ADHD / Anxiety Archives

The Incredible Power of Mnemonics

June 3, 2014 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

If you took piano lessons, as I did, it was so much easier to remember the lines of the treble clef by intoning the mnemonic: “Every Good Burger Deserves Fries…E, G, B, D, F.” Who can ever forget the colors of the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) after coming in contact with the famous “Roy G. Biv”? And the ditty, “Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue in Fourteen Hundred Ninety-Two” will be forever ingrained in our collective consciousness.

Mnemonic devices have the power to dramatically increase the amount of information that students can remember, including learners with disabilities! The latter take the same tests as their non-disabled peers, and memory skills related to learning may be difficult for children with learning deficits. These students spend the majority of their day in general education classrooms (including content classes such as English, Science and Social Studies). “Chunking” is a simple way of breaking down large pieces of information into smaller organized chunks–mnemonics are a simple way to chunk information, and is a useful tool for all students. Cutting up larger quantities of information into smaller pieces helps our brains remember more information, more easily.

Chunking, and mnemonics can also help children encode (put the information into their memories) and make the data easier to retrieve. As memory-guru Ed Cooke wrote in The Guardian “You can trick your mind into remembering useful but dull facts by weaving the information into vivid mental shorthand.”

Mnemonic devices are very old; some, such as The Method of Loci, date back to the Ancient Greeks. This is how it works: imagine a place that is familiar to you, such as your kitchen. Then go through the list of vocabulary words you need to memorize, and associate each word with an object in that room. For instance, if the word is “cacophonous,” you can create the image of a blaring radio on the kitchen counter. If the word is “loquacious”, you can imagine the teakettle as talkative, and so on.

There is more than one method to use mnemonic devices. The most popularly used memory aid is the Expression or Word Mnemonic. If you are studying for the SAT, it’s simple to recall the seven coordinating conjunctions, once you’ve heard FANBOYS (for, and not, but, or, yet, and so). Rhyme Mnemonics helps put information in the form of a poem such as the “30 days hath September” ditty. Image Mnemonics are constructed in the form of pictures that promote recall.

The sillier and more outlandish the image, the easier it is to remember. If trying to remember the name of a character in a book, imagine a pirate with a woolen leg for “Peggy” or a hairy beast for “Harry.” You’ll always remember how to spell “geography” once you know that “George Edward’s Old Grandma Rode a Pig Home Yesterday” and that “potassium” has “one tea, and two sugars.”

Even though mnemonics are not a replacement for experiential learning or comprehension, they are an important tool to pull out of the box when test time rolls around.

What’s your favorite mnemonic device?

By Deborah H. Friedman, Private Tutor

What is the Reggio Emilia Philosophy?

May 16, 2014 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

The Reggio Approach derives its name from its place of origin, the town of Reggio Emilia, located in northern Italy. Following World War II, Louis Malaguzzi, a teacher, along with a small group of parents, became interested in building a new school in Reggio Emilia where education would be viewed as a communal activity and sharing of culture would take place through joint exploration between children and adults. Malaguzzi’s approach focused on young children’s development in a setting where they would be encouraged to explore their environment and express themselves through multiple forms (movement, words, arts, dramatic play and music).

In the last several years, what is now known as the Reggio Approach, has become a popular model in the United States, particularly in early childhood education. Traditionally many preschools have employed pre-planned and theme-based curricula where the teachers choose the topics to teach and select activities to accompany them. In this model, the teacher presents only activities deemed age appropriate and plans monthly or weekly themes and lesson plans for an entire year before it even begins. The selection of themes is often based on the assumption that all children will benefit and be interested in the chosen subject. This traditional model lumps children into projects based on age rather than interests, capabilities and learning styles.

In contrast, a cornerstone of the Reggio philosophy is emergent curriculum. Emergent curriculum responds to children’s immediate interests rather than focusing on a narrow or calendar driven topic. As the name suggests, the study of a topic emerges from the interests and ideas of the children. The topics explored are gleaned from children’s discussions as well as interests demonstrated throughout different areas of the classroom. Once the topics of interest are identified, teachers act as co-collaborators, helping the children make decisions about the direction of inquiry and launch into in-depth studies of the concepts, ideas and interests that arise. The resulting investigations have no time limit and can span from several weeks to the whole school year.

The environment serves as a third teacher in the Reggio philosophy. The approach advocates that teachers play close attention to the myriad of ways that space can invite interaction. Small touches such as storing colorful objects in transparent containers can pique children’s curiosity and imagination. The design and use of space in a classroom encourages encounters, communication and relationships. Every corner of every space has an identity and purpose, rich in potential to engage. Spaces are valued and cared for by the children and teachers.

