Education Learning Issues

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR TWICE-EXCEPTIONALITY -- NITE. The Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Iowa is establishing a national resource for 2e children. According to the Center, "The goal of NITE is to provide services for students who are twice-exceptional and training to increase the capacity of psychologists, counselors, and educators nationwide to better serve K-12 twice-exceptional students and their families." Find out more.

WANT TO KNOW YOUR LEARNING STYLE? Or your child's? Take a quiz consisting of 24 questions at Edutopia.org to "learn more about how you learn," according to the site. Take the quiz. (But remember: according to some researchers, learning styles don't exist.)

DOPAMINE AND IMPULSIVITY. A study at the University College London has shown that increased levels of dopamine in the brain make people more likely to choose instant gratification. AD/HD is characterized by high levels of dopamine. The researchers also say that sensory inputs and cues can increase dopamine levels. On the other hand, the researchers found little effect when subjects were given a dopamine suppressant. Read more.

BABY BRAINS. One of our favorite researchers, Alison Gopnik, has an article in the current issue of Scientific American titled "How Babies Think." The article postulates that children learn about the world "in much the same way that scientists do—by conducting experiments, analyzing statistics, and forming intuitive theories of the physical, biological and psychological realms." See the article preview at the magazine website. Take along your credit card if you want to read the full article.

POINTER TO RESOURCES. The Dana Foundation has on its site a PDF called "Brain Connections," a compendium of resources for a wide variety of brain-related conditions, including AD/HD, autism, learning disabilities, and Tourette's. Find it.

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.

HELP EXPLAINING MATH. An online column from The New York Times might be of help to parents attempting to help their bright children with math. Steven Strogatz says of his column, "I’ll be writing about the elements of mathematics, from pre-school to grad school, for anyone out there who’d like to have a second chance at the subject -- but this time from an adult perspective. It’s not intended to be remedial. The goal is to give you a better feeling for what math is all about and why it’s so enthralling to those who get it." Find the columns here.

LEARNING STYLES, ONE MORE TIME -- and probably not the last. In a thoughtful article in Teacher Magazine, a psychological scientist and husband of a classroom teacher provides his take on the controversy between those who insist that learning styles exist and those who deny it, and tries to explain how basic cognitive science can apply to teaching. Read it.

ALL KINDS OF MINDS is an organization that has focused on turning research into educational practices to meet the needs of all students. The organization has announced its list of "Schools of Distinction" that "exemplify how schools can build expertise in learning in order to develop individual intellects, talents, and creativity through innovative teaching; implement a wide range of creative learning concepts that take into consideration students' strengths, affinities and challenges; and help solve problems through addressing student learning issues." Find the list.

MAYBE NOT VACCINES, BUT TOXINS, along with genetics, are the cause of autism, writes Nicolas Kristof. He describes current scientific thinking on the topic, and provides some practical advice on what to avoid -- such as phthalate-containing personal care products. He worries about sensationalizing the risk -- as happened with vaccines -- but says, "On the other hand, in the case of great health dangers of modern times — mercury, lead, tobacco, asbestos — journalists were too slow to blow the whistle. In public health, we in the press have more often been lap dogs than watchdogs." Read the column.

THE CLUSTER GROUPING HANDBOOK is the topic of an interview by Michael Shaughnessy with authors Susan Winebrenner and Dina Brulles. The interview covers how the book can help gifted students, the inclusion in the book of professional development plans and a CD of tools such as interactive lesson plans, and how to "sell" cluster grouping. Find the interview. (2e Newsletter's May, 2009, issue included an article by Brulles and Winebrenner on cluster grouping. Subscribers may read that in the subscriber-only area of the 2e Newsletter website.)

LD RESOURCES. On Feburary 26th, The New York Times published two articles dealing the learning disabilities. One article deals with ways to make sure a child is getting the educational help needed, for example by knowing rights granted under IDEA. The second article offers resources for parents of students with LDs.

EDUTOPIA's current online issue features parent participation at school -- what it can accomplish and how to encourage it.

