Learning to Learn: Helping Parents Understand Cognitive Assets

This is one of my favorite subjects to talk about…helping learners become better learners. This is a true “big picture” strategy because if you become a better learner, you’ll improve in EVERYTHING, and that provides cognitive mental return on our learning investment.

LIMITLESS POTENTIAL
I’ve mentioned in other posts how intelligence is dynamic. This is something every parent needs to understand. There is nothing static about a learner’s potential. There never comes a point where you can say “well, that’s it…job well done…you’ve learned all you’re gonna learn!” The human brain is malleable. Simply stated, when you put your brain to work, it physically upgrades. It doesn’t fill up, rather it physically changes its structure. As the parent of two children with special needs, this is particularly uplifting. They may not learn as fast or as easily, but a world of discovery is still open to them.

This is a fact that I constantly repeat to them. You don’t keep this type of info to yourself. My kids are fully aware of their own struggles, but understanding how learning happens has given them a leg up on equipping themselves with the means to persevere. What do I equip them with you may be asking? Cognitive assets…the simple strategies and practices that make them more efficient THINKERS!

The Four Ingredients of Family Engagement: 4 simple steps to effective involvement

A while back I wrote about the four types of activities make up family involvement and engagement. These are often referred to as ingredients in the Hoover-Dempsey and Sadler Model of parental involvement. I just love the insight that this model has been able to provide me and I've done all I can to share this amazing information with other educators as well as apply it with parents. The way they refer to ingredients really got my mind wandering (don't wait up...who knows where my daydreams will take me). It kind of reminded me of Chopped...you know, from the Food Network. In this show they open up a basket of ingredients and you are forced to make due with what you've got. Actually just "making due" won't get you far at all. You need to produce something amazing! The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this show really is just like effective parent involvement.

Mindfulness: How children can develop self-discipline!

Like a boss!

This summer I've been teaching summer school. It's been a really great experience so far. They gave me specific standards to cover, but all the freedom in the world to get this accomplished! That was a huge win-win in my estimation! To make things even better, I've had the opportunity to also share some brain-based learning strategies with this great group of kids over the last three weeks. Hrmmm, so I guess it's a win-win-win (and here I thought it couldn't get any better).

Learning from Failure and Modeling Greatness (from a sports perspective)

Failure is not a bad thing. Take into consideration that failure is a huge factor in guiding our actions. Our brains are constantly taking in information, processing it, and then making decisions based on that information. Failure, if perceived as a learning opportunity, will play a paramount role in guiding our actions. Think about this. Half of us learned not to touch a hot stove when mom (repeatedly and FRANTICALLY in my case) told us not to do it. The other half of us...well....it hurt a lot didn't it?

Just as we learn through failure, we also learn a great deal through the modeling of success. Trust me when I say that one of the greatest tools in the arsenal of educators is modeling. We could spend an eternity talking (and most do), but when we model achievement, it is easier for the brain to learn. You're already familiar with this. You tell a kid something a thousand times and just HOPE they remember, yet let them watch you do something (especially a bad habit) and they'll imitate things you hoped they never would! The same holds true for imitating the greatness of others (I always thought Teddy Roosevelt was really cool...yes I'm a nerd for saying that). For those of you trying to get your kids focused on imitating greatness, modeling is a great way to get the point across. Here is a short article on an NBA player that crafted his entire career on imitating the greatness of those that came before him. There truly is nothing new under the sun, you just need to go learn it. =)

Kobe Bryant: Studying (keyword STUDYING) Film and Imitating Greatness