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Trends Shaping Education 2022: Neurodiversity in Education (OECD)

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Trends Shaping Education 2022: Neurodiversity in Education (OECD)

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8 Reasons Why We Need Neurodiversity in Education

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8 Reasons Why We Need Neurodiversity in Education

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American Institute for Learning and Human Development.

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The concept of neurodiversity emerged in the 1990's as a way for autism advocates to affirm their identity as people with neurological differences rather than as disabled individuals. The idea has spread as other advocates (including myself) have sought to articulate the "diversity rather than disability" message to a broader segment of the population than just autism, including children and adults with ADHD, dyslexia, intellectual disabilities, and social and emotional disorders. Moreover, some of us have been attempting to apply a "diversity" worldview in the field of education, and in particular, to reform special education so that it de-emphasizes a "disability" paradigm and reflects instead a "diversity" perspective. Here are 8 reasons why we need to integrate neurodiversity into our educational practices:

1. Higher Expectations Lead to Higher Achievement. Starting with the "Pygmalion in the Classsroom" studies of the 1960's, educators have long been aware that teachers who have higher expectations of their students end up with their having higher achievement levels (and the reverse is true as well). Neurodiversity emphasizes looking at students with special needs primarily in terms of their gifts and abilities, and uses these strengths to help them deal with their challenges. This positive view pays off in dividends as students rise to the expectations of their teachers.

2. We Need a Growth Paradigm to Replace a Deficit Paradigm. The field of special education in America (and elsewhere in the world) has a long history of focusing on the negatives of children and adults with special needs. The pioneers of special education in the first half of the twentieth century used terms to describe neurodiverse individuals such as "moron," "feeble minded," "minimally brain damaged," and "educationally handicapped." In the 21st century, we're discovering that people with neurodiversities possess gifts that often dovetail with cutting edge careers in information technology, entrepreneurship, and science. It's time that special educators use this knowledge to help their students affirm positive futures for themselves.

3. Neurodiversity Supports the Inclusion Movement. Students with special needs who are included in regular classrooms develop more positive views of themselves, form friendships with neurotypical kids, and are better able to keep up with the curriculum and learn important academic skills. One of the obstacles to inclusion is the attitude of teachers who feel that the addition of one or more students with special needs in their classroom just adds a greater burden to their teaching load. Neurodiversity helps support inclusion by convincing the regular classroom teacher that adding neurodiverse students will actually make the classroom better; that students with neurodiversities will bring in positive qualities, attributes, and gifts to make a positive contribution to the class.

4. Neurodiversity Aligns with a School's Other Programs and Policies on Diversity. Virtually all schools have policies that promote the value of diversity, both cultural diversity (honoring students from different races, ethnic groups, gender roles, etc.) and bio-diversity (through classes and units on biology and related disciplines). Some school districts even have departments of diversity to promote these policies. Neurodiversity can be viewed as another positive contribution to this overarching commitment to diversity, and should be integrated into both classroom lessons on diversity, and educational policies dedicated to promoting equity in learning.

5. Neurodiversity Helps to Stimulate Real Reform in Our Schools. Sometimes I like to compare neurodiverse students with canaries in the coal mine. Coal miners brought canaries down into the mines with them. If an air blockage developed, the canaries would fall off their perches for lack of oxygen and this would warn the miners to get out. I think our students with special needs are telling us through their difficulties with academics, behavior, and attention, that there isn't enough air, so to speak, for ALL students in school, and that we need to institute real reform (not the phony reform of standardized testing which is part of the problem) for every student. This means more hands-on learning, experiential learning, project-based learning, expeditionary learning, arts-based learning, brain-based learning, Universal Design for Learning, and other programs and projects that kids with neurodiversities will have success with, and that will benefit every other student in school as well.

6. Neurodiversity Helps Reduce Bullying in School. Bullying is one of the biggest problems in education today, resulting in untold social, emotional, and behavior problems that in many cases can last a lifetime for the bullied. Bullies tend to pick on students they perceive as weaker than they are to accentuate their own sense of power and prestige. Students with special needs are frequently perceived by bullies as weak and thus are often targets of their scorn, fury, and manipulation. Neurodiversity helps to change this situation by emphasizing (and promoting) the gifts and abilities of students with special needs, thus projecting a more powerful image to potential bullies, and thereby making them less of a target.

7. Neurodiverse Individuals Can Change the World. We typically think of those individuals who have had the greatest impact on the world as super-individuals who had extraordinary power and expertise. However, when you begin to look at individual lives, you see something entirely different. These individuals had both strengths and significant challenges. Some examples: Winston Churchill had a conduct disorder and a speech impediment. Henry Ford had learning disabilities. Thomas Edison had clear signs of ADHD. Agatha Christie had dyslexia. Helen Keller had significant sensory impediments. The list could go on. This should remind us that the kids with special needs in our classrooms may be the ones to make the crucial discoveries or the key decisions for our world in the coming decades. As the line goes from "The Imitation Game" [the story of computer pioneer Alan Turing]: "Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine."

8. We Need a Diversity of Minds to Be Prepared for Whatever May Happen in the Future. The Irish potato famine killed one million people and caused the emigration of another two million. The famine was due to the fact that the Irish farmer had come to depend upon only one variety of potato, and when it was infected by a strain of Phytophthora infestans, there was no back-up available for nourishment (there are over 4,000 varieties of potatoes out there to pick from). This cautionary tale suggests to us the advantages of diversity; that diversity has tremendous adaptational advantages. Over the past thirty-five years in the United States, there's been a trend toward a one-size-fits-all type of thinker as far as standards and standardized testing are concerned. We don't need one type of learner, we need to have many varieties of minds, and a multitude of perspectives and views, so that there will be many solutions offered in the uncertain times we face in the future.

For more information about neurodiversity, see my books:

This article was brought to you by Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. and www.institute4learning.com.

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8 Reasons We Need Neurodiversity | Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.

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The concept of neurodiversity emerged in the 1990's as a way for autism advocates to affirm their identity as people with neurological differences rather than as disabled individuals. The idea has spread as other advocates (including myself) have sought to articulate the "diversity rather than disability" message to a broader segment of the population than just autism, including children and adults with ADHD, dyslexia, intellectual disabilities, and social and emotional disorders.

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Observatorio / Instituto para el Futuro de la Educación

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Millones de alumnos con neurodivergencia enfrentan retos mayores que pueden impactar su experiencia educativa.

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Observatory | Institute for the Future of Education

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The vast majority of didactic methods are based on communication between teacher and student, the different facets of the relationship between them, or the students' journey through their own learning. However, more recent didactic currents focus on the relationship between brain functioning and its intersection with the act of learning.

The scientific journal Brainfacts defines neuroeducation as a discipline that promotes the integration of education, neurology, psychology, and cognitive sciences to produce better teaching methods and didactic programs. The primary question in neuroeducation is, how does the brain learn? To understand this, we need to know some basics.

Brain Plasticity: The Muscle of Knowledge

The word plasticity refers to the property of a material to be molded or transformed to change shape. Similarly, brain plasticity is the ability of the nervous system to change its structure and functioning throughout life as a reaction to the diversity of the environment and experiences of a person.

It represents the brain's ability to recover and restructure during or after injury or illness, like any muscle in our body would do, and adapt and function with new knowledge, understandings, behaviors, and patterns. The latter is crucial to the didactic process. Every time new learning entrenches in a person's mind, it leaves a mark, creating new connections and enlarging the individual's entire neural network.

Neuroeducation examines the traces that educational processes leave in our brains and seeks to visualize the relationships between this data and our behavior. This approach to the study of learning is primarily scientific.

Emotion, attention, and neurodiversity

The description above sounds like the result of laboratory research. How do we emulate this approach in the classroom? What criteria serve to leverage what we know about the functioning of neural networks and how they communicate?

Emotion is one of the most vital criteria. According to neuroeducation, no understanding comes from emptiness; the experiences and emotions of the person learning give context and meaning to what they assimilate. Students' attention spans should be exercised to their maximum capacity.

Neuroeducation prioritizes that a person can focus their attention to receive information without distraction or fatigue to result in the best didactic experience. This priority considers attenuating aspects; for example, if a person has Attention Deficit Disorder, depression, or some neurodiversity, explains Arturo Torres, Master in Social Psychology at the University of Barcelona and collaborator for the virtual journal, Psychology and Mind.

Neuroeducation proposes there is not only one way to learn; there are many related to how the student's brain functions, how it traces cognitive pathways, and what factors affect or facilitate this process. Here, we enter another pillar of neuroeducation: Neurodiversity, which intends to identify and include neurodivergent people, comes from the idea that education is a common good, a fundamental human right, which everyone should be able to access, regardless of how their brain accomplishes learning.

Have you heard of neuroeducation before? Have you applied it in your classes? Have you been to any classes where the teacher uses this approach? What do you think about the influence of neural connections and emotions on how we learn? Let us know in the comments.
Translation by Daniel Wetta

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What is Neuroeducation? - Observatory | Institute for the Future of Education

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The vast majority of didactic methods are based on communication between teacher and student, the different facets of the relationship between them, or the students' journey through their own learning. However, more recent didactic currents focus on the relationship between brain functioning and its intersection with the act of learning.

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The American Institute for Learning and Human Development supports the creation of developmentally appropriate practices and rich learning environments for children, adolescents, and adult learners. It seeks to accomplish this mission by providing timely, practical, and cutting edge information via keynotes and workshops as well as books, articles, and social media posts

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The American Institute for Learning and Human Development supports the creation of developmentally appropriate practices and rich learning environments for children, adolescents, and adult learners. It seeks to accomplish this mission by providing timely, practical, and cutting edge information via keynotes and workshops as well as books, articles, and social media posts on the following topics (click on each subject for more information):

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The American Institute for Learning and Human Development supports the creation of developmentally appropriate practices and rich learning environments for children, adolescents, and adult learners.

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Neuromitos en la educación: El apredizaje desde la neurociencia

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Neuromitos en la educación: El apredizaje desde la neurociencia

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Los últimos hallazgos en neurología y sus aplicaciones en el ámbito educativo

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Human Neurodiversity Should Be Celebrated, Not Treated as a Disorder 

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Human Neurodiversity Should Be Celebrated, Not Treated as a Disorder 

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Human Neurodiversity Should Be Celebrated, Not Treated as a Disorder | Op-Ed | NowThis

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Neuroaprendizaje, una propuesta educativa: herramientas para mejorar la praxis del docente

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Neuroaprendizaje, una propuesta educativa: herramientas para mejorar la praxis del docente

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Introducción

La educación actual está siendo desafiada a responder con innovación en la formación docente, tanto en su capacitación inicial, como en su actualización profesional a mano de la ciencia. Estamos ante un nuevo paradigma educativo que está evolucionando y tomando distancia de las tradiciones educativas profundamente enraizadas en la enseñanza y que tienen lamentables influencias negativas en el aprendizaje.

Las metodologías de enseñanza-aprendizaje adoptadas habitualmente en los diferentes niveles de la educación, desde la formación preescolar hasta la educación superior, están llamadas en efecto, a sufrir cambios profundos o ser eliminadas al interior de las prácticas docentes. Hoy, gracias a las investigaciones y el dialogo interdisciplinario entre las ciencias cognitivas y las neurociencias, la educación está gestando un verdadero cambio.

Las informaciones y resultados obtenidos por las investigaciones de la psicología cognitiva y de la pedagogía como ciencia de la educación, han instituido y conformado una nueva disciplina llamada "neuroeducación", cuya tarea esencial es saber cómo el cerebro aprende y de qué manera se estimula su desarrollo en el ámbito escolar por medio de la enseñanza.

Estas temáticas neuroeducativas necesitan ser incorporadas a los programas de formación docente, lo que facilitará que la enseñanza y el aprendizaje se conviertan en procesos innovadores, creativos, críticos y propositivos ( Gil, 21 de junio de 2015). Para lograr este propósito se necesita que los docentes puedan conocer más sobre el órgano responsable del aprendizaje (saber cómo funciona y aprende el cerebro) y reflexionar sobre todos aquellos aspectos que influyen en el proceso de aprendizaje con el fin de hacer del estudiante un ser autónomo, independiente y autorregulado.

De acuerdo con Ortíz (2015), en estos últimos 20 años se está aprendiendo más sobre el cerebro que en toda la historia de la humanidad. El siglo XXI reclama un profesional que no adopte pasivamente los cambios vertiginosos de la sociedad, sino que sea un agente de cambio, un profesional líder, proactivo, que no sea un receptor pasivo sino un participante activo, lo cual exige que los docentes desarrollen clases de calidad y excelencia que utilicen estrategias pedagógicas desarrolladoras de la inteligencia, la creatividad, el pensamiento crítico y configuracional.

Lo cierto es que ante este planteo se necesita, y con fundamento, un tinte de mayor creatividad en la educación. Los tiempos que transcurren, el hoy del sistema educativo, obliga a un sin fin de cambios. Alumnos y docentes deben ser hábiles y creativos en sus maneras de resolver problemas, en su toma de decisiones auto-generadas y producto de las demandas educativas modernas. En este orden de ideas, Barrera y Donolo (2009), afirman que por ello, se considera que la creatividad puede favorecer y se cree esencial que se haga. Más aún desde ámbitos universitarios, a los que día a día se debe entender como sedes propicias de construcción de conocimientos innovadores y no puros reproductores de saberes (sin olvidar que las dos cuestiones son importantes).

En este marco se considera entonces que el neuroaprendizaje es una herramienta imprescindible para el capacitador de estos tiempos que sabe que el único camino seguro para lograr un futuro promisorio, es contribuir a la formación de seres capaces de autogestionarse y superarse a sí mismos. Lo irónico es, que los que hemos de saber más sobre este órgano, somos los que más lo desconocemos. Se necesitan entonces docentes interesados en la construcción del conocimiento por parte de los alumnos y con su ayuda lograr el significado y la comprensión de los contenidos que están aprendiendo.

Relación entre la pedagogía y la neuroeducación

Es importante identificar las propiedades del cerebro que son potencialmente aplicables en la práctica educativa, teniendo en cuenta que en los últimos veinte años se ha estado gestando y consolidando la idea de una propuesta pedagógica que tiene como ejes centrales los resultados de investigaciones neurocientíficas y de otras ciencias relacionadas, en lo referente a su desarrollo y funcionamiento, aspectos en los que se ha avanzado de forma sorprendente de forma cualitativa y cuantitativamente y que han permitido disponer de explicaciones más apropiadas sobre cómo evolucionan y ocurren los procesos cognitivos básicos naturales y de nivel superior, la expresión del desarrollo emocional y, en general, cómo estos aspectos afectan y explican el desempeño y el comportamiento humano.

Con todo este conocimiento disponible y que hoy circula, la nueva propuesta educativa parece avanzar con paso seguro, no obstante, voces en contrario de algunos atados a paradigmas tradicionales. Esto, sin embargo, es lo que ocurre cuando se trata de construir y validar nuevos conocimientos y establecer nuevos paradigmas.

Por lo tanto, una de las cuestiones que más interesa a los comprometidos con la educación y el desarrollo de proyectos educativos es la relacionada con las propiedades del cerebro que pueden ser potencialmente útiles para proponer estrategias pedagógicas más eficaces, para orientar aprendizajes efectivos y para diseñar ambientes escolares que los propicien. Según Reyes (2012), en los diálogos de los neurocientíficos e investigadores de otras disciplinas afines, con la comunidad de educadores, se han identificado varias de estas propiedades así como factores internos y externos que se pueden constituir en variables educativas importantes que, por lo tanto, deberían tenerse en cuenta en la práctica educativa. Algunas de ellas son bien conocidas y aceptadas como la plasticidad cerebral, la neurogénesis, el papel de las emociones en la cognición y la identificación de períodos sensibles a ciertos aprendizajes. Otras propiedades comienzan a ser confirmadas y comentadas en recientes publicaciones ( Jensen, 2016) y en el libro que sirve de referencia a este artículo ( Caicedo, 2012).

Las posibilidades de aplicación a la pedagogía de los hallazgos recientes sobre el funcionamiento del cerebro provistos por la neurociencia y ciencias afines complementarias como la neurosicología, la neurociencia cognitiva y la neuropsicología, entre otras, ha generado compromisos muy serios entre investigadores, educadores, organizaciones internacionales e instituciones de educación superior de indudable prestigio, para considerar nuevas aproximaciones teóricas basadas en evidencias, para el desarrollo de propuestas educativas compatibles con el funcionamiento del cerebro.

La pedagogía basada en el cerebro tal como se entiende hoy, se sustenta en principios derivados de resultados relevantes de la investigación sobre el cerebro, los cuales han sido seleccionados por científicos de diferentes disciplinas relacionadas y educadores para que se constituyan en los fundamentos teóricos del nuevo paradigma y sean la base para el diseño de estrategias pedagógicas y, por consiguiente, el punto de partida para la adopción de metodologías que puedan ser utilizadas en la práctica.

Hablar de neuroeducación, es más que hablar de un híbrido de las ciencias de la educación y de la neurociencia. De acuerdo a las aseveraciones incluidas al respecto, Bejar (2014), aclara que la línea de investigación en neuroeducación tiende hacia la resolución científica de las preguntas sobre el sustrato neuronal del sistema cognitivo humano. La neuroeducación enseña una nueva mirada sobre el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje desde los conocimientos de la neurociencia aplicada. Caicedo (2012) agrega que reconocemos que la neuroeducación es aún una ciencia naciente, en ocasiones algunos de los resultados parecen algo obvios y bastante conocidos por la pedagogía clásica. Sin embargo, hay estudios que abren nuevas líneas de investigación neurocientífca para su aplicación en educación.

De especial relevancia es el Manual sobre neuroeducación, elaborado por Francisco Mora, catedrático de fisiología humana en la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. La mirada de la neuroeducación se dirige a la construcción de puentes entre la neurociencia básica y sus aplicaciones en educación para armonizar las metodologías de enseñanza de profesores con las técnicas de aprendizaje de los alumnos. Evidentemente, existe un importante abismo entre los conocimientos seudocientíficos y sus posibilidades en un sistema educativo real que solo bien conoce el profesor que día a día permanece en contacto directo con los alumnos en su aula. Conscientes de estas dificultades parece necesaria la figura de un mediador entre el mundo profesional de la neurociencia y los profesionales de la educación. Esta figura es el "neuroeducador". García (2015), asegura que los docentes se han convertido en instructores, dictadores de cátedras, su misión ha sido impartir conocimientos que ya no son vigentes, que han caducado. En este sentido las organizaciones educativas deben asumir e implementar nuevos modelos pedagógicos, didácticos y curriculares, así como nuevas teorías y estrategias de enseñanza y aprendizaje.

Los tiempos que transcurren en el hoy del sistema educativo, obliga a un sin fin de cambios. Alumnos y docentes deben ser hábiles y creativos en sus maneras de resolver problemas, en su toma de decisiones auto-generadas, producto de los vertiginosos cambios de la educación. ¿Qué aporta la neuroeducación a la formación docente? Al respecto Vargas (2015), agrega que se remarca la necesidad de encontrar ese factor que hace que lo que estudiemos nos resulte agradable, pero también desafiante, con retos, metas y objetivos significativos, con sentido. Y también, emplear los aportes de este enfoque interdisciplinario para indagar estrategias óptimas para la enseñanza de las matemáticas y del lenguaje, por ejemplo, o de destrezas y habilidades en general.

