Executive Functions Archives

Do You Know Your GRIT Score?

December 5, 2012 Brad Hoffman

Before she was a psychology professor, Angela Duckworth taught math in middle school and high school. She spent a lot of time thinking about something that might seem obvious: The students who tried hardest did the best, and the students who didn’t try very hard didn’t do very well. Duckworth wanted to know: What is the role of effort in a person’s success? How do you measure persistence and tenacity? Can you determine a student’s grit score?

Now Duckworth is an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and her research focuses on a personality trait she calls “grit.” She defines grit as “sticking with things over the very long term until you master them.” In a paper, she writes that “the gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is stamina.” [more from PublicRadio.org…]

Find your grit score:

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

Valuing and Encouraging Student Participation

December 4, 2012 Brad Hoffman

In his book, Teach Like a Champion, Doug Lemov highlights that all effective teachers use a variety of strategies that keep their students highly engaged in the learning process. In those highly effective classrooms, no student has the opportunity to opt out of learning. Valuing and encouraging student participation is something that these skillful teachers do consistently. Some of the strategies highlighted in his book include:

Using Wait Time – it’s critical to develop a culture in your classroom that values waiting for a student to formulate his or her response, not just moving on.

Revoicing what a student says – it’s not just enough for the answer to be said once…”so you’re saying that….”

Asking students to restate someone else’s reasoning – checking for understanding by asking students what someone else said using their own words.

No Opt Out – a student who at first says that he/she doesn’t know the answer to a question should be asked to answer that same question after it has been answered correctly by someone else.

Both parents and teachers can change the interactions with their students by using the above strategies as well as the many others that are shared in text and demonstrated on DVD in Teach Like a Champion. Teach Like a Champion can change the culture in the classroom as well as change the life of our students. Valuing and encouraging student participation is a critical part of this classroom success.

By Laurie Gross, Educational Consultant and Reading Specialist.

What is Social Thinking?

November 13, 2012 Brad Hoffman

Have you ever told a friend you loved their shirt, even though you thought it was ugly? Maybe you even said you liked a gift they got you and then returned it a week later…

Well, you’re not the only one. In fact, what you are unknowingly doing is practicing the “social fake” and acting as a good “social thinker”. Unfortunately, many of our students or children with high-functioning autism disorder, Asperger’s, ADHD, and other nonverbal learning disabilities continually struggle with these seemingly understood social concepts. Luckily, Michelle Garcia Winner, a Speech-Language Pathologist from California, developed a treatment approach based on her “Social Thinking” method, which is gaining worldwide popularity and interest at an unbelievable rate.

Ms. Winner’s work has changed the way special educators teach and explain abstract social concepts and “hidden rules” in our society. She has written numerous educational texts that define and explain core vocabulary as well as teach strategies to professionals and parents. Other books, such as You are a Social Detective, are written specifically for children aged 7-12 in a fun, comic book layout and have even been adapted into a CD-ROM interactive game by Social Skill Builder. Her new curriculum is centered around a super hero named Superflex, who battles the Team of Unthinkables, which are representative of a different social behavior and challenge. In one of her comic books, SuperFlex battles Glassman, who is responsible for making people have giant sized reactions to problems. Her books are helping to increase kids’ awareness of their own social learning challenges as well as provide them with strategies and thinking to manage their own behaviors.

In my experience as a Speech-Language Pathologist, I have seen first-hand Ms. Winner’s work significantly improve the quality of life for my students. They independently use core Social Thinking vocabulary, and they have increased their own awareness and abilities to regulate and modify their own behaviors across a variety of settings and contexts. More importantly, my students look forward to therapy and are having so much fun that they forget they are learning.

For more information on any of Michelle Garcia Winner’s work, please check out her website at www.socialthinking.com.

By Tara Feinberg, Speech and Language Therapist

Building a Strong Vocabulary

October 11, 2012 Brad Hoffman

As parents, we need to put down all our electronic devices and look at our children and talk to and with them. With frequency and intent, these conversations are the foundations for strong intellectual development and academic progress. These conversations need to begin in infancy and continue throughout a child’s life. Quality time means that parents must be present and engaged when interacting with their children. Multi-tasking when spending time with children does not help them to develop a strong vocabulary or build their intellectual and social capacity.

Where Do We Start?

Today a lot of the information that we receive comes to us in sound bites. We recommend speaking in complete sentences even to our youngest children. Children who hear language in complete sentences learn to speak in complete sentences. This will have a positive impact on a child’s ability to learn to read and write. If you are speaking to your children in complete sentences, it is likely that you are using a greater abundance of complex words and thoughts. As we mentioned in our earlier blog post, a strong, rich and varied vocabulary provides a vehicle for children to continue to strengthen their intellectual capacity and academic progress. Simply stated: speak to your children using complete sentences and a rich and varied vocabulary.

