Natural Learning Process and the Brain Created by: Jennifer McCabe M.Ed

Natural Learning Process and the Brain

Created by: Jennifer McCabe M.Ed.

The BrainThe Brain

Phineas gage

Lobes of the Brain (4)

• Frontal• Parietal• Occipital• Temporal

* Note: Occasionally, the Insula is considered the fifth lobe. It is located deep to the Temporal Lobe.

http://www.bioon.com/book/biology/whole/image/1/1-8.tif.jpg

Lobes of the Brain - Frontal• The Frontal Lobe of the brain is located deep to the

Frontal Bone of the skull.

(Investigation: Phineas Gage)

• It plays an integral role in the following functions/actions:

- Memory Formation

- Emotions

- Decision Making/Reasoning

- Personality

Investigation (Phineas Gage)

Modified from: http://www.bioon.com/book/biology/whole/image/1/1-8.tif.jpg

Frontal Lobe - Cortical Regions

• Orbitofrontal Cortex – Site of Frontal Lobotomies

• Primary Motor Cortex (Precentral Gyrus) – Cortical site involved with controlling movements of the body.

• Broca’s Area – Controls facial neurons, speech, and language comprehension. Located on Left Frontal Lobe.

– Broca’s Aphasia – Results in the ability to comprehend speech, but the decreased motor ability (or inability) to speak and form words.

• Olfactory Bulb - Cranial Nerve I, Responsible for sensation of Smell

* Desired Effects:- Diminished Rage- Decreased Aggression- Poor Emotional Responses

* Possible Side Effects:- Epilepsy- Poor Emotional Responses- Perseveration (Uncontrolled, repetitive actions, gestures, or words)

Lobes of the Brain – Temporal Lobe• The Temporal Lobes are located on the sides of the

brain, deep to the Temporal Bones of the skull.

• They play an integral role in the following functions:

- Hearing- Organization/Comprehension of language

- Information Retrieval (Memory and Memory Formation)

Modified from: http://www.bioon.com/book/biology/whole/image/1/1-8.tif.jpg

Parts of the cerebrumParts of the cerebrum

alcohol and the brain

This is your brain…

• Brain cells are called neurons.

• You are born with at least 100 billion neurons.

• Dendrites (fibers) grow out of the neurons when you listen to/write about/talk about/ practice something.

The Brain and Learning

NATURAL LEARNING PROCESS: CLASSROOM/FIELD RESEARCH

More than 8,000 people—from 2nd graders to graduate students to educators—have reported how they learned to be good at something outside school. Every group, without exception, has reported the same sequence of stages by which they learned.


Learning is natural!

• Neurons know how to grow dendrites, just like a stomach knows how to digest food.

• Learning = Growth of dendrites.

• New dendrites take time to grow; it takes a lot of practice for them to grow.

Connections form between neurons.

• When two dendrites grow close together, a contact point is formed. A small gap at the contact point is called the synapse.

• Messages are sent from one neuron to another as electrical signals travel across the synapse.

Practice builds strong connections!

• Special chemicals called neurotransmitters carry the electrical signals across the synapse.

• When you practice something, it gets easier for the signals to cross the synapse. That’s because the contact area becomes wider and more neurotransmitters are stored there.

Practice builds faster connections.

• When you practice something, the dendrites grow thicker with a fatty coating of myelin.

• The thicker the dendrites, the faster the signals travel. The myelin coating also reduces interference.

Practice builds double connections.

• With enough practice, the dendrites build a double connection.

• Faster, stronger, double connections last a very long time. You remember what you learned!

THE NATURAL LEARNING STAGES

STAGE 1: Motivation Motivation/watch, have to, shown, interest

STAGE 2: Start to Practice/practice, trial & error, ask ?’s STAGE 3: Advanced Practice/practice, lessons, read,

STAGE 3: Advanced Practice/practice, lessons, read, confidence

STAGE 4: Skillfulness/practice, some success, enjoyment, sharing

STAGE 5: Refinement/improvement, natural, pleasure, creative STAGE 6: Mastery/teach, recognition, higher challenges


THE NATURAL LEARNING PROCESS

We learn through those stages because this is how the brain

learns--by constructing knowledge through sequential stages.


THE BRAIN’S CONSTRUCTIVE LEARNING PROCESS

Like twigs on a tree that can grow only from a twig or branch that is already there, so dendrites can grow only from a dendrite that is already there from dendrite that is already there--from something the learner already knows.

Then, like twigs growing on a tree, learning is constructed, higher and higher, skill and understanding increasing.


HOW THE BRAIN LEARNS

Each neuron has thousands of dendrites (like tree branches and twigs--“dendrite” means “tree-like”) which receive chemical-electrical messages from other neurons’ axons across the synapses.

HOW THE BRAIN LEARNSAs we learn (as we experience, practice, process), specific dendrites grow so that specific neurons connect at specific synapses to create larger and more-complex specific neural networks.

These networks are what we know.

The more we grow, the more we know, i.e., our ceiling level rises.

Short-term memory is VERY short!

• If you learn something new and do it only once or twice, the dendrite connection is very fragile and can disappear within hours.– Within 20 minutes, you remember only 60%.– Within 24 hours, you remember only 30%.

But if you practice within 24 hours, and then practice again later, you remember 80%.

Make the most of practice time…

• You grow dendrites for exactly the same thing you are practicing.

• If you listen or watch while math problems are solved, you grow dendrites for listening or for watching.

• If you actually solve the problems yourself, you grow dendrites for solving.

Major Points to Remember, #1

• You are naturally smart, because …

You are naturally smart, because …

• Your brain knows how to grow dendrites just like your stomach knows how to digest food.

