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Showing posts with label differentiation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label differentiation. Show all posts

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

DAVIDSON ACADEMY AND GIFTED EDUCATION. The cover story of the August 29th edition of the Christian Science Monitor featured the Davidson Academy as the apex of gifted education in the United States, and then used the Academy as a counterpoint to discuss the "class ceiling," limits on education for most gifted students. From the article: "...how many more American students share their experience of idling in their classrooms, unaware of their potential, or bursting with frustration because only a fraction of their curiosity and capability is tapped?" Read the article.
DYSLEXIC ACHIEVER. A young woman, her dyslexia undiagnosed as a child, who used to be angry and resentful at people not seeing who she really was, now sees dyslexia as "the best thing that ever happened to me." A successful adult, she found it refreshing that those in the business world "weren't looking for what was wrong, but saw what was right, and beyond that, wanted to use it constructively toward a common goal." Read more.
LEARNING STYLES. We recently posted on another debunking of learning styles. That article started a good discussion at Edweek.org. If this topic interests you, find the discussion and join in!
BRAINWORKS. In her latest newsletter, Carla Crutsinger addresses the importance of sleep in attaining "stress-free mornings" during the school year. She notes that AD/HD kids take a long time to fall asleep, probably depriving them of the necessary 9 to 11 hours of sleep. She offers tips for avoiding sleep problems; find them. Separately, a study of the sleep habits of college students finds that many are "undermining their own education" because of poor sleep habits. Read more and find additional tips for "sleep hygiene."
ATTENTION RESEARCH UPDATE. David Rabiner's August edition of this newsletter concerned a study about how children's symptoms of AD/HD affect parents' feelings and behavior. The short answer: adversely. The lesson: "Clearly understanding thatgetting children to change core ADHD symptoms is difficult... may protect parents from feeling increasingly powerless about exertingpositive influence on their child and help them remain engaged with theirchild in ways that children experience as warm, nurturing and supportive." Read more about the study. 
MORE ON AD/HD. Inattention is a bigger problem than hyperactivity when it comes to finishing high school, according to a Canadian study. Find out more. 
FLU SHOTS. The American Association of Pediatrics has issued a statement urging parents to vaccinate family members and caregivers. The AAPrecommends everyone 6 months or older receive influenza vaccine. According to the AAP, the 2011-2012 fluvaccine protects against the same three influenza strains as last year’svaccine. But because a person’s immunity drops by as much as 50 percent 6-12months after vaccination, it’s important to receive another dose this year tomaintain optimal protection. Read more at www.healthychildren.org/flu. 
THE DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION BOOK OF LISTS has Whitney Hoffman as co-author. Hoffman, who for awhile pubished podcasts on LDs and occasionally on twice-exceptionality, describes the book at this website.
AND FINALLY, THIS. Japanese researchers have developed a  chemical that turns biological tissue transparent, allowing "a revolution in optical imaging." The researchers are using the chemical to study non-living mouse brains but are on the track of another chemical which might allow the study of live tissue. All of this sheds new "light" on the question, "What do you have in mind?" Read more.