THE G-FACTOR might not reside in a specific area of the brain, but rather in a network of regions across the brain, according to a study reported in ScienceDaily. One of the reasearchers says, "...the particular regions and connections we found are quite in line with an existing theory about intelligence called the 'parieto-frontal integration theory.' It says that general intelligence depends on the brain's ability to integrate -- to pull together -- several different kinds of processing, such as working memory." If you're into the nuts and bolts -- the neurons and synapses -- of intelligence, read the article.

MONTHLY BRIEFING. Many of the items posted here make it into the free monthly email briefing from 2e Newsletter. Readers who want to make sure they don't miss the content from blog postings may sign up to receive the briefing here.

WE THOUGHT WE WERE IN A NEWS DROUGHT during the first week of 2010, that perhaps we'd used up all of the news on twice-exceptionalities, child development, and gifted education in the last weeks of 2009. But, thankfully, not so. First, though, two non-news items.

REACTION TO "BAD RAP ON LEARNING STYLES." One of our readers, a clinical psychologist with a research degree (Ph.D.) who describes herself as a "fairly educated individual who has spent many years on the inside of the research bubble arguing over and interpreting this kind of research," had this to say about the item we posted on December 19th: "I would interpret this article to suggest that the evidence for or against learning styles is inconclusive because the many studies reviewed lacked equivalent methodologies. This often happens when a meta-analytic study is done... There may indeed be such a thing as learning styles but the current research methods we use have not been able to clearly identify it. Like the authors, I would recommend more research that uses standardized protocols, which can be done. Reading this review from the standpoint of a parent and general consumer, I would be led to conclude that there is no such thing as learning styles, and that would be sad, because I have been able to provide better help to both my son and daughter with their schooling with the info I've gleaned on learning styles." Thanks, Janet.

THE JANUARY/FEBRUARY ISSUE OF 2e NEWSLETTER is on its way to subscribers. The 25-page issue focuses on what we can do for 2e children in the area of strategies to promote learning. Also included: Part 2 of Marlo Payne Thurman's article "Too Tired: Energy and Wellness in 2e Children." The Bridges Academy "Mythology of Learning" series concludes with a piece on ways to encourage organization in 2e children. Dr. Sylvia Rimm addresses stuttering in a bright young person, and Bob Seney enthusiastically reviews The Unfinished Angel. Columns and the Bridges article will be posted on the public area of www.2eNewsletter.com within a week. Subscribers to the newsletter will then be able to find all content from this issue in the subscriber-only area.

SPEAKING OF RESEARCH, as we did in our first item, the Belin-Blank Center has announced this year's Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development, to be held on the University of Iowa campus on May 16-18. The Center describes the event as "internationally renowned for being one of the premiere scholarly conferences where the latest in gifted education research is presented." Find out more.

WHEN THE SECOND "e" IS EMIGRATION. The New York Times ran an engaging story about a gifted young man at Princeton who had escaped the poverty and drug violence of Columbia, received his American schooling in a "gritty factory town," achieved valedictory honors, and was admitted to Princeton, where he continued to achieve in and out of the classroom. The problem: his green card was fake, and Princeton was asking to see his documents in response to a federal government requirement. How does the story end? You'll have to read the article.

AD/HD MEETS fMRI. Researchers at the University of Texas are using functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain activity of people with AD/HD, both on and off the drug Concerta. Evidently the researchers are still looking for additional subjects, so if you're in the San Antonio area and interested, check out the article.

AUTISM IN THE NEWS. Two news releases report on autism research. From the first: "Researchers at UC Davis have identified 10 locations in California where the incidence of autism is higher than surrounding areas in the same region. Most of the areas, or clusters, are in locations where parents have higher-than-average levels of educational attainment. Because children with more educated parents are more likely to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, one need look no further for a cause, the authors say. The other clusters are located close to major autism treatment centers." Find it. The second release describes an Israeli researcher's definition of "a new, integrated interpretation of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), which makes it easier to understand both the commonalities and differences between ASD and other conditions." You can read the release here, but it looks as if you'll have to find the December issue of The Neuroscientist to get the details. Separately, President Obama's nomination to a seat on the National Council on Disability, a 22-year-old, outspoken Aspie, is thought by some to be "not quite autistic enough," according to a news article. Find out more.

