Teach the Brain Forums

I am interested in hearing from both educators and neuroscientists concerning some of the issues below. I know there is a lot here. Please feel free to pick up on whatever interests you.


Have you incorporated the use of computer games into the teaching setting? If so, have you found it to be effective?

How do you think computer games affect youth? Do you believe that they increase violent tendencies?

What do you think about the impact of computer technology as a whole children’s’ brains? Do you think their brains are able to cope with the explosion of technology available?

How do you find children cope with multi-tasking (using different kinds of media simultaneously)? Do you think their brains are become more adept at this?

Have you incorporated non-computer play techniques into your teaching? Do you think games and play can have a role in improving attention and motivation in the classroom?

Do you feel that children have enough time to play in the modern world where most of their recreation time is consumed by controlled extra curricula activities?

What kinds of learning environments do you find motivate your students?

Have you found that adolescent students need extra motivation? If so, what techniques have you used that work best?

First, a funny story.
Last May, I took my class on a field trip to a park. To make a long story short, I ended up going with two of my students to the hospital because one ran into the other causing one to lose three teeth and the other got a very sore head. At the hospital, they had a video game in the waiting room. So, since things had quieted down, one of my students found the game and started playing. Now, this is my student who has a severe learning disability and at age ten reads at a primer level. Needless to say, he beat the pants off me, and the game actually told me to RETIRE because I did so badly. (All ended well for the kids. The teeth got replanted.)
I am not a fan of video games, but I can't ignore them, either. When you teach nine and ten year olds, and have four daughters who grow up and get boyfriends, you learn all about them. So, I've gotten to the point where I'm learning how to use them to my advantage.
At school, we have a computer lab that allows us to have a whole class working on word processing at their own levels. There are games built into these programs. I have to be careful that students don't just choose games from the menu, but they also have games after each successful level. This is a situation where I don't mind them, and the kids love them. But, when I have substitutes I always warn them about the games only choice because even the very nice kids will take advantage of the situation and just play games.
I know that there is a high association between low academic perfomance and high use of video games at home. I counsel my parents of these students to take away the games until the homework is done, but these wiley kids know how to work their parents and convince them all the work is done so they play on. They are learning to rely on video games to keep their minds occupied and they aren't learning how to rely on their own creativity and develop their own passions, and are poor in social skills.
Yes, I use non computer play a lot in my classroom. From unstructured creative dramatics to organized games and making inventions, I use this as much as possible. It requires a great deal of risk taking type skills from the students, as well as myself, and I've noticed that the kids who do not like this type of activity are those with the least amount of social skills.
The use of the time between the end of the school day and having dinner is almost as important as instructional time at school. The use of this time correlates highly with high academic performance. Many factors influence the use of this time, and these factors are very socio economic related. But, I have found that no matter what income a family makes, if a balance is made in activities, the child will be balanced, as well.
The learning environments that motivate my students are basically those that show an appreciation for the feelings of that student. There is a lot to this topic, so I will leave it at that.
Something that motivates adolescents? You're tempting me to be quite sarcastic, you know. But, again I think it relates to the feelings of the individual, and at this age how kids feel depends on how they think others see them. They want to be important, but they want to be important to people other than their family.
I'm interested in what others have to say about all of this.

Christina Quote " Do you feel that children have enough time to play in the modern world where most of their recreation time is consumed by controlled extra curricula activities?

In my opinion children do not have enough time to play in the modern world where most of their recreation time is consumed by controlled extra curricula actvities. Play time is a special time for children and for contribution toward their total growth. However, having said that, our environment has also changed and our world is changing. We need to look at the reasons behind the increase of scheduled time for children and the pressure of our economy where is takes two in the family to live like many people want to live. This means that someone needs to take care of the children. Grandparents do not always live near the family and neighbors are many times too busy working to accomplish the finanacial and professional success that they have worked so hard to obtain. We have many single family parents who must work and someone must take care of their children. We will notice that schools began before school and afterschool child care many years ago to help create a safe place for children to be before and after school.

