The Driller

I have a cousin, David McNamee, who is a dentist in Rocky River, Ohio. I love this guy - he's always cheerful and full of stories. He's a big Notre Dame fan and when he found out I'd gotten a job at Ohio University was instantly full of indignity! NOT Notre Dame? Whaaat? Maybe that's why he forget the novicaine that day...hmm....

Anyway - David has been our family dentist forever! It was my youngest brother, Kyrian who gave David the title of "The Driller." It happened when he spotted a daughter of David's at a high school dance and referred to her as "The Driller's Daughter." Aren't families wonderful?

However, its not only dentists who get to be drillers, but we do as well. When working with our students, drilling is truly one of the most effective tools we have. I'm sure you're ready to click over to another blog or stare out the window instead of reading about drills. But give me just two minutes (check the clock) and go:

Drilling for Gold:

Research tell us that adults with learning disabilities need drills. Of course they also need consistency, a controlled environment and information presented in small chunks. But drills will give the student lots of time to really learn the information. Not just repeat it, not just hope they guess right this time, not just try to make you happy! Some students hate drills, but the learning disabled student loves the opportunity to master a skill. Drills give that student a chance to shine and experience success that comes with constant repetition. Less energy is required when a skill becomes automatic.

Okay - did that take two minutes? No? Oh, well then! Keep reading:

The way to keep your students hooked is be creative with your drills. "Ha!" you think. "Give me just one example of a fun, creative drill." "Ha!" I reply. "Did you think I would come here unarmed?"

1. Language Tool Kits: (Available from our Resource Center; if you don't know how to use it, contact us! We will teach you! totten@ohio.edu)
Drill: names and sounds of vowels and consonants
Activity: After you do a visual drill (review vowels/consonant sounds) make up words with the cards - but make them "non"words. Yeah, just funny nonsense words. The point is you want your student to read phonetically, not from memorization. So lay out the word "m o p" and change the "m" to a "d." Now we have? "d o p" Yeah, dop. Not a real word but your student can read it just the same. You don't even need the Language Tool kit to do this - chalk and a chalkboard will do just fine.

2. Flashcards for Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division (you can color-code them according to operation)
Drill: numbers; number relationships
Activity: write equations on the cards with the answer on the back. Working within your students range of knowledge, ask them to solve the equation. You might also challenge them by showing them the answer and asking for equations that might result in this answer. For example, show them 10 and ask what numbers, when added together, give us 1o? 9+1, 8+2, 7+3, etc. Using color coded flashcards is a great visual signal for the student. You can have them write answers on paper, count out pieces of anything (make sure the pieces are large enough for their adult hands to handle easily). For multi-level classrooms, pair up students who grasp the concept with a partner who needs a little more time.

Okay - I think my two minutes are up. Don't be afraid to use drills to start your students' day or for a brain exercise as you switch from large group work to individual work. Drills aren't meant to be 20-30 minutes long; 5-10 minutes each day will do!

Have a great drill that works with your students? Share your experience with other educators. Contact me, MB Totten, at totten@ohio.edu to have your information published on this blog.

Working "Smarter" not "Harder"

In our LDS 101/201 training, we talk about the "SMARTER" approach to working with LD students.

S = Shape the Question: Ask your student what they want to do/learn - turn that into a question. Example:I want to read street signs" becomes "How do I learn to read street signs?"

M = Map the Skills and Sub-skills: Visualize what you have to do; draw/outline/map the plan. In your LDS 202 book, pages 40-50 contain some ideas for organizing details. Feel free to make copies of those pages to use with your student.

A = Adaptations: Ask your student, "What strategies do you need to be successful?" Page 21 of your LDS 202 manual has a list of ideas for adaptations in the classroom. Feel free to post this list in your classroom and review it with your students.

R = Resources: What materials will be used? How will they be used? Your Resource Center has many items on hand to help your students adapt in the classroom. Contact them - they are waiting to help you!

T = Tasks and Timelines: Involve your student in the planning; ask them, "What are the steps we are going to take?" Using the completed graphic organizer, cut out each idea and put it in sequential order: Step 1, Step 2 or A, B, C, etc.

E = Evaluate: Has the student learned or done what they set out to do? "How did you do? What did we learn?"

R = Review and Revise: "How could we do this differently next time?" Remember the graphic organizer pieces? Allow the student to rework them - put them in a different order or use different words t0 improve the process for the next time.