• Think about a baby who learns to speak in its native language without any special classes or training!

Major Points, #2

You must do something active (explain, solve, draw, write, etc.) in order to learn, because…

Mistakes are essential, because…

• Making mistakes, and getting feedback so you can correct them, allows you to check the accuracy of the connections in your brain.

• Be sure to get feedback quickly so you don’t practice the wrong thing and build a strong, but wrong, connection!

UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BRAIN NATURALLY LEARNS Rita Smilkstein, Ph. D.

www.borntolearn.net

EMOTIONS AFFECT LEARNING

When learners feel unconfident or anxious, certain chemicals flow into the synapses to shut them down: “Danger! No time to think! Just run away!”

This is the flight reaction. Teachers mistakenly think they have poor students. Students mistakenly think they have a poor memory, but it is their emotions that are sabotaging them.

When learners feel confident, different chemicals flow into the synapses that make them work quickly and well: “I can handle this.” This is the fight reaction

What can emotions do to you?

• Anxiety floods your body with adrenaline (“fight or flight”).

• Adrenaline makes it hard for the neuro-transmitters to carry messages across the synapses in your brain.

• That causes “blanking out” on a test.

How can emotions help you?

• Endorphins make you feel calm.• Your body produces endorphins when you relax,

exercise, laugh, or learn new things.• If you practice producing calming hormones, it

will help when you are under stress.

Academic Discrepancy Areas

• Oral expression• Listening comprehension• Written expression• Basic reading skills• Reading comprehension• Mathematical calculation• Mathematical reasoning

THE BRAIN’S CONSTRUCTIVE LEARNING PROCESS

As a learner goes through the stages of this natural learning process, the learner’s brain constructs its neural networks from the lowest twig up networks from the lowest twig up. Thus, the first lesson must be a no-fail activity to which every student can make a personal connection to a twig already there, to something already known.

IMPLICATIONSIf students haven’t had the opportunity to grow the foundation dendrites for a new topic or skill, they don’t have the basis from which to grow—on which to connect and construct—the dendrites skill for the higher levels of skill and knowledge. Should we judge them as incapable or of less intelligence or talent and throw them and their potential away because they never had that opportunity?

What are Learning Disabilities

Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD)Definition: Specific Learning Disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

Connecticut Longitudinal Study

•  Yale University School of Medicine (Sally Shaywitz, MD) conducted a 20 year study- beginning in 1983

•  445 children tracked beginning in kindergarten •  dyslexia is a specific and diagnosable neurological

condition •  dyslexia is recognized by the American Medical

Association •  1 in 5 people have some degree of dyslexia • 

dyslexia is one of the most common neurological conditions


Dyslexia

• Dyslexia is an impairment in the brain's ability to translate written images received from the eyes into meaningful language. Also called specific reading disability, dyslexia is the most common learning disability in children.

• A learning disability is a condition that produces a gap between someone's ability and his or her performance. Most people with dyslexia are of average or above-average intelligence, but read at levels significantly lower than expected. Other types of learning disabilities include attention difficulties, an inability to perform well at writing skills and an inability to perform well at math skills.

• Learning disabilities affect about 5 percent of all school-age children in public schools in the United States. The majority of schoolchildren who receive special education services have deficits in reading, and dyslexia is the most common cause.

COGNITIVE and NEUROLINGUISTIC

The phonological weakness occurs ‘at the lowest level of the language system,’ and in turn impairs decoding.

Individuals have difficulty accessing and manipulating the sound structure (phonemes) of spoken language.


The hallmark of dyslexia

is difficulty processing speech sounds:   genetically transmitted   neurobiological   occurs in people of all ages, races and backgrounds

and all levels of intelligence   persistent (not developmental, not outgrown)   improves with explicit instruction and practice

  causes difficulty with reading & spelling words


Dyscalculia• Resources: http://www.dyscalculia.org/

• The word "dyscalculia" means difficulty performing math calculations. In other words, it just means "math difficulty". And specifically, it means a learning disability which affects math. Sometimes confusion arises when we start dealing with the term "dyscalculia" as it relates to "special education services".

• There are very strict criteria (which can differ quite a bit from State to State) which determine if a student has a learning disability as it is defined by special education rules.

• When a student's math difficulties are severe enough to meet this criteria, special education services are indicated. On the other hand, "dyscalculia" has no clearly defined criteria. A student with any degree of math difficulty may be considered to have "dyscalculia" by some educational specialists. This frequently occurs when a student receives an educational evaluation outside of the public school system.

Dysgraphia• "Dysgraphia" is a learning disability resulting from the difficulty in expressing thoughts in

writing and graphing. It generally refers to extremely poor handwriting.

• Each State has its own criteria which determine if a student has a learning disability as it is defined by special education guidelines. When a student's writing or graphing difficulties are severe enough to meet these criteria, special education services are indicated.

• Problems arise because "dysgraphia" has no clearly defined criteria. A student with any degree of handwriting difficulty may be labeled "dysgraphic" by some educational specialists, but may or may not need special education services.

• Most learning disabled students experience difficulty with handwriting and probably could be considered "dysgraphic". However, the term is seldom used within public schools because of the lack of any generally recognized or measurable criteria.

(everything on Dysgraphia is from)• http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/dysgraphia.html

DysgraphiaSTRATEGIES

• Encourage students to outline their thoughts. It is important to get the main ideas down on paper without having to struggle with the details of spelling, punctuation, etc

• Have students draw a picture of a thought for each paragraph.• Have students dictate their ideas into a tape recorder and then listen and write them down later.• Have them practice keyboarding skills. It may be difficult at first, but after they have learned the

pattern of the keys, typing will be faster and clearer than handwriting. • Have a computer available for them to organize information and check spelling. Even if their

keyboarding skills aren't great, a computer can help with the details.• Have them continue practicing handwriting. There will be times throughout a student's life that they

will need to be able to write things down and maybe even share their handwriting with others. It will continue to improve as long as the student keeps working at it.