Un neuroeducador tiene grabado en sí un sello propio, no se puede establecer con claridad cuáles son sus capacidades y características, ya que la riqueza nace del potencial de sí mismo. Béjar (2014), da unas características importantes, agregando que el neuroeducador es un profesional cualificado capaz de entablar un diálogo interdisciplinar entre los avances en neurociencia aplicada y la experiencia práctica del profesor que día a día pone a prueba sus metodologías en el aula. Por un lado, sería una persona capaz de mantener permanentemente una formación actualizada en neurociencia y con la competencia suficiente para enjuiciar y mejorar la programación seguida en los centros educativos.

En líneas generales, se diría que el neuroeducador está preparado para instrumentar la generación de nuevos programas educativos en función de las necesidades de cada centro de enseñanza. Consciente de la importancia de la individualidad de cada aprendizaje, el neuroeducador estudia las vías para personalizar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de tal forma que se despierte más la curiosidad del alumno, se incremente su nivel de atención y se intensifique su desarrollo creativo, ejecutivo y emocional lo cual es de gran ayuda en la mejora del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje y el propio desarrollo humano.

El neuroaprendizaje

El neuroaprendizaje es una disciplina que combina la psicología, la pedagogía y la neurociencia para explicar cómo funciona el cerebro en los procesos de aprendizaje. En la actualidad, se cuenta con elementos para saber cómo aprende el cerebro humano en general y se tienen herramientas para descubrir cómo aprende cada cerebro individual. Estas herramientas posibilitan cubrir todos los estilos de aprendizaje, todas las inteligencias, los distintos canales de representación sensorial y formas de enfrentar desafíos. Existen períodos sensibles en el desarrollo cognitivo del ser humano relacionados con el aprendizaje, el cual se da en las primeras etapas de la vida, que van desde el nacimiento hasta los tres años donde se considera que se crean más conexiones sinápticas, sin embargo, este período se extiende hasta los diez años. Agrega Loja (2015) que un ejemplo de esto es la facilidad para aprender los diferentes idiomas entre otros, sin embargo la neurogénesis ha demostrado que todos pueden aprender en cualquier momento de la vida.

Como punto de partida para vincular cerebro y aprendizaje, se debe empezar por conocer algunas características fundamentales del cerebro humano. El proceso de aprendizaje involucra todo el cuerpo y el cerebro, quien actúa como una estación receptora de estímulos y se encarga de seleccionar, priorizar, procesar información, registrar, evocar, emitir respuestas motoras, consolidar capacidades, entre otras miles de funciones. El proceso de desarrollo cerebral es gradual y por ello las propuestas de aprendizaje deben ir de lo más simple y concreto a lo más abstracto y complejo. Dentro de los procesos cerebrales implicados en el aprendizaje que se ponen en funcionamiento cuando el hombre observa, lee, escucha, mira son: percepción, atención, pensamiento, memoria, lenguaje. Al respecto Fuenmayor (2008), aclara que los procesos cognitivos desempeñan un papel fundamental en la vida diaria. El hombre, todo el tiempo, está percibiendo, atendiendo, pensando y utilizando la memoria y el lenguaje. Juntos, estos procesos cognitivos constituyen la base a partir de la cual se entiende el mundo. También subyacen al funcionamiento cognitivo más sofisticado como lo es la lectura, la comprensión social o las creencias.

Cuando se habla de neuroaprendizaje no se puede dejar de hablar de las emociones, y específicamente, de la inteligencia emocional (IE), término propuesto por Goleman (2009). Este concepto va en contraposición con el de cociente intelectual (CI), puesto que la IE prepara al individuo para las situaciones de convivencia, adaptación, regulación del humor, manejo de los impulsos entre otros, mientras que el CI, es la inteligencia académica. No obstante, las dos son básicas para el aprendizaje y no se debe desconocer especialmente la IE, en los procesos de enseñanza. Lo que importa no es solo el CI sino la IE.

Goleman (2009) asegura que el intelecto no puede operar de manera óptima sin inteligencia emocional. Generalmente, la complementariedad del sistema límbico y la neocorteza, de la amígdala y los lóbulos pre frontales, significa que cada uno de ellos es un socio pleno de la vida mental. Cuando estos socios actúan positivamente, la inteligencia emocional aumenta, lo mismo que la capacidad intelectual. Uno de los secretos a voces de la psicología es la relativa incapacidad de las notas, del CI o las pruebas de actitud académica, para predecir de manera infalible quien tendrá éxito en la vida. Existen muchas excepciones a la regla de que el CI predice el éxito, más excepciones que casos que se adaptan a la misma.

Con relación a las emociones, Lupón, Quevedo y Torrens, (2009), agregan, que el proceso emocional se inicia con la percepción de cambios en la situación externa o interna del sujeto (desencadenantes emocionales), que son procesados por un primer filtro de evaluación afectiva. Éste produce como consecuencia inmediata una reacción que incluye una expresión corporal, una tendencia a la acción y unos cambios fisiológicos. Un segundo filtro (evaluación cognitiva), muy influenciado por el aprendizaje y la cultura, modifica esta reacción afectiva dando como resultado la respuesta observable. La sede cerebral de las emociones se halla en el sistema límbico, también llamado cerebro medio. Esta parte del cerebro es una de las más primitivas y se sitúa inmediatamente debajo de la corteza cerebral. Comprende centros como el hipotálamo, el hipocampo y la amígdala cerebral. El hipotálamo regula el hambre, la sed, el placer, el dolor o la ira y, además, regula el sistema nervioso simpático y parasimpático. El hipocampo tiene un papel muy importante en la construcción de la memoria. Finalmente, el papel de la amígdala como centro de procesamiento de las emociones es hoy incuestionable. Los sujetos que tienen lesiones en esta zona no reconocen las expresiones faciales de las emociones, en animales experimentales cuando la amígdala se extirpa, estos se vuelven dóciles e indiferentes a ciertos estímulos y, por el contrario, su estimulación produce agresividad.

Los estudios demuestran que los procesos emocionales son inseparables de los cognitivos. Contextos emocionales positivos facilitan el aprendizaje y la memoria, mediante la activación delhipocampo; por el contrario, estímulos negativos activan laamígdala, dificultándolo. Esto sugiere la necesidad de generar climas emocionales positivos en el aula que favorezcan el aprendizaje y en los que se asuma el error de forma natural y se proporcionen retos adecuados ( Goleman, 2006). Al respecto, se puede afirmar que los sentimientos y las emociones tienen un rol vital en el aprendizaje, la motivación permite que haya una relación entre la capacidad para prestar atención y por ende para aprender. Cuando los sentimientos son ignorados pueden sabotear el aprendizaje, la memoria de trabajo y de atención.

La neurodidáctica: disciplina reciente

La intervención y fusión de la neurociencia con la psicología cognitiva y la pedagogía, para abordar la educación, generan el enfoque que bien puede llamarse, el enfoque neuropsicopedagógico (Paniagua, 2013). Este enfoque se encarga de explicar la organización, el funcionamiento cerebral y la atención a la diversidad y la individualización del cerebro. Relaciona las habilidades académicas del estudiante con el cerebro y su funcionamiento, con el objetivo de poder brindar atención a las experiencias de cada persona de acuerdo al desarrollo y características únicas e individuales. De acuerdo con Punset (citado por Paniagua, 2013) la corteza cerebral es modificada por la experiencia y la educación. La educación influye en la organización del cerebro, en la modificación de la corteza cerebral y en el desarrollo de las competencias en el mismo. Una vez desarrolladas estas competencias, son estables y afectan casi todo lo que se hace. Por lo tanto, educar es modificar el cerebro. Para influir en el cerebro, la educación conociendo ya las características y las competencias cerebrales que le ofrece la neurociencia, se sirve de la neurodidáctica, que es una disciplina nueva que aportará cambios grandes y significativos, que podrían originar una verdadera revolución en el arte de enseñar (Paniagua, 2013).

Para Morales (2015 a) la neurodidáctica es la ciencia que fusiona, por una parte la didáctica y por otra la neurociencia. De acuerdo con Paniagua (2013), la neurodidáctica es una rama de la pedagogía basada en las neurociencias, que otorga una nueva orientación a la educación que tiene como propósito diseñar estrategias didácticas y metodológicas más eficientes que promuevan un mayor desarrollo cerebral o mayor aprendizaje en los términos que los educadores puedan interpretar.

Forés y Ligioiz (2009) llaman a la neurodidáctica como la aplicación de conocimientos acerca de cómo funciona el cerebro y cómo intervienen los procesos neurobiológicos en el aprendizaje, para ayudar a que éste sea más eficaz y óptimo. Para estos autores la neurodidáctica es la convergencia entre la neurología-y-metodologías de aprendizaje unidas. Es poner la neurociencia al servicio de lo cotidiano.

Si al enseñar y formar a los jóvenes se llega a ofrecer los estímulos intelectuales que necesita el cerebro, se puede desarrollar las capacidades cognitivas y, en este caso, resulta también fácil aprender. Pero cuando los maestros trasmiten la materia del mismo modo, con frecuencia los estudiantes aprenden los contenidos de memoria, sin entenderlo. Desde este punto de vista neurobiológico, dice Cuesta (2009), que carece de sentido. Si el alumno no ha entendido bien algo, la memorización refuerza precisamente las conexiones defectuosas al activarla de nuevo. De ese modo, el error mental se agrava más profundo en el cerebro. Ante esta situación, recomienda cambiar por completo el método de explicar, porque aprender algo nuevo, cuesta mucho menos que obligar o forzar a reorientar una red neuronal que ya ha sido consolidada.

Por tanto, cuando se resuelve bien una tarea propuesta por el maestro, aumenta en el estudiante los niveles de dopamina y de acetilcolina, que son moléculas neurotransmisoras cuyo incremento produce sensaciones de bienestar y sentimiento de felicidad, donde el estudiante se premia a sí mismo, aumentado su autoconfianza y motivación (Cuesta, 2009, citado en Izaguirre, 2017). Por esta razón, Ortiz, citado por Izaguirre (2017), enfatiza que los docentes deben lograr que los educados disfruten del conocimiento por el valor que representa como agente motivacional y vitalizador de logros y posibilidades de éxitos; dicho de otro modo, debe constituirse en un instrumento de mejora de la calidad de la enseñanza.

Es evidente que la investigación cerebral puede mejorar en la práctica el aprendizaje en escuelas y universidades, pero es responsabilidad de los educadores, manifestar interés por la "neurodidáctica", que es, como se ha apodado, derivada de las neurociencias. Por otro lado, es responsabilidad de anatomistas, neurólogos y neurocientíficos en general, el ayudarles a los educadores a comprender el sistema nervioso central, a manejar la terminología, los aspectos morfo funcionales y fisiológicos, la anatomía del cerebro, a leer imágenes para la valoración cerebral, etc. Todo lo antes dicho, para potenciar la educación y facilitar el aprendizaje, sin dejar de ver, que hay cosas del humanismo psicológico, que la neurociencia aún no ha logrado explicar y por ello también debemos capacitarnos en dichos temas ( Gastón, 2007).

Por consiguiente, el neuroeducador debe comprender que el desarrollo del cerebro y el aprendizaje están intrínsecamente unidos, porque el cerebro es el órgano que por medio de la conectividad neuronal hace posible el aprendizaje. Saavedra (2001) agrega que los aprendizajes significativos conducen a nuevas conexiones con el objetivo de crear sinapsis, enriqueciendo el mayor número de interconexiones o cableados neuronales en el cerebro. Entonces, la función del educador mediante la neurodidáctica, es lograr literalmente conducir al estudiante hacia las nuevas conexiones neuronales y la secreción de componentes químicos que posibilitan el aprendizaje.

El educador es un modificador del cerebro que mediante la neurodidáctica, cambia la estructura cerebral, composición química y actividad eléctrica, creando sinapsis, mediante la enseñanza de contenidos novedosos, interesantes y mejor aún, significativos, lo cual conduce a una mayor compresión de los mismos (Paniagua, 2013; Saavedra, 2001). La comprensión da a lugar a aprendizajes más profundos y de mayor alcance que los aprendizajes de contenidos, que al realizarse de memoria son de más corta duración; este tipo de aprendizaje se continúa llevando a cabo en la educación pasiva y tradicional. Caine (citado por Saavedra, 2001) agrega que mientras más conexiones entre las neuronas tenga el cerebro que aprende, lo que se logra con una rica experiencia, habrá mayor comprensión del nuevo material a ser aprendido, ya que la nueva información puede relacionarse con la ya existente. En consecuencia, el educador debería enseñar su materia relacionándola con lo que el estudiante trae a la situación de aprendizaje. Pues, mirada desde una perspectiva neurobiológica indica que el estudiante no llega al aula con un cerebro parecido a una "tabula rasa", sino que viene con una serie de experiencias previas, provenientes de la familia y de la socialización con el entorno, los que le han permitido establecer numerosas conexiones neuronales en el cerebro. Por tanto, al tomar esto en cuenta, el educador facilitará extraordinariamente el aprendizaje del educando (Saavedra, 2001).

Neuroevaluación y su impacto en el aula

Como fue planteado por Scaddan (2014), para que el cerebro pueda aprender debe estar libre de altos niveles de estrés. Si esto se acontece en materia de aprendizaje, con mucha más razón debe ocurrir con la evaluación de los aprendizajes. De modo que en cualquier buen aprendizaje, la revisión y la reflexión incluida en la evaluación, es necesaria para revisar los progresos. Los criterios de evaluación son las pautas fundamentales que se deben tener en cuenta en la valoración ( Tobón, Pimienta y García, 2010) o la evaluación de los aprendizajes. Estos criterios se componen de un qué se evalúa y un qué se compara. Esto indica que una vez que el docente comunica a los estudiantes los criterios, les estaría disminuyendo el nivel de estrés porque estaría estableciendo las pautas a considerar en la evaluación y qué aspectos estaría también evaluando. Para Scaddan (2014) es importante seguir esta técnica cada semana, de modo que pase a formar parte de la cultura del aula. Los exámenes provocan en los estudiantes estrés y por tanto los percibe como una situación amenazante, generando algunas respuestas emocionales negativas impulsadas por la amígdala, creando un mecanismo de lucha o de fuga, sea esto angustia, temor, síntomas somáticos, ansiedad o nervios. De tal modo que Rotger (2017) concluye diciendo que existe una relación directa entre estrés, nervios y rendimiento. Por ese motivo, es significativo comprender la evaluación como un proceso de dialogo, comprensión y mejora.

El tratar con el error, según Castillo y Cabrerizo (2006), exige un cambio de la función tradicional del docente y del alumno, y se pasa concebir el error como un elemento positivo que provoca la auto reflexión de ambas partes y permitirá al docente asumir la función de orientador y regulador de la actividad escolar a fin de ayudar al estudiante a revisar su trabajo y que le lleve redoblar su esfuerzo para mejorar su rendimiento.

Para Castillo y Cabrerizo (2006), superar el error, con la ayuda del profesor, es lo formativo y formador: es aprender a aprender. Para la Junta Andalucia (2017), en el tiempo presente no tiene sentido la transferencia de información, ya que la información esta accesible en internet, organizada y de calidad. Por el contrario, aclaran que el profesor del siglo XXI debe evolucionar para pasar de transmisor de la información a facilitador y transmisor de criterio en la búsqueda de esta y el aprendizaje de los contenidos. En el presente siglo lo relevante es que los cerebros sean capaces de adquirir la información, integrarla, procesarla, ser creativos, intuitivos, emprendedores y críticos. En consecuencia, preguntan ¿es esto lo que evaluamos? Pues la evaluación debe decir si el estudiante ha adquirido las competencias y ha conseguido transferir la información en conocimiento, si ha habido un entrenamiento neurocognitivo exitoso.

Por el contrario, en el sistema tradicional de evaluación no se obtiene esa información por utilizar sistemas cerrados y estancos, basados en datos, fechas, números, pero se desconoce si el estudiante tiene las capacidades de trasladarlos a situaciones distintas que generaron el aprendizaje original (memoria explícita de largo plazo).

En materia de evaluación para el logro de un buen aprendizaje es vital tener en consideración en las aulas estos principios básicos relacionados con lo "neuro" como lo señalan Eusebio, Cobián y Cazón (2008), a medida como el cerebro crece también aumentan sus capacidades cognitivas. Aprender cambia los circuitos del cerebro. Es necesario fomentar las sinapsis en los niños cuanto antes y que estas abarquen la mayor diversidad posible. El desarrollo del cerebro necesita de la interacción continua con el mundo exterior. Lo desconocido excita sobremanera las redes neuronales especialmente entre los 3 y los 5 años. Si el alumno no ha entendido bien algo, la memorización refuerza las conexiones defectuosas al activarlas de nuevo. Emoción y motivación dirigen el sistema de atención. Transmitir una información de forma variada -aprendizaje multisensorial- permite aprender con más facilidad ya que intervienen todos los sentidos.

Pero el principio fundamental de la neurodidáctica es hacer que los niños aprendan en consonancia con sus dotes y talentos. De igual modo hay que considerar que la evaluación tiene que adaptarse a las circunstancias y características de cada alumno. Hay que tener en cuenta que no existen pruebas perfectas e insustituibles y que la evaluación debe hacerse en función de las necesidades reales de los centros, de los grupos y de los alumnos ( Pherez, Riasco, Agudelo, y Carabalí, 2009).

Planteamiento metodológico

La presente investigación es de enfoque cualitativo porque procura indagar el pensamiento de autores e investigadores con respecto al uso de estrategias y herramientas pedagógicas que innoven y dinamicen la praxis del docente, desde la base del neuroaprendizaje y de la neuroeducación en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Es también de tipo documental, porque requiere y privilegia fuentes documentales escritas para la obtención, organización, sistematización y análisis de la información como soporte del trabajo.

Las unidades de análisis están constituidas por documentos escritos (artículos de revistas, libros, informes de investigación), bases de datos y escritos legales que traten y tengan relevancia en el tema objeto de estudio.

La ruta metodológica de la investigación incluye tres momentos: el diseño de la investigación; la gestión e implementación; y la comunicación, socialización y divulgación de los resultados de la investigación. El primer momento es donde se define el tema, se delimita en lo conceptual, espacial y temporal y se realiza una revisión previa de estudios anteriores, para establecer el estado del estudio, permitiendo justificar la acción investigativa. El diseño incluye estrategias de búsqueda, localización y consulta de materiales que nos indican la clase de documentos requeridos para el trabajo investigativo. El segundo momento lo denomina Galeano (2004), gestión e implementación. Durante esta etapa, los investigadores buscan y seleccionan la información (rastreo e inventarios de los documentos); y clasifican, valoran y analizan los documentos. El tercer momento es la comunicación, socialización y divulgación de los resultados de la investigación, para propiciar la aplicación o utilización de las herramientas dinamizando la praxis del docente según la neuroeducación.

Para garantizar la confiabilidad y la validez del trabajo investigativo, se determinó que en la búsqueda y revisión de la literatura se aplicará y se desarrollará una matriz de análisis teniendo en cuenta el protocolo fundamentado por Caro, Rodríguez, Calero, Fernández y Piattini (2005), que normatiza la investigación respecto al proceso de búsqueda y registro se incluyeron: las categorías o términos que se establecieron para el estudio; las estrategias y fuentes de búsqueda; el registro de resultados; las normas de revisión; los criterios de inclusión y exclusión para las publicaciones examinadas, y la estrategia de síntesis de la información.

Para la recolección y análisis de la información se construyó una matriz de recolección y análisis de la información, que comprendía las categorías del estudio y las estrategias extraídas de los documentos que de forma explícita o implícita trataron el tema de las herramientas para dinamizar la praxis del docente según la base del neuroaprendizaje. Este artículo se construye a partir de los resultados obtenidos en la búsqueda documental.