And Then…

Capitalize on your daily routines – explain why and what you are doing. A trip to the grocery store can be an opportunity to describe, categorize, and compare all sorts of things. This might sound like: What color is this apple? Are there any other apples of the same color? Different color? How many fruits can you find that are bigger/smaller than the apples? No conversation that involves descriptive language is unimportant. Thinking aloud during your daily routines and engaging your child in this thought process is a natural way to develop and extend vocabulary. This works for all age groups and environments.

Thinking Aloud – You’re Not Really Talking to Yourself

It might feel a bit odd to verbalize your thought processes while doing something with your child. However, this provides a great opportunity for your child to gain an insight into your thoughts and actions while modeling a rich and perhaps unfamiliar vocabulary simultaneously. This is significant because as your child hears the words your actions demonstrate the meaning of the language being used. Thoughts, actions and words work collaboratively to help foster meaning and therefore a deeper comprehension. For instance, making pasta allows us to introduce words like colander, stock pot, boiling, slotted, scalding, drain, transfer, temperature, texture, firm, soft, season, spice – all words that help develop and deepen contextual understanding while allowing for generalization to other situations. While using words such as these, be sure to demonstrate or explain their meaning. It’s important to check in to see that your child understands the meaning of this rich vocabulary. Be sure to encourage your child to ask for clarification and provide opportunities for them to show what they understand and to use the words in complete sentences.

Reading Together, It’s More Than Just Fun

Everyone knows reading aloud to your child is important. Read alouds have a profound impact on vocabulary, conceptual, academic and intellectual development. Parents often wonder how to get the most out of reading aloud to their children. Be thoughtful about your selection of what you read aloud. Consider your child’s interests, but try to extend their range of knowledge by picking books they might not read on their own. Doing this generally introduces varied vocabulary and topics that encourage interesting and thoughtful discussions.

With that being said, make sure to pause during reading to check for understanding, clear up any misconceptions and allow your child to make and confirm predictions about what might happen next. This is also an opportune time for you and your child to identify words that they might not know or completely understand. You can use context clues, pictures, examples, non-examples, antonyms and/or synonyms to help your child develop understanding of the text. Shared reading is another strategy that helps readers make meaning from text. Read several sentences, pause, discuss what you’ve read and then have your child do the same thing. Shared ownership of the reading and discussion will help your child internalize vocabulary as well as understand the author’s message.

Helping our children to build and develop a strong vocabulary takes time and effort, but the payoff is huge over the long haul. The accumulation of words and meanings is an ongoing process. It doesn’t start and stop at specific points; it grows and changes as do our children. Learning to be smart never stops. Be present, directly engage with your children. They will benefit from your words.

By Laurie Gross and Amy Shapiro
My Learning Springboard, Inc.

Still Working on Those College Applications?

September 14, 2012 Brad Hoffman

As many of our students work on their college applications, they always ask, “How can I set myself apart from the other applicants?” and “How do I know how much weight each university puts on each element of the application?”

While this process can feel overwhelming for many students (and parents), it’s also a tremendous opportunity to help students develop important writing skills and strategic thinking. My Learning Springboard writing tutors and independent college counselors can help with college applications WHILE teaching these important skills. Please contact us today.

For some helpful tips about the college application, Yale University has created a section on their website called, Advice on Putting Together Your Application. Information may vary between colleges and universities, but this is a valuable resource. Below is an excerpt from the site:

Students commonly want to know what part of the college application “carries the most weight.” The truth is, there are many parts to your application, and together they help us discover and appreciate your particular mix of qualities. Academic criteria are important to Yale’s selective admissions process, but we look at far more than test scores and grades.

Every applicant brings something unique to the admissions committee table. Perhaps one application stands out because of sparkling recommendations, while another presents outstanding extracurricular talent; maybe your personality shines through a powerful written voice, or maybe your keen mathematical mind packs more punch. Our goal is to assemble a diverse, well-rounded freshman class, and that means admitting exceptional individuals of all types. You may find this answer unsatisfying, but we assure you that it is true: the part of the application that carries the most weight is different from applicant to applicant.

This section of our website aims to help you submit the very best application possible. We asked admissions officers to weigh in with their own thoughts on each topic and we have compiled their responses below. We know that the application process can be confusing, daunting, even overwhelming, and we hope this page proves helpful as you compile your applications, not only to Yale but to every school on your list.

Essays
Extracurriculars
Interviews
Recommendations
Supplementary Materials
Transcripts and Testing