Please choose one of the following:
- What do you see as the unique role of attention in learning? Think of students in your classes whose attention controls are not operating in an efficient manner. What characteristics do they exhibit? More importantly, what are accomodations and interventions you might implement to help these students?
- React to the following quote from Mind at a Time. " We know he can do the work if he wants to. In fact, when he can overcome his attitude problems, he will succeed. Until then, it is up to him. We can't help him until he helps himself. "
27 comments:
I struggle with the quote from a Mind at a Time. Based on our class today, the attitude of the people (assuming parents) is what needs to change. Although this quote is taken out of context, I am fairly certain, the student has some learning difficulties. If the parents were using the Neurodevelopment model, they would be looking at how to help their child learn the way that he needs to learn and would also see the strengths that the child possess. It would be wonderful if they could see the potential for success, instead of his failures. Lastly, why would anyone ever give up on a child? As human beings, we should try as hard as we can to help children and never give up. I believe this is one of the strengths of the Neurodevelopment model.
Tova Leibovic
The quotation from A Mind at a Time reminds me of one of the principles of education at the school where I work, which is that children learn not if they want to, but if they are able. The speaker assumes that the student does not want to learn, that his “attitude problems” are in his control, and that he consciously allows them to stand between himself and his education. In fact, this student is, for some reason, not able to learn. There is something in his way that he can’t affect—a memory or attention deficiency, or any number of other weaknesses—that is preventing him from completing his work. The speaker is wrong when they say, “we can’t help him until he helps himself.” Quite the opposite—the student can’t help himself until they help him figure out what it is that is holding him back, and what strengths he can use to combat this weaknesses. Jenny Graham
This quote is a confirmation of the old give up model. When we see that a student is struggling we immediately identify his weaknesses and label the student. If we as educators would just take the time to try and Identify the source of the problem, such as memory, or low motivation we could tailor some strategies to assist the student. In the reading we have been doing for another class, Van De Walle states: "All students are able to learn and understand". We can help facilitate this by identifying a students strengths and weaknesses. Then we are able to teach to the strengths. If the student has an attitude problem and never wants to do his reading than find out what he likes and try giving him reading material on what he likes. There isn't a one solution fits all for this and I understand that it can be frustrating but lets not give up on our students.
Jason Justin
The above statement comes from a parent who is “fed up” with his son’s educational inabilities that have not been addressed properly. The parent is convinced that his child is lazy and the assessment team (parent and teacher, etc.) will not help “until he helps himself” even though the child is desperately seeking help, though he may not be able to communicate it effectively.
The fact that the parents have given up is not extraordinary. By putting the blame of the challenge of the student, the parent removes himself from the situation, thus releasing himself of responsibility. Going back to dual-income families and single-parent families mentioned in the first blog, parents today are facing more challenges with, for example, childcare and scheduling. Children have never come with instructions, are wired differently, and many traditional styles of teaching have dismissed such realities.
-Jennifer Pershes
Attention is essential for learning. We need to pay attention in order to take in the information that is necessary in order to learn. Students who have trouble paying attention are labeled as "hyper" because they are overly active and fidgety. It is very important that the teacher and the parents help the student understand that it is not his/her fault and that there is a phiosiological reason for their attention deficit. In addition, there are stratagies and accomodation that can help the student that has trouble paying attention. The student should sit in the front of the classroom to help him focus on what the teacher is teaching. The student should also be allowed to take short breaks when necessary to help him/her refocuss. In addition, the student and the teacher can agree on a signal that the teacher can use to help the student know when the teacher is going to say something important, or when the student is distracted. At home, the parents can help the student by helping him/her get organized and having a daily planner for writing down assignments. They can also help the student by making sure that the student gets plenty of sleep because this will also help the student pay attention.
olga Collins
The quote from "Mind at a Time" misinterprets the possible true causes for low academic performance. Problems in motivation and behavior are only symptoms of deeper, more complex, individual neurodevelopmental deficits at play here.
