Spelling Strategies for Children with Dyslexia Struggling with Spelling | Pride Learning Center
By Dr. David Raffle, PhD, CBIS I know many adults who truly believe that they cannot spell, saying “I can’t spell” in the same manner that they would say, “I can’t swim.” But spelling, like swimming, can be taught. However, while most teachers know how to test for spelling, very few know how to teach spelling. There is a misconception that spelling is a form of dyslexia, a disorder where one is unable to recognize words or sound them out phonetically. The Three Types of Memory When I teach spelling to children and to adults, I first talk about the three types of memory. The second type of memory can be called Short-Term Memory, which lasts from 31 seconds to about 2-3 months. The goal of all learning, then, is to place what needs to be remembered into the student’s Short-Term Memory, so that facts, dates, and the spelling of words can be recalled. Simple Technique for Perfect Spelling Here is a simple technique that you can do at home to help your child succeed in spelling: 1. 2. 3. 4.
What is connectivism?
In my last two posts on connectivism (here and here) I've alluded to but not made particularly explicit what I think connectivism actually is, even though I have been critiquing and exploring its boundaries. This post is an attempt to fairly briefly list what I think are among its more compelling shared ideas. I will draw substantially from George Siemens's most cited seminal article that has acted as a catalyst and gravitational centre for the idea, though I will also be adding odd bits of interpretation and extrapolation here and there that might not have been in the original and to which others have contributed. If connectivism makes any sense at all then knowledge about it is a networked phenomenon, not an individual invention. This is my bit of personal sense-making as I see it on this particular rainy day, not a definitive account to stand for all time, not a scholarly article citing its sources, not a theory, not a refutation of any other model of the idea. Connectivism
Differentiation
Figure 10.1. Focus on Learning Profile Learning-Style Preferences Learning style refers to environmental or personal factors. Intelligence Preferences Intelligence preference refers to the sorts of brain-based predispositions we all have for learning. Culture-Influenced Preferences Culture affects how we learn, as well. The goal of the teacher is, therefore, not to suggest that individuals from a particular culture ought to learn in a particular way, but rather to come to understand the great range of learning preferences that will exist in any group of people and to create a classroom flexible enough to invite individuals to work in ways they find most productive. Gender-Based Preferences Gender also influences how we learn. Combined Preferences Combinations of culture and gender will create unique constellations of learning preferences in individuals. Some Guidelines for Learning-Profile Differentiation Remember that some, but not all, of your students share your learning preferences. Ms.
Distributed Cognition | Social Learning Theory
“The emphasis on finding and describing “knowledge structures” that are somewhere “inside” the individual encourages us to overlook the fact that human cognition is always situated in a complex sociocultural world and cannot be unaffected by it.” (Hutchins, 1995, p. xiii) Over the 20th century, many have explored the question “how can the cognitive processes we normally associate with an individual mind be implemented in a group of individuals?” Ed Hutchins has spent his “academic carreer trying to understand human cognition in social, cultural and material context”. According to Rogers (1997), “distributed cognition is a hybrid approach to studying all aspects of cognition, from a cognitive, social and organisational perspective” (p. 1). Therefore, using insights from sociology, cognitive science, and the psychology of Vygotsky, the theory emphasizes the social aspects of cognition. Figure A ( Metaphors and examples: A ship steers into harbour.
The Top 100 Tools for Learning 2012 list is revealed
UPDATE: The Top100Tools Club opening January This year’s Top 100 Tools for Learning list (the 6th Annual Survey) has been compiled from the votes of 582 learning professionals worldwide – 55% working in education, 45% working in non-educational organizations. The top tool for the 4th year running is Twitter, with both YouTube (2nd) and Google Docs (aka Google Drive) (3rd) retaining their places for the 3rd year in succession. Once again the list is dominated by free online social tools. Whilst there is a clear differentiation between the personal/professional tools and the enterprise tools being used by workplace learning professions, in education teachers are frequently making use of the same toolset for both their teaching and their own personal learning. In terms of tool trends, this year’s list has seen an increase in the popularity of curation tools and social magazines for the iPad (like Scoopit, Flipboard and Zite). But now for the complete 2012 Top 100 Tools list.
When to Use Social Media for Learning
Workplace learning professionals should focus on how social learning - and its associated tools - can help achieve business goals. The transfer of knowledge has always been a social activity. Many years ago, workers learned skills through apprenticeship. Workers in the same location, in the same area of practice would share knowledge, and thereby, strengthen the skills of the group. Today, workers can learn as they work, by connecting with someone with the answers, who may live anywhere in the world. What has changed over time are the skills needed for business success, and the speed at which knowledge is needed to maintain a competitive edge. In 1966, Peter Drucker coined the term the "knowledge worker." As organizations became larger, global, and more complex, it became less likely to find knowledge in next office - or when it was needed. Looking at the big picture As learning professionals, it is easy to focus the discussion on social learning on the tools, known as social media.
Tree
Looking for Strategies and Activities? Click Here! The tree can act as a metaphor to help us see the relationship between theory and practice in second language learning and teaching. The ROOTS represent concepts and theories to be considered in teaching in general and in second language acquisition in particular. The success of teacher planning and preparation and development of carefully selected activities can be understood by tracing how they are fed by the ideas on the roots and trunk. Click on the different parts of the tree below to access more information about each topic.
