Session3

BuildingonWhatWeKnow:
CognitiveProcessing

ReadingResponse

WilliamSmith
30May2016

AsIplantoteachstudentsfromdiversebackgroundslivinginurbanareasintheEast
BayinandnearOakland,California,identifyingtheirstrengths,preferences,prior
knowledgeandexperienceswillbeessentialforengagingthem.Theprimarilyblackand
hispanicstudentsattheurbanOaklandschoolwhereIvolunteerhavealready
questionedtheabilityofanywhitepersontoidentifywiththeirproblems,especiallyone
who,likeme,grewupinahomogeneouslywhiteruralareainthemidwest.

Severalofthestudentshavealsobeendiagnosedwithlearningdisabilities.
Mainstreamingthesestudentshasstimulatedthedevelopmentofcompassion,patience
andinstructionalskillsamongtheirstudentcolleagueswithmore,evenexceptional,
abilities.Still,asthesedisabilitieshaveonlybeenpartiallyaddressedbythesmalland
dedicatedstaffatthisprivateschool,studentswithdisabilitiesfrequentlydisrupt
learningforeveryone.

Asavolunteerinteractingwiththestudentstwiceaweekbothinclassandinanafter
schoolprogram,Ihavemadelimitedprogressinidentifyingstudentstrengthsand
preferencesandhavebeentotallyreliantonbriefcasualconversationswithteachersand
longerconversationswiththeschoolsspecialeducationconsultanttoidentifytheir
priorknowledgeandexperiences.Tosucceedwithstudentslikethese,andtobetter
supportallstudentsintheirclasses,Ineedtosystematicallyidentifythestrengths,
preferences,priorknowledgeandexperiencesthesestudentsbringtomyclassroom
notanotherteachersclassroomwithadifferentteachingstyleandadifferentsubject.

Iagreewiththereadingthatitisimportantforteacherstohaveskillsandtoolsfor
observingandcatalogingthekindsoftaskswithwhichstudentsseemtohavedifficulty,
aswellasthosewithwhichtheyhavegreatersuccess,asaguidetocurriculumplanning
andinstructionaladaptations.Iwasunabletofindonetool,ageneralchecklistfor
commonsignsoflearningdisabilitiesatdifferentagesreferredtointhenow13yearold
DarlingHammondprogram.[DarlingHammond,2003]RatherIfoundmany

specializedchecklistsforindividualdiseases.(UnderstoodTeam,2016)Thechecklists
arestillissuedbyNCLD(NationalCenterforLearningDisabilities)asthereport
indicated,butaspartoftheonlineresourceUnderstood.org.In2014NCLDand14
otherorganizationsfoundedUnderstood.org,whichNCLDoperates.

Althoughthegeneraltheoriesandmethodsforimprovingcognitiveprocessing
presentedbyDarlingHammondsprogramwillhelpmeaddressstudentswithlearning
issuesidentifiedbyanUnderstood.orgchecklist,Iamconcernedthatmorespecialized
approacheswillbeneededaswell.IntheschoolsIplantoserve,Iexpectonlylimited
supportindiagnosinglearningdisabilitiesfromspecializededucationteachersand
schoolpsychologists.Evenifadequatehelpisavailablefordiagnosis,Imaystillfindmy
classroomsaremorewelcomingtoallifIadoptmyinstructionalmethodstobetter
supportstudentswiththeirspecificdisabilities,whichcouldincludeADHD
(AttentionDeficitHyperactivityDisorder),dyslexia,dyscalculia,dysgraphia,dyspraxia,
executivefunctioningissues,auditoryprocessingdisorder.(UnderstoodTeam,2016).

AsIrecognizethatmyruralmidwesternculturemademajorcontributionstomy
strengths,preferences,knowledgeandexperiencesthatallowedmyteacherstoengage
me,Ineedtobecomefamiliarwiththeculturesofmystudents.IhopethatSession6,
TheClassroomMosaic,willprovideformaltoolsforaccessingthesetraitsofstudents.