In the classroom, children should have the opportunity to explore and use many materials to discover and to communicate what they know, understand, wonder about, question, feel and imagine. In my classroom, there are an abundant variety of quality materials available to the children, beautifully organized and maintained by the adults and children together. In order to encourage young children to investigate their environments to the fullest, tools are placed carefully within the reach of the child so he or she explore, investigate, question and create. Through their ongoing explorations, children are then able to learn the qualities, possibilities and limitations of each material.

Written by: Editorial Team, My Learning Springboard, Inc.

Tips for the Museum: Going with Kids

May 15, 2014 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Museums are fantastic local resources that can be excellent destinations for a child-friendly outing. Despite the entertainment and educational benefits, however, museums can be overwhelming. Here are some tips for the museum in order to create successful experiences for children, and yourselves, in your museum-going adventures.

Tap into children’s interests

In a city with hundreds of museums, there is something for everyone! It can be easy to rely on a handful of the most well known and familiar, but it is worth it to do some research to find more off-the-beaten path destinations. For a child who likes fashion or design, check out The Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). There is the Skyscraper Museum, the MTA Transit Museum, or the New York City Fire Museum. For children interested in math, try the Math Museum (MOMATH). Tapping into a child’s individual interests supports their passions, while simultaneously introducing them to various types of museums and cultural institutions. As an added bonus, these smaller, more focused museums tend to have lower entrance fees, with many offering discounts or even free times for admission.

Make a plan

Before heading off on a museum adventure, it is helpful to have an idea of what you want to do and see. Most museums have websites full of information to help you plan your visit. Check to see if there is a special exhibition, presentation, or activity that you will want to attend while you are there. It is important to be selective; do not try and see an entire museum in one visit. Trying to cover too much ends up making a visit stressful, for both adults and children. Be realistic about your child’s attention span and limits; pushing them past these will risk losing their interest in the trip entirely.

Many websites also include a map of the museum space so that you can know how to move best through the sites when you arrive. It can be fun to involve children in this planning process, and prepare them for what they will see and do during their time in the museum. This can get children excited about their visit, as well as answer some of their initial questions ahead of time.

Be flexible!

Even with all of the planning ahead of time, it is important to remain flexible during a museum visit. If a child passes something in the museum that attracts their attention, allow them to explore and spend time pursuing their own interests. It can be difficult to predict exactly what will reel in a child, especially as children often observe and perceive things differently from adults. Allow children to take some ownership of the experience, and be the “leader” of your adventure.

Some Suggestions for Child-Friendly Museums In New York City

While we still suggest that you look up specific interest museums, here are some suggestions for child-centric museums:

By Jenny Madden, Private Tutor

Every Child Can Win The Memory Game

May 1, 2014 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

By Dominic O’Brien
Original Source: Edutopia
Originally posted May 20, 2014

As a student, I had great difficulty concentrating during lessons, and consequently didn’t retain much knowledge. I was diagnosed with dyslexia and had the symptoms of attention deficit disorder. Academic information just didn’t get through to me.

Here are samples of reports that my teachers sent home when I was ten:

“He tends to dream in the middle of a calculation which leads him to lose track of the thought.”
“Terribly slow. Often cannot repeat the question. Must concentrate.”
“Unless Dominic really shakes himself up and gets down to work, he is not going to achieve any success . . . he is painfully slow.”

The comments contained no evidence that I would one day become an eight-time World Memory Champion and author of over a dozen books and courses on memory training. So what happened?

In 1987, I watched a man on television memorize a shuffled deck of playing cards in just under three minutes. As corny as it may sound, that moment changed my life.

I taught myself to memorize playing cards and realized that the strategy I was developing could be used to remember anything. Today, when I appear on TV and radio shows, one question is always asked: “Why don’t they teach this stuff in schools?” Had I acquired those skills when I was a student, I could have achieved exam success, gone onto higher education, and actually enjoyed the learning process. Instead, I suffered low self-esteem and dropped out of school when I was 16.

Teaching Basic Memory Skills

Here are five strategies that will help students remember academic information:

1. The Story Method

To remember a set of information, create a story that links all the elements together. In chemistry, for example, the noble gases are helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon. Imagine taking off in a helium balloon lit up with a neon light. An argon welder turns into Superman, who takes you to the planet Krypton, and so on.

2. Numeral Shapes

To remember numerical information, give each numeral a picture code. For example, 2 is shaped like a swan, and 9 resembles a balloon and string. To remember that Queen Victoria had nine children, imagine her holding a balloon and string.