How does one use SMARTER in an entire classroom? You might pick a learning outcome as a class and create a SMARTER chart as a visual aid for all to follow. Have students write or draw their goals and post them within the chart. Ask students to work in pairs/small groups to decide what they need (adaptations) to meet this goal and make a list of necessary resources. Make time in the Timeline to review/revise the goal, adaptations and resources as necessary.

How have you used SMARTER in your classroom or with a student? Has it worked? Are there glitches? Take a moment and share your thoughts.

If you'd like to post a column on this topic or another LD topic, please let us know. Email MB at totten@ohio.edu for more information.

Have a fantastic week!

A Deliciously Satisfying Meal

Think about the last meal you had before reading this blog.

Okay - its just past lunch time here so I had a handful of grape tomatoes, some baby carrots and Cottage Cheese Doubles (have you had these combo cottage cheese/fruit filling packages? Quite good, especially the peach). Was it a great meal? Nope. Satisfying - yes, in someways. Delicious? Not really. If I'd had my druthers it would have been a grilled chicken salad with spinach, romaine lettuce, sliced carrots, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, a little red onion, croutons, sprouts, peas and grated cheese; homemade bleu cheese dressing on the side and a tall glass of something chilled and sweet.

So many things combine to make a meal delicious: freshness of ingredients, the mix of flavors and scents, presentation, time to savor the food, company present while eating, etc.

Don't you find learning is very similar to eating? How is information presented? Are you enjoying the company of the people in your class - whether you're the instructor or the student? Do you have time to learn the material or are you rushed (or rushing)? Is the material stale and dull like cold french fries or more like fresh squeezed orange juice - lively and tangy? When you push away from the table will you think: "Don't need to eat here again" or "I'm making my next reservation on the way out!"

I love to learn and I love to eat. Both events can excite the senses and invite the brain on a magical journey. To me, nothing is more invigorating than learning something new (Windows Math, anyone?) or chomping on a beautifully made BLT (wheat toast, mayo, Diet Coke, pretzels).

When we invite our students to sit at our tables and feast - what are we serving? Is the meal colorful? Do the scents make mouths water and tummies grumble? Are people smiling and their eyes shining with anticipation?

Knowing that between 50 - 80% of our students have learning challenges creates a wonderful opportunity to be creative with our recipes. What's on your menu this week? How will you be adapting lessons so your students can dig in when you ring the dinner bell?

Tonight I'm making taco salad for dinner - one of my summertime favorites. Join us on the front porch with a heapin' helpin' and a tall glass of sweet tea.

Welcome to the LDS Cohort!

Welcome to our LDS Cohort Blog. Like your favorite diner, we're open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a great place to sit down with a cup of coffee, say hi to folks, and chat about the latest news.

If you just like to read the posts, that's fine; if you have something to add just click on "Comment" at the end of the post to put in your two cents.

Email me at totten@ohio.edu if you have a post for our blog. All ideas are welcome! Lesson plans, student success stories - anything related to learning disabilities in the classroom.

A strong focus of LD training is the various learning styles of students. The word "multisensory" is used to describe the mix of auditory, visual, tactile/kinesthetic input received by the brain to process information. I am more of a visual/tactile/kinesthetic learner. A hearing screening at the age of 39 indicated I may have an auditory processing disorder. It never occurred to me that an "auditory processing disorder" might be responsible for the feeling of "overload" I start to get when there's just too much verbal information to process, like lengthy directions or lots of new complicated information (chemistry or geometry for example!).

I laughed after that screening because so many things suddently made sense! The proverbial missing puzzle piece brought some peace. Up until then I was getting by in the classroom - I learned to take good notes and stay quiet so as not to out myself when confused by complicated information; I knew I could read the book and make my notes work for me. Sometimes I recorded lectures and wrote them out longhand for reading (because no matter how many times I listened it still didn't make sense). After that screening I learned a few more ways to adapt in the classroom: sit close to the front, really focus on the speaker, and if necessary, verify what's been said (after class works best for me). I also find myself repeating things back to people - directions, amounts, names, etc.

How does knowing this about myself influence my actions as a teacher? I make sure books, handouts, overheads - anything visual - are available for students to look at while I'm talking about the topic. I might ask them to write about or draw something relevant to the topic. I also take my time talking about the topic, I repeat key information slowly and write it on the board. I find that pauses help students process information and formulate questions and/or answers.

Tell us about your learning style and how it has affected you as an instructor. How did you discover your learning style? Does your learning style influence your teaching style? If so, how?

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy that coffee! mb