The originator of this quote seems to hold the student solely accountable for low academic performance. Levine's approach toward neurodevelopment as it pertains to learning shows that the inability to take a more holistic approach toward individual strengths and deficits can lead to an overgeneralized misdiagnosis of the true causes for low academic performance. What one finds is that the opposite of the quote is more accurate. One can't help oneself with out informed, proper and accurate help being administered.
michael albert
Attention is vital to the learning process that is a part of every classroom from listening to lectures, reading silently, reading as a group, and listening to others. If students are prone to being easily distracted by noises, wandering off, daydreaming, fidgeting, paying attention to posters/bright colors, watching the window, watching the leaves falling from the tree outside the window and so forth, then it is our duty to help the student make use of his/her mental energy and apply it to the lecture, reading, discussion at hand. If we have students who are likely to observe the minute details on a wall or window then we are dealing with a child who has " visual distractibility."This does not mean that the child does not have the ability to pay attention rather that he/she may be a visual learner and a creative thinker who has a keen eye for identifying patterns and visions that are original and creative. One thing we can do to guide the student is to have him/her whisper to self while one is lecturing and remind the student to ask questions about what he or she should be doing now and in the future. Giving the student a checklist of things that are required for that day would benefit a child with attention difficulties and if it is rewarded with something they enjoy and are good at (say drawing, discussing favorite subjects) then the student will more likely stay on track. Classroom should be clutter free and rid of posters that are distracting so that students dont focus on things that they find bright, colorful (distracting) during class learning time.
Reflecting upon the quote from A Mind at a Time, I realized how just this kind of attitude and mindset (from an adult figure) has damaged the minds of the children, not only in accordance to academic success, but in all that they do.
This quote focuses so much on the "weakness" of the child, which is his "attitude problems" that until he overcomes it, a fair chance
or belief will not be given for him to be successful in whatever work he wants to. As future educators, it is not up to us to decide whether we want to help a child or not. It is our duty and responsibility, to help a student
before the problem becomes a greater problem and then affect the child. Just like there might be something (chores?) we wish to not do, and find no enjoyment in doing- we find a way to motivate ourselves to accomplish that task. As educators, we must find a way to find fun and enjoyment in whatever task the child must accomplish, and do.
-Julie Kim
Dr. Levine's (A Mind at a Time) is an optimistic approach whereby a physiological deficiency is identified. Removes the labels that don't help the child recognize and deal with the deficiency.
The student is assumed to have the ability to do the work when this may not be realistic. This label puts pressure and blame upon the student and this may be totally unfair. The issue is put under the control of the student when the student may not have control over the problem and may not know what the real problem is.
"In fact, he will succeed." It is almost laughable to state with such certainty, anything involving human beings. The real tragedy here is that no real assessment and intervention will take place while waiting for this kid to "grow out of" his attitude problems.
It is clearly a shame to ascribe a deficit to the internal control of a student (such as an attitude problem) and just write the kid off.
There must be some manner of systematic assessment to determine any deficiency in the neurodevelopmental systems.
Response to Role of Attention in Learning:
Attention is a very important part of learning. I believe no learning can occur without adequate attention. In my first day of observations I saw a fourth grade boy, Sunny, with some behaviors that would be the perfect example of attention disorders. As soon as he walks into the room and goes to his table for a group activity, he immediately starts playing with the teacher’s pencils and dry erase markers. When told to put those down he starts to play with a paperclip and then he was asked to give that back. About 2 seconds later, he is bending the corners of his worksheet and refuses to give back the prompt he was told to read aloud. Once everything is removed but his paper and pencil out of his reach he is finally able to focus on his task. In fact when it was again his turn to read the prompt to the group, he read it silently and said the answer. The teacher told him again to read the prompt out loud to everyone and he did it successfully.
I thought the teacher did a good job in not showing any emotion towards his off task behavior, she just said to him calmly to focus on his task and she did not create a scene about the behavior in front of the other children of the group. This way Sunny’s self-esteem is not affected. The teacher seemed to have a few behavior management techniques with him in place already and he seemed to follow that.
Sunny’s behavior exemplified several attention control issues such as weak alertness function (often times he would be distracted by other students in other groups throughout the classroom). He also has somewhat messy handwriting and several times asked questions about what is the next activity (weak saliency determination). I think a schedule of events (agenda)for the day should help him focus more on the task at present. Other accommodations such as stamps for appropriate behavior was used in the classroom and he responded well to that reward.
Silvee Islam
The quote from Mind at a Time presents a very important issue. All teachers and parents have a responsibility to become more informed about the nature of learning and how to help provide positive support. We now know that there are specific factors that inhibit certain aspects of learning and contribute to observed attitude and performance issues. It is also important to note that it is not completely up to these children to change their behaviors and results, they need guidance in order to do so. It is unfortunate that it has taken us this long to begin correcting many harmful philosophies and behaviors towards our students and children.
