Thinking Can Be Taught!
Weak thinking skills may cause or add to a child’s school failure. It’s tempting to jump straight to the “problem” such as reading or math skills without looking for more foundational weaknesses. But, while teaching academic skills is often our first objective, we must also look for ways to strengthen the underlying thinking skills. These cognitive skills are naturally practiced and built by children in imaginative play, especially extended outdoor play with other children in a natural environment. Additionally, teachers and parents can provide experiences that help develop the needed skills and give the child much greater control over his/her own thinking processes.
Cognitive Skills: Attention, Memory, and Logic
Attention
Teach chess. Chess and other logic games require close attention. Teach the student that he or she controls attention and actually decides whether to attend or not.
Working memory
Play concentration or other memory games with whatever academic material the child is learning. The game makes it more fun and gently increases the amount of information the student holds in short-term memory, thus increasing reading comprehension.
Processing speed
Play games with academic material and praise the student as he/she gets faster on a task such as multiplication tables. Children need to compete only with themselves. Comparing a student’s speed to other students discourages the student and reduces the success of the study session.
Logic and reasoning
Teach chess or other logic games. During academic work, ask questions. Why do you think that happened? What might happen next? Does that make sense? Does this remind you of anything else?
Auditory and visual processing
Sit next to the child and have him/her look at text while you read it aloud (tracking). Pick up speed as you go. This allows the student to practice auditory processing simultaneously with visual processing. The strong skill supports the weaker one, and the two become linked.
Long term memory
Re-visit material briefly but often to repeatedly activate neural pathways. Five minutes review each day is FAR more powerful than a one-hour study session once a week.
Add Cognitive Skills Training to Academic Work
By combining learning content with techniques that build cognitive skills, students become more satisfied and competent learners. Of course, always study happy! Games and laughter help make the study enjoyable, increasing memory ability dramatically.
By Yvonna Graham, M.Ed.
www.dyslexiakit.net
@GrahamYvonna