UC DAVIS MIND INSTITUTE. The University of California at Davis, as we found when we went to the site to check out one of the press releases above, is home to the M.I.N.D. Institute, self-described as "a collaborative international research center, committed to the awareness, understanding, prevention, care and cure of neurodevelopmental disorders." On its site, the Institute offers a resource center with pointers to resources in a number of areas of interest to those who raise, teach, and counsel twice-exceptional children. Find it.

GOLD VIDEO. We've mentioned the Vancouver, BC, GOLD program for gifted/LD students at the high school level. On YouTube you can see three short videos providing perspectives of parents, student participants, teachers, and counselors about the program. What also comes out is the 2e dilemma -- wanting to succeed, finding barriers to success, and then (with luck or a program like GOLD) being able to succeed. If you watch the videos, be sure to check out the body language of the young man in the second video as he's put on the spot by his parents and a teacher -- and give him credit for being willing to open up as he did. Find the videos.

THE "RAIN MAN" DIES. Kim Peek, the model for the savant main character of the 1988 film "Rain Man" has died, and a New York Times obituary provides insights into his life, his talents, and his limitations. Peek could read books two pages at a time, one page with each eye, and was "the Mount Everest of memory," according to the obituary; by the time he was six, he had read and memorized the first eight volumes of the family encyclopedia. Peek was not autistic, but had abnormalities in the structure of his brain. His social skills and physical coordination were poor, and he required help to dress or brush his teach. Read more about Peek's life, including his amazing talents.

LEARNING STYLES: AT IT AGAIN. Daniel Willingham continues defending his position that "there is no evidence supporting any of the many learning style theories that have been proposed." He responds to the most common complaints about his position, and takes a swipe at teacher training. Find it.

2e CRIMINAL HACKER. A 28-year-old college dropout (and, we assume, highly gifted individual), has, according to The New York Times, pleaded guilty to breaking into corporate computer systems to steal credit card data. The hacker's psychiatrist says that the behavior was "consistent with the description of Asperger's disorder." The hacker's lawyer says the hacker suffers from Internet addiction and drug abuse. Read more.

ANOTHER BAD RAP FOR LEARNING STYLES. A "team of eminent researchers in the psychology of learning" has reviewed the literature on learning styles and concludes that the studies used to differentiate learners as auditory or visual, et cetera, were not properly designed and conducted to be scientifically valid. "Given the lack of scientific evidence, the authors argue that the currently widespread use of learning-style tests and teaching tools is a wasteful use of limited educational resources." Read more.

1 IN 300, 1 IN 150, 1 IN 100. That's the progression of the incidence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in eight-year olds, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. According to The New York Times, ASD includes Asperger's as well as "pervasive developmental disorder," covering children with social difficulties or some learning and sensory issues. The article notes that the incidence rate is similar to that in a study published in October; in that study, almost 40 percent of those with an ASD diagnosis later grew out of it or no longer had it. Read the article.

GIFTED TIMES FOUR. A New York Times article on December 19th noted that all four quadruplets from a Connecticut family received acceptances to Yale University, based on their stellar academic and non-academic accomplishments. Will they attend? Read the article.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY. If you have a gifted or twice-exceptional child who might benefit from assistive technology for listening, math, organization, reading, or writing, check out a primer on the topic at LD OnLine.

IT'S THE LEFT FUSIFORM GYRUS -- that's the part of the brain recently determined to be essential for normal, rapid understanding of the meaning of written text and word spelling, and we thought you'd want to know that. The findings, unfortunately, came about when a patient with above-normal reading and spelling abilities had to have part of the brain removed because of a tumor. For those of you who do not read the Journal Cortex (us included), you may read about the findings at Science Daily. Separately, another report in Science Daily links psychological trauma to poor functioning of the hippocampus, a brain structure that stores and retrieves memories. The research helps explain why traumatized children behave as they do and could improve treatments, according to the report. Find it.

TREATMENT FOR MENTAL DISORDERS IN KIDS. Got a gifted kid with AD/HD? Depression? Conduct disorder? Anxiety? A combination? Overall, only 55 percent of children with those disorders receive professional treatment, according to the Los Angeles Times. Contributing factors: socio-economic status and race. Find the article.