Michael Crawford
The above quote shows how MANY parents (especially those of low SES levels) seem to disengage themselves from their child’s educational needs. These parents believe that teachers are the sole providers for their kids educational needs and refuse to intervene when tell witness their kids having trouble because it “is not their job to help.” I have witness this time and again while growing up, some of my friends have personally told me that their parents are busy working and cannot be responsible for their education at home, that is their teachers responsibility. Perhaps this is an old ideal; perhaps parents have matured and have begun to realize that they must own up to their responsibility at home.
The child in the above quote has been left to deal with his own problems; he has absolutely no guidance at home, and is obviously suffering from such neglect. Parents need to pay attention to their actions and realized how it is affecting their child’s way of paying attention in class. We are products of our own environments- how can this student pay attention in class if he is not given the attention he needs at home. If most attitudes problems start at home, then fix the home issues and then help the child.
-Michelle Estrada
Attention plays a very important role in the learning process. Attention is necessary in being able to listen to directions, focus on a lecture, or to focus on a class discussion. I have noticed that many of my students focus their attention on a lack of or an abundance of physical stimuli, which leads to self-stimulating behavior. This behavior can be distracting to other students. This behavior also affects the child's learning, because the child is so focused on the lack of physical stimulus that the child cannot concentrate. Examples of this in children include playing with pencils, drumming on desks, or hitting themselves. Accommodations that can help children are usually toys or objects that they can play with, but that will not be distracting to the child or to other students. A "wiggle seat" works for children who seem to move around a lot in their seats. Some of my other students use putty or small objects that are easy to squeeze. This helps them with the physical stimulus they are searching for, while still allowing them to focus on the task at hand.
Something else that works for these students is giving them a "job" to do, such as delivering papers to another room. This allows the student to get out of his or her seat, and to work off some energy that builds up from staying seated for so long.
-Kristen Hellwig
I agree with some of the insights Michelle brought up but I don't think that we can necessarily "fix" things at home. I believe that it would be an exercise in futility. I know there is a movement in child advocacy to reach families at some level, but I believe that usually it is more effective with young families. If a child is older and is described to have 'attitude' problems it is probably too late to reach the family atmosphere and we can only reach that child in our own house. The child does have some personal responsibility but we can not just say it is all up to the child. They are students, not full grown adults and we have a responsibility to model alternate realities to the child and to make the child feel safe, cared for and respected. All children can overcome obstacles but we should not make them feel it is all on them.
Attention is vital to successful learning. Lack of attention can hurt not only learning for the child but disrupt the whole class environment.
This past Spring in a k-2 Special Education class, one 6 year old boy had severe attention problems that inhibited his learning and disrupted the class. "Brad" would not stay seated, loudly demanded what he desired whenever he felt the urge and walked or even ran around grabbing books and toys or classwork from other students' desks. His favorite thing to do was turn off the lights before recess. However, he often cut to the front of the line and turned off the lights before everyone had left the classroom.
The teacher allowed Brad to carry a toy in his hand as an object of focus. But it was usually an action toy and prompted sounds of engines, circular flying of the airplane, rolling the wheels of the truck across desks or other auditory and accompanying physical responses whenever his attention was drawn back to the toy.
He liked to look at pictures and I tried to get him interested in the books on the class library shelves. He'd pick one and we'd spend time looking at the pictures while I read the captions with him. Brad could sometimes read the stories and seemed engaged and paid a little better attention to this kind of reading instruction. I would've liked to find other lessons involving his favorite action toys and activities because when he was engaged in something he enjoyed and found challenging, he stayed focused and seemed to learn.
I think a quieter environment would have helped Brad. He liked to read and I might have focused more on books he liked with pictures of activities and captions he could learn to read.
My other concern was how his running around and loud outbursts affected the rest of the class. He pulled other students away from their own focused attention to lessons. Unfortunately, at recess he usually was ignored for organized games and spent time by himself just running around. I'd follow him and engage him in a game of kick ball or toss but his attention wouldn't hold for more than a few minutes.
I'd love to hear some comments and suggestions of other useful ways to engage this boy to help him focus his attention to his reading lessons. I read Levine, Chapter 3 but had a difficult time identifying ways to use attention controls for him. He had problems with alertness control, attention span control, certainly an insatiable satisfaction control problem. I think he also lacked output pace control.