• Encourage student to talk aloud as they write. This may provide valuable auditory feedback.• Allow more time for written tasks including note-taking, copying, and tests.• Outline the particular demands of the course assignments/continuous assessment; exams, computer

literacy etc. so that likely problems can be foreseen.• Give and allow students to begin projects or assignments early.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a group of chronic disorders that begin in childhood and sometimes last into adult life.

• Problems generally associated with ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. They can affect nearly every aspect of life. Children and adults with ADHD often struggle with low self-esteem, troubled personal relationships and poor performance in school or at work.

• The best treatment for ADHD is a matter of debate. Currently, psychostimulant drugs are the most common treatment. But although these drugs can relieve many symptoms, they don't cure ADHD. Counseling, special accommodations in the classroom, and family and community support are other key parts of treatment.

Special Learning NeedsOnly 5% of students have ADD, but more than 25% are given ritalin, which stifles normal brain growth.

These students say they are so bored they can't sit still, be quiet, listen and obey; they want to think, figure things out themselves, be creative.

IMPLICATIONS

Students from different cultures have different experiences and learn different things, grow different neural networks. However, we all learn by the same brain- , y based natural-learning process. When students have this metacognitive knowledge, they are curious about what and how other people learn rather than disrespect them for being ignorant or wrong.

Criticisms of the Discrepancy Method

• Problems with IQ tests• Intelligence of students with LD may be

underestimated; high correlation with achievement measures

• Failure to discriminate between groups of poor readers

• Difficulty in identifying students in the early grades

Learning is all about empowerment.

The brain is our survival organ. It is born to learn is impelled to learn STUDENTS AS EMPOWERED, ENGAGED, SUCCESSFUL LEARNERS born to learn, is impelled to learn.

The brain produces endorphins, the pleasure hormone, when it is learning. What if we had a way to help students, in any class, be the motivated, engaged, natural learners they are born to be?


ESSENTIAL TRUTHS ABOUT LEARNING AND TEACHING

The brain starts all learning from where it is and constructs the new from there.

The seven magic words that are the mating call of the brain are “See if you mating call of the brain are, “See if you can figure this out.”

When these seven magic words are implicit or explicit in any lesson, the brain says, “I want to do that!” and the learner is motivated, engaged, and empowered.


www.borntolearn.net

TEACH ESSENTIAL TRUTHS ABOUT LEARNING

When learners have all this invaluable metacognitive knowledge, they are empowered to be self-responsible and to have self-efficacy.

When teachers have this knowledge, they can better help their students become the natural, motivated, successful learners they are born to be.


www.borntolearn.net

FACES

Behind every face is a brain that puts the look in the eye, the expression on the face, the words that come out of the mouth—and has these innate needs:

Figure it out (Fairness/Justice) Acceptance (Affirmation/Respect)Community(Connections/Constructivism)Empowerment (Engagement) Safety


www.borntolearn.net

Basic Psychological Processes

• Memory (short and long term)• Auditory, visual, haptic discrimination• Sequencing• Attention• Organization• Psychomotor skills/visual motor integration• Conceptualization/reasoning skills• Social perception

You must do something active to learn, because…

• Dendrites grow ONLY when you are actively doing something.

• No one else can grow dendrites for you!

Summary of Brain Research

Learning is an electrical and chemical process. Based on prior experiences and environmental input, the brain continually chooses what to attend to—strengthening some neural connections and deleting others.

This process of internal reorganization continues throughout one's lifetime, but is most intense from ages 3 to 12 (Sousa, 2001).Recent brain research suggests that the ability and willingness of present-day students to engage in school activities is heavily influenced by today's environment.


Adolescent BrainCognitive Development

Prefrontal cortex • Planning • Anticipating consequences • Attention • Decisions


As David Sousa notes:

Children have become accustomed to…rapid sensory and emotional changes, and respond by engaging in all types of activities of short duration…. By acclimating itself to these changes, the brain responds more than ever to the unique and different—what is called novelty. Add to this mix the changes in family patterns and lifestyles, as well as the effects of diet, drugs, and sleep deprivation, and we can realize how very different the environment of today's child is from that of just 15 years ago (p. 28).


Implications for Instruction

provide opportunities to bridge from concrete experiences to abstract thinking.

practice problem-solving, analyzing, and reasoning; and, they need teachers who can help them develop these new abilities.

If we want young adolescents to achieve academically, teachers must be expert at developing curriculum and teaching students across a wide spectrum of strengths and emerging abilities.


Adolescent Social and EmotionalDevelopment

adolescence is a time of rich social and emotional growth.

Young children are primarily concerned with their own needs, young adolescents begin to look outside themselves and consider how other people think and feel.

Young adolescents possess a strong sense of fairness and begin to develop a social consciousness. “That isn’t fair!” is not simply a 13-year-old’s complaint; it is a mark of a developing sense of justice and equity.


“Who am I?”

• Developing personal identity • Pleasing peers • Separating from family • Growing independence


Social Emotional Growth

Prefrontal cortex + Amygdala Surge protector =Sudden, intense emotions


Change Happens at the Local Level

• Regardless of institutional constraints, educators have individual and collective choice in how they interact

with students, in how they engage them cognitively, in how they activate their prior (cultural) knowledge, in how they

use technology to amplify imagination, and in how they involve parents in their children’s education.

