Candid conversations with specialists on the frontlines

When making considerations for helping a child with learning difficulties, there is an abundance of information that can be overwhelming to parents and teachers. 

To better support these students, as well as ATT staff, ATT teachers heard from Mrs. Rivka Varnai, M. Ed. LBS1 a reading specialist and Heera Chandani CCC-SLP/L, a speech and language pathologist to support them. 

The four pillars of learning

The four pillars of learning connect neurobiology and cognitive psychology to try and make the best use of the brain’s learning algorithms.

The first pillar of learning is recognizing that attention is the gateway to learning. By reducing distractions, students are more attentive, aware and better equipped to retain what they are learning. 

Students benefit from being taught how to pay attention to relevant details. Students can become easily overwhelmed with information, but when they are taught to pay attention to captions, headlines and context clues, this can make the learning more manageable.

The second pillar of learning promotes active engagement and participation in lessons. Especially when learning is difficult, teachers can encourage participation by making learning more fun, setting clear learning objectives and encouraging rewards. Rewarding the process, not just the end product can help minimize anxiety and stress and give students a dopamine boost to learn effectively and have a positive association with education. 

Error feedback is the third pillar of learning that inspires students (and teachers!) to learn from past mistakes. It’s important to adopt a growth mindset to learn how to accept and correct mistakes. Eventually, students will be better equipped to correct their mistakes quickly and take constructive criticism more easily. 

Once the first three pillars have been constructed within, the fourth pillar of learning entails consolidation – practicing every day. Regularly practicing these pillars will help make them habitual. Space out the learning and practice with daily drills of about five minutes. Throughout the process, check the retention to ensure the students are retaining the information. 

Keep cognition in mind

Understanding different elements of cognitive processing can play a major role in helping a student with learning disabilities. Cognition consists of the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension. These cognitive processes include thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem solving to show how learning becomes a cycle.

The cognitive process of selectively emphasizing and ignoring sensory stimuli is known to students as attention. These modalities process information from different sensory fields: visual, auditory, spatial, tactile. Try to get students to focus on one sensory modality instead of having their attention distributed across modalities.

There are different types of attention used in learning. Sustained or selective attention is used to emphasize what is relevant in teaching.  Alternating or divided attention is the ability to switch from one area to another. 

Visual or orthographic memory is one part of visual perceptual skills. This type of memory is used when students have to copy or spell. It focuses on one’s ability to recall visual information that has been seen. Visual memory is a critical factor in reading and writing and the best way to help students build their memory muscles is with practices. 

Be aware of how students process information

Auditory memory is the ability to remember information that is heard. Teachers and parents should be mindful of whether their students can process what they hear the same way other students do. They may have normal hearing, but there is interference with how the brain interprets sounds. These students will respond better if the teacher speaks more slowly, pauses often, breaks down directions, provides visuals and graphic organizers. 

Phonological processing is the ability to listen for and manipulate individual sounds in spoken language and is a key factor to diagnose dyslexia. These students have difficulty rhyming or with sounds. They may also experience difficulties with visual processing which affects how visual information is interpreted, or processed by the brain

Dyslexia is a type of learning disability that may be accompanied with the following: 

• Difficulties with decoding and spelling (fluency)
• Deficits in phonological processing
• Neurobiological
• Brain differences
• Runs in families
• Unexpected – a weakness in a sea of strengths
• Secondary implications – reading comprehension and vocabulary, behavior difficulties

The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) has a Dyslexia Handbook for Teachers along with many helpful resources such as a guide to their structured literacy program and how it works to help students with dyslexia. 

Managing dyslexia 

Many students with dyslexia are able to thrive with the right support. Students with ADHD often have trouble with executive functioning and could also benefit from working on these skills.  Helping with executive functioning skills can provide a way for students to manage the brain systems more effectively.

These mental skills to build include: 

• Attention
• Working memory 
• Flexible thinking – read and read
• Organizing, planning, prioritizing, setting goals
• Self-monitoring
• Initiating tasks
• Self-control
• Ensure basic needs are met – food, sleep

Students with dyslexia may also require help building social emotional functioning skills. A student may require support if they have difficulty in social interactions or seem isolated. When major changes to family structure, upheaval such as job loss, school closures, or remote learning may also impact the student more greatly. To help with the social emotional side, check out Growing Our Resilience Muscle by Alexandra Fleksher. 