--Shelley Singer
The quote from Mind at Time testifies to the fact of how much we expect from our children. We want them to have a great attitude towards school were they are expected to be great student. We wanted them to just naturally fit into this model without sometimes even given them the proper guidelines and overlooking their needs. I think we should analyze and trace back to where the attitude problem is coming from. What can we as adult do to teach them to help themselves. I find the last sentence of the quote pretty funny for if the children knew how to help themselves there wouldn’t have any need for parents or teachers. Laura Lozano
The role of attention is central to learning.One has to attend to new information in order to be able to learn.
Characteristics of attention problems that I have seen in my classroom are: fidgeting,playing with pencil or other materials on desk,speaking out of turn, difficulty staying on task or frustration with doing a task that one does not particularly like(coloring).
Interventions: have student sit at front of room near teacher to prevent distractions,take tests in a quiet area,brain breaks(mentioned in Levine book)during long assignments,showing one problem at a time on the overhead, repeat instructions.
A child can not change the way he is made.He can learn to cope with his attention problems with the help of the teacher and parents.The teacher should be aware of why paying attention is difficult for some students and know what she can do to assist the student.
I have to agree with Olga’s statement. Attention is a vital part of a student’s learning process. Being able to pay attention in a classroom is a big part if a student is successful. Students are quickly labeled AD/HD. Speaking as a parent of a son that was diagnosed with AD/HD at age six; in high school my son would come exhausted from school. It was mentally tiring he would come home and knock out for 2 to 3 hours. When he did homework he needed the IPod going. He needed that music to help him concentrate. That’s what worked for him. The music would distract me when I would try to help him with his homework. Books that he needed to read for class we would also get them on CD’s. The teachers at his school let him use his laptop for taking notes. Students should be aware of when they become distracted. I think students need to learn strategies that are going to help them focus. A teacher can accommodate students with attention problems by having them sit at the front of the class. In addition the teacher can redirect the student to focus on the task at hand.
E.Chavelas
My blog is in regards to the quote from a Mind at a Time. Unfortunately it is a quote that I have heard many teachers say within my school itself. Every time I hear it I wish I can explain all the reasons why that specific quote is not true. I have learned that everyones mind may look the same but works very different in every person. It is ubelievable how much I've learned already in our course on how the brain functions. I have learned that a small electrical problem in our brain can make us act so differently than others. So when people say that a child will only learn when he is ready to learn I wish they would take the time to do some research and look into the problem more in depth. It is not fair for us to leave it all to the student to learn on their own. We need to adjust our lessons, times, and strategies that will enable the child to learn at his pace and interest. We need to look at the positive things our stuednts are good at and start from there. I hope I can enhance peoples mind once I feel confident and explain to them that some students have no control over their actions or learning abilities. I can only hope to educate myself more and more so I can make a difference in many students lifes.
Yesenia Almanza
Reading the quote from A Mind at a Time I can’t help but to remember of some of the similar comments made by the teachers that I would work with as a teacher’s assistant. I remember that many times teachers would tell me that their “problem students” were so behind because they simply didn’t care or were not trying their best. It would really irritate me to hear this because sometimes, sadly, the comments came form very unqualified and unprofessional teachers. I feel as if many educators seek to point out students weaknesses as a justification for their own teaching faults. On the other hand there were also the teachers that made these types of comments who were very amazing teachers, but, resisted taking a little extra time to accommodate and understand diverse learners. In any case, I think that teachers should take the blame off of the students and reevaluate their teaching strategies to see if they are indeed teaching for a diverse classroom. Teachers should also take into account the information in chapter three of the book, which clearly points out that many times children do not intentionally become the “problem child” but rather don’t know how to control their impulses and attention. As educators it is in our hands to ensure that we redirect our teaching to each and every individual mind in our classrooms. Blanca Fonseca
I found this quote to be interesting because this is the way I grew up. In sports, education, and even in the home, it is a system that I am all too familiar with. I appreciate the methodology to some regard because it has gotten me to where I am today, though I feel it has it’s set backs in nurturing a child needs during their upbringing. The Sink or Swim concept is what brought me back into school, I was cut off from any funding because I goofed off at the beginning of college and lost my scholarship. Having no money makes you work that much harder to take care of yourself. It worked for a time and decided to go back putting myself through school.