LD GOES TO COLLEGE. US News provides eight steps for students with LDs who want to attend college: Start preparing early; experiment with technology; be creative; put the student in charge; and four more. Find the article. (The article says that 3 percent of teens are diagnosed with LDs, a figure that sounds low to us.)
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION WEBINAR. Compass Learning is offering a complimentary, one-hour, on-demand webinar on differentiated instruction. You may find more information and register here.
WAR: OPHTHALMOLOGY VERSUS DEVELOPMENTAL OPTOMETRY. We've run articles in 2e Newsletter about developmental optometry and the use of vision therapy for reading problems. In the second of two articles in the St. Louis Beacon, titled "Ophthalmologists express skepticism about vision therapy," you can get a look at what appears to be a dispute between two professional organizations concerning the use of vision therapy. Find it. Read the first article, the one presenting the point of view of developmental optometrists, here.
BOOK DEAL. Until December 10, Prufrock Press offers 20 percent off the cover price of Beverly Trail's new book Twice-Exceptional Gifted Children. Find out more.
AUTISM MARKER? Yale School of Medicine researchers may have found a fMRI pattern that could characterize a predisposition to ASD. The study included kids 4 to 17, and discovered three distinct "neural signatures. Read more.
SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE MEETING HIGHLIGHTS. Glen Close and Representative Patrick Kennedy both addressed the annual meeting on the topics (respectively) of the stigma of mental illness and brain research. You may view their presentations here.
PARADE MAGAZINE ON TEEN BRAINS. Last Sunday, Parade ran an article characterizing the teen brain and why it's like it is -- and what we can do about it. Find it.
CULTURAL NEUROSCIENCE is the topic of a podcast and brief article at the Scientific American site. Neural responses to similar situations differ across cultures. For example: "Scientists found that when American subjects viewed a silhouette in a dominant posture (standing up, arms crossed) their brain’s reward circuitry sparked. Not so for Japanese subjects. For the Japanese, their reward circuitry fired when they saw a submissive silhouette (head down, arms at sides)." Find out more.     
FOLLOWUP ON CYBERTHERAPY. A Scientific American writer comments on a New York Times article we blogged about recently concerning therapy by machine.The writer brings up the "Dodo effect," which (if you're heavily into therapies) you can read about here.
STUDY IN SPAIN, FLY FOR FREE. But the offer is restricted, of course. It applies to high school students enrolling in a particular Spanish-language immersion program and flying from Los Angeles to Madrid on Iberia Airlines. The deal is supposedly to mark the resumption of non-stop service by Iberia between the two cities. None-the-less, if your bright young person happens to need to learn Spanish next summer, check it out. 
APP FOR HEALTH CARE. An emergency-room physician has developed an app for iPhones that helps parents track various aspects of a child's care, helping to coordinate providers, keep food diaries, provide medication alerts, schedule appointments, record therapists' recommendations, chart sleep habits, and more. Originally developed to help the physician's wife care for their autistic child, the free app may help manage a variety of chronic conditions. Find out more.
LITERATE AND DYSPRAXIC. A young woman in the UK who has strengths in written and verbal communication writes about her dyspraxia, a condition characterized by difficulties in motor coordination which can also manifest itself with other challenges. Read more.

STILL BEHIND but catching up. Here are today's offerings from recent new reports, resources, and websites concerning giftedness, LDs, child development, parenting, and teaching. 
TURNING AD/HD INTO A BOOK. A writer/reporter in California has written a book about AD/HD, her son, and herself. NPR highlighted the book and published an excerpt. Find it.
POLLING ABOUT LDs. A poll taken earlier this year of 1000 adults shows misconceptions about learning disabilities, according to an article in Education Week. For example, most people consider AD/HD to be a learning disability, although it's not. Read more.
EDUCATOR'S RESOURCE. Edutopia offers a free resource guide on strengthening the connection between school and families. Find the "Home to School Connections Guide" at the Edutopia site.
RADICAL ACCELERATION. The Daily Herald, a Chicagoland newspaper, carried an article focusing on several profoundly gifted young people and the way they was accelerated in their education, culminating in some cases in early admission to college. Read the article.
DIAGNOSIS VIA MRI. Two recent news items concerned  the use of MRIs to diagnose various second exceptionalities. One article covered a study that used MRIs to differentiate AD/HD and bipolar disorder; the other covered a study using MRIs to diagnose autism.
RICK RIORDAN ON READING. The author of the Percy Jackson series reflects in a Wall Street Journal blog about four things he's learned about helping children with learning challenges become lifelong readers. The Percy Jackson series began as bedtime stories for Riordan's AD/HD and dyslexic son, now 16. Read the blog.
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY. Wrightslaw has added to its site a page on assistive technolololgy. The October 19th edition of Special Ed Advocate offers several articles on the topic. If your gifted/LD child needs AT, find out more about the topic.
NEW BOOK ON DIFFERENTIATION. Minnesota educator Richard Cash is interviewed in EdNews.org about his new book Advancing Differentiation, published by Free Spirit Press. In the interview, Cash also touches on topics such as a longer school year, learning styles, and heterogeneous classrooms. Find the interview.