This became a necessity when demands on parents became financially intolerable. Many young childen are up early and come home with their parent(s) after their long day at work. Day care became a demand for pre schools in some school districts since the children were just kind of "wasting [so called] valuable time playing with each other and they really got to pretend and get dirty and play in the soil.

Child's safety has hit the environment really hard and they must be watched day and night for their own saftety. Things are not going to change back to when we were kids and we could play in the front yard or down the street with a neighbor without constant vigilance.

We cannot go back but we can adapt and the children can adapt to new environments and still allow play time to be part of today's schedule book. [seems hard for me to say that] ...but true. I have also found good computer programs for young children to be very valuable...and parent, church and school functions also are valuable. I suggest that parent(s) and teachers be on the advisory committees if possible and grandparents also...this gives a wider perspective of what activities children are involved and it also address play time.

Neurologically typical (NT) children have a more adaptable life and can choose many activities. Special needs children may need help from adults to find materials to choose activities. However, change is here to stay...now we need to modify it. TV is not a baby sitter....Computers are also not baby sitters and can be a challange to select good CD disks that do not exaserbate children with echolalia.

I believe in the future because we as adults can help with the adaptabiliy that can prove to be helpful in a changing environment....and it will continue to change; so we must be able to adapt...but selectively adapt. Above all we must be creative to help with today's challenges that children face.

Be well,
Rob

Hi Christina,

I have found that an environment that is experiential really seems to increase emotion, motivation and learning/memory. This would be true in most grades that I have taught; elementary, secondary and University. I have found students with doctorates as excited to learn as a child. Actually the words of Dr. Kurt Fischer,Professor at Harvard University are to learn like a child, we must act as a child.
Best,
Rob

Has anyone heard of ACT R and in particular ACT R 5.0?

Karl....Give this a try....best Rob

URL http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=IS...gle+Search

Thank you for the suggestion. I have considerable materials about ACT R (Adaptive control of thought rational). What I am looking for is someone who would like to consider this and other such practical brain oriented education related concepts. A description of the program comes from

An Integrated Theory of the Mind
John R. Anderson and Daniel Bothell Carnegie Mellon University

“We have been working on a cognitive architecture called adaptive control of thought rational (ACT R; e.g., Anderson & Lebiere, 1998), which is our best hypothesis about such an architecture. It has recently undergone a major development into a version called ACT R 5.0, and this form offers some new insights into the integration of cognition. The goal of this article is to describe how cognition is integrated in the ACT R theory.
...
Newell (1990) enumerated many of the advantages that a unified theory has to offer; this article develops two advantages related to the ones he gives. The first is concerned with producing a theory that is capable of attacking real-world problems, and the second is concerned with producing a theory that is capable of integrating the mass of data from cognitive neuroscience methods like brain imaging.”



The following excerpts show that the theory has been reduced to practice in many areas that appear to be of interest to members of this forum. The excerpts come from various pages in TIP:

Welcome to the Theory Into Practice (TIP) database
http://tip.psychology.org/index.html

“ACT* can explain a wide variety of memory effects as well as account for higher order skills such as geometry proofs, programming and language learning (see Anderson, 1983; 1990). ACT* has been the basis for intelligent tutors (Anderson, Boyle, Farrell & Reiser, 1987).”

“Tennyson & Cocchiarella (1986) suggest a model for concept teaching that has three stages: (1) establishing a connection in memory between the concept to be learned and existing knowledge, (2) improving the formation of concepts in terms of relations, and (3) facilitating the development of classification rules. This model acknowledges the declarative and procedural aspects of cognition (c.f., ACT ). Klausmeier (1974) suggests four levels of concept learning: (1) concrete - recall of critical attributes, (2) identity - recall of examples, (3) classification - generalizing to new examples, and (4) formalization - discriminating new instances.”

“Categorization has always been a central aspect of concept learning research (e.g., Rosch & Lloyd, 1978). Recent theory tends to include concept acquisition as part of the general reasoning processes involved in both inductive and deductive inferences.