Los resultados de la investigación se concretan en cuatro categorías que son la pedagogía y neuroeducación, neuroaprendizaje, neurodidáctica y neuroevaluación, las cuales se encuentran desarrolladas en el marco conceptual, que a su vez guarda relación con las estrategias pedagógicas innovadoras para los procesos de enseñanza aprendizaje, desde la base de las neurociencias y la neuroeducación.

Análisis de los resultados

Los resultados son productos de cada una de las categorías desarrolladas en el marco conceptual, que guardan relación con las estrategias pedagógicas innovadoras para los procesos de enseñanza aprendizaje desde la base de las neurociencias y la neuroeducación, de tal modo que pueden dinamizar la praxis del docente para enseñar, basado en uso del cerebro. Las categorías son enuncian en las siguientes líneas.

La primera categoría es la neuroeducación, que en estos días presenta una alta demanda para una formación docente que permita realizar aportes y cambios vertiginosos al momento de ejercer la enseñanza. Se habla de medios apropiados para la innovación o transformación de la educación y la enseñanza; el desarrollo de habilidades integrales (cognitivas, emocionales, sociales, morales, físicas y espirituales) todas ellas localizadas en el cerebro. Por tanto, se requiere un perfil docente que estudie y tenga un conocimiento elemental de la estructura del cerebro, que pueda hacer puente y vincular los aportes neurocientíficos con la práctica pedagógica ( Kandel y Jessel, 2012 y Mora, 2011), y así también poder diseñar estrategias de enseñanza que ayuden a construir conocimientos ( Campos, 2010 a).

Las estrategias planteadas, producto de la búsqueda bibliográfica de la categoría neuroeducación, son formuladas por Bejar (2014), en donde afirma que el docente debe ser un profesional cualificado capaz de entablar dialogo interdisciplinar entre la neurociencia y la práctica pedagógica; capaz de mantenerse a la vanguardia. Un neuroeducador entendido en los conocimientos de la neuroeducación, será capaz de conocer el papel del cerebro y el diseño de nuevas técnicas para mejorar el aprendizaje y el desarrollo cognitivo y emocional de los estudiantes. Por otra parte, Campos (2010 a), propone unas claves sencillas a considerar: se aprende cuando se liga la experiencia con las emociones; se promueven aprendizajes sólidos cuando se enseña de manera amena con anécdotas y en medio de conversaciones gratas; estimular la creatividad mediante actividades artísticas, que ayuda a disminuir tensiones y mejoran la concentración; desarrollar regularmente el ejercicio como el mejor aliado de la plasticidad cerebral, la concentración y el anti estrés; descansar, dormir con el propósito de incrementar la capacidad de retener, conceptualizar y abstraer; e incluir el juego, la diversión y la interacción social, para estimular áreas cerebrales implicadas en el aprendizaje.

Una segunda categoría analizada es la neurociencia y su aplicación en el aula. Al respecto Mora (2013), señala cinco propuestas que pueden ayudar a mejorar las clases desde esta área, trabajando la motivación, contextualización de la enseñanza-aprendizaje, problematización y el clima áulico. Empezar con algo provocador que podría consistir una frase, una imagen o una reflexión. Conectar la vida con los alumnos, presentando problemas interesantes que los afecten. Desarrollar un clima favorable para que quieran y puedan hablar. Introducir las incongruencias, las contradicciones, la novedad, la sorpresa, el desconcierto y la incertidumbre, de tal modo que estimule y desafíe el pensamiento. Evitar la ansiedad y el miedo, nadie aprende así.

La tercera categoría que se aborda en el análisis de los resultados es el neuroaprendizaje. Se entiende que es una disciplina que combina la psicología, la pedagogía y la neurociencia, para explicar cómo funciona el cerebro en los procesos de aprendizaje. Un tiempo atrás, los docentes se debían contentar con los resultados de la observación ya que a través de ella, se decidía si cierta técnica, estrategia, teoría o escuela de aprendizaje era favorable o no para los alumnos. En la actualidad, se cuenta con elementos para saber cómo aprende el cerebro humano en general y en particular. Estas herramientas posibilitan cubrir todos los estilos de aprendizaje, las inteligencias, los distintos canales de representación sensorial y formas de enfrentar desafíos.

Con base en lo anterior, es importante tener en cuenta los estudios actuales de la neurociencia. Para que el cerebro aprenda se debe considerar como punto de partida vincular a este con el aprendizaje, empezando por conocer algunas características fundamentales de este órgano. El proceso de aprendizaje involucra todo el cuerpo y el cerebro, este último actúa como una estación receptora de estímulos, encargándose de seleccionar, priorizar, procesar información, registrar, evocar, emitir respuestas motoras, consolidar capacidades, entre otras miles de funciones.

Al indagar cómo se vincula el cerebro y el aprendizaje, es importante destacar lo que Campos (2010a), recomienda que debe iniciarse por conocer algunas características fundamentales de este órgano: es la única parte del cuerpo humano que tiene la capacidad de aprender y a la vez enseñarse a sí mismo. Cada cerebro es único, irrepetible y que este aprende a través de patrones, los detecta, aprende y encuentra un sentido para utilizarlos siempre cuando vea la necesidad. Las emociones matizan su funcionamiento, las emociones interactúan con las habilidades cognitivas. El cerebro necesita del cuerpo así como el cuerpo necesita del cerebro, ambos aprenden de forma integrada.

El cerebro aprende desde diferentes vías. En los últimos años se ha hablado de cómo es capaz de aprender utilizando varias estrategias y elementos del entorno. Muchas veces, los educadores, deben planificar y realizar sus clases explorando los estilos de aprendizaje, como el visual, el auditivo, el lingüístico o el lógico. El desarrollo del cerebro está bajo influencias genéticas y ambientales. Un entorno adecuado y enriquecido, despierta al cerebro para el aprendizaje. La música y el arte ejercen influencia en el cerebro, escuchar música y tocar un instrumento tiene un gran impacto en este órgano, estimulando las zonas de las funciones superiores. La capacidad de esta parte del cuerpo para guardar información es ilimitada y maleable. La habilidad de adquirir, formar, conservar y recordar la información depende de factores endógenos y exógenos, de las experiencias y de la metodología de aprendizaje utilizada por el educador. El sueño es esencial para el aprendizaje. Las investigaciones relacionadas a los periodos de sueño y vigilia están demostrando la enorme importancia que tiene este para el buen funcionamiento del cerebro. El sueño tiene funciones adaptativas, pues ayuda al organismo a adaptarse al entorno, a descansar y a recuperarse fisiológicamente. El cerebro tiene la capacidad de establecer una ruta para el aprendizaje, su proceso de desarrollo es gradual y por ello las propuestas de aprendizaje deben ir de lo más simple y concreto a lo más abstracto y complejo.

Con relación a la forma de aprender del cerebro, Campos (2010b), agrega otros siete aspectos importantes complementando los anteriores: el cerebro aprende con eventos repetidos y puede predecir eventos importantes con las consecuencias de las conductas; puede asimilar por observación, imitación, emulación y la copia de acciones o metas; puede igualar un estímulo y reproducir resultados de acciones específicas; puede aprender de forma no consiente y de diferentes vías. Este órgano busca patrones para facilitar el aprendizaje, busca sentido y aprendizaje; le gusta la novedad y el desafío.

Otro autor que realiza planteamientos que ayudan al cerebro para aprender de manera eficaz, son los de Franco (2013), quien plantea los siguientes tips:

Relación tiempo y aprendizaje: Es muy importante la atención en el aprendizaje y esta varía de acuerdo a la edad del individuo, por tanto, las actividades que se realicen en un período largo de clase deben desarrollarse, teniendo en cuenta el período de atención.

Despertar emociones lo cual es muy difícil a raíz de tantos distractores que existen en un salón (celulares, ruidos externos, compañeros, pensamientos propios, etc.).

Jerarquizar conceptos: Para el cerebro es más importante jerarquizar los conocimientos que recordar el significado específico de algo.

Estimulación Visual: Su efecto demuestra que los elementos presentados visualmente son más recordados, por tanto, se sugieren imágenes, gráficas, fotos, entre otros elementos, que son muy importantes para el proceso de retención de la información.

La cuarta categoría analizada es la neurodidáctica. Los investigadores consultados coinciden que debe ser tomada en cuenta como una disciplina nueva que aporta cambios grandes y significativos, que podrían originar una verdadera revolución en el arte de enseñar (Paniagua, 2013) y que pueden ayudar a los educadores a desarrollar mejores estrategias didácticas. Para Cuesta (2009), la neurodidáctica es vista como un camino que conduce a los maestros y estudiantes a un entorno significativo en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje, no solo contempla los conceptos o contenidos a impartir, sino que profundiza habilidades personales, actitudes y aptitudes que le facilitan el proceso. También se encarga de las formas en las que se presentan los contenidos, eligiendo aquellas en las que pueda resultar más fácil la asimilación, la memoria y la integración. ( Forés y Ligioiz, 2009).

Los investigadores pudieron deducir que la neurodidáctica es una disciplina que promete grandes cambios en todas las áreas de la educación, incluyendo las estrategias de enseñanza, políticas de disciplina, artes, educación especial, currículo, tecnología, bilingüismo, música, entornos de aprendizaje, formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado, evaluación e incluso el cambio en la organización pedagógica y curricular. Sin embargo, resulta importante subrayar que los estudios analizados por los investigadores, muestran que la neurodidáctica presenta unas limitaciones, porque en el aprendizaje influyen otros factores como la genética, el ambiente social, la alimentación, entre otros, por lo tanto, no se puede considerar la conformación cerebral influenciada solo por la escolaridad. No obstante, los avances de la neurociencias constantemente van aportando conocimientos en relación a la neurodidáctica, que deben utilizarse para mejorar la educación en sus diferentes componentes.

A través de estos conocimientos es fundamental que todo educador revalorice su rol y además pueda llegar a comprometerse y actualizarse en el área de la neurociencias, consciente de los cambios que su práctica educativa genera a nivel cerebral.

Al analizar los planteamientos de los investigadores, la función del educador mediante la neurodidáctica es literalmente lograr conducir al estudiante hacia nuevas conexiones neuronales y la secreción de componentes químicos que posibilitan el aprendizaje. Franco (2013), respalda lo dicho y presenta las siguientes estrategias, producto de sus investigaciones científicas basadas en la forma como el docente debe aplicar la didáctica para que el cerebro esté más dispuesto a recibir y a captar información.

Ejercicio y alimentación: La nutrición y ejercicio afectan las vías de señalamiento neuronal importantes para la plasticidad sináptica y la función cognitiva.

Períodos sensibles de aprendizaje: El cerebro se va modificando a medida que va creciendo el individuo, esto indica crear o reforzar algunas conexiones neuronales y debilitar o eliminar otras.

Neuroplasticidad: Capacidad cerebral de formar nuevas conexiones nerviosas en respuesta a la información o estimulación nueva, es decir, fortalecer o eliminar conexiones sinápticas para incorporar un aprendizaje.

Serenización del cerebro: El estrés reduce el flujo sanguíneo hacia la corteza prefrontal, el centro del sentido común y la toma de decisiones (Jensen, 2016; Sapolsky, 1998, citado por Scaddan, 2014).

Tate (2016) dice que este estado se logra cuando vinculamos lo que se está enseñando con la vida real, con el mundo en que se vive.

La quinta categoría analizada es la neuroevaluación, con relación a la cual se puede decir que la evaluación educativa, más allá su práctica convencional, no es solo un procedimiento para saber cuánto han aprendido los alumnos, sino que debe considerarse primeramente, como un medio relevante de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Se ocupa del estudiante con relación a sus aprendizajes pero tiene en cuenta sus circunstancias personales y la manera como aprende.

En materia de evaluación de los aprendizajes, para que el cerebro pueda aprender, los investigadores pudieron observar que varios autores coinciden en que hay que eliminar la rigidez y el formalismo en la evaluación que por años ha atemorizado a los alumnos. Como manifiesta Cerda (2005) este miedo empieza a eliminarse cuando se diferencia la evaluación de la simple calificación y de la medición; cuando se empieza a entender que la evaluación no es sinónimo de exámenes y notas sino un instrumento de investigación que nos permite recabar mucha información sobre el estudiante, un medio de diagnóstico que nos ayuda a conocer el estado cognoscitivo y actitudinal del individuo, un medio de explicación y comprensión que ayuda a dilucidar las causas y las razones del fenómeno evaluado.

Además, en este estudio realizado por los investigadores, se pudo comprobar que la evaluación puede ser un medio efectivo en la enseñanza y en el aprendizaje desde la neuroeducación, pero tiene que ser motivadora para provocar interés, estimular la actividad y ser una herramienta de comunicación y diálogo, de tal modo que posibilite el intercambio de ideas y conocimientos entre el evaluador y el evaluado. Es decir, la evaluación ya no sanciona, prescribe, discrimina o amenaza, sino al contrario, es un mecanismo de orientación y formación ( Cerda, 2005).

Por tanto, en síntesis, y tomando en cuenta los planteamientos de las autoridades en la neuroevaluación, para que el cerebro pueda aprender debe estar libre de altos niveles de estrés ( Scaddan, 2014). Para lograr este propósito, el autor recomienda recordar con frecuencia a los estudiantes los criterios de evaluación, es decir, qué es y cómo es lo que vamos hacer. Es importante revisar la concepción errónea que se le ha dado a la evaluación, cuyo su propósito fundamental es determinar el éxito o el fracaso académico, en lugar de ser una herramienta útil para el desarrollo de la comprensión ( Rotger, 2017). Se debe impedir que los exámenes sean percibidos como una situación amenazante, generadora de emociones negativas y de mecanismos de lucha o de fuga, expresados en angustia, temor, ansiedad o nervios (Rotger, 2017). Hay que considerar el error como parte del proceso de aprendizaje, equivocarse es el principio de aprender (Junta Andalucia, 2017); superar el error, con la ayuda del profesor, es lo formativo y formador, es aprender a aprender ( Castillo y Cabrerizo, 2006).

Adicionalmente, existen otras consideraciones. De acuerdo con Rotger (2017) para la confección o preparación de las evaluaciones se debe ser coherente entre lo que se enseña y lo que se evalua; tener encuenta los estilos de aprendizajes y las inteligencias múltiples; dar instrucciones claras; establecer pruebas con desafios posibles; lograr un clima distendido y relajado; dejar que los estudiantes expresen su emoción antes de la evalaución como estrategia liberadora de tensión; corregir entre todos la evaluación al termino de la misma para relajar a los estudiantes en sus posibles errores; variar los estilos, opciones individuales y grupales, con juegos en equipos y de trabajo cooperativo, entre muchas otras.

El estudio tipo documental realizado por los investigadores, generó una propuesta pedagógica basada en el cerebro, la cual puede ser considerada como una guía para los docentes que deseen aplicar la neurociencia en el aula. Y así, poder mejorar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes y los procesos de enseñanza de la educación tradicional.

Conclusiones

Al haber efectuado el análisis de los resultados obtenidos, se presentan las siguientes conclusiones, considerando importante tener en cuenta las investigaciones presentadas en la educación basada en el cerebro, para el diseño de estrategias pedagógicas que tengan como punto de partida la adopción de metodologías que puedan ser puestas en práctica para el aprendizaje.

Esta nueva tendencia rompe el modelo del profesor tradicional, constituyéndolo en un neuroeducador, puesto que los nuevos tiempos requieren nuevas estrategias y los recientes descubrimientos que aporta la neurociencia cognitiva, develan que la educación actual requiere una reestructuración para que no pueda quedarse rezagada ante la reciente avalancha tecnológica. Aunque se asume que la educación no se restringe al entorno escolar, la escuela y los docentes han de preparar a los futuros ciudadanos de un mundo cambiante. Para ello se debe de erradicar la enseñanza centrada en la transmisión de una serie de conceptos abstractos y descontextualizados que no tienen ninguna aplicación práctica. Al respeto Soto (2016) agrega que es preciso resaltar que para construir un currículo desde la neurociencia, no solo es necesario indagar sobre las propuestas teóricas que traen dichas investigaciones, sino que las prácticas pedagógicas son fundamentales para mencionado diseño, esto último debido a que lo que se percibe en el mundo de la educación es que continuamente se decretan políticas de cambio o de reforma, que hacen que se modifiquen los currículos sin tener en cuenta los contextos ni el trabajo diario en el aula, y precisamente, lo que no se pretende es que la neurociencia se convierta en un recetario más para los docentes.

Al aplicar las estrategias de la neurociencia, neuroeducación, neuroaprendizaje, neurodidáctica y neuroevaluación se considera que favorecen la enseñanza y se pueden obtener mejores resultados al momento de la adquisición, retención y aplicación del aprendizaje en el educando, teniendo en cuenta que al entender de qué manera funciona el cerebro, los educadores están mejor preparados para ayudar en todo a los alumnos, desde centrar la atención hasta incrementar la retención. Esa es la promesa del aprendizaje basado en el funcionamiento del cerebro, el cual aprovecha conocimientos provenientes de los campos de la neurología, la psicología, la tecnología y otros. Traer esta información a la clase puede ayudar a los maestros a atraer la atención de distintos estudiantes, ofrecer un feedback eficaz que genere un entendimiento más profundo, y crear un entorno de aprendizaje enriquecedor que se ocupe de las necesidades sociales y emocionales de los alumnos, al mismo tiempo que su cerebro en desarrollo. Como afirma Palomar (2017), hoy en día hay diversas pruebas de cómo un ambiente de aprendizaje equilibrado y motivador requiere a los niños de un mejor aprendizaje. Es por ello que los niños aprenden "socialmente", construyendo activamente la comprensión y los significados a través de la interacción activa y dinámica con el entorno físico, social y emocional con los cuales entran en contacto. Por lo tanto, las estrategias metodológicas en el aula basadas en las neurociencias no solamente benefician a los alumnos en el aula regular, sino también a personas con dificultades de aprendizaje, al elogiar y motivar al alumnado despertando su interés por el aprendizaje, paliando los déficits atencionales y mejorando su autocontrol y su capacidad por aprender. Por este motivo, se hace necesario tener expectativas positivas sobre la capacidad del alumnado que se materialicen en aspectos motivacionales que no les permitan caer en el estrés, en el desasosiego y en el abandono temprano de los estudios.

Se debe relacionar las neurociencias con la pedagogía, de tal modo que se conozca la estructura y el funcionamiento del cerebro y los conocimientos esenciales del aprendizaje como los son la memoria, la atención y las emociones, a fin de que el educador emprenda un nuevo estilo de enseñanza aprendizaje. De acuerdo con Caicedo (2012), la educación basada en el cerebro tal como se entiende hoy después de aproximadamente 20 años de evolución, se sustenta en principios derivados de resultados relevantes de investigación, los cuales han sido seleccionados por científicos de diferentes disciplinas relacionadas y educadores para que se constituyan en los fundamentos teóricos del nuevo paradigma y sean la base para el diseño de estrategias pedagógicas y, por consiguiente, el punto de partida para la adopción de metodologías que los pongan en práctica. Dada la forma como aparece y las disciplinas que intervienen en su construcción hay que decir que es una propuesta interdisciplinaria y a la vez multidisciplinaria. Y no podría ser de otra manera porque, como se sabe, el aprendizaje y la educación no son una cuestión que se pueda abordar por una sola ciencia.

