In the school
system that I currently teach in our special education population is completely
mainstreamed into the general education setting. Thus requiring myself to teach
math to students with disabilities that I never really had any training in.
For my latest tech education assignment I was
required to choose a disability that effects my students learning and find a
technology that would assist those students. Automatically the first problem
that came to my mind is when the students can not remember steps in multiple
step problems and/or follow directions that include several tasks. I run into
this problem a lot in math class and really struggle with helping those
students. I often feel at a loss, because aside from repeating myself a
thousand times, what could I do for a student like this?
My
first task at hand was to find out what sort of disability would really cause a
student to struggle with this. When reading up on various disabilities many of
them included aspects of what could cause a student to get off task, not
remember steps, and even have a low self-esteem. However, a common factor in
all of these disabilities is some sort of working memory disorder.
The
working memory is the part of the brain that holds information for short term
so the brain can manipulate that information for cognitive tasks (Rasmussen,
Treit, and Pei 2013). These processes are often used in math and reading.
Students are required to remember the numbers while following the various
steps, manipulating the information, to create an answer. In reading the
students are required to remember the sequences of stories and create
inferences. It also includes tasks such as planning ahead, organizing, paying
attention, and problem solving. With the
working memory essentially being the “post-it note” of the brain, this makes
these tasks extremely hard for students.
There
are two main functions of the working memory. The first function is the verbal
working memory. This function is the focus on being able to remember auditory
instructions and repeat them mentally to complete tasks. This also includes learning
language and comprehension tasks. The second function is the visual-spatial
working memory. This is the brains ability to envision something. This is used
primarily when working with math skills that allow the students to envision
patterns, images, and sequences of events (Stuart 2013).
Like
previously stated, working memory problems are often a problem for children
with various disabilities. These disabilities can include Down’s Syndrome, Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), learning disabilities, Attention-Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and acquired brain injury (Rasmussen, Treit, and
Pei 2013). Since there is such a variety there are many interventions and
strategies used to assist students.
One of the first technologies that
could be used to help a student with a working memory disorder is to have the
students practice their memory-building skills. There are several online memory
games that can help with that. A few of them are Memory Games by Lumosity, The Original Memory Gym, and Easysurf Memory Games. This would
allow the student to exercise their working memory and hopefully strengthen
that part of their brain.
Not only could you help train the
brain, there are several other ways to aide the student. According to
Gathercole, a teacher can “evaluate working memory loads and reduce as
necessary, re-present information to the child as needed, encourage the use of
memory aids, and develop the child’s strategies to support memory” (2008).
There are a plethora of technologies that could be used to support these ideas.
The first strategy demonstrated is
to evaluate the child’s memory load. This could be done through various
programs that track data. It would be very clear for the teacher to track a
student’s success rate on assignments and be able to identify trends and
patterns to accommodate to the learner.
The second idea stated is to
re-present information to the child as needed. This used to be a cumbersome
task for teachers, and often very discouraging for both the teacher and the
student. Now a teacher could record their lesson and upload it on a website for
the student where it could be listened to over and over. Or the teacher could
find various videos, that re-present the information with more visuals or
different perspectives than the teachers own. Cutting down on the time and
attention the student needs one on one with the student and also cutting down
on the time the student could be waiting for the teacher to help them.
There are many memory aids available
on the internet where students can create their own games. On www.superteachertools.com there are
options to create a variety of interactive games such as Jeopardy. There are
also websites that allow students to make flashcards such as www.quizlet.com.
The final strategy is to help the
child develop strategies to support memory. This might include helping the
student chunk instructions into sections. This could be done using the Internet
to give instructions. The students could then break up the instructions into
sections. One way this could be done is by creating a slideshow with each slide
including one or two steps necessary to complete a task. Thus teaching the
student how to break steps down to feel success and less anxiety. These are
just a few suggestions of how technology could help with these principles. The
amount of possibilities is very large and has the ability to be tweaked for
each individual.
Overall, throughout this research I
was able to put together several ideas and strategies that would allow a
student more success with the aide of technology. Many of these ideas are ideas
that were presented to us in a previous class where we learned of the UDL
principles. If a teacher took the time to create their lessons with these
principles in mind, I believe the students with working memory disorders (and many
other disorders) could have much more success.
Gathercole,
S. E. (2008). Working memory in the classroom. The Psychologist, 21(5),
382-385. Retrieved from http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm/volumeID_21-editionID_160-ArticleID_1342-getfile_getPDF/thepsychologist\0508gath.pdf
Rasmussen
C, Treit S, Pei J. 2013. Memory Interventions for Children with Memory
Deficits. In: JH Stone, M Blouin, editors. International Encyclopedia of
Rehabilitation. Available online: http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/276/
Stuart,
A. (2013). What is working memory and why does it matter?. Retrieved
from http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/executive-function-disorders/what-is-working-memory-why-does-matter
I am glad you commented on Nicole's post. You have both listed similar strategies for your learners. Giving instructions and having students follow them has to be very strategic. When you look around the room, every student will be doing something different. I find the same thing when I am teaching adult learners. I think they are worse at times as they think they can multi-task. I am the same way. I am a horrible auditory listener. I have to read the materials to understand them.
ReplyDeleteI think chunking is good, but seeing the big picture is helpful too. We have to accommodate those who like simple instructions that lead to the big picture and then those who need the big picture and then work backwards.
The programs you listed are great for building memory skills. These skills are ones we should continue working on all of our lives as when we grow older it is very important to exercise the brain.
Nice job on your resources!
I feel the same way that you do when I have students in my classroom with special needs: we always need more training so that we can be more supportive. I'm very lucky in my current position in the sense that those with needs have special education teachers or ESL leaders with whom I can communicate directly and who care for the student's needs on an individual basis.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that I chose to read your blog post. Yes, I did something similar as well. I liked that you took a different angle and that you found multiple resources to help our students work on memory. I know that students with auditory processing disorders (and I chose for my topic) tend to appear as though they have memory issues when really it's listening. You covered this when you said that teachers should post up their lessons (or supplemental resources) on a website for the students. It's great that we found similar results and that we can be so supportive of each other, even when we don't feel as though we are not necessarily the experts in these fields.
Keep up the good work!