PAY ATTENTION TO INATTENTION! Rosemary Tannock,PhD Canada Research Chair & Professor in Special Education;, OISE/University of Toronto; Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Senior Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children SAALED Capetown, 2011
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PAY ATTENTION TO INATTENTION! Rosemary Tannock,PhD Canada Research Chair & Professor in Special Education;, OISE/University of Toronto; Professor of Psychiatry,
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PAY ATTENTION TO INATTENTION!
Rosemary Tannock,PhDCanada Research Chair & Professor in Special Education;, OISE/University of Toronto; Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Senior Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children
SAALEDCapetown, 2011
Recurring themes
Short attention span/ inattention Poor working memory Challenges accessing the curriculum
Poorer filtering out irrelevant information, that is…poor selective attention!
What do we mean by “poor working memory?”
Pay attention to Inattention!
Inattention in kindergarten as reported by teachers
Poor reading in Gr. 5
387 children followed from Kindergarten - Grade 5
even after controlling for IQ, hyperactivity,
emotional problems, & reading ability in Kindergarten/Grade 1
The problem
Which of these students is paying attention?
How do you know?
Do outward appearances necessarily reflect internal mental state?
What is attention?
Where is the ‘mind’s eye’ ?
Attention Networks
Front of brain
Back of brain
NorepinephrineAcetylcholineDopamine
AlertingFocusingExecutive
Brain’s neurochemicals
Posner & Rothbart (2007). Annual Review of Psychology, 58:1-23
The Brain’s Attention Networks (Posner)
Maintaining alertness I’m ready!
Focusing visual & auditory stimuli where you look & what you listen to. Zoom in!
Executive attention Inhibiting competing thoughts, emotions, stimuli to
complete a task. Ignore distractions!
Part IIHow can we help children
pay attention?
Effective instructional practices Introducing the lesson
Draw schematic on board
Preview previous lesson(s) Set learning expectations Set behavioral expectations (remain seated, talk in
quiet voice in small group) State needed material Simplify instructions & choices
1. Preview
2. New information
(T)
3. Individual
work
4. Group work
5. Review & close
Effective instructional practices Conducting the lesson Be predictable Support the learner’s active participation Use audiovisual /different modalities Ask probing questions – allow time to respond Check performance & give prompt feedback Help learner self-correct errors Help learner focus/refocus Divide work into smaller units
Effective instructional practices
Concluding the lesson Give advance warning Check assigment Preview next lesson (very briefly)
Problematic Attention Networks:Implications for education…
Alertness – not ready !
Focusing – zoomed out / wrong target!
Executive control-acted without thinking!
Actively engage the learner’s attention
Increase saliency of relevant information
Precue/prompt & praise
Problem Solutions
1A. Engage ALL learners in active learning
Create learning activities with high response rate questions for whole class to answer
(thumbs up/down)
Think-Pair-Share – 2 minutes
How else can you increase each learner’s active responding in class?
Discuss & identify 3 ways
1. Engage ALL learners in active learning
Create learning activities with high response rate questions for whole class to answer written, choral, gestural active monitoring & marking sheet
(click/clunk; know that, don’t understand, new, oops I was wrong)
partner activities (discuss, read, co-write)
1B. Engage ALL learners in active learning
Break into smaller units / shorter time period 1 page/column at a time Use count-down timer
Help get started check understanding set timer, then leave!
Take brief (30-60 sec), timed, structured breaks
Everyday life in the classroom from the perspective of a student with inattention or ADHD!
INCREASE SALIENCY OF RELEVANT INFORMATION!
Problematic Attention Networks:Implications for education…
Alertness – not ready !
Focusing – zoomed out / wrong target!
Executive control-acted without thinking!
Actively engage the learner’s attention
Increase saliency of relevant information
Precue/prompt & praise
Problem Solutions
2. Increase saliency… by creating supportive classroom environment
Organize physical environment to reduce distractions near teacher, between well-focused students, away
from distractions
Organize materials so they are easy to identify & store (color coding)
Establish & post routines on one wall
Organizing the physical environment Special places for all children
A quiet place with minimal distractions A moving place A group place An individual place
Everything in its own place Desks, Bags, Closets, Binders
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Rowe KJ: 2003 Australian Council for Educational ResearchRowe K, Pollard J, Rowe K (2005) [www.acer.edu.au/news/latestnews.html]
Teachers were taught how to: assess a student’s ability to process & remember
verbal information adapt their instructional language
“Speak short & sweet & repeat” Children showed improvements in:
literacy outcomes inattentive behavior Improvements persisted over several years
2. Increase saliency of relevant information by Using Effective Instructions & Commands
Rowe & Rowe’s Rules of Thumb for inattention & literacy risk (2006)
Children not at risk Median/mean number of words accurately
recalled = age in years + 4 (up to age 10)
Children in high-risk category for literacy Cannot recall sentences of word length
more than age in years + 3 Likely to be rated as inattentive, poor
academic achievement
Use Effective Instructions & Commands ATTRACT the student’s attention
positively stated expectations Post expectations /rules Teach in the actual settings where behaviors
are to occur Teach (a) the words, and (b) the actions. Prompt & pre-correct Monitor continuously Acknowledge & reinforce regularly
Build a social culture that is predictable, and focused on student success.
Be a Positive Educator
Give more acknowledgements for appropriate than inappropriate behavior At least 4 to 1 At least once every 5-10 minutes Follow any correction with opportunity for
positive behavior and feedback
Basic teaching techniques
Daily review of relevant past learning & homework
Chunk lesson. Begin with objectives. Proceed in small steps. Highlight key
points. Procedural learning
teacher modeling, followed by guided practice & immediate feedback until mastery learning occurs.
Independent practice continue until responses are accurate, quick,automatic.
Weekly reviews routine and systematically build on previously learned
materials.
Classroom Management Practice Rating
1. I have arranged my classroom to minimize crowding and distraction Yes No
2. I have maximized structure and predictability in my classroom (e.g., explicit classroom routines, specific directions, etc.).
Yes No
3. I have posted, taught, reviewed, and reinforced 3-5 positively stated expectations (or rules).
Yes No
4. I provided more frequent acknowledgement for appropriate behaviors than inappropriate behaviors (See top of page).
Yes No
5. I provided each student with multiple opportunities to respond and participate during instruction.
Yes No
6. My instruction actively engaged students in observable ways (e.g., writing, verbalizing) Yes No
7. I actively supervised my classroom (e.g., moving, scanning) during instruction. Yes No
8. I ignored or provided quick, direct, explicit reprimands/redirections in response to inappropriate behavior.
Yes No
9. I have multiple strategies/systems in place to acknowledge appropriate behavior (e.g., class point systems, praise, etc.).
Yes No
10. In general, I have provided specific feedback in response to social and academic behavior errors and correct responses.