What to know First, let’s get the facts straight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov): Number of children 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD: 5.9 million Percent of children 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD: 9.5% Percent of boys 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD: 13.5% Percent of girls 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD: 5.4...
Read More »Let’s face it, much of the work of school is memorization. Math facts, spelling lists, state capitals, math formulas…lots and lots of things to memorize and those who do it well often get good grades and plenty of smiley faces on their papers. What about the students who struggle with memorization? Is there a way to help them? To briefly review, memory consists of both implicit memories, such a...
Read More »LeAnn Nickelsen offers a powerfully practical overview in the article on brainbaisedlearning.net entitled, Simple Strategies for Developing a Growth Mindset in Your Students. This article will continue the dialogue of mindsets specifically to teachers of literacy. In a recent graduate class one of my students who is a literacy interventionist at a public elementary school decided to follow up on ...
Read More »(Parents, Students, Teachers, Principals, Coaches, and Administrators) BY: LeAnn Nickelsen, M.Ed. Trust is the Foundation “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing,” said Stephen R. Covey. So, what is the main thing in education? Is it Common Core? Behavior/Character Education? Parent Involvement? Differentiated Instruction? Complex Text? Critical Thinking Skills? Blended Learni...
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Pointers for Promoting Self-Reflection for Powerful Teacher Growth: Often the word feedback in the adult world might mean: “top-down judgement from another person who is not in my shoes.” While coaching others, I want them to look forward to feedback, knowing that it will not be top-down, but rather an opportunity to self-reflect in order to grow and become a better teacher. I want the teacher t...
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Guys, sports, and parenting series #7 I remember when we all stood nervously staring at this strange contraption our mothers had been required to buy for us. A few had begun to try and put it on when coach walked in. In his booming voice he grabbed a jock strap out of the nearest hand and said, “It goes on this way guys to keep your balls from getting stepped on”. After a limited but sufficient...
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Guys, sports, and parenting series #6 Coach Baker was always more interested in what we did when we lost than what we did when we won. He was interested in both, but true winners know how to celebrate and, more importantly, know what to do when they lose. I had the experience of playing for both a winning coach and a losing coach. Besides having more wins and making sure he pointed out what we ...
Read More »Changing Learners’ Brains Positively: How Comparing Brain-compatible approaches as delivered differently from traditional/conventional classroom instructions. Below is a table that highlights the pedagogy differences in traditional classroom management vs Brain-Based Learning approaches: References: Hobson, J. A. (1994) The Chemistry of Consciousness: How the Brain Changes its Mind. Boston: Little...
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Guys, sports, and parenting series #5 Guys have tremendous power to be an influence for good in their kids’ lives. To help us understand the skills we have, we’re going to talk sports. Penalties happen. False start, illegal procedure, clipping, and all sorts of other calls. Sometimes for us as players the action is too intense to avoid an infraction. Sometimes the refs catch it and sometimes ...
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Guys, sports, and parenting series #4 Guys have tremendous power to be an influence for good in their kids’ lives. To help us understand the skills we have, we’re going to talk sports. Some game situations require that we adopt a different mental attitude and use a different approach. When the team is behind by a touchdown, it’s the fourth quarter, and you get the ball on your own 20 yard line w...
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