DOES NEUROFEEDBACK WORK? An article in the Washington Post covers pro and con positions regarding the effectiveness of biofeedback for conditions as varied as AD/HD, depression, anxiety, autism, and brain injuries. The article notes that the National Institute of Mental Health is sponsoring the first government-funded study on neurofeedback. The article provides several case studies -- one where an out-of-control child having difficulty with his classes turned into an AP, 3.5-average student -- and reveals that the author has also had positive experiences with neurofeedback. Read more.

RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION. Among the subscribers to 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter are parents whose gifted children, because of behavior stemming from exceptionalities such as Asperger's, may be potential candidates for restraint or seclusion in school. If this is of concern to you, check out Wrightslaw's Special Ed Advocate for this week; it deals with new federal (U.S.) legislation that will regulate restraint and seclusion in schools. Find it.

KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH THAT YOUNG GENERATION. Here's the start of the current issue of "Trends & Tudes," an e-newsletter from Harris Interactive and containing results of recent surveys of youth: "It's 2009; do you know what kids today are saying, thinking, and doing? Well for starters... they are shopping, maintaining relationships, absorbing technology, worrying about the future, aspiring to greatness, and going online and going online and going online." The newsletter covers how teens and pre-teens shop and spend, their attitudes toward new technology, and their relationships with friends and family. For example, when asked who they most like to spend time with, kids 8-12 list Mom as #1; by 18-24, the top two choices are friends and boy/girl friend. Or, find out which age group most wants to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. Anyway, if you feel out of touch based on your at-home sample of 1, 2, or 3, check out the survey results.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER ISSUE OF 2e NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED. A few weeks ago we published the most recent issue of 2e Newsletter, for those who raise, educate, and counsel gifted children with learning challenges. Subscribers can also find the content of the issue in the subscriber-only area of 2eNewsletter.com, along with content from all past issues. Non-subscribers can access "Dear Dr. Sylvia," an advice column, and "Bob Seney on Books," recommendations for literature likely to appeal to young people who are gifted and 2e. Find those columns. Find other "public" content on the site.

EDNEWS INTERVIEWS JEAN PETERSON. Michael Shaughnessy of EdNews.org recently interviewed Professor Jean Peterson of Purdue University. Peterson may be familiar to readers of 2e Newsletter for her work with gifted underachievers. In the interview, she describes her work, her latest book (The Essential Guide to Talking with Gifted Teens), and what she sees as concerns of gifted young people today. Find the interview.

ARTS, ATTENTION, COGNITION. In a newly-posted article at Cerebrum, two researchers argue that arts training can strengthen attention spans, improving cognition. The core of the argument: "We know that the brain has a system of neural pathways dedicated to attention. We know that training these attention networks improves general measures of intelligence. And we can be fairly sure that focusing our attention on learning and performing an art—if we practice frequently and are truly engaged—activates these same attention networks." Read the article.

PREPPING ASPIES FOR COLLEGE. A handful of college campuses in the US provide a college internship program to help young people with high-functioning autism prepare for college. The programs allow the young people to attend college while at the same time getting support in academics and social skills. Read the article.

THE PROBLEMS WITH SPECIAL ED is the title of an article in the National Review Online. The author points out discrepancies among states in the percentages of children placed in special education; the growth over the years in only two of the 13 federal categories of LDs (specifically, SLD and AD/HD); and what he calls "the misuse of special education." An example of the last point: schools that obtain extra funding from state and federal governments to address the problem. The author asserts that some special ed students struggle not because of LDs, but because of poor previous instruction or a difficult home life. Find the article.

DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES ARE BUNK? A couple weeks ago we noted in this blog a Washington Post column about Daniel Willingham and his book Why Don't Students Like School? This week, Willingham makes a guest appearance in the column to make his case against the belief that students learn best when they are taught in a way that matches their learning styles. He says, "There just doesn’t seem to be much evidence that kids learn in fundamentally different ways." Read his argument. And if he's right?

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE ON AD/HD. Do you raise or teach a gifted young person with AD/HD? David Rabiner alerted us to an upcoming conference on AD/HD scheduled for October 5-7. The fee: $197 or $297, the higher amount including transcripts of all sessions and a set of CD recordings of all sessions. On their website, the organizers offer a long list of reasons why you should attend -- including a virtual conference goodie bag.