IQ FROM 67 TO OFF THE CHARTS. The Capital Times, of Madison Wisconsin, carried a story about a young man diagnosed as autistic at age 2. As a toddler, he scored 67 on an IQ test. Thanks to attention from his family, however, and the therapists and program at the Wisconsin Early Autism Project, the young man is now a fifth grader who "sets the academic bar high in his classroom," is at at the top of the game in Wisconsin math competitions, is school chess champion, and is "an excellent musician with perfect pitch." Read about the program he participated in as a pre-schooler, along with how his teachers since then have helped.

EARLY COLLEGE INITIATIVE. Michael Shaugnhessey interviews Michael Webb, an advocate for early admission to college as an approach to high school reform. Schools participating in the initiative blend high school and college academics and compress the time it takes to both graduate from high school and complete the first two years of college. According to Webb, there are now 212 participating schools which serve more than 46,000 students. If you're looking to challenge that gifted or 2e learner you know, read the interview.

UNWRAPPING THE GIFTED. Tamara Fisher has posted on summer learning activities for high-ability kids. See her choices.

LD IN COLLEGE. Read about the experiences of a young woman with AD/HD who attends Landmark College, and how learning can be difficult. The young woman has a coach, and has learned "how to make school work for her." Find the story.

EDUTOPIA, in a recent email, highlighted two of its discussion groups, which have, over the past months, accumulated lots of posts and (presumably) lots of shared knowledge. One group is on differentiated instruction; the other is on learning styles and multiple intelligences. If those topics are of interest to you as a teacher of gifted or 2e kids, check out the groups.

AP VERSUS IB. If the debate over the merits of those respective programs is meaningful to you, read Jay Mathews' recent column on the topic.

From the Week of May 17th

GIFTED/LD ACHIEVER. The Emanuel family in the Chicago area has provided the nation with President Obama's chief of staff (Rahm), a special adviser to the Office of Management and Budget (Ezekiel), and the CEO of the second-largest talent agency in Hollywood (Ari), according to an article in The New Yorker. Which of the three gifted brothers has an LD? Ari, who had to achieve in spite of dyslexia and AD/HD. From the article: "Ari’s grades were invariably the lowest. Because he is dyslexic, he had trouble with words. And, because he has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, he had trouble concentrating on the words he was having trouble with." Read about some of Ari's childhood challenges.

GIFTED EDUCATION PRESS QUARTERLY's summer edition is out, with articles gifted education in China and parent/school communication in gifted education, among others. Find the Quarterly.

AUTISTIC ADVOCATE. Newsweek profiled 21-year-old Ari Ne'eman, an Aspie college student who has founded the non-profit Autistic Self-Advocacy Network. According to the article, Ne'eman champions "neurodiversity" and sees autism not only as a disability but as a different way of being. Advances in genetics related to autism bother him, and he's especially leery of any genetically-based prenatal test for autism. Read the article.

SENDING THAT BRIGHT, LD KID TO COLLEGE? Find out about the rights and protections your child has under Section 504 and ADA in this week's edition of the Wrightslaw Special Ed Advocate. Also read about accommodations, self-advocacy, and resources. Find Special Ed Advocate. You can also read a separate article from the Worcester, Massachusetts, Telegram about college choices for young people with LDs; go there.

SYNCHRONICITY. The last issue of 2e Newsletter featured differentiation, and last week's EdWeek chat with Carol Ann Tomlinson was on the same topic. Now comes notice that Prufrock Press is offering a 20 percent discount on a book for teachers titled Differentiation Made Simple, by Mary Ann Carr. We've not read about the book or seen reviews, but if you believe in cosmic timing or things happening in three's, you can check it out at the Prufrock site.