A number of learning theories have been applied to the domain of mathematics. ACT* has been used to develop a computer tutoring program for geometry.”

I am not sure but I believe that the applications of ACT have primarily been in industrial and government applications. That is why I am asking this forum. I am trying to learn more about how and where it has been used as well as what it is. I suspect that there has been little done in the traditional education areas.

“The education establishment, including most of its research community, remains committed to the educational philosophy of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and so far none of those who challenge these hallowed traditions has been able to loosen the hold the educational establishment has on how children are taught.” -

Seymour Papert, The Children's Machine

Has someone, or would someone, on this list like to show that over the decades since Papert made that statement it has become obsolete?

I am homeschooling my seven year old son. He is able to memorize songs and script (hundreds of words) for his acting class while playing the kind of video games that don't require much thought. I can also read to him while he is doing these games and he is able to answer my questions. I sometimes have him play a video game while we go over something he considers boring-- like multiplication tables. He also sometimes plays his Gameboy while watching television.

I don't think it affected his academics negatively. He was given an individual achievement test (WIAT) last year and scored a 99.7 on reading. He scored 99s in reading comprehension and mathematics reasoning. He tested at a 4th grade level in math reasoning and 5th in reading and he was tested at the end of what should have been his 1st grade year unless I had done as the kindergarten teacher suggested and held him back a year in T-1 because he wouldn't color in the lines. The tester also said they ran out of time before my son missed enough questions to stop the test.

At seven he easily reads middle school reading books and answers the comprehension questions. He decodes at a high school level.

March 19, 2006

Hi Chrismom,

Thank you for replying to the Technology, Learning, and Motivation thread. Sure glad that Chris was not retained in school especially for not coloring in the lines. Retaining a child for this particular reason alone is a sure fire way to create a future discipline problem.

As for his scores they are fine, and should be a criteria for helping to assess his academic progress when translated into percentiles. I translate the scores into percentiles since the grade equivalent scores really do not measure a given grade level as they seem to indicate. In other words they can be very misleading and essentially incorrect.

I see nothing wrong in having Chris play games during the boring multiplication tables...It sounds as
if you know your son.

As a matter of fact both of you should be proud of Chris. I would also give you a pat on the back for teaching him on a one to one basis. A one to one basis should mean a good deal of academic learning is taking place.

I do have one particular question and that would be; do you plan to transition him back into formal schooling at some point and if so, have you given thought as to at what age or level of maturity that you might do this?

Best,
Rob

His developmental pediatrician told us the test would give us an idea what grade level he was working at. It was not a group test and it was given by a certified school psychologist. I realize there isn't enough time to ask a lot of questions at each of the grade levels, but he actually has been doing 4th grade math this year. We have been using the What Your 4th Grader Needs to Know as a guide to make sure we don't skip anything and we have used Singapore math in the past. I plan to test him at the end of the year with a test that the state of Texas makes available online.

As far as the reading, we have been using the World Almanac--Take Five Minutes--Fascinating Facts for Grades 6-8 by Teacher Created Materials, Inc. He reads and answers the comprehension questions. One of the stories he read recently came up 12.5 Flesch-Kincade grade level when typed into Microsoft Word and the Lexile Analyzer says 1160L. He missed four words out of 424. He has been reading since he was 2 1/2 and could read his Alice in Wonderland lines (over 300 words) at age 4 1/2 and then memorized them before the much older kids had their lines memorized. One of the high school age kids in his theatre group told me he had to be autistic or something to be able to do that. The doctor ruled out Aspergers because he is very social. He has an adult half brother that is highly gifted who also spent lots of time on computers and video games. He dropped out of school and got his GED. He recently got a very nice job at a computer company because he scored higher on a test than the college graduates.

My son doesn't fit in at school. A special ed teacher and a school superintendent recommended that I continue homeschooling.

March 20, 2006

Good Morning Chrismom,

You said that "My son doesn't fit in at school. A special ed teacher and a school superintendent recommended that I continue homeschooling".
Then you are planning to home school him until college or University etc.. Is that correct?