• Educators have a vested interest in educating children; their sense of personal self-worth and job satisfaction depends on it.


Pedagogy• Transmission-oriented pedagogy aims to transmit the information and skills

articulated in curriculum standards directly to students.

• Social constructivist pedagogy incorporates transmission of information and skills but broadens the focus to include the co-construction of knowledge and understanding by teachers and students working together. A major goal is the development of higher-order thinking abilities.

• Transformative approaches to pedagogy broaden the focus still further by emphasizing not only transmitting the curriculum and constructing knowledge but also the promotion of critical literacy among students. Critical literacy focuses on demystifying societal power relations embedded

in discourse and text (e.g. curriculum materials). It aims to enable students to identify how language is used to reinforce unequal power relations and how language can be used to uncover and dismantle these power relations.


thi

•Identifying learning disabilities among ELLs is a complex task even under “ideal” circumstances.

•You don’t want to even think about what happens in less than ideal situations.

ConMain Conclusion

•ELLs whose academic problems can be directly attributed to deficiencies in the teaching-learning environment

•ELLs whose learning problems become more serious over time because instruction is not modified to address educational needs

•ELLs with disabilities

•ELLs with LD and ELLs with other disabilities

Participants in prereferral, referral, assessment, and multidisciplinary team processes had difficulty distinguishing among:

Implications for PractceGiven what we know about young adolescent social and emotional growth,

how can schools facilitate academic learning? Rather than criticize or tease the 12-year-old about mood swings, changing

friendships, and inconsistent attention span, staff must be supportive and encouraging.

After all, these aspects of student development are opportunities for growth, not impediments to learning.

Teachers must help students understand the changes they are experiencing and allay their fears and anxieties.

Classrooms must be safe places to learn. Teachers need to build positive relationships with their students, and see them as capable, creative human beings.

As the adage goes, “Kids don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”


Emerging Theoretical Views• Constructivism: learners construct knowledge based on background

information and connections between ideas, facts and concepts. “Holistic” thought conceptualizing of the whole rather than task-analysis.

• Multiple Intelligences: IQ is multifaceted, various abilities in various areas (linguistic, logico-mathematical, musical-rhythmic, visual-spacial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal)

• Brain-Compatible Learning: MRI and PET scans have increased our understanding on how learning takes place. Additional phases of memory (short-term is refined to working memory). Suggestions to teachers: provide verbal practice, “wait time” (10-20 sec.) for a response

Assessment

Assessment should be a tool to help students learn, not a punishment.

Assessment should help teachers improve curriculum and instruction and allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and become managers of their own learning.


A Chaotic Theory of Learning Disability

• This pattern of complexity is best assessed without an a priori definition in mind

• Instead, assessment should focus on the unique details of their learning needs– Determination whether or not individualized programming is

essential (special education as LD)– Determination of alternatives within general education (bilingual,

ESL, or other gen. ed. Alternatives-not LD/not special education)

Current Special Education Assessment Alternatives

• Curriculum-Based Measurement– Response to Treatment

• Dual Discrepancy model– Achievement based on classroom performance– Examine rates of growth

• Dynamic Assessment

Curriculum-Based Measurement

• Advantages– Classroom-based– Validated forms with standardized assessment– Use of appropriate comparisons

• Challenges– Outcomes-based results– Preclude direct assessment of information-processing– Potential “dumping ground” result

Dynamic Assessment

• Direct measures of information processing– Task apprehension– Examine rates of growth

• Challenges– Untested– Not validated– Need to operationalize what constitutes “information-processing”

data and – Need to conceptualize the model to obtain these data.

Combining CBM with Dynamic Assessment as a Dual Discrepancy Model

• CBM is a measure of learner outcomes in a classroom setting

• Dynamic assessment is a measure of information processing

•It is easy to say that assessments should be nondiscriminatory and that MDTs should rule out factors such as limited English proficiency, cultural differences, and lack of opportunity to learn as the cause of learning problems

•It is far more difficult to make an eligibility decision that results in an improved and appropriate instructional placement when one or more of these descriptors applies to an individual student.

The focus on factors at one level ignores factors at another level (Rueda, today).

•Data-gathering focuses on special education requirements for eligibility determinations.

However, the data gathered at the point of referral may not be the data needed to answer the question, “Is is a difference or is it a disability?”

•The answer may be found several years back in the student/family/school history.

•Without this “look back in time”, special education will continue to be a dumping ground for significant issues that are not disability-related.

There is a tremendous volume of information collected on ELLS over the course of their school careers.

However, it is recorded on many different forms, forms are kept in many different files, and records are kept in many different locations.

Consequently, neither bilingual education nor special education committees have access to all the data they need when they make decisions about eligibility, and program placements, or develop instructional interventions.

Need for Centralized Data

-parent input-home language, -oral language proficiency in L1 and L2-literacy levels in both languages, -prior instruction, -type, duration, quality of special language programs -teacher variables-FIE results

ETC.

To make an appropriate eligibility determination, a multiplicity of factors must be considered, including

Given the multiplicity of factors, and the volume of data, we need mechanisms that help teachers, assessment personnel, and prereferral, referral, and multidisciplinary teams focus on information and factors that seem to be most critical to making accurate decisions.

For example, the factors that distinguished the LD group from other students in this substudy.

Checklist for Determining the Presence of a Learning Disability among ELLs:

Early Intervention:

I. What is the student's present level of performance?

II. Based on the above information, how was instruction modified and what were the results?

XII. Does the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) include members who can facilitate the following:

involve parents meaningfullyinterpret for parentsetc.

XIII. Does the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) have any remaining questions after FIE results have been considered? If so, specify the additional action and/or information needed to resolve them.