Resulta conveniente desarrollar cursos que cualifiquen y capaciten permanentemente a los docentes en neuroeducación, con el propósito de incorporar formas adecuadas de enseñanza y aprendizaje basados en la neurociencias. De acuerdo con Campos (2017), una de las demandas que se le hace a la educación es que se prepare a los docentes para que enfrenten con éxito los problemas del mundo actual. Es decir, que se prepare a personas con capacidad y criterio para solucionar problemas, trabajar en equipo, aprender por sí solos, automotivarse con tareas que exigen acción. Se necesita una educación que forme ciudadanos éticos en sus relaciones con otros y que favorezca el cambio social positivo para lograr una sociedad justa y solidaria. Una educación que refleje el mundo actual y su dinámica, que haga uso eficiente de las ventajas de la tecnología y de los aportes de las ciencias del aprendizaje. Una educación que prepare en las habilidades para los puestos de trabajo para los próximos años. Dice Morales (2015 b), hoy hay preocupación por parte de los distintos actores de los problemas que presentan los alumnos en el sistema escolar, de las inadecuadas prácticas de los docentes, de los climas tensionales que se manifiestan en el aula, de los aprendizajes parcelados, de las dificultades en el control de la clase, el aumento de las conductas disruptivas-, y de la formación que están recibiendo los estudiantes en que se enfatiza lo cognitivo obviando los procesos emocionales que subyacen en el aprendizaje.

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Caicedo, H. (2012). Neuroaprendizaje una propuesta educativa. Bogotá: Ediciones de la U.

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Campos, A. L. (2010). Uniendo las Neurociencias y la Educación en la Busqueda del Desarrollo Humano. Recuperado de http://www.educoea.org/portal/La_Educacion_Digital/laeducacion_143/articles/neuroeducacion.pdf

Campos., A. L. (2017). Enfoques de enseñanza basados en el aprendizaje. Bogotá: Ediciones de la U .

Castillo, S., y Cabrerizo, J. (2006). Evaluación educativa y promoción escolar. Madrid: Pearson-Prentice Hall.

Caro, M. A., Rodríguez, A., Calero, C., Fernández, E., y Piattini, M. (2015). Análisis y revisión de la literatura en el contexto de proyectos de fin de carrera: Una propuesta. Recuperado de https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251671565_Analisis_y_revision_ de_la_literatura_en_el_contexto_de_proyectos_de_fin_de_carrera_Una_propuesta

Cerda, H. (2005). Los elementos de la investigación. Bogotá : El Búho. Recuperado de http://www.uca.edu.ar/uca/common/grupo18/files/Neuroeducacion_en_el_aula-.pdf

Eusebio, C., Cobián, M., y Cazón, M. R. (2008). Congreso Internacional de Psicopedagogía. Recuperado de http://www.uca.edu.ar/uca/common/grupo18/files/Neuroeducacion_en_el aula-.pdf

Forés, A., y Ligioiz, M. (2009). Descubrir la neurodidáctica: aprender desde, en y para la vida. Barcelona, España: Editorial UOC.

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Notas

Artículo derivado una investigación con enfoque cualitativo y de tipo documental realizada por la Corporación Universitaria Adventista.

Para citar este artículo use: Pherez, G., Vargas, S., y Jerez., J. (2018). Neuroaprendizaje, una propuesta educativa: herramientas para mejorar la praxis del docente. Revista Civilizar, 18(34), 149-166.

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Neuroaprendizaje, una propuesta educativa: herramientas para mejorar la praxis del docente1

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The aim of this study is to propose innovative pedagogical strategies for the teaching-learning processes with a Neurolearning and Neuroeducation base for th...

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The role of the school psychologist in the inclusive education of school-age children with autism spectrum disorders

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The role of the school psychologist in the inclusive education of school-age children with autism spectrum disorders

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NEURODIVERSIDAD EN EL AULA: ESTRATEGIAS BASADAS EN LAS FORTALEZAS PARA AYUDAR A QUE LOS NIÑOS CON PROBLEMAS DEL APRENDIZAJE TENGAN ÉXITO EN LA ESCUELA Y EN LA VIDA

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NEURODIVERSIDAD EN EL AULA: ESTRATEGIAS BASADAS EN LAS FORTALEZAS PARA AYUDAR A QUE LOS NIÑOS CON PROBLEMAS DEL APRENDIZAJE TENGAN ÉXITO EN LA ESCUELA Y EN LA VIDA

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Asociación Educar para el Desarrollo Humano

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La idea de la Neurodiversidad es establecer un cambio de paradigma en la escuela: en lugar de ver a los alumnos con problemas de aprendizaje sufriendo de un déficit, sugiere que hablemos de sus fortalezas.

La metáfora más utilizada para describir al cerebro es la de la computadora. Pero el cerebro humano no es un hardware o un software, es un wetware (traducido, es un húmedo-ware).

Cuanto más estudiamos el cerebro más comprendemos que no funciona como una computadora sino como un ecosistema. Cada cerebro individual es como un bosque tropical único, rebosante de crecimiento, declinación, selección y diversidad.

El término bosque cerebral es una excelente alegoría para discutir cómo responde el cerebro ante el medio ambiente, redirigiendo el crecimiento por vías neurológicas alternativas.

La utilización de comparaciones ecológicas sugiere también una forma diferente de enseñar. Así como aceptamos que especies individuales de plantas tienen necesidades ambientales específicas (tierra, agua, sol, etc.), debemos comprender que los niños neurodiversos requieren nutrientes ecológicos únicos para florecer.

En este modelo conceptual los docentes deben descubrir los requerimientos de los alumnos para su crecimiento óptimo e implementar estrategias diferenciadas para ayudarlos.

Esta instrucción diferenciada del cerebro neurodiverso se denomina construcción de un nicho positivo y consta de 7 estrategias.
1. Conocimiento de sus fortalezas
La herramienta más importante que podemos utilizar para construir un nicho positivo para el cerebro neurodiverso es la comprensión de las fortalezas de nuestros alumnos.Los docentes deben saber qué apasiona a sus alumnos.
2. Modelos positivos a imitar
Los niños con dificultades en el aprendizaje deberían aprender acerca de las vidas de personas exitosas que también tuvieron dificultades del aprendizaje (como, por ejemplo, Winston Churchill, Agatha Christie, Pablo Picasso, Michael Phelps, etc.).

Por supuesto que las celebridades no son los únicos modelos a imitar.

Los adultos neurodiversos que han sido exitosos en la comunidad deberían ser invitados a visitar las escuelas para compartir sus historias y proveer inspiración a los alumnos.

3. Tecnologías de apoyo y diseño universal para el aprendizaje (DUA)

El DUA se refiere al proceso de remover barreras al aprendizaje para los niños con dificultades. Por ejemplo, los libros digitales interactivos que proveen texto, gráficos y audio posibilitan que los alumnos con dificultades del aprendizaje tengan un acceso más fácil al mundo escrito. Este enfoque está basado en los hallazgos de la neurociencia que dicen que existen tres redes neuronales primarias:

Redes de reconocimiento posteriores (el qué del aprendizaje).

Redes estratégicas prefrontales (el cómo del aprendizaje).

Redes afectivas límbicas (el por qué del aprendizaje).

Estimula a los docentes a implementar:

Estrategias para presentar contenidos a los alumnos (redes de reconocimiento).

Estrategias que permiten a los alumnos expresar lo que saben (redes estratégicas).

Estrategias para motivar el interés del alumno en el aprendizaje (redes afectivas).

4. Mejorar los recursos humanos
Se refiere a construir una abundante red de individuos que apoyen el crecimiento y desarrollo de los alumnos neurodiversos. Esta red puede incluir muchos de los siguientes individuos: docente, maestra integradora, psicóloga, terapista del lenguaje, estimuladora, padres y familiares, compañeros, etc.
5. Estrategias de aprendizaje basadas en las fortalezas
Esta estrategia se basa en apoyarse en las fortalezas y no en las vulnerabilidades de los alumnos neurodiversos para lograr aprendizajes. Por ejemplo, si un alumno tiene una gran capacidad visoespacial, utilizar estrategias didácticas que se fundamenten en este aspecto.
6. Aspiraciones profesionales afirmativas
Para muchos alumnos neurodiversos los sueños de su futuro pueden oscurecerse por una sensación de expectativas limitadas. Es importante que los docentes alimenten las aspiraciones de los alumnos sugiriéndoles futuras carreras.

Por ejemplo, los alumnos con ADHD pueden pensar en carreras que involucren movimiento, novedad o cambio, como, por ejemplo, ser bomberos, reporteros o personal trainers.

Los niños con autismo pueden considerar vocaciones que involucren sistemas como matemáticas, informática o mecánica.
7. Modificaciones ambientales
El ambiente debe satisfacer las necesidades de los alumnos neurodiversos.

Los niños con ADHD, por ejemplo, rinden muy bien en ambientes verdes (naturales). Similarmente, los estudiantes con autismo que tienen hipersensibilidad auditiva deben estar en un ambiente en el que se tomen recaudos para disminuir al máximo los estímulos auditivos.

Esto significa ver la escuela, los docentes y aun la comunidad que la rodea como una red compleja de posibles microhábitats para encontrar las variadas necesidades de los alumnos neurodiversos.
Referencia bibliográfica:

Masataka, N. (2017). Implications of the idea of neurodiversity for understanding the origins of developmental disorders. Phys Life Rev, 20:85-108. doi: 10.1016/j.plrev.2016.11.002
Imagen: Designed by Kstudio / Freepik

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Neurodiversidad en el aula: Estrategias basadas en las fortalezas para ayudar a que los niños con problemas del aprendizaje tengan éxito en la escuela y en la vida

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La idea de la Neurodiversidad es establecer un cambio de paradigma en la escuela: en lugar de ver a los alumnos con problemas de aprendizaje sufriendo de un déficit, sugiere que hablemos de sus fortalezas. La metáfora más utilizada para describir al cerebro es la de la computadora.

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Esta obra de Francisco Mora busca resaltar y poner en perspectiva crítica y concisa, algunas ideas sobre lo que significa e implica la neuroeducación.

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Neuroeducación: Solo se puede aprender aquello que se ama 

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Neuroeducación: Solo se puede aprender aquello que se ama 

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5 WAYS EDUCATORS CAN SUPPORT NEURODIVERSITY IN THE CLASSROOM

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5 WAYS EDUCATORS CAN SUPPORT NEURODIVERSITY IN THE CLASSROOM

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If you haven't read part one in this series, where we explored what neurodiversity actually is and its implications, you can ...

Although research shows that 15% of the UK population can be classed as neurodivergent, many of the complexities surrounding their conditions and thought processes are widely misunderstood or misinterpreted by the public. However, with more and more students being diagnosed with neurological conditions, how can we ensure they're getting the support they need?

Teachers have an important part to play in ensuring these students feel included, understood, appreciated and confident in their ability to do well in school and in life. By encouraging and appreciating that students process information differently from one another, a better understanding of what it means to be a neurodivergent student can be developed.

At InnerDrive, we've come up with 5 ways that teachers can effectively support neurodiversity in the classroom...

Have a psychologically safe classroom

is an environment in which students don't worry about looking stupid if something doesn't make sense to them or have to ask questions for clarification. A psychologically safe classroom Research shows that students in psychologically safe classroom environments reported greater self-confidence and well-being. This should be the number one priority for educators, as it means removing barriers to participation and learning for neurodivergent students. By fostering positive relationships with each student, they'll be more likely to speak up.

One way teachers can promote a psychologically safe classroom is through active listening - this is when teachers utilise their body language and summarise the speaker's main points to demonstrate that they were listening. Sometimes, neurodivergent students struggle to verbally communicate their thoughts and opinions effectively or at all.

As a result, teachers should be patient and allow these students to think, process and plan their response to stop them from feeling overwhelmed rather than push them to answer or to participate. It's also important to note that communication doesn't have to be verbal and neurodivergent students should be given the option to communicate in the way they feel most comfortable with.

Present information in small chunks

Rosenshine's second Principle of Instruction highlights the importance of presenting information in small, sequential steps so students can master a concept without feeling overwhelmed. Although this takes time, it has many benefits:

It allows students to make connections in their learning

It allows students to make steady progress

It allows students to understand why each step is important

It allows teachers to assess student progress more quickly

It makes the task more manageable

Often, students with neurological conditions take longer to process information than neurotypical students. Sometimes, this is because many have a smaller working memory capacity compared to the 7 +/- 2 items that neurotypical students are believed to have, which can make it difficult for them to meet the memory demands that many typical learning activities require.

Other times, it's simply because they may approach and process information in a non-conventional method. For example, an autistic student may make a mental note of what chapter they need to read and choose to read it at home rather than be confined to a 10-minute reading period as this allows them to contemplate the meaning of the chapter at their own pace rather than feel overwhelmed. Nonetheless, presenting information in small chunks can be beneficial for all students as it reduces the likelihood of them experiencing a cognitive overload.

Diversify your teaching strategies

To make lessons more accessible to neurodivergent students, teachers need to consider utilising different teaching and learning methods in the classroom. This is because different students will respond to different strategies, depending on how they think and process information.

Therefore, when creating lesson plans and presenting new information, teachers should consider how each of their students may respond to the lesson and be ready to adapt or modify their teaching style depending on student's responses. Teachers should also ensure that they're dedicating enough time to guiding student practice and spending time checking in with neurodivergent students in particular.

Trying different strategies is also great for exam preparation and developing a growth mindset in students rather than a deficit mindset. As Carol Dweck, who originated the growth mindset theory, stated in an interview, "telling students to try harder isn't enough to promote a growth mindset" nor does it recognise the challenges that neurodiverse students may be facing.

One potential strategy that can help students who are struggling is to ask them to engage in elaborative interrogation. This is when they have to think about the 'why' behind something. Questions like "why might this be the case?" and "why do we use this method" may help ground abstract concepts and make them easier to understand for students who prefer interpreting information from a logical standpoint.

Familiarise yourself with their strengths and weaknesses

Every student has their strengths and weaknesses, and this is the same for neurodivergent students. Research shows that neurodivergent students typically thrive in more creative subjects, but struggle with assessments on the core subjects of Science, English and Mathematics. On the other hand, students with autism are great with detail and patterns and link things in a way that neurotypical people do not. Therefore, although they're solving a problem in an unconventional way, that's not to say their method is any less effective.

Essentially, teachers need to understand the needs of every single one of their students and what learning methods are most effective. The Education Endowment Foundation proposes a four-step strategy that teachers can utilise:

Assess: Gather information from several sources such as parents, carers, specialist professionals and the student themselves to create a holistic picture of your student's needs.

Plan: Based on this information, consider what research-based teaching strategies may best support these students. These plans should be structured and well-thought-out rather than something that is occasionally implemented.

Review: Gain feedback from students or how confident they are with their responses to determine how successful the strategy was and whether it needs to be scrapped or adapted.

It's important to note that the needs of neurodiverse students will change over time and different strategies will be more effective and necessary for students with ADHD compared to autism and vice versa. For example, for ADHD students, this could be allowing more flexibility for movement in classrooms as these students think best when their body is moving. On the other hand, a sense of routine and predictability may be more important for autistic students. Recognise neurodiverse students' strengths so they can use them to combat their weaknesses.

Have high expectations

Just because some neurodiverse students may display odd behaviour and poor verbal communication skills, doesn't mean they're not capable of performing well academically. It's important, like any other student, that we don't limit our expectations because "this student is neurodiverse". Although teachers should be flexible and understanding, they also need to set high, but realistic expectations.

This is because research shows that having low expectations, which is known as the Golem Effect, results in teachers reacting more negatively to students and students performing worse academically. Students can recognise when a teacher doesn't believe they are capable of doing well, especially since 70-93% of communication is non-verbal and many neurodiverse students are good at picking up on non-verbal cues.

It's also important that teachers make their expectations for the lesson as clear as possible as this consistency and clarity will help those students that struggle with change, paying attention or need a sense of routine. This can be done by:

Having a short review of the previous lesson to recap and show how they help inform understanding.

Breaking down assignments and regularly checking in with students to see how they're doing.

Providing students with tools like calendars with deadlines, folders and checklists so they can organise their learning and have all the things they need at hand to participate in the lesson.

Final thoughts

Teachers need to ensure they're taking the appropriate steps to make learning more accessible to neurodiverse students. Although not targeted specifically at neurodivergent students, Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction in particular may be useful in ensuring these students are being given good opportunities and can thrive in the classroom environment.

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5 ways educators can support neurodiversity in the classroom

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Chances are you have neurodivergent students in your classroom. Here are 5 tips to adapt lessons to maximise their learning as well as other students'.

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Valuing differences: Neurodiversity in the classroom 

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Valuing differences: Neurodiversity in the classroom 

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Drawing on their own experiences as students, researchers, and educators, the authors discuss how teachers can build on the skills and talents of neurodiverse learners.
Neurodiversity describes the idea that neurological differences like autism, ADHD, and dyslexia are natural human variations that have benefits (Rentenbach & Prislovksy, 2016). The neurodiversity movement values human differences that have often been pathologized, underscores the strengths associated with each unique neurological design, and demonstrates how partnerships and teams that include neurodiverse individuals can enhance problem solving in a complex world.

Educators have a particularly important role to play in making the benefits of neurodiversity more widely appreciated and empowering different thinkers to contribute to mainstream life, thought, and culture. In this article, we offer three sets of practical suggestions for teachers working to strengthen connections among neurodiverse students and their peers.

The "unusual" 1st, 5th, or 10th grader in your classroom may not yet seem like the brilliant scientist or business owner who they might very well become, growing into a role that allows them to work closely with partners who complement their unique abilities. In typical school settings, recognizing such potential can be difficult. Faced with dozens of students, each with their own needs and interests, teachers may not see every child's intellectual gifts, especially when those gifts are obscured by a physical or social appearance that the teacher views as abnormal or undesirable. That is how it was with me (Barb). As an autistic mute, I am disguised as a poor thinker. I don't look normal. I appear quite messed up, inviting nothing but pity, a sprinkling of repulsion, and fear. Until age 19, I was thought to be profoundly retarded.

The formal and useless part of my education took place in a series of special-needs classrooms plastered with fading laminated posters of the alphabet and hand-washing instructions. I heard bad jazz renditions of Velcro schedules being adjusted, recrudescent nagging, and the loud clicking of 504,910,816 seconds until graduation at age 21.

What changed?

I learned to type. And with the help of Lois (coauthor #2) - an educational psychologist and entrepreneur who also carries such labels as ADHD and dyslexic - I connected with a well-synchronized team of people whose own strengths and interests make our collaborative work bigger and better than the sum of its atypical parts.

Lois learns most efficiently by listening to podcasts played at 1.5x-2x speed while she is running. When leading meetings with employees, she sometimes balances herself on a unicycle. She often works more effectively when moving than when she is sitting still.

While studying to become an educational researcher, Rachael (coauthor #3) was one of Lois's employees. She wants to make sure that no other students are forced to repeat the first 19 years of my educational history.

So we wrote this article together, collaborating as a team of writers, researchers, and pioneers who want to bring specific, skill-based strategies - synthesized from formal research and life experience - into classrooms. In the sections that follow, Lois and I describe insights related to our areas of expertise, and Rachael offers thoughts about their implications for classroom practice.
Living and working with neurodiversity
When you treat someone as their highest self, you help them become that person. Yet, the challenges associated with autism, ADHD, or dyslexia do not magically melt away just because you affirm that these things also have some benefits. So, instead of presenting our suggestions as "tips" that teachers can apply to "fix" or "help" neurodiverse students, we list them as practical implications: meanings uncovered by living out the realities of our unique designs within and outside the structures of K-12 schools.
Autism - Practical implications
Don't assume mental retardation based on odd behavior and poor communication. One has nothing to lose by treating another person with respect. Give students the freedom to rise to expectations - surpassing them may come next. Similarly, do not assume that students cannot hear or understand you when you talk about them. Eavesdropping tends to be a well-developed, if covert, skill among atypical communicators, letting us know whom to trust and who believes in us. Keep in mind: We hear you.

