Temple Grandin: The World needs all Kinds of
Mind
1. What I
gained from this talk was…. We need to take a different approach with a child
who is found to be “on the spectrum”. I
found Temple Grandins approach to visual teaching very interesting. She stated how she learned in pictures and
how many autistic children like her “think in pictures”. Her comparison of an autistic child’s mind
to that of an animal was enlightening and I don’t mean that in a derogatory
way. An animal remembers what it sees
and sees the world in pictures as it does not have the verbal ability to
associate what it sees to words. She
states this is true for many autistic children as well.
2. What I
agreed or disagreed from this talk was… I’m not sure I agree with Ms. Grandin
that most of Silicon Valley is made up of people with Asperger’s. She almost makes it sound like any person
with high intelligence has some form of autism.
I don’t think that to be true.
Some highly intelligent people may have a form of autism but I don’t
think that is a requirement of intelligence.
3. Here are
some ways that I can incorporate this information in my teaching practice…
There are many types of learners but visual learning appears to work best with
child on the spectrum according to Ms. Grandin.
Learning has become abstract.
Classes like art and music may be where some autistic children excel. By incorporating these, especially art, into
my lessons the visual learners may be able to better understand the
lesson. An autistic child’s mind tends
to have fixations. I could use those
fixations in my lessons to get the child interested in learning. Keeping the students interest is important
when teaching students with special needs.
Doodlers
Unite
1. What I
gained from this talk was…. Doodling engages all four learning modules
simultaneously with the possibility of an emotional experience. That’s a very good argument for what some
people consider to be a distraction to learning. By incorporating all four learning modules
the learner has a better chance of retaining the information being
presented.
2. What I
agreed or disagreed from this talk was… I very much agree with Sunni Brown in
the fact that our society is so focused on verbal information that we see
doodling as a waste of time and an indication of not paying attention. I am a compulsive doodler and I have restrained
myself for years from doodling because of this very reason. I have been reprimanded so often for my
doodles that I have to consciously concentrate on not doing it.
3. Here are
some ways that I can incorporate this information in my teaching practice… I
will allow doodling in my classroom. I
have always felt it was beneficial to my concentration and I am now vindicated
in my beliefs.
The Game that can Give You 10 Extra Years of
Life
1. What I
gained from this talk was…. Positive thoughts and actions are important to your
life, health and thoughts. By
incorporating some fun into your life you will have fewer regrets and live
longer…allowing yourself to have more fun.
2. What I
agreed or disagreed from this talk was… Jane McGonigal had some very good
points. I myself am a gamer. I don’t play for hours a day but I do use a
few minutes each night to play hidden object games or brain age games. I find I sleep better when I use this time to
relax my mind. Most of my friends are
gamers and find that gamers are much happier people. I find they are more systematic in their
decision making and are in general more content, happy and healthy people.
3. Here are
some ways that I can incorporate this information in my teaching practice… I have always been a strong supporter of
games and learning. You can make any
learning experience into a game. It
doesn’t have to be a video game. Even
Walt Disney realized this and in the movie Mary Poppins Ms. Poppins quotes “In every job that must be done, there is
an element of fun. You find the fun, and - SNAP - the job's a game”. I
think this can be used in so many ways in a classroom without chaos.
A Second Opinion on Learning Disorders
1. What I
gained from this talk was…. I always wondered why if it was a brain disorder
they didn’t look at the brain for diagnosis.
When my daughter was sick that was part of the first testing that was
done. When a child is given a diagnosis
such as autism etc. it is very important
for the parents to get a second opinion from a medical perspective instead of
just a behavioral perspective.
2. What I
agreed or disagreed from this talk was… I agree Ms. Shankardass in that parents
should not accept the word of a single person but should look into alternate
diagnosis possibilities. It would be
wonderful for some parents to hear that their child is not destined to a world
of silence but to a normal childhood.
3. Here are
some ways that I can incorporate this information in my teaching practice… As a
teacher you have to be very careful in how you suggest alternate treatments to
parents. You might offer suggestions to
parents that other options may be available to them and perhaps they should
seek a second opinion but as a teacher we are not allowed to make any kind of
recommendation to parents regarding the medical testing of their children.
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