Anxiety is a big part of the world these days, but particularly with students with dyslexia they may face challenges with their sense of well-being. Emotions are like oil, and rationale is water. Oil always rises to the top. To reach learning, the layer of oil has to be traversed first. 

Overconsumption of Technology

In The Book in Crisis, Carol Jago  issues a call to action saying reading is in crisis among students in general. “Too often, too many students are choosing not to read.” She surveys teens who admit to almost always being on their phones. Especially in the times of the pandemic, working and learning remotely takes a toll. Overconsumption of technology affects sleep, self-control and inhibition for children and adults who may or may not have other learning processing challenges.

These days, especially, it’s important to be aware of over consuming technology.

ATT teachers recently heard from Sarah Wineberg of REACH to discuss three “brain states” as a way of promoting behavioral understanding. By identifying these brain states, teachers are better equipped to connect and collaborate with children in a way that helps them move through the brain states.

The three brain states are survival, emotional and executive. Some students may experience difficulty building a bridge between them. Learning these techniques can help kids move from the survival or emotional state to an executive one, building skills and allowing for lasting change and problem-solving. 

Basic principles

There are some essential foundation points to keep in mind to help stay focused and on the right track:

• Modeling has the greatest impact
• Kids do well if they can
• Skill not will – assume the positive intent
• Expect conflict and use it as an opportunity to teach
• Love, connection and relationships are the best motivators for learning and growth
• The child is the best source of knowledge

In a typical response to a child or situation, even if a teacher knows the proper response it does not always translate to reality. Practicing these responses helps a teacher respond effectively in the moment. 

Three brain states and responses

1. Executive state – What can I learn from this?

2. Emotional state – Am I loved and in an emotionally safe environment?

3. Survival state –  Am I safe right now?

The survival state is the most unregulated state and in it, students may be triggered by fight, flight and fright or feel helpless and in trouble, Factors that contribute to this can be the teacher’s tone, relationship until now, or when the emotional bank account is imbalanced. 

For the teacher, the first step to balance the equation is to regulate ourselves by breathing and gaining the reassurance that we can properly manage the situation. Waiting until a calmer moment will help handle the situation more mindfully. 

For the student, use the following techniques to help them:

• Encourage them to breathe
• Validate them in public
• Have them spend time in a calming corner
• Provide reassurance and empathy
• Stay calm yourself as your calm is contagious
• Remind them to be a STAR = Stop, Take a breath And Relax.

The three brain states correlate to the three states of engagement: regulate, relate and reason. The survival state may look like screaming, tantrum, avoidance, resisting eye contact, eye-rolling or not wanting to be touched. 

Steer clear of telling the student to calm down to avoid stressing them out further. We can only regulate or elevate others to the place that we are at, so if we are currently residing in the survival state, we will need to identify which stage we are in before responding. To promote self-awareness and relate to students, try to identify the triggers that put you into survival mode. 

Often we can just see the tip of the iceberg, but if we look deeper we can discern what the child is really saying. 

Empathy as a prerequisite 

The starting line for collaborative problem solving is learning how to empathize to try and regulate the child through a deeper understanding. There are tools and techniques to use to achieve this such as reassurance and reflective listening. 

When interacting with a student, make sure to open with a neutral statement such as, “I noticed that.” “Can you tell me more about what’s going on?” 

According to  Think: Kids, “Lagging skills are the reasons that a child is having difficulty meeting these expectations or responding adaptively to these triggers.” These are not about having teachers be diagnosticians but instead allows teachers to take a best guess as to what may be getting in a student’s way. 

It’s helpful to consider the skills you can identify that are lagging when a student is pulled into their survival state. Helping them figure it out can lead them in the right direction. 

Techniques to try

• Deep breaths, draw feelings, model or vocalize to children what you are doing, and use a calming activity
• An emotional state is our response to upset and can only be soothed through connection.
• Stay with the child and calm them down until they can talk about it.

Behaviors in an emotional state

Sass, chutzpah, attention-seeking, attitude, testing and tears are just some of the major behaviors you will see in students. For the teacher, self-care, sharing with a helpful adult, and empathy can help work through emotional states. For the student, showing empathy, being “curious not furious,” giving jobs, choices, staying close and building the relationship are ways to help. 

Collaborative problem-solving stages

The first stage of collaborative problem solving is empathy. We tend to insert our own thoughts when someone else is talking. Real empathy is being able to understand others from their perspective. Empathy is nonjudgmental, feeling with people. Rarely an empathic response begins with “at least.” Rarely can a response make something better. What makes it better is the connection felt through empathy. 