Well, you are to be commended for your strength in homeschooling him through his formative years. Is there a question in here that I have missed. Like you, there are a great many questions that I have, but would not be appropriate for me to respond on a child's academic giftedness without looking at the universal spectrum of the whole child and what it takes for him to be well rounded [so to speak]. You might like to look at the multiple intelligences of Professor Howard Gardner's work at Harvard University....URL: http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm

Good luck; raising a child is a full time job....teaching a child is also full time work....you are climbing a long ladder setting up against a tall building. My best advice on the cuff would be to make sure the ladder is against the correct building.

I beieve that you are asking me something, but you will need to ask me in a more direct manner...I don't see where the aspergers statement comes in nor the statements of the superintendent or special education teacher.

My best advice without having much data in front of me would be: Along with academic testing that you continue to look at the whole child. I think that we want a happy, well adjusted child who is doing the best they can and who respects all living things. The best test of all is his interaction with his environment ie. his peers and repect for himself and others.

Thanks for writing.
Be well,
Rob

I just want to know if my son is normal and if I am doing the right things to help him. I think he learns in a different way than most kids. I want to know if his problems could be considered learning disabilities even though he learns well at home with mom as a reading partner and sometimes scribe.

I talked to the special ed director and the superintendent and showed them his test results as well as work that he is doing now. Because of handwriting difficulties (slow and legible but hands get tired easily) and because he is at different levels for every subject it makes it hard for them to do anything for him in a small town public school. I met with the special ed director in August and they were supposed to try to come up with some kind of educational plan and call us in for a meeting but I guess they can't figure out what to do for him and school will be out for the summer in a couple of months. I tried to convince them to let him go to school part time but they won't allow it.

The reason I mentioned aspergers is because several people have mentioned that possibility when I posted on other message boards. I didn't get a chance to say everything I wanted to say earlier because I had to get off the computer. A lot of people think it is strange that my son started reading at 2, including me and including the doctor who thought he might have aspergers after she read his history but before she talked to him. He also had motor delays which I think can go along with aspergers. At 12 months he was tested because of the motor delays. At that time he had a 50% delay in gross motor skills and hypotonia with no family history of hypotonia. A doctor once told us there was the possibilty of mild birth asphyxia when the cord was wrapped around his neck. One doctor said she thought he might have mild CP, another said he didn't and they just don't know what caused the hypotonia. But the motor delays didn't affect cognitive skills. Receptive and expressive language skills were 50% advanced according to the test at 12 months. I was told that this was unusual because normally kids that can't crawl can't explore and that can affect their cognitive skills. At 12 months he was obsessed with letters, especially A, B P and Z. He wanted me to read a Dr. Seuss alphabet book to him over and over and over and I still have most of it memorized. At 2 1/2 he overhead my husband spell out the word "jeep" and after this and months of his seeming to recognize words I let him try reading a very easy reader book and he could read it. I used to read to him a lot and put my finger under the words as I read so I am guessing that is how he was able to read but I did the same thing with his older half sister and she didn't read until almost 5. His older half brother read very early without being taught. My son also liked to spell. Before he turned 3 he would spell stop, girl, and boy instead of saying the words. He absolutely loved words and wanted me to read the dictionary to him until he turned 4 and discovered encylopedias. Another strange thing about him was that he would only read a couple of sentences at that age and refuse to read more but if I would spell out the words for him he would tell me the words--even words that he had not seen before. We did play word games while he took baths and he sometimes watched a show called "Between the Lions." I think that might be how he learned phonics. He has problems with focusing his vision, maybe related to the hypotonia and will only read a couple of pages before complaining that his eyes are tired so we take turns reading. I think the vision problems explain why he wouldn't read very much at one time but wanted me to spell out the words for him. I think it is very unusual that he would be able to read at the level he does without reading for hours at a time like his friends do. I think maybe it has to do with the types of reading materials he likes. He likes to read National Geographic, classic books like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island, Robin Hood, and the Narnia series. He also liked Eragon. His friends (4th and 5th grade) are reading Harry Potter and Hank the Cow Dog. We started vision therapy at home just today. I am hoping it helps with his reading and visual motor integration.