YOU KNOW YOUR KID'S BRAIN IS DIFFERENT THAN YOURS. A study reported in Science Daily tells how: Instead of having networks made of brain regions that are distant from each other but functionally linked, most of the tightest connections in a child's brain are between brain regions that are physically close to each other. But even though the brains may be organized differently, children as young as seven have brains that are capable. Says a researcher, "It's differently organized but at least as capable as an adult brain." Unfortunately, the article didn't say much about what the difference means in the real world of family and school. Read the report.

MORE ADVANCED PLACEMENT. EdNews.org's Michael Shaughnessy interviewed a researcher analyzing the use of AP classes and exams in the United States. Students are taking more courses and exams, evidently to help with college applications. Find out more.

ASPIES: LACKING EMPATHY OR FEELING TOO MUCH? The Toronto Star reported on a theory that Aspies feel too much -- that they are hypersensitive to experience and have an overwhelming fear response. Find the story. (On the other hand, the article also quotes an Asperger's Association official as saying, "If you've seen one Aspie, you've seen one Aspie.")

MOTHERS: HERE'S YOUR JUSTIFICATION for that morning sickness you had. You were carrying a bright kid. Researchers at a Toronto hospital studied a group of women who had morning sickness during pregnancy and compared them with a group who didn't have morning sickness. The result: the children of morning-sick mothers were somewhat more intelligent than children from the other group of mothers, as manifested in performance IQ scores and certain language skills. Read the article.

MORE NEWS as the week goes on...


From the Week of May 10th

FRIDAY: EDWEEK CHAT ON DIFFERENTIATION. The current issue of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter focuses on differentiation and cluster grouping and includes material by Carol Ann Tomlinson, a differentiation expert. At 3 p.m. (Eastern) this Friday, May 15, Education Week offers an online chat on the topic with Professor Tomlinson. Find out more. (Transcripts are available for completed chats.)

LAUGHING AT (OR WITH) THE GIFTED. Tamara Fisher's latest blog entry drew our attention to the network television show "The Big Bang Theory," a sitcom portraying young, gifted, academician/researchers at Caltech -- four men and a woman. Fisher says she's hooked on the program, and provides links to some episodes of the show available online. Find her post.

LAUGHING AT (THE COMIC WITH) AD/HD. In an article in the Toronto Star, a Canadian comedian describes the effect of AD/HD on his life and work. Not diagnosed -- as sometimes happens -- until an offspring received the label, Rick Green is involved in a national public-awareness campaign on AD/HD, according to the article. An interesting sideline: the article included language from an AD/HD expert who contends that attention deficit results from childhood stress, a theory new to us. Find the article.

A SECOND "e": BURNOUT? Science Daily reports a Finnish study showing that up to 20 percent of success-oriented, upper-secondary-school females suffer from school burnout, which can in turn lead to depression. (Boys, according to the researchers, "tend to develop more of a cynical, negative stance towards school.") The article also reports on higher education burnout. Read it.

FOLLOW-UP: MUSICAL PHARMACOLOGY. In an item the week of March 29th, we mentioned a New York Times article on musical pharmacology. This week, we heard from Dr. Roland Haas, CEO of a firm offering a product mentioned in the article. He suggests that those interested in more information on the topic go to his firm's site, www.sanoson.at (English version available). He and a colleague who was quoted in the Times article have also written a book; more information here. Finally, on the topic of the influence of music in education Hass suggests the writings of Hans Guenther Bastian, although a quick Google search tells us that you won't get far without a working knowledge of German.

2e BUT COLLEGE VALEDICTORIAN -- thanks to his mother's homeschooling. A Georgia mother declined to believe early prognoses that neither of her sons would be able attend college. One son was dyslexic and dysgraphic; the other dyslexic with auditory processing issues. According to the article, the first son is the valedictorian of his class at Augusta State University, and the other son will graduate from the college this summer. Read the article. [UPDATE 5/15: Read a post-graduation article about the event and the valedictorian.]

