A Mind at a Time"Different minds learn differently," writes Dr. Mel Levine, one of the best-known education experts and pediatricians in America today. And that's a problem for many children, because most schools still cling to a one-size-fits-all education philosophy. As a result, these children struggle because their learning patterns don't fit the schools they are in. In A Mind at a Time, Dr. Levine shows parents and others who care for children how to identify these individual learning patterns. He explains how parents and teachers can encourage a child's strengths and bypass the child's weaknesses. This type of teaching produces satisfaction and achievement instead of frustration and failure. Different brains are differently wired, Dr. Levine explains. There are eight fundamental systems, or components, of learning that draw on a variety of neurodevelopmental capacities. Some students are strong in certain areas and some are strong in others, but no one is equally capable in all eight. Using examples drawn from his own extensive experience, Dr. Levine shows how parents and children can identify their strengths and weaknesses to determine their individual learning styles. For example, some students are creative and write imaginatively but do poorly in history because weak memory skills prevent them from retaining facts. Some students are weak in sequential ordering and can't follow directions. They may test poorly and often don't do well in mathematics. In these cases, Dr. Levine observes, the problem is not a lack of intelligence but a learning style that doesn't fit the assignment. Drawing on his pioneering research and his work with thousands of students, Dr. Levine shows how parents and teachers can develop effective strategies to work through or around these weaknesses. "It's taken for granted in adult society that we cannot all be 'generalists' skilled in every area of learning and mastery. Nevertheless, we apply tremendous pressure to our children to be good at everything. They are expected to shine in math, reading, writing, speaking, spelling, memorization, comprehension, problem solving...and none of us adults can" do all this, observes Dr. Levine. Learning begins in school but it doesn't end there. Frustrating a child's desire to learn will have lifelong repercussions. This frustration can be avoided if we understand that not every child can do equally well in every type of learning. We must begin to pay more attention to individual learning styles, to individual minds, urges Dr. Levine, so that we can maximize children's learning potential. In A Mind at a Time he shows us how. |
Contents
13 | |
27 | |
Conducting a Mind Our Attention Control System | 51 |
Remembering to Learn and Learning to Remember Our Memory System | 90 |
Ways with Words Our Language System | 120 |
Making Arrangements Our Spatial and Sequential Ordering Systems | 150 |
Mind over Muscle Our Motor System | 170 |
Some Peeks at a Minds Peaks Our Higher Thinking System | 188 |
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Common terms and phrases
ability able academic active working memory adolescent adults asked attention controls become behavior better brain Caleb called child Clark classmates classroom concepts creative critical thinking episodic memory evaluation example experience fact feel friends girl grade grade retention graphomotor gross motor hard high school higher thinking highly homework ideas intuition keep kids kinds of minds language functions language sounds learning Levine listening long-term memory math middle school morphemes mother motor function neurodevelop neurodevelopmental dysfunctions neurodevelopmental functions neurodevelopmental profile neurodevelopmental systems never output parents and teachers pediatrician peers phonological awareness play problem solving procedural memory Raoul reading remember sentences sequences sequential ordering short-term memory skills sometimes spatial ordering specific spelling Stan strengths struggling talk things thought tion told trouble trying understand Vance verbal visual weaknesses words writing
Popular passages
Page 13 - Mind, n. A mysterious form of matter secreted by the brain. Its chief activity consists in the endeavor to ascertain its own nature, the futility of the attempt being due to the fact that it has nothing but itself to know itself with.
References to this book
Quirky Kids: Understanding and Helping Your Child who Doesn't Fit In-- when ... Perri Klass,Eileen Costello No preview available - 2003 |
Quantum Learning & Instructional Leadership in Practice John Parks Le Tellier No preview available - 2007 |