3. The Link Method

To remember foreign vocabulary, find a link between the sound of a foreign word and its meaning. For example, the German word for “bone” is knochen, so imagine the pain involved in “knocking” a bone in your leg. You can remember the Spanish word for “boat” – barco — by imagining that a boat has a large “barcode” on its side, or picture a dog “barking” on a boat.

4. The Journey Method

To remember a list, choose a familiar journey, maybe around your house, and picture each item on the list at specific locations. Test your class with a random list of 20 objects, then get them to imagine each item along a 20-stage route around their house. The same method can then be applied to remembering practical information such as the Periodic Table of Elements or the U.S. presidents.

5. The Rule of Five

To avoid having information gradually fade from your memory banks, it’s important to know when to review information. Apply the Rule of Five:

First review: immediately
Second review: 24 hours later
Third review: one week later
Fourth review: one month later
Fifth review: three months

Tapping Potential

To date, I have taught over 10,000 schoolchildren basic memory skills. Typically, I get a volunteer to write down and call out a random 60-digit number, which I then repeat forwards and backwards having heard the number just once.

The faces register amazement. However, the real payoff is when I ask, “Would you like to be able to do that, too?”

“Yeeeeeeeees!”

Next, we discuss how easy and fun learning could be if they knew the secret. After all, if a dyslexic kid can go on to become a World Memory Champion, then all children are potential memory champions.

Introverts in an Extroverted World

April 2, 2014 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Understanding introversion vs. extroversion

I once told a friend, to his surprise, that I am an introvert. He wasn’t surprised that I identified with this personality type, but rather that I would freely admit it! He considers himself an introvert, too, but always thought of it as a weakness–and something potentially embarrassing.

Introversion is often misunderstood as shyness, social awkwardness, or fear of other people

But it is none of these things. Introverts are not shy, though they are more easily overstimulated by large crowds. They are not necessarily socially awkward, though they generally prefer deeper conversations with close friends over small talk with acquaintances. And they are not afraid of other people, though they need regular time alone in order to recharge. (To be sure, one can be both introverted and shy, socially awkward, and/or afraid of other people–but these traits are not mutually inclusive.)

My friend’s reluctance to publicly label himself an introvert is something I have come across with many of my friends and acquaintances. We live in what Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, calls

the Extrovert Ideal–the omnipresent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight,” while introversion is “a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology.

Yet one-third to one-half of the population is introverted! Moreover, contemporary research in social and organizational psychology is pointing to the many benefits of introversion (see Quiet for a thorough review of this research).

Although introverts and extroverts have different strengths, neither is discretely superior to the other. In fact, both types are critical to a balanced society. We must learn to celebrate and develop our personal strengths while appreciating those of the other type.

Which am I?

How can I tell if I am (or if my child is) an introvert or an extrovert? Susan Cain has published her quiz, “Are You an Introvert or an Extrovert?”, on her website, “The Power of Introverts.” The quiz can be taken here.

How to help your introverted child thrive

If you, or your child, falls somewhere on the introverted side of the introvert-extrovert spectrum (and it is a wide spectrum!), there is both good and bad news. The bad news is that we live in a world that privileges “the Extrovert Ideal,” and almost everything in our social lives, from classrooms with grouped desks to open-air cubicle farms, is designed with this ideal in mind. The good news is that introversion boasts its own list of strengths: a highly nuanced ability to listen to others, a greater ability to concentrate for extended periods of time, and even better grades in post-secondary education. (Some introverts of note include Albert Einstein, Frédéric Chopin, Mahatma Gandhi, Sir Isaac Newton, Larry Page – cofounder of Google, Steve Wozniak – cofounder of Apple, Steven Spielberg, Audrey Hepburn, Warren Buffet, and J.K. Rowling.)

If your child is an introvert, here are some ways you can help him/her thrive

Give her time to reflect, don’t force her to talk, and when she is talking, don’t interrupt her. Introverts need time to organize and compose their thoughts before sharing them. If they are forced to talk, they will often become anxious. Conversely, when an introvert wants to share her thoughts, she has likely put some thought into what she is going to say. If she is interrupted, she will feel like her thoughts and feelings aren’t being heard.
Support him in developing his strengths and interests. Remind him that he makes a great contribution to group projects in school, social gatherings, etc., by being himself and offering his natural gifts. For example, if your child is a strong writer (a common strength of introverts), note-taker, or drawer, encourage him to take on that role in his group.
Rehearse any foreseen public speaking roles with your child. For example, if your child has an upcoming presentation in school, have her present to the family first. Introverts especially benefit from preparation as they are slower than extroverts to think on their feet in public settings.
Remind him that he does not have to go to every social function that he is invited to, and that spending time alone working on his own projects of interest is a good thing, too. Let him decide when he’s reached his threshold of social stimulation for the day (or week).