Checklist: Multidisciplinary Team

JR 80

Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)

An FBA is designed to assess the causes of a student’s challenging behavior and to make recommendations on corresponding reports and subsequent behavioral intervention plans.

Identify the MYTHS• Problem behavior is a matter of control.• Punishment changes behavior.• Consequences are negative. • A student knows why he

or she misbehaves.• The only motivations for

any behavior are to get, control, or avoid something.

Uh, oh!

Answer: The first four are myths. The last one is TRUE.

VIII. When an FIE is recommended, what procedures will

be used to address the issues identified by the referral

committee? What additional procedures may be needed to

establish eligibility?

IX. Conduct the FIE incorporating best practices with

regard to the assessment of English Language Learners.

X. Correlate FIE outcomes with referral concerns.

XI. Identify student's strengths and weaknesses.

Checklist: Assessment Personnel

V. The referral committee reviews early intervention efforts and considers factors, other than the presence of a disability, that may explain academic and behavioral difficulties (e.g. exclusionary clause).

VI. The committee explores other alternatives that should be considered to resolve the difficulties before requesting a full and individual evaluation (FIE).

VII. The referral committee identifies unresolved questions and concerns. They share these with assessment personnel to direct the assessment process away from a focus on “legitimating the label”.

Checklist: Referral Committees

III. What interventions did the problem-solving team, in cooperation with the teacher and family, decide to implement and what procedures were identified for analyzing and documenting effectiveness?

IV. What were the results of the intervention and do any difficulties remain?

If difficulties persist despite well-implemented interventions, determine whether additional problem-solving is needed or determine whether a special education referral is warranted.

Checklist: Campus-based Problem-solving

Changes Facing Schools

• Gum chewing• Cutting in line• Not raising hand• Running• Writing in books

19501950

JR 86

To conduct a FBA, you need to identify:

Problem behavior in concrete and observable termsStrength of the problem behavior to establish

baseline dataConditions under which the problem behavior occurs

(including the events that trigger and reinforce the problem behavior)

Probable reasons for or causes of the problem behavior (including biological, social, cognitive, affective, and environmental factors).

Changes Facing Schools

» Assault» Weapons» Drugs

19901990

•Verbal abuse /intimidation •Depression and anxiety

ALL behavior—positive and negative—

is the manifestation of some underlying need, such as to seek something pleasant, or to avoid

something unpleasant.

Hmm. Seek chocolate or avoid fat?

#1

Best Practices & I.D.E.A.• In cases of a change in placement due to

disciplinary action a functional behavioral assessment must be conducted to inform the development of a behavior intervention plan

• In the case of a child whose behavior impedes his or her learning or that of others, consider, when appropriate, strategies, including positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to address that behavior


The motives are the cause and the behavior is the result.Behavior is observable, but the

motives behind it are not. To change the behavior (result), the cause must

be identified and addressed.

I bought a treadmill. Why don’t

I use it?

#2

Rather than attempting to control or suppress behavior, replace or

modify the motivation for continuing the behavior or supply an alternate, acceptable behavior that meets the

same need.

Maybe I should join that group that

works out on Saturday mornings.

#3

General guidelines about when to conduct FBA/Behavior Plans

• When suspending a child with a disability from educational services

• Review the plan when a child with a behavior plan is again suspended

• Whenever behavior impedes student’s learning or that of others


Approaches to FBA/BIPsin the School Context

• Applied Behavior Analysis model – Antecedents, behavior, & consequences– Experimental Manipulation

• Structuralism v. Functionalism


Approaches to FBA/BIPsin the School Context (cont.)

• Functional CommunicationBehavior serves a specific communicative function

• A more functionalist approach


Overview of theFBA/BIP Process

• Collect information

• Describe the behavior

• Determine the functions of behavior

• Develop a plan of intervention

• Implement the plan correctly

• Evaluate the outcome of the planCreated by: Jennifer McCabe M.Ed.

JR 96

Tool Box For Step One

o Teacher Questionnaireo Parent Questionnaireo Problem Behavior Questionnaireo Functional Assessment Interview (FAI)o Motivational Scaleo Behavioral Assistant Scales for Children, 2nd Edition

(BASC- 2)o Child Depression Inventory (CDI)

Functional Behavioral Assessment (Description)

• Data Sources• Describe behavior• Settings• Frequency• Intensity• Duration• Describe previous interventions• Educational impact


Functional Behavioral Assessment (Function)

• The identification of important, controllable, causal functional relationships applicable to a specific set of target behaviors for an individual client

• Multimodal: each behavior typically has multiple cause contributing differentially to the expression of the behavior


Organization of Functions

Contexts

• Child

• School

• Peers

• Family

Categories

• Proximal

• Distal

• Physiological

• Intrapsychic


The Functions

• Affective regulation/emotional reactivity• Cognitive distortion• Reinforcement• Modeling• Family issues• Physiological/constitutional• Communicate need• Curriculum/Instruction


“Computing” Function:

a. chronically irritableb. looked at the wrong wayc. intermittent arguments with brotherd. teaching is not engaginge. very few successes in school Behavior = 10a + 1b + 1c + 5d + 10e


Behavior Intervention Plan

• Describe the expected outcomes and goals for the plan

• Specify the interventions used to achieve the goals

• Specify person who is responsible for specific interventions

• Specify a review dateCreated by: Jennifer McCabe M.Ed.

JR 103

Questions To Be Answered. . .

1. What are the antecedents of the challenging behavior (e.g., setting events that elicit the behavior)?

2. What are the consequences for the challenging behavior, which may reinforce it?

3. What does the student gain?4. What does the student avoid?

JR 104

Describing the Problem Behavior?

