[SENco-forum] learning styles

You asked what makes the difference - 1:1 or the use of visual/kin

It's not particularly relevant but one of my dyslexic pupils just how to
remember 8x8=64 for ever and ever:
"I ATE and I ATE till I was SICK on the FLOOR"
Marvellous!
Mary

-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of Paul and
Philippa Bodien
Sent: 14 December 2007 13:10
To: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Subject: Re: [SENco-forum] learning styles

I once enquired of Steve Chinn at what point he would remove concrete
materials from the classroom and he replied that he would not.

1:1, if it is a positive experience (I was told of a tutor who hit their
pupil over the head with a mobile phone if answers were incorrect - this in
the parents' house in Dubai with the parent watching!), usually has a
placebo type of effect just from the attention factor.

But in my experience concrete materials are invaluable.  Children learn
through play - concrete materials is just a step in the play direction isn't
it?  Learning is more natural somehow.

Examples of learning from concrete materials:

"3 and 3 and 3 make 9."

"Yes they do - how do you know?"

"The train had 9 pieces and I had to take three trips with the ferry as the
ferry only took 3 at a time."  (the kid was 3 years old).

A 7 yr old who could not add... was not using 1 to 1 correspondence when
counting despite 2 years of "teaching".  I convinced the child I LOVED
chunky wooden bead necklaces and spent the next few weeks requesting
differently patterned necklaces.  I gave her sequences in drawings - 2 reds,
2 blues etc and varied it ad hoc.  the resulting necklaces were worn with
pride by me for the rest of the day in class.  After a few eeks of this she
was able to use 1 to 1 correspondence and number work proceeded.

"Here's a semi-circle... and here's another one... and when I put them
together they make a circle, don't they?" with the child who had just
discovered this holding up the appropriate bricks.

Philippa

On Dec 14, 2007 4:27 PM, <SEN at tringham.net> wrote:

> You asked what makes the difference  - 1:1 or the use of visual/kin
> materials.
>
> I think it is the flexibility of the teacher knowing there is more than
> one
> way to present information -whether visual/oral/kinaesthetic or even just
> re-phrasing when language understanding is a barrier i.e.
> bigger/larger/more
> than/ add on.  Flexibility is sadly most often, but not always, found with
> the 1:1 or specialist teacher.
>
> One child was struggling with the usual rote learning of times tables so
> beloved of schools, but sheer torture for those for whom this learning
> does
> not come easily.
>
> With an IQ of 132 he had only managed 0-3 by rote, then doubled 2&3 times
> to
> make 4 & 6 times table facts.  He was OK on 5/10 as he had learned this
> with
> a visual strategy when he was younger.
>
> Age 11 he was stuck on how to deal with 7/8/9 and so I taught him finger
> strategies and that left us with the 12 times table.
>
> First I showed him that they went up in order  1234 on one side and then
> 2468 on the other.  Not enough.
>
> OK 1x 12 starts with 1_   and 2x12 starts with 2_ and the second figure is
> double the first (he is ok with doubling)  12 24 36 48
>
> Now we were up to 5 x 12 = 60  (reverse fact of 12x5)
>
> 6 x 12 is  60 + 12 (2 x 6 )  = 72
> 7 x 12 is 70 + 14 ( 2x 7)
> 8 x 12 is 80 + 16  (2 x 8)
> 9 x 12 is 90  + 18  (2x 9)
>
> He knows 10/11 & just learned 12 by heart.
>
> There is nothing wrong with his ability to calculate. He just can't learn
> by
> reciting and cannot pluck a bald fact out of the air. If you ask him 6 x 7
> you might a well be saying    flugr ic bluble  In these instances 10 x 5
> is
> no easier than 6x7.
>
> He cannot hear the name 'six' and turn it into a number and even if he
> could
> it has no 'feel' to it and he had no way of adding 7+7+7+7+7+7+7 in time
> allowed.  He could not even do 5x7 + 1x7 as his 5x table was not secure or
> fast enough.  So during mental math in Year 6 he was often reduced to
> tears
> in class.  Not a good thing for an 11 year old.
>
> 4 years of trauma not being able to learn what everyone else was doing
> easily and with the stress further blocking his ability  he now had it
> cracked in 10 minutes of 1:1. Knowledge was maintained to the next session
> and transferred to his work.  He got '5' for his SATS.
>
> It didn't need a dyslexia tutor - just someone willing to be flexible
> enough
> to find and use whatever was needed. Or maybe just taught by someone else
> who doesn't 'do' math!
> Sharon
>
> PS the rods etc., are wonderful but they do not travel with you like
> fingers
> do.
>
> -
>
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.17.1/1183 - Release Date:
> 13/12/2007
> 09:15
>
>
>