Give students the freedom to rise to expectations.

Smiling is not wasted on autistics. We sense and often take on the affect of those around us. People who are happy, confident, honest, and energetic - and who don't take themselves too seriously - help make mentally external tasks appealing. That's why Lois always insisted that my (Barb's) team members work with me in short blocks of time (no more than two or three hours) to ensure "freshness." Burned-out, tired, listless, disingenuous, or pessimistic workers were not hired. Variety and connection are good for all of us.

When working with autistics who are nonverbal or echolalic (prone to repeating other people's words out loud), listening may seem to be beside the point. But break it down: To listen means to make an effort to hear, take notice of, or heed. If students are not talking or typing, find other ways to observe them. Find out about their past, their proclivities, how they spend their time, and what gives them joy. Having discovered one interest, at least, teachers can tap into it as a source of learning opportunities and socialization. Favorite and familiar themes create fertile ground for us to initiate and sustain efforts to practice academic and social skills that do not come easily.

What neurotypical people often perceive as "waiting" and "wasting time," we may view as stasis. Like well-seasoned Tibetan monks, we are in no rush. We understand the reality of impermanence. We understand the reality that nothing is as it appears to be, and having time to process, think, and just be is important in our daily routine. For example, I prefer to take a mental picture of the page and file it so I may consider it and recall it at my leisure. This doesn't fit the structure of many classrooms where students are expected to create written responses immediately after reading. Yet, allowing some downtime to contemplate words and plan a response in class, during the day, or even overnight may give time for a fresh perspective to materialize. After all, autism is our prism, not our prison. We may think differently, but we are still thinking.

Nonverbal, autistic blogger Emma Zurcher-Long has written, "Language is an awkward way to communicate" - and I (Barb) argue that while this can be true for everyone, it is highly challenging for those of us who are autistically wired. It took me years to think in language. But prior to that, my thinking was not faulty; it was just not language based. Typing makes it way easier because I can control the speed of each thought and break it down into smaller parts or, to be more precise, one letter at a time.

Sometimes it takes another person with your specific disability label, not another neurotypical teacher or peer, to help the world understand your experience. One of the first books I read about autism was Donna Williams's memoir Nobody Nowhere: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1998). One of her observations has always struck me as particularly apt: "Communication via objects was safe," Williams says. For me, computers are objects that can be a bridge to interpersonal connection and growth. Those are things we all want, regardless of our differences.
ADHD - Practical implications
Barb's insight about using objects as communication bridges worked so well for her and others that I (Lois) decided to try it with an impulsive ADHD client who is intellectually gifted but struggles with anxiety and anger. The plan was to require him to type his responses instead of blurting them out. Multimodal communication requires more diverse brain real estate and thus makes strong, novel connections for fresh learning. It worked. This client's impulsiveness and disrespectful responses dropped dramatically. For the first time in our many sessions together, he was fully present, attentive, honest, and respectful for the full hour, which let his strengths shine.

If you cannot tell what your students' individual strengths are, then watch and ask.

The psychologist Lynn Weiss (2005) has published a list of "29 positive attributes of ADD" (a term she uses to include both ADD and ADHD), beginning with sensitive and empathetic, and ending with observant, loyal, and wholehearted. Knowing positive attributes exist and designing classrooms where they flourish are two different things. When ADHD-related challenges frustrate you and/or your students, consider these practical implications of the unique ADHD design:

If you cannot tell what their individual strengths are, then watch and ask. They might not yet know either, but watching them pursue their areas of interest is a good place to start, as is checking in with the other adults in their lives. Finding out where individuals with ADHD feel most competent and at ease also provides a good footing for trust and connection. Ask them which part of the school day makes them happiest or calmest, and ask them why that is. Every week, make a point of giving them at least one opportunity to communicate, collaborate, or learn in a way that plays to their strengths, even if that means a change from your regular classroom routine.

Students with ADHD may think best when their bodies are active. Rather than assuming that they ought to sit still in class, look for opportunities to get them moving. When assigning partners to work together, for example, you might encourage them to take a walk while they talk over their ideas. During classroom discussions, you can invite students to sit on a rocking chair or an exercise ball. Or, while reviewing for tests, you might engage them in tossing a ball back and forth.

For those of us with ADHD, predictable structures are critically important. For example, to foster more reliable attention, I go to sleep and wake up at basically the same time every day, even on vacation. Likewise, classroom routines can help students get into a pattern of efficient thinking and performance. By designating regular times for specific activities, you can give them an opportunity to plan their attention and train their focus on one connection at a time.

Dopamine is a chemical in the brain associated with movement, motivation, and reward seeking. Because of this, people with ADHD often seek lots of stimulation, even extreme thrills. (This is why people with ADHD are overrepresented among the world's outstanding entrepreneurs, athletes, and explorers, for example.) Ask such students to help with any part of a lesson that involves movement - for example, passing out materials, reorganizing spaces for group work, and carrying messages between groups. If you want to reward them for good work, offer them an opportunity for intense stimulation - for example, extended recess or a chance to practice their juggling skills. For some students, you might also consider adding a layer of physical challenge to routine tasks - for example, by asking them to balance on one foot while proofreading an essay, or to type their responses to a class prompt instead of blurting them out.

This encourages students to do the same, giving all of us permission to take risks and make mistakes.
Dyslexia - Practical implications
On a recent TV interview, I (Lois) said NMIH instead of NIMH for National Institute of Mental Health - twice. No one in my office trusts any phone number that I jot down. Given the option, I'd rather listen to text than read it. So I understand firsthand that, due to a different pattern of brain organization, the dyslexic brain is wired inefficiently for word recognition and spelling. But on the flip side of this neurological coin are quantifiable advantages.

Keep in mind that the Eides do not deny the impairment, frustration, or difficulty that individuals with dyslexia labels encounter in school settings. They simply ask us to look beyond those challenges and see that dyslexia is more than just difficulty learning to read - it's also a systemic style of language processing that has advantages. Individuals with dyslexia vary in many ways; as a group, though, they are statistically more likely to have certain skills that are quite valuable in many careers. Being able to see the big picture and avoid getting lost in details helps many dyslexics flourish in the world of business, for example. (In fact, entrepreneurs are five times as likely to be dyslexic as not.) If you embrace such skills in the classroom, they also can be a source of strength for students:

Given that it will take extra effort, skill, and courage for some students to consume printed texts independently, create reasons for reading that are truly compelling and linked to students' goals and interests. For example, a budding adolescent chef might be tempted by the first-year kitchen skills textbook used at the local culinary school, and younger readers who have yet to find much joy in print might connect with stories that include favorite characters from cartoons or movies.

As students develop skills and strategies to navigate a print-centric education system that requires reading and writing, they still need access to content, opportunities to participate, and ways to demonstrate their strengths. Do not hesitate to allow content to be conveyed by audiobook or video or to allow students to represent their understanding by visual and oral presentation. Dyslexics may need time and steady effort to build foundational literacy skills and strategies (and that time is likely accounted for in their schedules both in and outside of school). But in the meantime, the real purposes of literacy - comprehension and communication - should not be put on hold. Ensure access to interesting, meaningful texts in multiple forms, and allow critical content to be conveyed in multiple ways.

Students are often the first to know whether an intervention or remedial program is working for them. Developing reading, writing, and spelling skills may take significant time and effort so make sure that time and effort is well-placed in instruction that allows students to build on their strengths, make visible progress, and develop powerful literacies.
#4. Communicate the strengths as well as the patterns of difficulty that dyslexia signifies. References
Shame and isolation are common side effects of students' difficulty in learning to read, but they don't have to be. In your classroom, make it a priority to ensure that individuals with disability labels and their peers understand the benefits of neurodiverse teams. (For a good conversation starter for middle schoolers and older students, see Foss, 2014, and to introduce the topic to students in the elementary grades, consider the children's book by Ludwig, 2013.)

If students always have to complete independent reading assignments before classroom activities, they may not be able to participate fully. As an alternative, consider assigning small group roles and activities that emphasize reasoning and creativity, rather than textual processing as a prerequisite for participation. For example, this might mean putting students with dyslexia in positions where they can take the lead on tasks related to interpretation and problem solving rather than asking them to read aloud or act as scribes.

Small moments within everyday classroom interactions shape students' understandings of school, of themselves, and of others. The implications we share above are meant to be a starting point for reflection and conversations that expand as more and more people become aware of the benefits of neurodiversity in classrooms and beyond. Our thoughts on the learning differences created by neurodiversity are clear: A community is the sum of its parts. Be your part. The world needs exactly you.

Eide, B. & Eide, F. (2012). The dyslexic advantage: Unlocking the hidden potential of the dyslexic brain. New York, NY: Plume.

Foss, B. (2014, June 19). Ben Foss: Choose strength, not shame. http://bit.ly/BenFoss

Ludwig, T. (2013). The invisible boy. New York, NY: Knopf.

Rentenbach, B. & Prislovsky, L. (2016). Neurodiversity: A humorous and practical guide to living with ADHD, anxiety, autism, dyslexia, the gays, and everyone else. Knoxville, TN: Mule & Muse Productions.

Weiss, L. (2005). Attention deficit disorder in adults: A different way of thinking. Boulder: CO: Taylor Trade Publishing.

Williams, D. (1998). Nobody nowhere: The extraordinary autobiography of an autistic. London, England: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Originally published in May 2017 Phi Delta Kappan 98 (8), 59-63. © 2017 Phi Delta Kappa International. All rights reserved.

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Valuing differences: Neurodiversity in the classroom - kappanonline.org

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Drawing on their own experiences as students, researchers, and educators, the authors discuss how teachers can build on the skills and talents of neurodiverse learners.

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Responding to neurodiversity in the education context: An integrative literature review (New Zeland case)

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Responding to neurodiversity in the education context: An integrative literature review (New Zeland case)

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Celebrating Neurodiversity in the Classroom

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Celebrating Neurodiversity in the Classroom

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Editor's Note: In 1988, a teacher most commonly had 15 years of experience. In recent years, that number is closer to just three years leading a classroom. The "On Teaching" series focuses on the wisdom of veteran teachers.
Tracy Murray has witnessed a lot of change in her 27 years of work in classrooms. But in her view, no shift has been as radical-or as positive-as the difference in the way children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are viewed by society. Murray's kindergarten class is part of ASD Nest, a program run by New York City's Education Department and New York University; it includes kids with and without ASD in the same classroom and helps them all develop social and emotional skills. When Murray started teaching with ASD Nest in 2003, many of her general-education students were pulled out of the classroom by their parents, who cited concerns that their five-year-olds would regress academically if they spent every day with children on the spectrum. Today, many parents request to be a part of the program. ASD Nest is now running in 54 elementary, middle, and high schools across New York City.

This big cultural change is largely due to the advocacy of autistic people themselves, Stephen Shore, a professor of special education at Adelphi University who has autism, told me. Dorothy Siegel, a co-founder of ASD Nest and parent of an autistic child, credits a memoir about autism by the animal-behavior expert Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures, for making her rethink how to support autistic children in the classrooms. Ever since Siegel and her partners launched the program in a Brooklyn elementary school, Murray has been focused on helping her students on the spectrum develop independence and confidence. When I visited Murray's classroom in November 2019, I asked her to reflect on the practices that work best in her classrooms. This interview has been slightly edited for length and clarity, and the names of all children have been changed to protect their privacy.

Kristina Rizga: What are some of the most important aspects of your teaching?

Tracy Murray: I love that the primary goals of our program are about human-to-human connections, not just adding one plus one. We have permission in our school to prioritize social skills-which are important for all children, but especially for kids on the spectrum. If we ignore social skills, it impedes academic success. Our program is very intentional about this, and it doesn't happen in many classrooms.

This means doing more incidental teaching: responding to challenges in the moment and not letting those moments go by. Let's say there are two kids on the carpet, and one of them is on the spectrum, but he is taking the initiative to talk to another kid. I'll pause the academic lesson, because they're having a social moment. They are learning how to form relationships, how to experience life more independently, learning about themselves.

Another big part of our teaching is about paying attention to students' strengths and interests-rather than their deficits-and building on that. Our meetings among teachers and specialists are focused not on our children's negative behaviors but on what we can do to help them be more successful in class. For example, one of our boys has a three-second attention span on his independent work. We know that he loves dinosaurs, so my co-teacher, Mrs. Garber, is bringing everything she knows about them into the lessons to keep him engaged. We changed math problems to include references to dinosaurs. When we were writing opinion pieces, the other students were all writing about their favorite desserts, but this student wrote about his favorite dinosaur. And sure enough, we're able to get his attention for 15 minutes during a math or writing lesson.

Rizga: How did your teaching improve with more experience in the classroom?

Murray: I help children reach learning goals differently now. I remember early in my career, I had a three-year-old girl with Down syndrome, Brittany. One of the goals on her IEP [Individual Education Plan] was: "Brittany will demonstrate object permanence through auditory localization and visual pursuit." It basically means she'll be aware of an object and vocalize it. So, if she was at the table playing and I disappeared under the table, would she look for me? I spent so much time making sure she knew that goal: making noises, tap dancing, throwing things on the table to see if she would look up if I put my phone down.

The goals that we're working on now are so much more meaningful, because they are about what children are asking for themselves. I'm thinking of a five-year-old student on the spectrum I have this year named Calvin. He is a very sweet and social boy, but he has a hard time understanding other kids' intentions, feelings, or how to take turns. Calvin wanted to be friends with another boy on the spectrum in the class named Alan. That was his goal, and we worked hard to make that relationship a successful one.

Rizga: What were some of the strategies that were particularly successful?

Murray: When the year began, Calvin was always insisting on sitting next to Alan. And whenever he sat next to him, he'd ask him: "Do you want to sit next to me?" And Alan thought "next to me" meant touching. So he kept saying, "No!" And then Calvin would become angry and disruptive.

So we did what we call a comic strip-where I draw a simple cartoon with stick figures and dialogue balloons to represent what is going on. We used this strategy to teach Alan what Calvin means. Then we used the comic strip to explain to Calvin that Alan just doesn't want people sitting too close to him. The tension was removed from their relationship and it was able to develop. This kind of incidental teaching using a real-life situation is good for all students, but extremely important for students on the spectrum, because they have a hard time generalizing.

Rizga: How would a traditional classroom deal with a child like Calvin who was being disruptive?

Murray: The typical strategy would be time-outs. Our program teaches constructive-coping mechanisms instead. We have 12 children in the classroom. In a traditional classroom, you have 28 kids. You have to get through the lesson; there is no time to stop, investigate situations, and teach constructive social and emotional skills in the moment. Students get removed to have a conversation with a counselor, go into an in-house suspension, or get sent home. Last year, when Calvin was in a different class, he was sent out of the classroom a lot. This year, 48 days in, no one has been sent out of class yet.

Our strategies are really helpful for students on the spectrum-but learning how to perceive the intentions and feelings of others and manage your own emotions is good for all students, not just autistic children.

Rizga: Nonverbal communication, such as body language or tone of voice, is a challenge for many students on the spectrum. How do you teach that?

Murray: We incorporate it into everything we do. My teaching partner and I model and talk about our faces, body language, and emotions, and those of other students, all day long. "Mrs. Garber, you sound frustrated. Your face looks frustrated, because I can tell that your eyebrows are furrowed." Or, "Mrs. Garber, you look happy. I can tell, because of your smile." We read books where the characters are showing an emotion. We play a game: "Follow my eyes to the prize." Someone will hide, and then I will be using my eyes to point in the direction of where that person is hiding. This is helping the kids learn how to focus on the eyes, checking in with someone's face for information. In other games, we copy each other's facial expressions or play guessing games with each other's faces.

Rizga: How does ASD Nest help teachers improve?

Murray: We have intensive collaboration between specialists and constant engagement of parents. Every Thursday, we meet as a team-myself and my co-teacher, and occupational, speech, and physical therapists-to discuss individual students. On Friday, we let the parents know what was discussed, the strategies we will focus on, the language we'll be using, the rewards. When I was starting out in teaching, there was no collaboration. None. In other schools, therapists would take the kids out of my room. I had no idea what they did; they never communicated anything to me. I would know what was on a student's IEP, but I never saw what special-education staff were doing, and it was never brought into the classroom.

Rizga: How does ASD Nest promote strong relationships between teachers and parents?

Murray: As soon as the kids are accepted in the program, the teachers will go and meet them at their home. I remember when we went to Alan's home, we noticed that he really loves yellow trucks, so we incorporated them in our lessons. We want to get to know the children at their home space, where nothing is new and they feel most comfortable. We also get to know the parents and answer any questions. Often, we have to reassure parents that no matter what their child does, they won't be kicked out of the program. In so many cases, when kids are placed in the wrong programs, parents are used to having their children considered 'problems' and kicked out. We tell the parents we love everything about their children. We're not trying to change them or fix them in any way. We're just trying to help them be the most successful that they can be.

As children begin school, we set up a communication log right away that parents can check daily. We invite parents to class, and communicate with them several times each week. A lot of the communication is focused on the positive things their children did or learned. This is also where they tell us if they have any issues at home that we can help them with. We will then discuss it with the team of our specialists. We start our team meetings with the parents' concerns, and it doesn't have to be academic. It could be that they're going to the dentist and their child is scared. We offer workshops for parents once a month. Our senior parents work with the new parents.

Rizga: Can you think of any students who changed profoundly the way you teach?

Murray: I remember one student who had been in several other schools and was known as very violent. He was only five. And for several months, whenever I'd say, "Do you need help?" he could wreck a room. Chairs would fly all over. One day he told me: "My brain tells me one thing. My body tells me another. You are like my coach." And I said, "Will you let us coach you then?" He nodded, and our relationship changed completely. Just changing the word from "help" to "coach" made a big difference. Children are always teaching you something. You have to learn to pay attention to the smallest, subtlest things.

Rizga: What are some of the biggest shifts you've seen in education and society when it comes to students on the spectrum?

Murray: I have seen more inclusion and awareness of different disabilities in classrooms. Teachers are not looking at the special-education teachers as "those teachers," but "we are all in this together." I feel society is much more welcoming and more inviting for people with disabilities, as well. In my early days, I was going on class trips and feeling angry because people would stare at my kids with so much judgment. Now I don't notice that at all.

Acceptance and inclusion among parents has increased the most. When the Nest Program was opening its first school in 2003, most parents didn't want to send their kids to mixed classrooms with special-education children. Some parents did not understand the program and said outright, "I don't want my kid to turn retarded." My first class ended up being small: four students on the spectrum and three general-education students. These days, parents will call the school and ask for their kids to be placed in the program, because you have 12 kids to two teachers. Our neurotypical students are top of the grade academically. Our kids on the spectrum, being around so many neurotypical kids, develop friendships. I think that if this program were in more schools, the acceptance would increase even more. Differences would be honored and celebrated.
This article is part of our project "On Teaching," which is supported by grants from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Panta Rhea Foundation.

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Celebrating Neurodiversity in the Classroom

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Editor's Note: In 1988, a teacher most commonly had 15 years of experience. In recent years, that number is closer to just three years leading a classroom. The "On Teaching" series focuses on the wisdom of veteran teachers.