1. Note the type of problem behavior2. Note where the problem behavior occurs3. Note when the problem behavior occurs4. Note characteristics of the setting and events related to the problem

behavior5. Note situations or personal events that might induce the behavior:

include actions of others that increase or trigger the behavior.6. Note the consequences associated with the problem behavior.

TK 105

Type of Problem Behaviors?o Head bangingo Being physically aggressiveo Being truanto Bitingo Cryingo Defying authorityo Destroying propertyo Pushing, pulling otherso Running awayo Threatening otherso Throwing things

o Inappropriate sexual behavior

o Failing to complete assignments

o Failure to follow directionso Failure to remain seatedo Fightingo Yellingo Cursingo Talking out of turno Use of inappropriate

language

TK 106

Where does the Problem Behaviors occur?

o Auditoriumo Buso Bus stopo Cafeteriao Classroom (Reading,

Writing, Math)o Computer room

o Hallwayo Bathroomo Libraryo Special classroomso Walkways

TK 107

When does the Problem Behaviors Occur?

Subjects being taught (history writing, reading, math,etc.)

Time of day (before school. Morning, afternoon) Instructional activity, or lack of, (individual

assignments, group activity, small group Nonacademic activity (changing class, playground,

lunch)

TK 108

Situations or setting events….Arguing with parents before schoolFight with peerGetting in trouble previouslyDislikes or has difficult time with assignment or

required activityBeing teased, harassed or intimidated by a peerFatigue, illnessTest anxietySocial conflict

TK 109

Reported Consequences vs.

Observable Consequences

Additional writing assignmentsAlternative educational placementBeing given alternative task, different from peersBeing sent to office or removed from the class Suspensions Loss of privileges IgnoringPhysical restraintCall to parentsReferral to counselor

TK 110

Identify Challenging Behavior in Concrete & Observable Terms

General Descriptions

Concrete & Observable Descriptions

Student is aggressive

During lunch, when student doesn’t get his way, he hits other children

Student is disruptive

Student continuously call out and makes inappropriate comments during math seat work

Student is hyperactive

Student continuously moves around on seat, plays with items on desk, and gets out of his seat w/o permission during reading activities

Communicate Need• In general the approach should be about

moving from the overt to the covert

• Tagging followed by appropriate communication– Cumulative effect is identification of emotion and

training of appropriate emotion

• Systematic training of appropriate communication


Curriculum/Instruction• High standards and relevant curriculum

• Various issues with ways of teaching

• Apply Effective Schools Literature on a systems level– climate conducive to learning– high expectations– high levels of time on-task– clear instructional objectives– principal is a strong program leader


Maintain the Plan

• Consistent, Systematic, Cumulative

• Behavior change does not have to be absolute

• Looking for reasonable improvement in behavior (it takes time)

• Maintain the plan if it is effective, but needs to be continued


Convenient OutcomeData to Collect

• Amount of work turned in• Discipline referrals• Grade report• Frequency of time outs or direct

intervention• Student report• Parent report• Structured Observation


The A-B-Cs of FBAs • • The FBA process is nothing new, and is based on applied

behavioranalysis (ABA). ABA is concerned with the analysis and modification of human behavior, and is often represented by the following paradigm:

• • The “A”is the antecedent –that which precedes the behavior. The antecedents may include external factors such as settings, tasks, people, activities, and so on. They may also include internal factors such as moods, medical conditions, disabilities, psychiatric, and so on.

• • The “B”represents behavior. It is important to define behavior in observable, factual terms. Stay away from emotions or projected feelings, such as “he felt bad”or “his feelings were hurt”. Everyone needs to understand the meaning of the behavior.


• The “C”represents consequence –that which follows the target behavior. It is important to consider what the student does, what other students do, what teachers or other adults do, whether there are meaningful consequences, and so on.

• • The goals of ABA include (1) determining the relationship between behavior and environment;

• (2) understanding the reasons or functions for the behavior; and (3) helping behavior change.


The relationship between behavior and learning must not only be considered, but must be acted upon. The purpose is to fill in the blanks in the following sentence:

When _______ occurs, the student _________ in order to ______________.


CLAW

• Come Prepared • Listen and Learn • Act Respectfully • Work Hard Concepts will need to be taught in a way the student can understand


In the general population

7% of children are diagnosed with learning disabilities.

42% of youth in a detention setting had a primary learning disability.

In Massachusetts, over 50% of Juvenile Court Clinic clients have a history of special education services or an undiagnosed learning disability. In 2009, 61% of clients referred to the Middlesex Juvenile Court Clinic had a history of special education.


The most common learning disability. Of all students with specific learning disabilities, 70%-80%

have deficits in reading.

Two million children and adolescents are arrested each year in the U.S.66% of boys and 74% of girls who come before the Juvenile Courts have at least one psychiatric disorder, compared with about 20 % of children in the general population.

One in five youth in the system suffer from a mental illness so severe as to impair their ability to function as a young person and grow into a responsible adult.


Saving one high-risk youth from a life of crime, heavy drug use, and dropping out of school

saves society more than $5 million.

For Just One Year: The average annual cost of a mentoring program……......$1,000The annual cost of a high quality after-school program….$2,700 The cost of providing youth employment training ……...$3,448The average annual per child cost for Head Start………...$7,326The cost per pupil for a year of public education..………$10,460One Juvenile Detention Bed for one year in MA……… .$95,000

Source: Personal Communication with the Deputy Commissioner of Dept. of Youth Services. April 2010.