My son used a lot of metaphors and similes in his speech even at a preschool age and continues to use advanced language and likes to make jokes that are over the heads of his friends who happen to be 3 and 4 years older. His friends tell me he seems like an older kid. The doctor says his mental age is higher than his chronological age and it is okay for him to have older friends. I worry about this because his friends are going into middle school next fall. I just remember a big change in my daughter when she was that age and I didn't like it. He has one friend his age who he connects with only on a Yu-Gi-Oh card level.

He went through a big math learning spurt before he turned 5 but it didn't last nearly as long as the obsessions with words. He liked to solve math problems his own way and not the way I showed him. He is very good with mental math. He learns very quickly and I don't have him do very many worksheets because of his writing difficulties. He likes to play educational computer math games that he found on the internet mostly at a 4th and sometimes 5th grade level.

I thought until recently that I would try to put him back in school for middle school but I have heard that kids like him--into academics and not sports-- are bullied at the school. I don't see how that would be good for any child.

I also don't think my son can get an appropriate education at the public school. One of the teachers made it sound like it would almost be child abuse to send him to that school. What choice do I have but to homeschool for now.

Socially he does well in mixed age groups like his theatre class and church groups. We invite kids who are similar to him (prefer academics over sports)over to play video games. So he does have friends but they are all in school during the day.

March 20, 2006

Good Morning,

You are not going to find the answers you seek at your local school. They are not equipped to deal with this challenge. First of all,regarding any medical concerns that you may have will not be answered until you consult specialists...the best....and that cost money...and that is what needs to be done. If you strongly feel that Chris has medical and/or special needs concerns, you need to bite the bullet and go to physicians and highly skilled professionals. This all cost a great deal of money, but that is your call.

Your home schooling is very smart...at least from what you have described. You should also continue to look to the future....for Chris. You are dealing with challenges that [again] will take high level professionals. The small school that you describe is not charged nor most probably capable of handling these challenges that has been foisted on them by law and limited funding....They cannot do it.....Visit other public schools and private schools and sit in classes to observe....

Be well,and good luck,
Rob

Dear Chrismom,

Thanks for sharing with us. It is wonderful that you are involving Chris in activities that provide opportunities for social development, such as his theater and church group. Finding appropriate friends for gifted children can be difficult as they often connect cognitively with older children, yet emotionally with peers. My suggestion is to involve him in activities with mixed age groups, which is exactly what you seem to be doing. Overall, it sounds like you are dealing very well with a complicated situation.

Depending on your financial constraints, it could be worthwhile to look into alternative schools with small class sizes. Teachers in these environments may have more resources (time, knowledge, materials, etc.) to effectively differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of children like Chris.

I wish you all the best,
Christina

I did a google search for "dance dance revolution therapy" after buying the video game Dance Dance Revolution and dance mat for my son who seems to have slight coordination and balance problems along with hypotonia. In his children's theatre group he is the last to learn the dances almost as if he as some kind of dancing learning disability. He had to learn some dances very quickly when they did their last play "Hello Dolly" because they didn't have a place to rehearse for as long as they usually do. He did finally learn the dances at the last possible second but it was very hard to watch him go through this. We had mentioned his problems to the developmental pediatrician who told me to read the Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun--Activities for Kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction. My son resisted doing any of those activities. The doctor said to limit his video game playing because she doesn't think they are good for anyone. But I found that the Dance Dance Revolution video game seems to be helping my son more than anything else I have tried to do with him. I think the real test will be when he has to learn more dances. If I can tell a difference and my special ed teacher friend also notices a difference then I will tell the doctor about it. The special ed teacher's own kids play video games and she doesn't see a problem with letting them play them. They are very bright children.

If the stories I read online are true the Dance Dance Revolution game is even helping some kids improve their reading.