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Neurodiversity: A strengths-based approach to teaching diverse learners

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Neurodiversity: A strengths-based approach to teaching diverse learners

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Neurodiversity is a term used to describe neurological differences in the human brain. From this perspective, the diverse spectrum of neurological difference is viewed as a range of natural variations in the human brain rather than as a deficit in individuals. These differences are often diagnosed as neurological conditions such as acquired illness or brain injury, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyscalculia, dyslexia, dyspraxia, intellectual disability, mental health, and Tourette syndrome. For a detailed overview of the neurodiversity approach to disability, see our research guide Neurodiversity: An overview.
The concept of neurodiversity embodies a strengths-based model that shifts the focus away from the challenges of students with neurological differences in favour of finding ways to work with the strengths of the student to enable them to participate and experience educational success. In this model, the strengths and interests of the student are the starting point for curriculum design, teacher pedagogy, and the design of the learning environment.

This resource provides strategies and information for working with students with diverse learning needs. The strategies and information discussed in this resource are intended to provide a starting point for teachers and highlights important things to consider when working with neurodiverse students. All students have individual learning needs, which means that any strategies suggested in this resource will need to be adapted to suit the needs of the student.

Curriculum design

In order to apply a strengths-based model, it is important to know how to identify a student's strengths and how to use those strengths when designing learning activities and learning goals. It may also be necessary to differentiate and adapt the curriculum for neurodiverse students.

Identifying strengths

There are two kinds of strengths that can be identified - strengths that the teacher recognises in the student, and strengths that the student recognises in themselves. These two may not always align, so it is important to consider each kind of strength when designing learning goals and activities. For example, a student in Year 6 may have a strong interest or self-perceived strength in reading but be reading books that are below the expected Year 6 level, while the teacher may identify that that same student has an above average ability in statistics but little enthusiasm to engage with or complete work in this topic. The challenge for this teacher and all teachers of neurodiverse students is to find motivating topics that will engage the student while also allowing them to experience success in their learning. One way to do this is by creatively drawing on other strengths or interests to engage the student in the less favoured topic: for example, the teacher in the case above might leverage the student's enthusiasm for reading to help engage and extend them in statistics.

Curriculum d ifferentiation and adaptation

Differentiation and adaptation are strategies that acknowledge that the curriculum is not a one-size-fits-all model. However, the curriculum can and should be for all students. Differentiation or adaptation of the curriculum may be necessary in order to ensure that all students are able to access what is being taught and participate fully in learning activities. From a neurodiversity perspective, curriculum differentiation is a strategy that will allow all students to learn the same information in ways that best suit their learning needs. Where students are learning below or above the level of their peers, curriculum adaptation can be used to pitch the learning at a level appropriate to the student or students. The table below provides an example of differentiation and adaptation in practice.

Table 1: Example of differentiation and adaptation in practice

In some cases, curriculum adaptation and differentiation may already occur in your learning setting, for example, through use of multiple learning stations where the same task is presented and can be performed in a number of ways. You may also want to consider how curriculum differentiation may benefit the learning of all students, not just those for whom you are intentionally differentiating content.

Teacher pedagogy

Stop to think about how you teach. In order to meet the needs of diverse learners, teachers often need to think of creative and innovative ways to present information. How you teach needs to be considered alongside learning objectives.

Differentiated instruction

Differentiated instruction involves thinking and being flexible about how you teach. Do you always teach certain subjects in a specific way? You may need to think about how to teach the same things differently. Differentiated instruction, alongside a differentiated or adapted curriculum, allows students to process information in a mode and at a pace that works for them. For example, some students may struggle to process information in large groups and need small group instruction, 1:1 follow up, or to work with a peer in order to process and understand the information that is being presented. Some students may have trouble listening to you talking and moving at the same time, while others may be the opposite and tune out when you are talking while sitting still.

It is important to know the students in your classroom and be aware of any characteristics of potential underlying neurological differences that may affect how they process information when it is taught in specific ways. The characteristics of common neurological differences that have implications for teacher instruction can be broken down into the following categories: cognition, social and emotional needs, and sensory needs. The following considerations may help you differentiate instruction in order to respond to the differing needs of neurodiverse students. In all cases, it is important to communicate responsively with students and, where appropriate, ask them what they need support with.

Cognition

These strategies will help you attend to the needs of children with specific cognitive needs to do with information processing, memory, and organisation:

Have a clear outline and learning objective for each lesson and communicate this to your class both verbally and visually

End each lesson by reviewing the learning objective and allow students to evaluate their own progress

Have shorter fast paced and interactive learning activities for students who are active in body and mind

Be flexible about the time you allocate to completing a task for students who require longer processing time or worry about getting things right

Use colour coding to organise information

Use a clear sans serif font that is 12pt or above and black or blue markers that are easy for students to read

Social and emotional needs

These strategies will support students who find social interaction challenging or who have specific emotional needs:

Encourage and facilitate social interaction between learners

If a student struggles with social interaction, consider letting them choose who they sit next to or engage in group work with

Implement a buddy system for students who require prolonged social support

Talk about and provide opportunities for students to practise appropriate social skills

Provide safe opportunities for students to request help

Communicate clear expectations

Provide exemplars of work that is not perfect

Be aware of signs that may indicate a student is becoming overwhelmed and respond with reassurance and compassion

Sensory needs

These strategies are designed to help meet the needs of students with specific sensory needs such as a sensitivity to noise or certain textures, or the need to be physically active:

Be aware that some students may be particularly sensitive to some sensory information such as sound, sight, touch, taste, balance, and body awareness (temperature or pain)

Acknowledge that some students find it difficult to process information when there is either too much or not enough noise in the room

Consider allowing students to wear headphones or earplugs while they work, or create a quiet space for students who prefer to work in quiet

Be aware of your own volume when speaking as well as the level of background noise in the environment

Provide movement breaks for students who benefit from being physically active or find it hard to stay still for long periods of time.

If a learning task is particularly messy or involves certain textures that may cause discomfort for some students, consider alternative tasks that will allow the student to participate and achieve the learning objective

The l earning environment

Differentiation in both curriculum design and teacher pedagogy are more likely to be effective when the learning environment is designed to support the implementation of differentiation. It is important to consider how assistive technology and the physical learning space or place where learning is occurring can be used to support neurodiverse learners.

Assistive technology

Some students may have assistive technology funded through the Ministry of Education to help them participate and learn. Alternatively, you may work in a BYOD school, or your school may have tablets and computers available as part of its digital literacy programme. Assistive technology is a tool that can be used to remove barriers to learning for individual students. When integrated into the learning environment, assistive technology is something that may benefit the learning of all students. For example, students can read a book on a device or in print either individually or as part of a group activity. There are also options to listen to the book, with each word highlighted as it is being read allowing students to visually track what they are listening to. Follow up activities allow students to test their comprehension and practise what they have just learnt. There are many applications and websites that can be accessed for free and utilised in the learning environment to address diverse learning needs, such as Sunshine Online, Clicker, talk-to-text or text-to-speech, Math Ref Free, and IXL (mathematics and literacy).

The physical learning space can be adapted to suit the needs of diverse learners through, for example, the layout of furniture, labelling the environment and resources, and the proximity of seating to other students or windows and doors which may provide distractions. Try to provide a classroom environment that is clear visually and in physical layout to help diverse learners navigate movement from one area to the next. For example, you can colour code and label different areas of the classroom and match colours and labels to resources intended for use in those areas. You may also want to consider providing choice for where students work. Not all students like to work at tables or desks, and some students prefer to work on the floor. In addition to this, some students may benefit from learning in other environments, such as in the library, gym, or outdoors. With some modifications and creative thinking, most learning activities can be taught outside of the classroom. Consider how you may use other areas of your school as places for learning.

References

Armstrong, T., & Ebrary, Inc. (2012).  Neurodiversity in the classroom strength-based strategies to help students with special needs succeed in school and life. ASCD.

Armstrong, T. (2017). Neurodiversity: The future of special education?  Educational Leadership, 74(7), 10-16.

Jena, S. (2013).  Learning disability: Theory to practice. SAGE Publishers.

Lerner, J., & Johns, Beverley H. (2015).  Learning disabilities and related disabilities: strategies for success. Cengage Learning.

Mirfin-Veitch, B., Jalota, N., & Schmidt, L. (2020). Responding to neurodiversity in the education context: An integrative review of the literature. Donald Beasley Institute.

Ottinger, B. (2003). Tictionary - A r eference g uide to the w orld of Tourette Syndrome, Asperger Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder for p arents and p rofessionals. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

By Julie Skelling

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Neurodiversity: A strengths-based approach to teaching diverse learners - THE EDUCATION HUB

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Neurodiversity is a term used to describe neurological differences in the human brain. From this perspective, the diverse spectrum of neurological difference is viewed as a range of natural variations in the human brain rather than as a deficit in individuals.

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Supporting Successful Statistics Learning for Neurodiverse Students

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Supporting Successful Statistics Learning for Neurodiverse Students

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By Michelle Bower & Ibrahim Dahlstrom-Hakki

Click here for a PDF of this article.

According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities 2017 report, 1 in 5 children experience significant issues with learning due to underlying cognitive differences (Horowitz, Rawe, & Whittaker, 2017). The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 13% of all students in school have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meaning that the base curriculum must be significantly modified to meet their needs. Furthermore, many of the challenges commonly faced by neurodiverse learners are not unlike those faced by other populations of students that typically struggle in the classroom. For example, both students with dyslexia and English Language Learners (ELLs) struggle with word problems in math, and while the underlying reasons for the struggle may differ, many of the same approaches can be beneficial to both populations. In this article, we will provide some suggestions to help teachers make their classrooms more inclusive of a neurodiverse population, as well as suggestions to empower neurodiverse students to take a proactive role in improving their access to content.

What is neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is a term that has been increasingly used to define a broad range of individuals whose brain neurology significantly differs from the norm. Originally coming out of the autism community, it is increasingly being used to describe other populations of students with disabilities including those with learning disabilities and ADHD. The term aligns with a reconceptualization of these disabilities as representing normal variability in human cognition rather than disorders of the brain. The disabilities experienced by neurodiverse learners in education are increasingly seen as shortcomings of a rigid system rather than failings of the individuals themselves.

What are strengths associated with the neurodiverse population?

Despite having learning challenges, there is some evidence that neurodiverse individuals tend to have specific areas of strength. Whether it is due to their cognitive differences or their need to develop skills to overcome their challenges, individuals with dyslexia, ADHD, and autism often excel in certain domains. For example, a higher than expected percentage of successful entrepreneurs have a diagnosis of dyslexia (Logan, 2009). There is also some evidence that individuals with ADHD may be more creative (White & Shah, 2011), and that some autistics have superior attention to detail and analytic skills (Samson, Mottron, Soulières, & Zeffiro, 2012; Soulières et al., 2009). While each individual's strengths and challenges are unique to them and one cannot overgeneralize based on a diagnosis, it is important for students and educators to consider how strengths can be leveraged and weaknesses minimized in learning contexts.

What Can Instructors Do?

Students bring a wide variety of educational and world experiences to our classrooms. To capitalize on these varied experiences, skills, and needs, we offer a few tips and strategies on working with neurodiverse learners. In our work, we have identified several aspects of neurodiversity-friendly teaching tips and more specific tips related to the teaching of statistics.

General Tips and Strategies

There is little doubt that many students from non-STEM majors are likely to face feelings of low confidence when they first take statistics. The following tips and strategies are adapted from resources that are primarily focused on the needs of Autistic students (Gobbo, Shmulsky, & Bower, 2018; Gobbo & Shmulsky, 2013). However, we have found that developing a Universally Designed Classroom is helpful to all students.

Students across learning profiles benefit from several pedagogical features around instruction (Gobbo, Shmulsky, & Bower, 2018; Gobbo & Shmulsky, 2013). Additional statistics-specific curricular guidelines are presented in the next section.

Be Explicit-Provide direct and explicit explanations for assignments and tasks. Make sure that instructions are free of sarcasm and clearly explain any social nuances. The applied nature of statistics can often be confusing to students. Clearly explain the situation from which the data are drawn. Statistics can contain many new and unusual symbols, so be explicit about writing these on the board and saying their name and correct pronunciation. Students need exposure to these new concepts and combining written and verbal instruction together is effective.Pedagogically, applied statistics invites students to investigate data and draw conclusions. This may be a departure from prior mathematics courses. If an assignment is meant to be somewhat ambiguous or open-ended, be upfront about the ambiguity and goal of the assignment. In other words, be explicit about what the student needs to figure out.

Multiple entry points-Allow students to engage with course content through multiple means (e.g., lecture, reading, video, online workshop, office hour conversation). Helping students engage with course concepts via active reading (as noted below) and working directly with concept definitions can be helpful when learning the many closely related concepts involved in statistics.

For example, we ask students to engage with concepts by defining them, providing examples and non-examples, and making notes about similar concepts or connections, based on the Frayer Model (Allen, 2007). For students with working memory and other recall issues, being able to use these guides on homework and often on exams is critical for success.

Sample Frayer Model from the author's (Bower's) class

Students would be directed to summarize and make edits to their concept sheets as they work through problems and in subsequent classes (see below for more student strategies). Revisiting notes is a key strategy for students that faculty can model and encourage.

We suggest applied statistics courses ask students to experiment with data. This often means having small groups of students work together. Here we recommend a few tips for working with groups (from Gobbo, Shmulsky, & Bower, 2018; Gobbo & Shmulsky, 2013).

Intentional Grouping-Compose work groups intentionally and keep groups together for longer periods of the semester. Provide clear guidance on the roles of each member and assign roles to members. Create guidelines for how students re-negotiate team roles and be prepared to provide alternatives to group work.

Role play-Some students have limited experience with social situations or have trouble understanding some social nuances. Role play can assist students in experiencing a wider variety of perspectives. Do all students know how to collect data? Can all students access the team tools? Provide outlines on how students should share data and other resources.

Teaching involves more than implementing a well-crafted curriculum. We suggest the following as consideration in the environment of the classroom (for more details see Gobbo, Shmulsky, & Bower, 2018; Gobbo & Shmulsky, 2013).

Consistent Classroom Routines-All students benefit from a clear and consistent adherence to a classroom routine. This includes detailed syllabi, weekly schedules, and well-organized online materials. For example, a large dataset that can provide entry to many concepts throughout the course can provide a necessary consistency for some students. Provide templates for how work is to be organized and adhere to consistent work submission.

Sensory environment-Some aspects of our classrooms can be made more autism-friendly such as installing full-spectrum lighting and carpeting and turning off the LCD projector. We also find that group work can be challenging for some students due to the extra noise in class. Consider ways to limit the impact of these sensory inputs for students.

Self-Advocacy-Invite students to share their classroom needs and work with them to identify accommodations that work for them. For example, some students may benefit from sticking with a software or tool that they already know. Others may need extra time to verbalize their understanding so that they can solidify the concept. Rehearsal can be an excellent strategy for many students to reinforce concepts.

Tips and Strategies for Statistics

Guided by Universal Design principles, Cognitive Load Theory, and the "GAISE Report" on statistics, we suggest the following guidelines (Dahlstrom-Hakki & Bower, under review) for content creation in statistics courses (American Statistical Association, 2005; Guidelines for assessment and instruction in statistics education: College report [GAISE]; Ayres & Paas, 2012; CAST).

Students should begin exploring realistic data as soon as possible
Neurodiverse students typically need a balance of abstract and concrete. Consider introducing concepts with concrete examples before moving to the abstract. Provide context for the data or situation. Data that seem unrealistic are easily dismissed as not relevant. Students can also get distracted by unrealistic data.

Students should explore interesting and/or personally relevant data
Students are more invested in data that applies to them. Without the distraction of data that seem irrelevant, students are better able to investigate the concepts.

Students should be encouraged to create representations of the data that work best for themselves
Be flexible about how students present their findings. Finding ways to make meaning from the data that are most meaningful to the student will have a greater impact on their learning.

Students should be encouraged to reach intuitive, informal, conclusions based on their understanding of the dataProvide examples of such conclusions and encourage students to grapple with creating their own conclusions based on their explorations.

Formal statistical tools and representations should be built on the student's intuitive interpretations of the data
Help students make connections to formal statistical tools after building from the conceptual and concrete.

What Can You Encourage Your Students to Do?

Having educators who are able to help students capitalize on their strengths plays a significant role in students' ability to succeed academically. Students must also take an active role in their learning and find ways to engage with the content even when this is challenging for them. Fortunately, there is a wide range of tools and strategies that students can use to reduce barriers and support their learning.

Language processing can be a major barrier for neurodiverse students. Reading textbooks and online materials requires a lot of cognitive effort, as do assessments. In particular, newer assessments of conceptual understanding tend to contain dense word problems which are particularly challenging for this student population (Dahlstrom-Hakki & Alstad, 2018). Students can use easily available text-to-speech software and active reading strategies to reduce the barriers posed by reading. Note however that numbers and symbols are not always read correctly by text-to-speech software and so the student needs to follow along with the text to ensure those components are not missed.
Preread
Prereading is best done the day before one intends to read the content itself whenever possible. Prereading provides a sense of what to expect in the text and can help to activate prior knowledge. It helps one anticipate the key themes or structure of the content or problem. Prereading essentially involves skimming through the content to be read, attending to keywords and major headings, and looking at the accompanying images and equations. This will give a basic sense of the text and provide a mental structure to help the reader anticipate the content they will be reading.
Read and Highlight
The next step in the process is to actually read through the content; this can be done either with or without the aid of a screen reader. Most devices now include built-in text-to-speech capabilities with customization options. Students should first read through the content and then go over the content again to highlight strategically and to add questions and comments. Highlighting should be done conservatively and should generally not exceed 20% of the content. The reader should use different colors to identify the main ideas, critical details, and new vocabulary in the text. The reader should also ask questions that they have of the content and see if they are able to answer them as they go through the text the second time.
Paraphrase and Annotate
Readers should then paraphrase the reading using their own words. Paraphrasing creates a quick summary and forces the reader to process the reading deeply which improves retention. Annotations, which are notes or questions added to the text, can be used to distill the core of the problem or content and allow the reader to access the information more easily in the future.
Chunk Related Content
As the reader progresses through the text, their annotations should identify whether a new paragraph builds on the previous paragraph's main idea or introduces a new one. This allows for the identification and labeling of a chunk of related content across multiple paragraphs. This also allows the reader to see if the additional information is providing answers to questions posed in prior sections of the text.
Summarize
Once the reader has completed reading the text, they should produce a summary of the information they've acquired. The summary can be in the form of a written paragraph, a basic outline, a mind map, or a graphical representation. The purpose of the summary is to help the reader restate the content, organize it in a way that makes sense to them, and provide a reference they can revisit in the future for review.

Effective note-taking strategies are similar to active reading strategies. Their intent is to have the listener actively listen to content that is being presented to them and to engage deeply with that content to aid in their comprehension and retention. Therefore, many of these elements of effective note-taking parallel recommendations from the active reading section. Technologies such as smart pens and note-taking apps can make the process much easier.
Daily note-taking
Students should strive to take a set of complete but concise notes in class or when listening to recorded lectures. The notes should not repeat the lecture verbatim but should instead focus on extracting key ideas and putting them in one's own words. The student should always be asking themselves whether they understand what is being said and by putting the content in their own words, they force themselves to do so. If they cannot paraphrase the content, then this is an indication that they should ask for clarification or additional support.
Daily Note Revisions
Similar to active reading, daily note revisions should involve pulling out the main ideas from the notes, highlighting key points, and identifying new vocabulary. It is also important to look for any gaps in the notes. This is best done by working with a partner or using a smart pen or an app such as noteability that records the lecture and synchronizes it with the notes. The student should also create a list of questions to ask later for clarification.
Weekly Note Revisions
At the end of each week, the student should create a summary of their notes for that week. This will help them to better identify the key ideas and to make connections across class sessions. Visual representations are helpful at this stage because they can translate the data across modalities and encourage revision and deep processing. This summary will serve as a comprehension check and can be used to prepare for assessments.

