your disorder has changed your partner’s life.
8. Seek support.
Whether you’re the partner that has ADHD or not, you may feel very alone. Orlov suggested attending adult support groups. She gives a couples course by phone and one of the most common comments she hears is how beneficial it is for couples to know that others also are struggling with these issues.
Friends and family can help, too. However, some may not understand ADHD or your situation, Orlov said. Give them literature on ADHD and its impact on relationships.
9. Remember the positives of your relationship.
In The ADHD Effect on Marriage, Orlov writes that “remembering the positives in your relationship is an important step in moving forward.” Here’s what one wife loves about her husband (from the book):
On weekends, he has a coffee ready for me when I wake up in the morning. He tolerates my “morning grumpies” and knows not to take any of my grousing personally until an hour after I get up. He shares my passion for random trivia. He has no problem with my odder personality quirks and even encourages some of them. He encourages me in my passions. His need to keep life interesting can really keep life interesting in a positive way.10. Instead of trying harder, try differently.
Couples who try with all their might to improve their relationship can feel disheartened when nothing changes, or worse, when things deteriorate, as Orlov experienced first-hand in her marriage. Trying harder made both her and her husband feel resentful and hopeless.
What does it mean to try differently? It means adding ADHD-friendly strategies and knowing how ADHD functions.
It also means that both partners change their perspective. According to Orlov, the non-ADHD spouse might think that the ADHD or their partner is to blame. Instead, she encourages non-ADHD partners to shift their thinking to “neither of us is to blame and we are both responsible for creating change.”
Another common belief non-ADHD spouses have is that they must teach their ADHD spouse how to do things or compensate for what they can’t do. A better way is to think “I am never my spouse’s keeper. We will respectfully negotiate how we can each contribute.”
Having ADHD can leave many feeling defeated and deflated. They might think, “I don’t really understand when I might succeed or fail. I’m not sure I want to take on challenges.” Orlov suggested shifting this thinking to “My inconsistency in the past has an explanation: ADHD. Fully treating ADHD will enable greater consistency and success.”
People with ADHD also can feel unloved or unappreciated or that their partner wants to change them. Instead, Orlov suggested altering your perspective to, “I am loved/lovable, but some of my ADHD symptoms are not. I am responsible for managing my negative symptoms.”
Even though your past might be riddled with bad memories and relationship problems, this doesn’t have to be your future, Orlov underscored. You “can make quite dramatic changes” in your relationship, and “there is hope.”
ADHD’s Impact on Relationships: 10 Tips to Help | Psych Central
ADHD’s Impact on Relationships
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can dramatically affect a relationship. Research has shown that a person with ADHD may be almost twice as likely to get divorced, and relationships with one or two people with the disorder often become dysfunctional. *
While ADHD can ruin relationships, the good news is that both partners are not powerless. There are steps you can take to significantly improve your relationship.
Below, Melissa Orlov, marriage consultant and author of the award-winning book The ADHD Effect on Marriage: Understand and Rebuild Your Relationship in Six Steps, discusses the top challenges in these relationships and the solutions that truly make a difference.
In fact, “more than half of adults who have ADHD don’t know they have it,” according to Orlov. When you don’t know that a particular behavior is a symptom, you may misinterpret it as your partner’s true feelings for you.
Orlov recalled feeling miserable and unloved in her own marriage. (At the time she and her husband didn’t realize that he had ADHD.) She misinterpreted her husband’s distractibility as a sign that he didn’t love her anymore. But if you would’ve asked him, his feelings for her hadn’t changed. Still, to Orlov his actions — in reality the symptoms — spoke louder than words.
Another common challenge is what Orlov terms “symptom-response-response.” ADHD symptoms alone don’t cause trouble. It’s the symptom plus how the non-ADHD partner responds to the symptoms. For instance, distractibility itself isn’t a problem.
How the non-ADHD partner reacts to the distractibility can spark a negative cycle: The ADHD partner doesn’t pay attention to their spouse; the non-ADHD partner feels ignored and responds with anger and frustration; in turn, the ADHD partner responds in kind.
A third challenge is the “parent-child dynamic.” If the “ADHD partner doesn’t have their symptoms under control enough to be reliable,” it’s likely that the non-ADHD partner will pick up the slack.
With good intentions, the non-ADHD partner starts taking care of more things to make the relationship easier. And not surprisingly, the more responsibilities the partner has, the more stressed and overwhelmed — and resentful — they become. Over time, they take on the role of parent, and the ADHD partner becomes the child.
While the ADHD partner may be willing to help out, symptoms, such as forgetfulness and distractibility, get in the way.
ADHD’s Impact on Relationships: 10 Tips to Help
While ADHD can ruin relationships, the good news is that both partners are not powerless. There are steps you can take to significantly improve your relationship.
Below, Melissa Orlov, marriage consultant and author of the award-winning book The ADHD Effect on Marriage: Understand and Rebuild Your Relationship in Six Steps, discusses the top challenges in these relationships and the solutions that truly make a difference.
The Relationship Challenges of ADHD
One of the biggest challenges in relationships is when a partner misinterprets ADHD symptoms. For one, couples may not even know that one partner (or both) suffers from ADHD in the first place. (Take a quick screening quiz here.)In fact, “more than half of adults who have ADHD don’t know they have it,” according to Orlov. When you don’t know that a particular behavior is a symptom, you may misinterpret it as your partner’s true feelings for you.
Orlov recalled feeling miserable and unloved in her own marriage. (At the time she and her husband didn’t realize that he had ADHD.) She misinterpreted her husband’s distractibility as a sign that he didn’t love her anymore. But if you would’ve asked him, his feelings for her hadn’t changed. Still, to Orlov his actions — in reality the symptoms — spoke louder than words.
Another common challenge is what Orlov terms “symptom-response-response.” ADHD symptoms alone don’t cause trouble. It’s the symptom plus how the non-ADHD partner responds to the symptoms. For instance, distractibility itself isn’t a problem.
How the non-ADHD partner reacts to the distractibility can spark a negative cycle: The ADHD partner doesn’t pay attention to their spouse; the non-ADHD partner feels ignored and responds with anger and frustration; in turn, the ADHD partner responds in kind.
A third challenge is the “parent-child dynamic.” If the “ADHD partner doesn’t have their symptoms under control enough to be reliable,” it’s likely that the non-ADHD partner will pick up the slack.
With good intentions, the non-ADHD partner starts taking care of more things to make the relationship easier. And not surprisingly, the more responsibilities the partner has, the more stressed and overwhelmed — and resentful — they become. Over time, they take on the role of parent, and the ADHD partner becomes the child.
While the ADHD partner may be willing to help out, symptoms, such as forgetfulness and distractibility, get in the way.
ADHD’s Impact on Relationships: 10 Tips to Help
Friday, August 5, 2011
Parenting: When does Discipline Begin?
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