I find it difficult to relate to kids that have the same attitude I did, but when the parents still reward the child for not doing anything or even failing, as to not upset the child, I am beside myself. My belief is that this hinders the child even more, by not implementing consequence. Before college, and even into the first two years, I hated school. I found it mundane and teachers lacked energy or interest themselves to make anyone else feel motivated. After my epiphany I was able to make it through school, and actually enjoy the classes. One I was pushing myself where before I was not motivated, and two, I had teachers that made the subject matter interesting.
Teachers are a necessity to helping along children in school, especially in Special Education. The thing lacking in my schooling, was a teacher willing to help me understand how I learn best. I still believe I am not a great student, nor do I understand concepts well, but I push myself through 3-4 times that of the average student to get the task done. It is not an effective method that is why I would like to help students do better than what I am doing right now.
-Sherwin Kim
Attention and inhibition of attention are used throughout the school day. Students must know what is important to attend to or not to complete assignments, understand and participate in discussions, and attend to lessons.
Students with inefficient attention have difficulties knowing what to attend to. They are often impulsive and get into trouble frequently. They require to move and stretch which makes sitting down for long periods of time very difficult. Some of the students I work with are often out of their seats and are reprimanded for this behavior. Although they typically have problems with peers (hitting, saying inappropriate comments) they relate well to adults or younger children.
Some accommodations that I have found useful include: provide instruction in self-monitoring strategies to sustain attention; provide opportunities for the student to receive peer reinforcement for appropriate behavior; provide frequent praise and encouragement for sustaining attention during lessons, following directions and completing tasks; allow opportunities for stretching and movement to maximize attention; provide a visual signal to communicate with the student about attention or potentially aversive task, behavior plan implementation, directions need to be given clearly, concisely and through multiple channels, extra time to complete assignments, preferential seating, hands on learning whenever possible, use of graphic organizers for writing, break more complex tasks into smaller segments.
Antonia Montes
"We know he can do the work if he wants to. In fact, when he can overcome his attitude problems, he will succeed. Until then, it is up to him. We can't help him until he helps himself. "
The quote from "A Mind at a Time" reflects an insensitive and dismissive stance towards the student's education and to the student in general. Furthermore, it puts the teachers in a passive role in the teacher-student relationship. Insensitive, dismissive, and passive – I can’t imagine these are words any teacher would want associated with their teaching style or performance.
Teachers are in effect the leaders in the classroom. We provide guidance, direction, stimulation, and feedback for our students. The onus is on the teacher to assume leadership qualities. (Here is a great article on the qualities of leaders…and teachers should strive to cultivate: http://www.hrworld.com/features/top-10-leadership-qualities-031908/).
If we are going to take pride in our job then we must be held accountable for what happens in the classroom. If you think of the classroom as a business then the students are our product. We are responsible for our product and we must take the lead when it comes to our students' education; that is what we are bring paid for, and why we chose to go to school to learn everything we are now learning. Saying that we are going wait around until he decides to help himself is like going into a factory in the morning and waiting for the machine to turn itself on. We are the people that are paid to go in every morning to push the “On” button by making our lessons meaningful, relevant, interesting, dynamic, and memorable.
Furthermore, good leaders inspire good attitudes in their workers. If, as the book describes, the child has a bad attitude, I would look to see what role the teacher has in that attitude. But we don’t have to look to far; we have this quote.
- Simon Shlosberg
I think attention is one of the key factors to learning. If a child is unable to attend and focus during a lesson, then even they are capable of learning and retaining the information they were not able to focus and hear the information. A child must be able to attend listen to the information as well as understand it to fully learn the concept. Without attention there will be no understanding of the information.
The characteristics that I have observed with students who have attention problems are drifting off during the lesson. Either by daydreaming, or focusing on other activities during a lesson. Also talking to other students in the class when they are supposed to be attending to something else.
Accommodations that could be made for students with attention problems are graphic organizers to keep focused on task. Behavior charts to re3mind them of what they should be doing, and extra time to complete work if it is needed.
Ashley Johnson
I have a student in my class who can not attend to much. He is constantly in motion, he is not able to keep any part of his body still. He is not able to control his actions. I have also noticed that he does not know why he does what he is doing. Since he is not able to attend, he's academics suffer. He is bright but with his inattention has led to him falling behind in his grade. In my class I give him a waited vest, which at times slows him down. We call this the "thinking vest." I also give him a stress ball to help him use some of his energy. Sometimes these techniques work and sometimes they don't. When they do we try to make sure he is getting the basic most important of the lesson or unit.
Nicole Moynihan
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