References:• Sousa, D. (2001). How the brain learns. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.• Sprenger, M. (1999). Learning and memory: The brain in action.• Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum

Development.Thornburgh, N. (2006). "Dropout nation." Time Magazine, 167(16), 30–40.

• Wolfe, P. (2001). Brain matters: Translating research into classroom practice. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

• ose, J. (2009). Identifying and teaching children and young people with dyslexia and literacy difficulties. Retrieved from: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/

• Shaywitz , S.E., Shaywitz , B.A., Pugh, K.R., Fulbright, R.K., Constable, R.T., Mencl, W.E., Shankweiler, D.E., Liberman, A.M., Skudlarski, P. Fletcher, J.M., Katz, L., Marchione, K.E., Lacadie, C., Gatenby, C. and Gore, J.C. (1998). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 95 (5). Shaywitz, S.E. (2003). Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level. Toronto: Random House.


ResourcesImages:• http://www.dalbsoutss.eq.edu.au/Sheepbrains_Me/human_brain.gif• http://www.bioon.com/book/biology/whole/image/1/1-8.tif.jpg• http://www.bioon.com/book/biology/whole/image/1/1-6.tif.jpg• http://williamcalvin.com/BrainForAllSeasons/img/bonoboLH-humanLH-viaTWD.gif• http://www.math.tu-dresden.de/~belov/brain/motorcor2.gif• Larson, Gary. The Far Side.

Phineas Gage:• http://www.sruweb.com/~walsh/gage5.jpg• http://soma.npa.uiuc.edu/courses/bio303/Image7.jpg• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage• http://science-education.nih.gov/nihHTML/ose/snapshots/multimedia/ritn/Gage/

Broken_brain1.html

CONTEXT: THE 21ST CENTURY AMERICA

• 1 in 5 children is the child of an immigrant• Over 400 different native languages are represented• The immigrant population’s growth rate is 3 times as

fast as that for the overall population• Largest and fastest growing group of immigrants are

U.S. born children of Latino immigrants – 80% of immigrant population

(Fry & Gonzales, 2008; NCES, 2006; US Census Bureau)HGSE

SUMMARY: THE 21ST CENTURY AMERICA

Cultural, linguistic, and economic diversity is a reality for the nation as a whole

HGSE

For all settings and all programs serving children

TRENDS IN READING DEVELOPMENT

• Three developmental studies to inform instruction: – Preschool to Early Adolescence (ELLs)– 5-year study, 4th - 8th grade (ELLs)– Comparative study of ELLs and native

English speakers (strugglers, 6th grade)

HGSE

Lett

er-W

ord

ID W

LPB-

R W

Sco

res

Age 4.5 Age 5 Age 6 Age 7 Age 8 Age 11 (fall preK) (spring preK) (kinder) (1st grade) (2nd grade) (5thgrade)

National Monolingual Norms

ES: 0.5 0.1 -0.2 -0.2 0.1 0.04

Absolute Rate of Growth National: 135 W-score PointsAbsolute Rate of Growth Sample: 145 W-score Points

Mancilla-Martinez &Lesaux, in press

Prod

uctiv

e Vo

cabu

lary

WLP

B-R

W S

core

s

Age 4.5 Age 5 Age 6 Age 7 Age 8 Age 11 (fall preK) (spring preK) (kinder) (1st grade) (2nd grade) (5th grade)

National Monolingual Norms

ES: 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.3 0.9 1.0

Absolute Rate of Growth National: 45 W-score PointsAbsolute Rate of Growth Sample: 60 W-score Points

Mancilla-Martinez &Lesaux, in press

1 SD below ½ SD below average ½ SD above 1 SD above

Lat

ent

Rea

din

g C

om

pre

hen

sio

n S

core

Average Fitted Score1.

64 S

D

5th Grade National Norms

58

Mancilla-Martinez & Lesaux, in press

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90Pe

rcen

tile

Rank

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 7

Grade 8

Word Reading Fluency Oral Language Reading Comprehension

THE GAP BETWEEN READING WORDS & COMPREHENDING TEXT

Crosson&Lesaux, 2009; Lesaux, Crosson, Kieffer& Pierce, in press

STRUGGLING COMPREHENDERSIN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Lesaux &Kieffer, 2010HGSE

FOLLOW-UP WORK: BEHIND THESE SCORES

• Think-aloud protocol with a subsample from preK to early adolescence study

• The Dilemma:– they appear to be “active” comprehenders,

i.e., report strategy use and have clearly reasoned processes for finding information

– they don’t bring the word and world knowledge required for comprehension.

• Strategies are a mechanism for leveraging background knowledge; Without the former, the latter is insufficient

HGSE

TEACHER TALK FINDINGS• Language Minority learners benefited from teachers’ use

of sophisticated vocabulary– Native English speakers showed increases in vocabulary

as a function of teachers’ use of complex sentences– Teachers’ use of sophisticated vocabulary significantly

impacted students’ reading comprehension• Benefitted LM and EO learners equally

• In the absence of intervention the magnitude of this relationship is the same as many intervention

results

Gamez & Lesaux, under review HGSE

Guidelines for Effective State-Level Literacy Plans, Birth to 12th Grade Guidelines for Effective State-Level Literacy Plans, Birth to 12th Grade

KnowledgeBuilding

reading writing

speaking listening

Birth to 5, Family Literacy Programs: •Revisit supported programs to determine effectiveness for literacy learning

•Focus on impact before focusing on reach

•Reallocation of resources for depth

PK-12 Literacy Model:•Supplemental supports for strugglers at all grade levels

•closer match to daily instructional content•closer match between reader needs & intervention (assessment-driven)

•Includes a plan to buffer summer learning loss•Closer connections to after-school programs

Large problem spaces Small problem spaces

letters

phonemes

spelling rules

vocabulary

sightvocabulary

phonologicalrepresentations

meaning

syntacticstructure

Genre features

language structuresAdapted from Snow (2007)

know

ledg

ePROBLEM SPACES

HGSE

HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DO THIS?

