Noise, loud or soft, effects learning environments, especially for neurodiverse students. These students may have especially acute hearing, hear outside the normal range of human hearing, or have trouble sorting background noise from what they need to pay attention to. Loud Noise Can Be Problematic for Everyone Loud noise can harm our hearing, whether it […]
Kids Teaching Kids I came across this great teaching resource on peer-assisted learning in a podcast by Dr. Sam Bommarito. The book is available in both the UK and US. Peer Assisted Learning: A Practical Guide for Teachersby Keith ToppingCambridge, MA: Brookline Books (2000) What is Peer-Assisted Learning? Topping defines peer-assisted learning as the “acquisition of knowledge […]
A DTK Book Review: Phonics and Word Identification Skills — Strategies for Teachers and Parents, by Andy Johnson, PhD Phonics is Not the Same as Reading Dr. Johnson serves as Professor of Literacy and Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Minnesota State University, Mankato. His work currently focuses on research-based teaching strategies for students with reading difficulties. […]
Headphones are Not Evil I marvel that some teachers despise headphones. They see no problem with asking a student to concentrate on difficult mental work like reading or writing, in a group of 20+ other people tightly packed. Many people who work in computer science, remote customer service, accounting, or many other fields routinely use […]
Teaching spelling isn’t about phonics so much Teaching spelling frustrates both teachers and students. Spelling troubles many students, because learning rules of phonics and applying them guarantees they will miss most of their spelling words when tested. Phonics is helpful for early reading; it can’t be trusted for spelling because English spelling is based more […]