Visual Strategies for Organization and Planning
The goal of this video is to show educators how using visual structure and supports can improve organization and planning in our students.
Metacognition and Assistive Technology
Metacognition is a process that relates to the knowledge that we have of our own strategies and the control that we are able to exert over these strategies in order to solve problems more efficiently. Metacognition is a high-level executive function that draws on our ability to reflect on what we know in order to understand how we function and assess our approach to learning. It is one of the best predictors of school success (Dévolvé, 2005).
An Introduction to Working Memory
What is Working Memory? Working memory refers to a brain system, or mental workspace, responsible for temporarily storing and manipulating information. It is different from short-term memory, where information is stored and recalled in the same format; for example, students can hold a set of numbers in short term memory, but in order to repeat [...]
Executive Functioning Explained: Recognizing, Understanding, Supporting
This podcast features a one-on-one interview with Dr. Marie-Josée Gendron, school and clinical psychologist, who discusses the various executive functioning skills, screening and identification considerations, and the relationship between executive functions and learning disabilities (LDs).
WEBINAR RECORDING: Strengthening Executive Functioning Skills in the Classroom
Executive function is an umbrella term covering a number of management functions, including organization, self-regulation, planning, and self-monitoring. The presentation will focus on research-based instructional strategies and accommodations that contribute to the classroom success of students with executive function LDs. During the webinar, the speakers will define executive function, and identify the signs of executive functioning needs and their impact on academic and behavioural success. The presentation will also highlight the brain areas associated with executive function, the developmental progression of executive functioning, and how the environment can influence the development of the regulatory system in the brain, including how executive functioning skills are employed during times of stress.
Working Memory Difficulties: Strategies for the Classroom
The purpose of this summary is to provide educators with tools to work effectively with students who have learning disabilities (LDs) and working memory difficulties. Specifically, the summary provides: 1) an overview of the link between working memory and LDs; 2) a list of potential strategies; 3) a table summarizing how working memory difficulties may present in the classroom, with relevant interventions; and 4) a list of resources on the LD@school website, to deepen educators’ understanding of how to support students with working memory difficulties.
Mind Maps
This summary looks at an interesting technique that helps students, particularly elementary-level students, to draw out and organize their knowledge about a given subject or a main idea. Mind mapping, also known as cognitive mapping or concept mapping, was developed in the 1970s by British psychologist Tony Buzan (Buzan, 2011). Essentially, a mind map is a visual tool, or diagram, used to organize information.
How do we address working memory deficits in students with learning disabilities?
Recent scientific research points to the importance of working memory in the execution of classroom tasks and, consequently, learning. However, evidence that re-education is effective is lacking. Here are five tips that educators can use to address low working memory and enable students to accomplish the required tasks at the appropriate level.
WEBINAR RECORDING: Understanding How our Students with LDs Process Information: Contextualizing working memory and cognitive load
Supporting the learning needs of students with learning disabilities requires more than a passing understanding of memory and the architecture of the mind. By exploring Baddeley and Hitch’s (1974) model of working memory, Jeffrey MacCormack and Ian Matheson will explain how information is processed and coded through memory systems and then later retrieved from the long-term memory.
Understanding Executive Function and Learning Disabilities
By Ian Matheson and Jeffrey MacCormack With the incredible demands we face as educators, it can be difficult to stay on top of research about our students. It seems like there is a new scientific term every year as we learn more and more about the human brain. Research in the cognitive and neurological sciences [...]