Myinformaltoolsforcharacterizingstudentpreferencesandexperiencesworkwellfor
mostindividualstudentsbutaretootimeconsumingtoapplytolargenumbersof
students.Thesetoolsincludingaskingstudents,teachersandparentsaboutunique
culturalicons(folktales,foods,heroes,holidays,stars,attitudes[towardachievers,
equitabletreatment,governmentofficials,police,military,andcivicleaders])and
affirmativeactionandgoals.Myinformaltoolsarelessusefulwhenthestudentsare
youngandtheparentsspeakalanguagewhichnooneotherthantheirchildrenspeakin
theschool,suchasAmharic,acommonlanguageinEthiopia.Inthiscase,mytools
provideprimarilyasinglechildsviewofculturalpreferencesandattitudeswhich
emergefromthesharedexperiencesofgenerations.

Session3makesitclearthatcognitiveprocessingrequirescommunicationofbothfacts
andconcepts.Communicationrequiresengagement.Integratedprojectsengagemore
thandisjointedexercisesandmakemeaningmoremeaningfulandthetransferof
understandingandproficiencymorelikelytostudentsofanyability.Thisviewof
engagementisconsistentwiththeviewsofDr.DarlingHammondandthemanystudies
shecitesthatthemorelearningismeaningfultotheindividual,thegreaterthe
likelihoodofitsacquisition,retrievalandlateruse.


Iwasencouragedtoseethatthetwovideosfeaturedintegratedprojectsthatspanned
theK12range,oneforfirstgradeandtheotherforhighschool.Liketheselessons,my
engineeringprojects,forexamplebuildingathermaltreatmentfacilityforradioactive
andhazardouswaste,allintegratedmultisensoryinputfromavarietyofacademic
disciplinesandtradesandprovidedmultisensoryinputthatwasvisual,aural,
kinesthetic,linguistic,mathematical,social,roleplayandsimulation.

Inthefirstvideosegment,Ms.FeMacLeansfirstgradeclassalsoprovidedan
integratedlessoncloselyconnectedtotheworldoutsidetheschool,themuseumtrip.
Likeanengineeringproject,theiranimalhabitatprojectallowedthemtofirstpredict
whattheirendproduct,theanimalshabitatinthezoo,wouldbelike,andthenupdate
andverifytheirpredictionduringtheirvisit.Herlessonalsousedmultisensoryinput,
includingvisual,aural,linguistic,socialandsimulation(thehabitatbookandanimal
environmentsinthezoo).

Inthethirdvideosegment,Ms.SandieGillmanandMs.KrisHallNeustadter,inspired
mewiththeirconnectionoflearningalgebratothehistoricalexperienceofwagontrains
ontheOberlinTrail.Ihavelongbeenfrustratedbythedry,disjointeddrillsthathave
longcharacterizedmathbooksandclasses.Here,likeengineeringprojects,wasa
project,predictinglogisticalrequirementsofawagontrain,thathadastrongconnection
totherealworldnotjustthehistoricalworldoftheOberlintrail,butalsototodays
logisticaloperationsoftheU.S.ArmyintheMiddleEast,especiallywatersupply.For
me,thiswasthefirstevidencethatmathbookscouldbeastightlyconnectedtothereal
world,andpotentiallyasengaging,astodaysbestclassroomsciencebooksare.

Insummary,teacherscansupportstudentunderstandingbyorganizingthelearning
intomultidisciplinaryprojectsthatcloselytielearningactivitiestorealworld
applications.Suchprojectscanbemeaningfultomorestudentsbyprovidingthemwith
asocialcontextprovidingmoreopportunitiestosharetasks,receiveguidancefrom
others,andperformforanaudience.

References
DarlingHammondetal.(2003).
TheLearningClassroom:TheoryIntoPractice
.
Detroit:AnnenbergMedia.

TheUnderstoodTeam
(accessedMay2016).
SignsandSymptoms
ofLearningandAttentionIssues
,website.