Manipulatives and Visualization Tools

Active reading and effective note-taking will help students taking statistics courses, but these supports are not specific to math and statistical content. The use of Manipulatives and visualization tools are content specific and can be immensely beneficial to students struggling with traditional representation of statistics. For many students, the use of abstract symbols, new terminology, or opaque equations can significantly impede their ability to understanding underlying statistical concepts. Using Manipulatives and visualization tools can make statistics more concrete and accessible to neurodiverse learners. Click here to learn more about our 3D toolkit and how you may be able to get one for free.
Manipulatives
In statistics, a manipulative is a visual and/or tactile object that can be used to represent data or abstract statistical concepts. Physical manipulatives are generally preferred but virtual manipulatives can be helpful as well. The benefit of the manipulative is that it can reduce the language processing or working memory load on a learner struggling with new content. Students with dyscalculia or students struggling with new symbols and terminology will find manipulatives especially helpful. Virtually any statistics example or problem can be represented with manipulatives. This can either be done by an instructor who presents the content using physical representations such as candies or coins, or a student who takes a problem and uses objects to represent it physically.
Visualization Tools
This category encompasses a wide range of tools including graphing software and graphical organizers. Visualization tools are best used in tandem with other representations to give learners a range of options to understand new concepts. Students can benefit from software such as TinkerPlots or GeoGebra to create custom graphs or explorations of the data (Dahlstrom-Hakki & Bower, under review). Graphic organizers can be useful in presenting complex information simply (as discussed by Maccini & Gagnon, 2005). A single representation can help students see examples and counterexamples of a concept thereby reducing processing load.

Creating successful statistics classrooms for neurodiverse students can be accomplished in ways that help support all students. Core to creating successful statistics classrooms is consistency in classroom practices that provide students with concrete examples, engage and build on students' intuition, and encourage students to access the content in more than one way. It is also critical for students to take agency in their own learning and to make use of strategies and tools that can help them become more effective learners.

Michelle Bower, MA, Ph.D., joined Landmark College in 2008 after a career as a high school mathematics and physics instructor and as a junior (intern) mathematician for the US Navy. She completed her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at Illinois State University, and an M.A. in Mathematics at Ball State University. Dr. Bower has been the chairperson of the mathematics and computer science department at Landmark College for eight years. Her research interests include the field of mathematics anxiety and language genres in mathematics education, and technology.

Ibrahim Dahlstrom-Hakki, Ph.D., is Director of the Landmark College Institute for Research and Training (LCIRT) and is an Associate Professor. He has led three National Science Foundation Research grants (HRD-1128948; DRL-1420198; and DRL-1417456) in two areas: new methods for teaching STEM to students with disabilities; and using eye-tracking technology to study the cognitive underpinnings of Learning. He routinely delivers workshops to educators on topics including: Teaching STEM to students with disabilities, Universal design for Learning, and Teaching with Technology.

Allen, J. (2007). Inside Words: Tools for Teaching Academic Vocabulary. Portland: Stenhouse Publishers.

American Statistical Association (2005). Guidelines for assessment and instruction in statistics education: College report. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Ayres, P., and Paas, F. (2012). Cognitive load theory: New directions and challenges. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 26(6), 827-832.

CAST (2011). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.0. Wakefield, MA: Author.

Dahlstrom-Hakki, I., & Alstad, Z. (2018). Challenges in Assessing the Conceptual Understanding of Students with Disabilities in Statistics. Learning Disabilities Quarterly.

Dahlstrom-Hakki, I. & Bower, M. L.W. (under review). Teaching Statistics to Struggling Students: Lessons Learned from Students with LD, ADHD, and ASD.

Gobbo, Shmulsky, & Bower (2018). Strategies for teaching STEM subjects to college students with ASD. Journal of College Science Teaching, 47(6), 12-17.

Gobbo & Shmulsky (2013). Faculty experience with college students with autism spectrum disorders: A qualitative study of challenges and solutions. Focus on Autism and other Developmental Disabilities.

Horowitz, S. H., Rawe, J., & Whittaker, M. C. (2017). The State of Learning Disabilities: Understanding the 1 in 5. New York: National Center for Learning Disabilities.

Logan, J. (2009). Dyslexic entrepreneurs: The incidence; their coping strategies and their business skills. Dyslexia, 15(4), 328-346.

Maccini, P., & Gagnon, J. C. (2005). Math graphic organizers for students with disabilities. Retrieved from http://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/283

Samson, F., Mottron, L., Soulières, I., & Zeffiro, T. A. (2012). Enhanced visual functioning in autism: An ALE meta-analysis. Human Brain Mapping, 33(7), 1553-1581.

Soulières, I., Dawson, M., Samson, F., Barbeau, E. B., Sahyoun, C. P., Strangman, G. E., ... Mottron, L. (2009). Enhanced visual processing contributes to matrix reasoning in autism. Human Brain Mapping, 30(12), 4082-4107.

White, H. A., & Shah, P. (2011). Creative style and achievement in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(5), 673-677.

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Supporting Successful Statistics Learning for Neurodiverse Students

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Click here for a PDF of this article. According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities 2017 report, 1 in 5 children experience significant issues with learning due to underlying cognitive differences (Horowitz, Rawe, & Whittaker, 2017).

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Neurodiversity in higher education: a narrative synthesis

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Neurodiversity in higher education: a narrative synthesis

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Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage

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Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage

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The Problem

Many people with neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, dyspraxia, and dyslexia have extraordinary skills, including in pattern recognition, memory, and mathematics. But the neurodiverse population remains largely untapped.

The Cause

Conventional recruitment and career-development methods (for example, job interviews) and the belief that scalable work processes require absolute conformity to standardized approaches screen out neurodiverse people who could be valuable employees.

The Solution

A growing number of companies-among them SAP, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft, Willis Towers Watson, and EY-have reformed HR practices to capitalize on the talents of neurodiverse people. In the process, they are becoming better able to fully leverage the skills of all workers.

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Neurodiversity Is a Competitive Advantage

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Many people with neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia have extraordinary skills, including in pattern recognition, memory, and mathematics. Yet they often struggle to fit the profiles sought by employers.

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Neurodiversity: The Future of Special Education?

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Neurodiversity: The Future of Special Education?

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Vol. 74

No. 7

Abstract

The Neurodiversity Revolution

How Neurodiversity Differs from Current Special Ed Approaches

Theoretical Foundations

A Focus on Strengths versus Deficits

The Role of Workarounds

How We Talk to Kids: Machines or "Brain Forests"?

Benefits of Transformation

Potential Roadblocks

Setting Change in Motion

If we want to use the most effective approaches with kids-and draw on new research about the brain-special education needs to change its approach.

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Credit: © Stefanie Felix

Abstract

The Neurodiversity Revolution

How Neurodiversity Differs from Current Special Ed Approaches

Theoretical Foundations

A Focus on Strengths versus Deficits

The Role of Workarounds

How We Talk to Kids: Machines or "Brain Forests"?

Benefits of Transformation

Potential Roadblocks

Setting Change in Motion

Special education needs to change. For too long it has traveled on its own track parallel with the regular education track, carting along its own tests, programs, and terminology. For too long it's been weighed down by a history emphasizing deficit, disorder, and dysfunction, ranging all the way from Henry Goddard's creation of the "moron" in 1910 (Gould, 1996) to current formulations such as disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (now included in the DSM-5) and a proposed variation on an ADHD diagnosis called sluggish cognitive tempo (not yet added). Even as regular education has opened up to new ways of thinking about brain-based learning, neuroplasticity, a growth mindset, and other innovations, special education has too often remained insular, holding fast to its diagnostic categories, instructional objectives, proprietary learning systems, and remedial and corrective methods.

At some point, the field of special education needs to rid itself of its negative baggage and embrace a more progressive way of educating students who learn differently. The concept of neurodiversity provides the catalyst for such a change.

The Neurodiversity Revolution

Coined in the early 1990s by journalist Harvey Blume and Australian autism activist Judy Singer, the term neurodiversity can be defined as an understanding that neurological differences are to be honored and respected just like any other human variation, including diversity in race, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, and so on. In the past 10 years, neurodiversity has emerged into international prominence through university programs such as the College of William & Mary's Neurodiversity Initiative and the London School of Economics's Dyslexia and Neurodiversity program, which seek to provide broader acceptance of neurodiversity on campus and to support neurodiverse students in creating positive niches for themselves at school. There have also been efforts to integrate neurodiversity into the workplace through conferences (such as one sponsored by Microsoft on Neurodiversity in the High Tech Workplace) and job initiatives to bring more people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and other diversities into the computer industry (Higgenbottom, 2016). Neurodiversity is popping up in media coverage in such venues as The New York Times, PBS, and Wired and in many academic papers, books, and projects. Although many neurodiversity advocates focus their efforts specifically on autism spectrum disorder (ASD), increasingly the concept is being applied to other disability categories, including learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, intellectual disability, and social and emotional disorders (Armstrong, 2011, 2012).

How Neurodiversity Differs from Current Special Ed Approaches

A neurodiversity-based approach to special education differs in many ways from the special education system currently operating in most schools. Figure 1 summarizes these differences-some theoretical and some more practical. Let's look at a few of the differences that have the most powerful implications.

Theoretical Foundations

Conventional special education views disability categories-such as ADHD, dyslexia, and autism-as having an organic basis, usually involving some combination of biological, neurological, and genetic causes. This orientation draws from theories related to genetics and neurobiology.

Neurodiversity advocates, on the other hand, offer a more nuanced and complex approach to the origins of these conditions, focusing, for example, on the evolutionary advantages of particular disability categories as a way of explaining why the genes for certain diagnoses are still in the gene pool (for instance, see Harpending & Cochran, 2002, on how ADHD symptoms might have been adaptive to hunting and gathering societies).

Neurodiversity also places greater emphasis on the social and ecological dimensions of diagnostic labels by examining how a person may be disabled in certain contexts but not in others. For example, a person with autism spectrum disorder may function at a level surpassing a typically developing individual when working at a job that capitalizes on the ability to discover tiny errors in computer code, as has happened with employees at the Danish software company Specialisterne (Henry, 2015).

A practical outcome of this perspective is that the role of the neurodiversity-oriented special educator becomes less one of correcting errors, remediating deficits, and teaching instructional objectives and more one of creating environments within which neurodiverse students can thrive. I've termed this process positive niche construction (Armstrong, 2012).

A Focus on Strengths versus Deficits

The biggest practical difference between special education as it's currently practiced and the neurodiversity-based approach is the way in which educators emphasize either deficits or strengths. Although special educators are certainly taught to look for students' strengths, the actual infrastructure of special education doesn't provide them with much in the way of formal or informal instruments, methods, protocols, or procedures for assessing their students' strengths. The one place in special education that has done a relatively good job of this is the field of gifted and talented education, but I can't emphasize enough that these procedures need to be available for all students with special needs.

The diagnostic instruments used in most special education systems today are designed primarily to diagnose disabilities and pinpoint ways of remediating student deficits. The neurodiversity-based approach, by contrast, aims to make use of the emerging literature on the strengths of special education populations (see, for example, Mottron, 2011; Diehl et al., 2014) and focuses primarily on assessing strengths, talents, abilities, and interests.

Figure 1. A Tale of Two Special Education Paradigms

Neurodiversity: The Future of Special Education? - table

Elements of Deficit-Based Special Education

Elements of Strengths-Based Special Education (Grounded in Neurodiversity)

Along with the typical deficit-focused diagnostic assessments, a neurodiversity-trained special educator must be familiar with a wide range of strength-based approaches to discovering abilities in their students. For example, a teacher might use assessments associated with asset models like the VIA Character Strengths and Virtues, Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Assessments, Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets, Gallup's StrengthsFinder, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, the Multiple Intelligences Diagnostic Assessment Scales, or the Baron-Welsh Art Scale. He or she might tap informal assessment methods to gain additional information about student strengths, including rough-and-ready inventories such as my 165-item Neurodiversity Strengths Checklist (Armstrong, 2012), "strengths chats," (Epstein, 2008), and motivational interviewing (Sheldon, 2010).

A neurodiversity-oriented approach would focus more attention on using the information gained from such assessments to help build on learners' strengths and to help students use their assets to tackle their social, emotional, cognitive, and academic challenges. Whereas traditional special educators often seek to teach students how to "live with their disability," both the theory and practice of a neurodiversity-based approach would emphasize helping students learn to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.

For example, an educator might encourage a student diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who has an intense interest in a particular topic (a feature common to many individuals diagnosed with ASD) to develop that interest through project-based learning, group sharing, and other experiential approaches (Kluth & Schwarz, 2008).

The Role of Workarounds

A key strategic component of this new approach is what I call workarounds, ways in which students can manage assignments and other academic and nonacademic challenges without letting their disabilities get in the way. For example, special educators could guide students who have trouble getting their ideas down on the page because of handwriting difficulties, dysorthographia, or dysgraphia to use speech-to-text software like Dragon NaturallySpeaking or Windows Speech Recognition. Similarly, wheelchair users can use virtual reality applications such as Google Cardboard and Oculus Rift to gain access to experiences that might otherwise be closed to them (like exploring the inside of a cave or examining underwater coral sea life). Students diagnosed with ADHD who have difficulty concentrating on their work but do better when they can move around and fidget would be able to use ergonomic "wiggle furniture," such as stability balls, bouncy bands, or standing desks.

These strategies and tools are already employed in some special education programs, but their use in this new neurodiversity-based approach to special education would be expanded and seen as fundamental to most students' Individualized Education Plans.

How We Talk to Kids: Machines or "Brain Forests"?

Similarly, rather than "teaching students about their disorders," a neurodiversity-based approach would teach them about the value of human variation and neurological diversity. Educators would teach students about how the human brain-and their brain-works, how the environment shapes brain structure and function (neuroplasticity), how brain power can be used to its maximum, and how a growth mindset improves performance. Students would be given tools and tips to help them actualize their brain's fullest potential.

An emerging theory about the brain that's particularly appropriate in helping students understand their neurological differences is Nobel Prize-winning biologist Gerald Edelman's model of the brain as an ecosystem (1994). I like to use the term brain forest as a metaphor students will understand and appreciate more readily than many of the machine-based metaphors used in conventional special education materials. (For example, in Galvin, 2001, the ADHD student's brain is compared to the engine of a car that runs too fast.) The problem with using "machine" metaphors to talk about the brain is that it's easy to fall into a dichotomy of "it's either working or it's broken." This practice is not too far away from cultural insults like "his elevator doesn't go to the top floor." A brain-forest metaphor, on the other hand, allows us to speak to students about the beauty of diversity, about how nutrients grow plants in the brain forest, and about the resilience of the brain forest to regrow itself even after suffering substantial damage. 1

Benefits of Transformation

There are clear benefits to moving ahead with a neurodiversity-based approach to special education as opposed to staying with our current model. Perhaps the most important outcome would be a change in the expectations of those involved in the special education system-most important, the expectations of students themselves, but also those of teachers, administrators, support personnel, and family members. The literature on expectations and the influence of words and labels on our attitudes and behaviors show clearly that positive expectations improve academic outcomes (see, for example, Rubie-Davies & Rosenthal, 2016). Similarly, students are less likely to be bullied in school if they're perceived in a more positive way by their peers (Swearer, et al., 2010). In addition, the seamless inclusion of neurodiverse students into regular classrooms is more likely to succeed if regular classroom teachers see students entering their classes as assets rather than burdens.

I also believe that a system that regards students with special needs primarily in terms of their assets and contributions is more in tune with 21st-century views of respecting diversity and giving all students a chance to contribute something of value to society. Such a system aligns more closely with society's emphasis on equity and with not singling some students out on the basis of their weaknesses, but rather giving them the same opportunities to succeed as anyone else.

Potential Roadblocks

Formidable challenges stand in the way of implementing this forward-looking approach to special education. Perhaps the most fundamental obstacle is the fear by many special educators and parents that portraying a student with special needs primarily in a positive light rather than in terms of that student's "disability" would threaten the very foundations of special education itself. Special educators-and parents-have fought with great energy and courage over the past several decades to ensure that the needs of their kids are recognized and served. The focus on disability has functioned as a rallying cry for many advocacy organizations. So to suddenly stop and say, "These kids should be seen primarily in terms of their strengths and abilities" risks a reaction from legislators and the heads of funding organizations, who might think, "So why do these kids need special services?"

This is a legitimate concern. The answer lies in establishing clear boundaries between actions designed to protect the availability of special services for students with special needs (essentially using disability categories as a means for obtaining services) and actions designed to provide neurodiverse students with cutting-edge approaches to learning and human development (strength-based learning, inclusion, and other innovations) that will help them develop their full potential. In other words, use the disability laws to get them services, but then discard the "disability mindset" and use strength-based learning and other positive innovations. This latter goal should be seen as both the theoretical and pragmatic core of special education practices.

A second potential roadblock to this approach is the concern of many parents and educators that without the constant push of traditional special education programs to remediate weaknesses, students with special needs would fail to meet the increasingly rigorous academic demands of today's accountability-focused educational realities. People who care about these students worry that they would be at risk of falling far behind their typically developing peers.

This fear of "falling behind" is really an indictment of the "one-size-fits-all" mentality plaguing our current educational climate, but is nevertheless a real concern. One practical response to this problem lies in what I'd like to call guerilla special education. This describes the process of using the letter of the law to justify using practices that will lead to optimal learning for neurodiverse kids-practices that are in the spirit of truly educating them with strength-based approaches.

For example, Common Core State Standard W.4.3, a writing objective for 4th graders, states, "Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences." Neurodiversity/strength-based special educators would be trained to help students meet this standard using their gifts and interests. An educator might allow a boy who draws beautifully to create a comic strip, encourage a girl with a gift for dramatics to write a short play, or have a student with strong oral skills but weak writing ability use speech-to-text software to craft his story.

Similarly, in writing IEPs, neurodiversity-based educators would be trained to incorporate strengths into each objective. For example, if Jason has highly developed three-dimensional thinking abilities and some difficulty with reading, instead of his IEP reading "By March, when discussing a story, Jason will answer 4 out of 10 'why' and 'how' questions in a mixed question probe," it might be written in a more strength-based manner: "By March, when discussing a story, Jason will answer 4 out of 10 'why' and 'how' questions in reference to a preferred activity or product, such as a three-dimensional structure he has built."

Setting Change in Motion

Finally, there is the question of how to practically bring about this type of neurodiversity revolution in special education. There are several positive initial steps we might take.

First, school districts that have existing programs, departments, or offices devoted to inclusion, diversity, or equity (such as the Springfield Public Schools in Missouri and the Clark County School System in Nevada) can begin to liaise with their departments of special education to integrate the values of neurodiversity in helping students with special needs succeed. One way to begin might involve setting up a schoolwide "Neurodiversity Fair," where both typically developing kids and kids with various learning differences would showcase their gifts and strengths through art, plays, musical performances, sports, and other creative channels. Another strategy might be to create a classroom curriculum on the importance of diversity (in general) and neurodiversity (in particular) for creating positive changes in the world.