With an integrated, knowledge-based approach, rather than one that simply promises to “balance” skills instruction

need to further problematize the notion of balanced instruction

SHIFTING THE PARADIGMReading Instruction in the Service of…

Reading Skills Content Learning

Shifting the Paradigm in all Learning Settings (con’t)

• An increase in opportunities for academic productive talk, beyond providing responses

• A focus on academic language over conversational language-especially for ELLs-For newcomer ELLs, move quickly from basic/survival English to academic language

• BUT...educators and children need big ideas to talk about• across all settings and program• Talk needs to connect to content learning

HGSE

A Big Idea or Question A Big Idea or Question

Read Aloud (narrative & expository)

Read Aloud (narrative & expository)

Novel Study and/or Early Readers

Novel Study and/or Early Readers Extended WritingExtended Writing

Study of Words that Represent Abstract

Concepts

Study of Words that Represent Abstract

Concepts

Collaborative Research Project

Collaborative Research Project Debate in TeamsDebate in Teams

KNOWLEDGE-BUILDING LITERACY INSTRUCTION

What makes a community?

ALIGNMENT WITH COMMON CORE STANDARDS

• Anchor Standards from the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts:– Integration of Knowledge and Ideas– Research to Build and Present Knowledge– Comprehension and Collaboration– Knowledge of Language– Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

HGSE

•No longer feasible to rely on specialist/specialization models •historically inefficient and ineffective, anyway•universal design for learning (setting-level)

•Expand professional education•Birth to 5 settings•After-School & Family Literacy •Middle & High School Teachers

• Fostering site-level instructional leadership•clear roles for administrators

•In many cases, first state-wide indicator of children’s comprehension is 3rdgrade

•early literacy assessments are mostly code-based•Even starting in preK is late!

•Partnerships with community & medical providers•Assessment often focuses exclusively on children and students

-significant reasons to need to assess quality of settings•Ideally within a statewide database

•track development, including language and reading•promote program evaluation

SUMMARY: KEY POINTS• Increased intensity of many support services &

standard practice– including summer & after-school

• Knowledge-Based Literacy instruction– content goals– knowledge gaps rather than skills gaps– professional development plans

• Assessments of language development should begin long before school starts

• PK-12th grade assessment systems – include a significant focus on oral language

HGSE

SUMMARY: SERVING AT-RISK POPULATIONS

• Increase opportunities to build oral language skills, from an early age

-assessment-supports link -community-school partnerships

• Favor academic language over conversational English/basic communication

-assessment & instruction -extended discourse through high school

• Formal plan for continued support for reclassified ELLs

-universal design for learningHGSE

43% of Massachusetts third graders were reading below grade level in 2009, SFC commissioned nationally recognized literacy expert Nonie Lesaux to write the report. “There is a limited window of time in which to prevent reading difficulties and promote reading achievement,” Lesaux writes. “For most children, what happens (or doesn’t happen) from infancy through age 9 is critical.” Although third grade reading scores improved in 2010, with 37% reading below grade level this year, overall performance has remained relatively flat since 2001 and much work remains to be done to improve reading outcomes for all children.


• Exploring Sources of Reading Comprehension Difficulties Among Language Minority Learners and Their Classmates in Early Adolescence

• Nonie K. Lesaux Harvard Graduate School of Education Michael J. Kieffer Teachers College, Columbia University

• This study explores the nature of reading comprehension difficulties among early adolescent language minority (LM) lear ners and native English speakers in urban schools. Sixth-grade students (399 LM lear ners, 182 native English speakers) were screened for difficulties, using a standardized measure of reading comprehension. Of these, 262 students (201 LM lear ners, 61 native English speakers) with a score at or below the 35th percentile were administered measures of oral language and reading. More LM lear n- ers than their peers were classified as struggling readers (60% vs. 40%, respectively). However, latent class analysis demonstrated that the two populations were evenly distributed among three skill profiles of struggling readers. Despite relative differences in word reading accuracy and fluency, each profile was characterized by low vocabulary knowledge. The majority of struggling readers were found to have developed basic fluency skills. The findings demonstrate the need for middle schools to identify why students are having comprehension difficulties and to target instruction to meet their specific needs, given the wide variation in the struggling reader population. Moreover, they suggest that treating LM lear ners as a separate group based on their status as second-language lear ners may not be appropriate.


Results Preliminar y Analysis: Reading Comprehension Difficulties Among Native Speakers and LM Learners Among the students screened in mainstream sixth-grade classrooms in six urban schools,

a majority (54%) scored at or below the 35th percentile on the reading comprehension measure and were thus classified as struggling readers.

Table 1 displays the results for the full sample that took part 610 by guest on May 22, 2011 http://aerj.aera.net

Downloaded from in the screening. Approximately 60% of LM learners were classified as struggling readers, compared to approximately 40% of native English speakers.

Logistic regression confirmed that language status was a statistically signifi-cant predictor of classification as a struggling reader (D –2LL 5 14.6, p \ .001).

Table 2 presents the mean scores for the sample of struggling readers in the aggregate and by language status.

This finding is robust to the source of the LM learner status; when the LM learner status variable was based on school records rather than on student survey results, 59% of LM learners were identified as struggling readers. Reading Comprehension Difficulties


http://www.nccrest.org/events/ell.html


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Natural Learning Process and the Brain Created by: Jennifer McCabe M.Ed