WRIGHTSLAW THIS WEEK. Here's what's in it, according to the publishers: "In this issue of the Special Ed Advocate we answer questions about behavior assessments, positive intervention plans and support, and what you can do to get help for children with behavior problems." If the topic rings a bell with you, check it out.

LD ONLINE'S RECOMMENDED BOOKS. Books of note highlighted in an email today include: Understanding Your Child's Brain and Behavior from Birth to Age 6; A Guide to Collaboration for IEP Teams [good luck -ed.]; Levine's A Mind at a Time; Accommodations in Higher Education Under the ADA; Addressing the Challenging Behavior of Children with High Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome...; Attention, Memory, and Executive Function; Understanding the Social Lives of Children [scary thought]; and more. Find the recommendations here.

2e NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS, please note that the contents of the May/June issue of 2e Newsletter are now posted in the subscriber-only area of the website. You know where it is; if not, ask for a reminder. Non-subscribers may find some of the content in the public area of the site, in particular: "Fighting for FAPE," the story of a family looking for educational justice for their 2e son; Part 3 of the "Mythology of Learning" series written by experts from Bridges Academy; Bob Seney's column reviewing literature likely to appeal to 2e readers; "Ask Dr. Sylvia," advice from Dr. Sylvia Rimm; and the "Parents' Perspective" column, this one by Sarah Garrison.

SPOTLIGHT ON 2e SERIES. Many of you are aware that Glen Ellyn Media also offers a "Spotlight on 2e Series" of booklets on various aspects of twice-exceptionality. For the rest of May, we're offering free shipping on the booklets, and many subscribers and non-subscribers alike are taking advantage. Subscribers, check your email inbox; non-subscribers, go here to find out more about the booklets and see the offer.

2010 2e CONFERENCE. The Weinfeld Education Group and AEGUS (Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students) are planning a conference called "Diamonds in the Rough: Smart Kids Who Learn Differently." For educators, parents, and students, the conference is scheduled for March 11-13 of next year in Chevy Chase, Maryland. According to the organizers, highlights will include best practices for identifying the aforementioned kids; research-based strategies and interventions for helping them; the presentation of a lifetime achievement award to Dr. Susan Baum; and a presentation by Jonathan Mooney. We'll pass on more information as we receive it.

SMART, BUT NO OUTPUT. Lorel Shea, the gifted education editor for Bella Online, has posted an article about what happens and what to do when a child's input facilities work just fine, and the child is able to learn all kinds of things -- but the child has difficulty with output in the form of written expression. See the article.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR WRITING. By coincidence, we just received a press release noting that AlphaSmart's NEO 2 classroom device now has Text2Speech features that allow learners to hear back what they keyboard into the device. In addtion, NEO 2 works with Google Docs and allows students and teachers to wirelessly access, store, edit, and share documents. Looks like there are some other handy features for teachers, too. We've had personal experience with AlphaSmart's products and have been impressed. Find out more.

SO HOW'S THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR KID? Science Daily reports on a study of tension in the relationship between parents and child. Among the findings: parents are bothered more than the kids, older children bother parents more than younger ones, and daughters can be more aggravating than sons. Read the report.

RECOVERY FROM AUTISM? USA Today reports on a study of 58 mildly-autistic children with above-average IQs. At least ten percent of the children, after years of intensive behavioral therapy, were no longer considered autistic. Read the article.

ON THE MATTER OF ATTENTION. A recent New York Times article focuses on attention and concentration. The article says that novel stimuli tend to gain the brain's attention, even over something you're trying to concentrate on. The brain can override this voluntarily, but overriding involves syncing neuronal oscillation (gamma waves) to direct the brain to attend to something else. But there's more: apparently, pulses of light have the capability to induce gamma waves in the brain. One scientist foresees using low-wavelength light to penetrate the skull and help direct attention by synchronizing neurons -- no more Ritalin. Also in the article: tips for increasing concentration, and the assertion that "multitasking is a myth." Read the article.