In addition, districts can create a "neurodiversity coordinator" role within their departments of special education. Ideally, the coordinator would be someone who has completed a thesis or dissertation on the strengths of people with a specific learning difference or on some aspect of neurodiversity. 2 The coordinator should be familiar with the strength-based literature on kids with special needs (see notes sections of Armstrong 2011, 2012 for a good start) and competent in administering strength-based assessments. This person could advise regular and special education teachers on how to create strength-based instructional strategies for neurodiverse students and provide professional development to the district's teachers.

Finally, special educators themselves could establish study groups, conduct action research, and do individualized study of neurodiversity using the growing body of information available in the field, effecting change from the grassroots up.

Although there would be significant challenges involved in bringing about this change, the benefits would be many. We owe it to our neurodiverse students to give them the best, most innovative ideas education has to offer.

References

Henry, Z. (2015, May 21). How a Danish company is helping people with autism get jobs in IT and tech. Slate. Retrieved from http://slate.me/1Rkeww5

End Notes

1 An excellent children's book on neuroplasticity is Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak (Little Pickle Press, 2010).

2 My own doctoral dissertation, published in 1987, was on the strengths of children diagnosed with learning disabilities, and is available through University Microfilms International in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48(08A).

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Neurodiversity: The Future of Special Education?

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If we want to use the most effective approaches with kids-and draw on new research about the brain-special education needs to change its approach.

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“ACCEPT THE IDEA THAT NEURODIVERSE KIDS EXIST”:DYSLEXIC N SLEXIC NARRATIVES AND NEURODIVERSI TIVES AND NEURODIVERSITY PARADIGM ARADIGMVISIONS

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“ACCEPT THE IDEA THAT NEURODIVERSE KIDS EXIST”:DYSLEXIC N SLEXIC NARRATIVES AND NEURODIVERSI TIVES AND NEURODIVERSITY PARADIGM ARADIGMVISIONS

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Mental Health Tips for Neurodiverse College Students

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Mental Health Tips for Neurodiverse College Students

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Neurodiversity describes the range of behavioral traits and brain function across the human population. The unique wiring of a neurodiverse person's brain causes them to think, react, and learn differently. Autism, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are examples of neurodiverse conditions.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one in every 54 kids gets diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The rates of ADD and ADHD are even higher. So, in response to neurodiversity prevalence, the neurodiversity movement sparked to challenge the negative connotation of "learning disabilities.

Neurodiverse college students can excel, especially with tweaks to teaching methods, daily self-care practices, and innovative academic tools.

Personal Strategies for Better Learning

Whether a student has neurodiverse tendencies or not, acclimating to a college campus can be challenging. For many young adults, a dormitory is the first place they've lived away from home.

Without parental guidance and a familiar routine, neurodiverse students may struggle with large lecture halls and the overall "hands-off" approach college professors tend to take. However, there are many tactics neurodiverse students can implement to get ahead of the curve.

A recent article by Affordable Colleges Online shares several apps that can help neurodiverse students manage stimuli, take notes, and more.

● Task Management: For students with ADD, the iOS app 30/30 timer encourages students to work on one task for 30 minutes, break for 30 minutes, and repeat until complete. Another option is Google Play's StayOnTask. This app also uses a timer that randomly reminds students to focus on the designated assignment.

● Overstimulation: Meditating can help autistic college students cultivate calm in hectic environments. The app Headspace offers guided meditations suitable for all levels. Another great tool is The Miracle Modus app, which provides soothing images and sounds that help students recalibrate to the outside world.

● Note Taking: When students upload a PDF, e-book, Word document, or PowerPoint to the app Natural Reader, it converts the material into audio. This is an excellent tool for those with dyslexia. On the other hand, the app OpenDyslexic incorporates a font style that helps dyslexic students navigate the reading process better.

Educator Influence

Professors and teachers also have a significant impact on the success of neurodiverse college students. By implementing a teaching style and classroom setting accessible to all learning types, students can gain the confidence to reach their full potential.

Universal Design is the official term for these accessible learning environments. Educators can transform their classrooms with the following methods.

● Provide varied ways for students to showcase knowledge

● Use more than one method for assessing students' efforts

● Make sure students have a clear understanding of expectations

● Accommodate a range of learning styles

Self-Care

All-nighters before an exam, junk food consumption, and partying on a Tuesday may be typical in a college environment, but that doesn't mean these behaviors are healthy. Since staying focused can already be a challenge for neurodiverse students, having a daily self-care routine can ensure academic success as well as physical and mental wellness.

The following tips can help neurodiverse college students get the most out of their university years.

● Be wary of perfectionist tendencies; learn to let go once an assignment is complete

● Keep track of daily tasks with an electronic calendar

● Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep every night

● Eat nourishing foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein

● Move your body daily

Medical checkups can also fall to the wayside when young adults enroll in college. It can be especially tough to stay consistent with dental appointments. A study found that 9% of kids and adolescents fear the dentist. This negative association is also prevalent in neurodiverse people sensitive to drilling noises and other teeth-cleaning mechanisms. However, bi-annual teeth cleanings are imperative for overall health, so finding a coping mechanism for appointments will pay off in the long run.

The Future Is Bright

Like sociologist Judy Singer said in the 1990s, neurodiverse people are not disabled; their brains work differently than those of neurotypical people. With the right tools, teaching methods, and daily self-care practices, neurodiverse college students can contribute significantly to the world.
Dan Matthews is a writer with a degree in English from Boise State University. He has extensive experience writing online at the intersection of business, finance, marketing, and culture.
This post has been written by a guest contributor.

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Mental Health Tips for Neurodiverse College Students

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According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one in every 54 kids gets diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The rates of ADD and ADHD are even higher. So, in response to neurodiversity prevalence, the neurodiversity movement sparked to challenge the negative connotation of "learning disabilities.

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Embracing an Asset-based Model of Neurodiversity: Challenges and Academic Supports

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Embracing an Asset-based Model of Neurodiversity: Challenges and Academic Supports

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Neurodiversity is a concept or movement that emphasizes that neurological differences should be recognized and respected as a variation of human wiring rather than a disease (Armstrong, 2011; Clouder et al., 2020). While autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often identified as its primary focus, neurodiversity is an umbrella term that includes other neurological conditions such as attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia (Bolourian et al., 2018; Gillespie-Lynch, 2017; Ortiz, 2020). The number of neurodiverse students is increasing. The National Center for Education Statistics estimated that 20% of ninth graders with autism and 21% with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), who completed high school in 2013, enrolled in a four-year public university. It is very likely that at some point in their practice, faculty will find themselves teaching neurodivergent students. (Kingsbury et al., 2020).

Major Characteristics of Neurodivergent Students

Students with ASD or ADHD have overlapping challenges in the areas of executive functioning skills, social-communication difficulties, and sensory sensitivities. Executive functioning encompasses self-regulation skills needed to succeed in college such as completing assignments on time, organizing study materials, and monitoring one’s progress toward specified goals (Gillespie, 2018). Social-communication difficulties entail the tendency to interpret language literally and an inability to read social cues which can affect interpretation of faculty’s instructions, and have negative impact on student-instructor and student-student interaction (Ortiz, 2020). Sensory sensitivities to noise and other external stimuli may impact students’ ability to cope in classroom settings (Cai & Richdale, 2016; Kingsbury, 2020).

Students’ neurodivergency related difficulties interfere with academic success and subsequently graduation rates. Research indicated only 41% of students with disabilities, including autism, enrolled in a four-year college will graduate with a bachelor’s degree whereas approximately 59% of the average, non-disability students graduate (White et al., 2016). The discrepancy in completion rates is disconcerting in view of the positive relationship between postsecondary education and the attainment of successful postsecondary education employment.

The advocates of neurodiversity emphasize that low graduation rates are not attributable to lack of academic ability. Neurodivergent students can grasp academic content; more than half of them have average or above average intelligence (Cai & Richdale, 2016; Ortiz, 2020). They stress the importance of providing educational supports to help neurodiverse students develop the executive functioning and social interaction skills needed to succeed in college and in the workplace (Gillespie et al., 2017, Ortiz, 2020). Finally, they affirm that the challenges that neurodivergent students face represent differences not deficits. As such, their neurological diversity is as important as the other diversities that higher education celebrates and supports in the student population (Nyhan, 2018). With neurodiversity awareness, acceptance, and a supportive culture, neurodivergent students can thrive in college programs.

Accommodations and Limitations

The educational supports that neurodiverse students receive ensued from important federal legislation such as the American with Disability Act of 1990 and the Section 504 protections of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Campus Disability Access Services provides accommodations to students in the university environment. As important as the supports from DAS are, these services are often not enough for two reasons. First, for fear of stigmatization, and because of their perception that accommodations are discriminatory, some neurodiverse students do not disclose their disability. Consequently, they do not receive requisite accommodations, and faculty may not be aware of their challenges (Cai & Richdale, 2016; Clouder et al., 2020). Second, these accommodations do not educate faculty about the strategies for engaging neurodiverse students in learning in their courses (Ortiz, 2020).

The question then becomes: What pedagogical supports could faculty provide to make course content more accessible to neurodiverse students whether or not they disclose their disabilities? In the accompanying resource guide, I present two answers to the question:

Evidence-informed pedagogical strategies that faculty might adapt to support the learning of neurodiverse students.

Advice for creating a supportive learning environment for neurodiverse students.

References

Armstrong, T. (2012). First, discover their strengths. Educational Leadership, 70(2), 10 -16.

Bolouran, Y., Zeedyk. S. M., & Blacher, J. (2018). Autism and the university experience. Narratives from students with neurodevelopmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48, 3330-3343.

Cai, R. Y., & Richdale, A. L. (2016). Educational experiences and needs of higher education students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46, 31-41.

Clouder, L., Karakus, M., Cinotti. A., Ferreyra, M. G., Fierros, G.A., & Rojo, P. (2020). Neurodiversity in higher education: A narrative synthesis. Higher Education, 80, 757-778

Gillespie-Lynch, K., Bublitz, D., Donachie, A., Wong, V., Brooks, P. J., & D’Onofrio, J. (2017). “For a long time our voices have been hushed:” Using student perspectives to develop supports for neurodiverse college students. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(544), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00544

Kingsbury, C. G., Sibert, E. C., Killingback, Z., & Atchison, C. L. (2020). “Nothing about us without us:” The perspectives of autistic geoscientists on inclusive instructional practices in geoscience education. Journal of Geoscience Education, 68(4), 302-310.

Nyhan, S. (2018). Disability or divergent characteristics? The Journal of College Admission, 241, 50-53.

Ortiz, L. A. (2020). Reframing neurodiversity as competitive edge advantage: Opportunities, challenges, and resources for business and professional communication educators. Business and Professional Education Quarterly, 83(3), 261-284.

White, S.W., Elias, R., Salinas, C. E., Capriola, N., Conner, C.M., & Asselin, S. B. (2016). Students with autism spectrum disorder in college: Results from a preliminary mixed methods needs analysis. Research in Developmental Abilities, 76, 29-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2016.05.010

Funmi Amobi is CTL’s Instructional Consultant and College Liaison

About Funmi Amobi

Funmi Amobi is an instructional consultant and College Liaison in Oregon State University’s Center for Teaching and Learning. Funmi provides consultations to faculty in individual and small group settings to support teaching excellence and student success. Funmi holds a doctorate degree in secondary education with major emphasis in curriculum and instruction from Arizona State University. As a reflective practitioner, she is a life-long student of the scholarship of teaching and learning. To schedule a Sparkshop call Funmi @ 541 737 1338 or email: Funmi.Amobi@OregonState.edu

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Embracing an Asset-based Model of Neurodiversity: Challenges and Academic Supports

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Neurodiversity is a concept or movement that emphasizes that neurological differences should be recognized and respected as a variation of human wiring rather than a disease (Armstrong, 2011; Cloud…

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Neurodiversity and mental health in the classroom

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Neurodiversity and mental health in the classroom

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We know that, long before the pandemic, mental health support services for education were under pressure, with long waits for assessment and schools often taking the financial hit to provide support in the intervening time.

The government did commit funding to try to address this, with £1.25bn invested specifically in young people's mental health by 2025, alongside improvements to NHS eating disorder services, backed up by a new standard so that young people who needed help could be seen within four weeks, or one week for urgent cases.

Furthermore, the 2017 Green Paper, Transforming children and young people's mental health provision, stated that schools would be supported to "develop approaches within which pupils can achieve their full potential", including "supporting schools to have a clear offer to promote pupils' mental health and wellbeing", but we continue to wait for this to have the positive impact it could have had, and the situation has now reached crisis point in many areas of the country.

Behaviour issues - often as a result of poor social skills and self-discipline and low self-esteem - have risen in prevalence due to children spending long periods of time at home throughout the pandemic.

Schools have been encouraged to focus on education recovery and "catching pupils up", without being given the time and resources to support the underlying issues.

The new SEND Green Paper talks about the importance of early intervention and how this is the way to both improve pupil outcomes and reduce the burden on health and social care providers over the long term.

But, with waiting time for an initial assessment running at 24 months, when children are assessed, they are way past the early stages and they and their families are in desperate need of support.

And it is not just children and their families. Our members working in mainstream schools feel overwhelmed by the wide range of needs in their class, and the expectation of leaders that learning can be differentiated for each and every child, believing they need to do something wildly different for each child individual

To be clear, Ofsted does not require schools to provide individual lesson plans nor previous lesson plans. Ofsted does not specify how planning should be set out, the length of time it should take, or the amount of detail it should contain.

Inspectors are interested in the effectiveness of planning rather than the form it takes. But this does not stop schools from placing such demands on their teachers and support staff, leading to anxiety and stress as workloads increase, exacerbating the retention crisis.
So, what should we be doing?
Schools are already doing the best they can within stretched budgets, so it is positive to see that the Department for Education is providing funding to encourage schools and colleges to identify a senior mental health lead (DfE, 2021) to work alongside the SENCO and have strategic oversight of the approach to mental health and wellbeing.

We hope that this will start to have a positive impact on outcomes for pupils where their neurodiversity can finally be taken into account.

For too long, we have focused only on those with identified SEN, despite the fact that around 15% of the UK population are neurodivergent. Early intervention does not have to mean referral to external agencies - it also means making subtle adaptations in the classroom to support those with, for example, autism, ADHD, dyspraxia and dyslexia but who do not quite meet the criteria for a diagnosis.

Supporting these pupils and meeting their needs in the classroom will avoid situations spiralling and potentially causing disruption later on.

Victoria Honeybourne (2018), a specialist advisory teacher, writes that there are some steps schools can take to anticipate and prepare for a neurodiverse student population before pupils set foot through the door. These include:

Making equipment and resources, such as pencil grips etc, available to all, reducing the stigma for those who need to use them.

Producing written materials and signs which are clear and illustrated for those who struggle to read.

Reducing unnecessary stimulation to aid focus and concentration, which could mean removing some displays from classrooms and keeping rooms quiet.

Giving everyone the opportunity to work in quiet areas when needed and the option for social times to be quiet times too.

Having policies and practices which do not discriminate or place neurodivergent students at a disadvantage.

With policy and simple strategies in place, together we can support our pupils to achieve and forge a strong and positive work ethic. We can also support classroom colleagues, because meeting the pupils' needs should reduce workload, address behavioural problems and doesn't have to include huge amounts of planning.

There is a growing need among our children, and with a few small steps we can make things easier for everyone.

Helen Osgood is national officer for education and early years with Community trade union.
Further information & resources

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Neurodiversity and mental health in the classroom

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There is a growing and wide range of needs among children and young people that teachers and support staff are increasingly being expected to meet in the classroom. With a few small steps, we can make things easier for everyone, says Helen Osgood

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¿Cuáles son los neuromitos más frecuentes? Anna Forés, pedagoga y escritora

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¿Cuáles son los neuromitos más frecuentes? Anna Forés, pedagoga y escritora

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¿Cuáles son los neuromitos más frecuentes? Anna Forés, pedagoga y escritora

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"Somos lo que la educación hace de nosotros"

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"Somos lo que la educación hace de nosotros"

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V. Completa. "Somos lo que la educación hace de nosotros". Francisco Mora, doctor en Neurociencia

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Cómo aprende el cerebro. Las claves para la educación

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Cómo aprende el cerebro. Las claves para la educación

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La curva del olvido ilustra la pérdida de retentiva con el tiempo. Asimismo, se describe cómo las emociones fuertes influyen mucho en el aprendizaje y la memoria

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La curva del olvido | Tips para planificar el estudio

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Emoción en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje

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Emoción en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje

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Emoción en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje

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Sorprendizaje: Como acabar con una educación aburrida | Ramón Barrera | TEDxSevilla

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Sorprendizaje: Como acabar con una educación aburrida | Ramón Barrera | TEDxSevilla

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Una lección sobre los problemas de los sistemas educativos actuales y el verdadero objetivo que se debe perseguir. Una mirada al futuro sobre la educación como motor de cambio de la sociedad.

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Sorprendizaje: Como acabar con una educación aburrida | Ramón Barrera | TEDxSevilla

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What can NeuroscienceResearch Teach Us about Teaching?

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What can NeuroscienceResearch Teach Us about Teaching?

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What can neuroscience teach us about teaching?

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What can neuroscience teach us about teaching?

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Enseñar y aprender de los pies a la cabeza | Hernán Aldana | TEDxPuraVidaED

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Enseñar y aprender de los pies a la cabeza | Hernán Aldana | TEDxPuraVidaED

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Enseñar y aprender de los pies a la cabeza | Hernán Aldana | TEDxPuraVidaED

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10 ideas clave, neurociencia y educación: aportaciones para el aula

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10 ideas clave, neurociencia y educación: aportaciones para el aula

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"You're Going to Love This Kid!" Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom, Second Edition

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"You're Going to Love This Kid!" Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom, Second Edition

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Thousands of educators have turned to "You're Going to Love This Kid!" for fresh ways to welcome and teach students with autism--and now the book teachers trust is fully revised and more practical than ever! Gathering feedback from teachers across the country during her popular workshops, autism expert Paula Kluth targeted this second edition to the specific needs of today's primary- and secondary-school educators. Still packed with the ready-to-use tips and strategies that teachers are looking for, the new edition gives readers:

dozens of NEW photocopiable forms, checklists, and planning tools that make it easy for teachers to implement the suggested strategies

photos of curricular adaptations, sensory supports, and classroom scenes

thoroughly revised and updated chapters on today's hottest topics: improving literacy, implementing positive behavior support, and collaborating effectively with families

larger 8.5 x 11 format, so the book is easier to read and photocopy

study guide with challenging discussion questions for each chapter-perfect for pre- and inservice professional development and book clubs

new ideas throughout the book based on the latest research on autism, inclusion, literacy, and behavior

Readers will also get updates on all of the other topics covered in the first edition, including fostering friendships, building communication skills, planning challenging and multidimensional lessons, and adapting the curriculum and the physical environment. And with the new first-person stories from people with autism and their teachers and parents, readers will have a better understanding of students on the spectrum and how to include them successfully.

A book teachers will keep forever for creative ideas and inspiration, this new edition of "You're Going to Love This Kid!" is the ultimate practical guide to including students with autism, teaching them effectively and sensitively, and appreciating the gifts they bring to the classroom.

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You're Going to Love This Kid!: Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom, Second Edition

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Thousands of educators have turned to "You're Going to Love This Kid!" for fresh ways to welcome and teach students with autism--and now the book teachers trust is fully revised and more practical than ever! Gathering feedback from teachers across the country during her popular workshops, autism expert Paula Kluth targeted this second edition to the specific needs of today's primary- and secondary-school educators.