The executive state is the optimal state for problem-solving and learning. It frees us from past conditioning, attunes us to the feelings and experiences of others. The goal is to act out of rational ideas and respond from a place of calm and inspire the student to rationalize, problem-solve or come to a conclusion on their own (or with some guidance.) Getting into the executive state makes it possible when both sides are regulated. 

The second and third stage occurs when the child is regulated, shares adult concern and hears another perspective. This is when the problem-solving magic happens and together you can brainstorm solutions. 

Collaborative Problem Solving solves the problem durably, builds skills, builds connection and relationships. It teaches children to have long-term healthy response techniques, to not avoid conflict and to use every opportunity to learn or teach.

For more resources on the three brain states and collaborative problem solving, check out thinkkids.org and consciousdiscipline.com.

Join the ATT’s week of community-wide inspiration & virtual learning

November 28, 2020 – December 6, 2020

Launching our annual campaign with lectures from world-renowned speakers and short videos from local educators all week long

Featuring:

Rabbi YY Jacobson

Motzaei Shabbos, November 28, 2020 @8PM: Keeping Positive in an Age of Uncertainty
34th Annual Rabbi Isaac Mayefsky Memorial Lecture
Sponsored by the Mayefsky Family in memory of Rabbi Isaac and Mrs. Florence Mayefsky z”l

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/94567994722

Rabbi David Fohrman

Sunday, December 6, 2020 @ 11AM: The Unfinished Story of Jacob’s Ladder
Sponsored by the Tanielle Miller Foundation by Ruth Rotenberg and Glenn Miller

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/94939500454

Support the ATT annual campaign with a donation for our week of learning

Contact Rabbi Uri Zimmerman with any questions.

If there’s one lesson to take from 2020, it’s that the job of a teacher extends beyond just teaching. That mental health can affect student learning is well-known, but this year it’s that much greater. 

Fortunately for the ATT, in collaboration with Walder Education, Angela Searcy, Ed.D recently presented to ATT teachers how to implement social and emotional learning strategies to help students thrive in learning despite the extraordinary challenges of learning in a pandemic. 

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

Helping students thrive 

For some teachers, being mindful of social and emotional learning may come naturally. If that’s not yet a strength, there are many tools and strategies teachers can implement to ensure students’ emotions aren’t standing in the way of learning.

A systemic approach to social and emotional learning intentionally cultivates caring, participatory, and evidence-based practices to actively involve all students in their social, emotional and academic growth.

In her book Push Past It! A Positive Approach to Challenging Classroom Behaviors, Dr. Searcy shares examples and explains where SEL fits within the mental health continuum. In her presentation, Dr. Searcy reviewed steps that support good behavior planning, outlined tools to help educators MATCH a strategy to their unique students and program, and shared what to expect at different phases of implementation.

Implementing SEL techniques 

It takes time to master any new teaching strategy, so a great starting point is a visit to the National Center for Pyramid Models Innovation  (NCPMI)’s  Practical Strategies for Implementing the Pyramid Model for social and emotional learning idea inspiration. 

Following are strategies to easily and effectively implement SEL into lesson plans. 

1. Book Nook 

There are many popular books that can be read to children to support social emotional development and teach them about various emotions and responses to life’s daily events. 

Each book has a lesson or activity that is relayed in a positive and engaging manner with hands-on ways to embed social emotional skill building activities into everyday routines.

Check out this comprehensive children’s book list to teach about cultivating relationships and enhance positive behavior. 

2. Keep in touch with student emotions 

There are countless visual tools to monitor or express how one is feeling emotionally. From feeling wheels or faces to charts, to greeting boards, to bulletin board mood meters samples, teachers can be in touch with the mood of their students. More importantly, this helps the students gain the awareness to be in touch with their own feelings. These concepts are effective from toddlers to teens and help build community in the classroom.

3. Resolve conflict creatively 

Once students understand their emotions, they can progress to conflict resolution.

There are additional videos to help teachers guide their students in conflict resolution.

Coping and calming strategies with sentence starters are also effective ways to help children practice expressing empathy and feelings in daily situations. In the classroom, creating creative, peaceful and calming corners works for some students. 

By modeling these strategies for students, teachers can help inspire social emotional learning and help students thrive in learning whether it’s in the classroom or remote.