Category Archives: Student Led Learning

Gifted Children — But Gifted in What Way?

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Gifted Children — But Gifted in What Way?

Today’s Learning Curve with Roger & Virginia explores the many aspects of the ways in which children can be gifted and how you can benefit your child by knowing this; and what to do about it.

Our expert guest and friend today is Francie Alexander, the Vice President and Chief Academic Officer for Scholastic Education.  This is a return appearance for Francie; her last show with us addressed how to prevent your child from losing recently learned material in what is referred to as the “summer slide.”  (Click here for our June 6, 2012 show)

Francie reveals there are many different areas in which a child can be gifted.  A parent needs to appreciate this and the various many ways in which the child can express it.

Parents can too often be concerned that their child “is not academically gifted” and fail to see what particular gifts the child has and work to facilitate and strengthen those gifts.

Is your child gifted academically, socially, physically, artistically?  If academically, what particular part or subjects?

Learn how parents should focus on their child’s strengths and enhance them; not overly fret over apparent “below expectation” levels of skill or ability.  Validating what the child does well actually lifts all other aspects of the child’s endeavors.  But stressing and fretting over the child’s apparent lesser abilities only drags down the child’s confidence and self esteem and damages their overall achievement.

Learn why and how parents should keep their gifted children engaged and moving forward.

Learn about the extensive resources available at Scholastic, Inc., for parents to use with their variously gifted children.

Be alert to the possibility that your gifted child may have difficulty collaborating with other children; and the fact that gifted children need to be taught just as much as “regular” children.  But most important: let your gifted child follow the line of interest it has its attention on.

Learn the traits of gifted children:

  • Language development
  • Questioning and probing
  • Integrating advance words into their conversation
  • Focused on the pursuit of a purpose
  • They love to learn
  • Physically, they have good eye-hand coordination
  • Love to play and excel at a sport
  • Able to take any object (crayon, pencil, clay, cloth, etc.,) and create something from it

CLICK HERE TO HEAR FRANCIE ON GIFTED CHILDREN: 

092412 Gifted Children

Roger and Virginia at The Learning Curve

 

How Do You Recognize if Your Child is Having Difficulty in School Early Enough to Properly Help? What to Do and How Do You Find the Help You Need?

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The Learning Curve March 5, 2012 Dean Larson

How Do You Recognize if Your Child is Having Difficulty in School Early Enough to Properly Help?  What to Do and How Do You Find the Help You Need?

Too often parents fail to recognize their child is having difficulty and by the time they spot it, too much damage and loss has occurred.

Even when parents are astute enough to recognize the struggling student in their child, they still have the problem of what to do to help and where to go to get proper professional help.

Today, on The Learning Curve with Roger & Virginia, we have the return of Dean Larson, Director of Access for Knowledge Learning Centers.

Dean has a wealth of experience in both preventing student difficulty in his own students and remedying the struggling conditions of students brought to him.

Hear Dean describe how you would first observe, and then proceed to handle, indications of your child having difficulty at school.

His first, critical word of advice is that a parent must stand back and examine the facts of the situation . . . don’t dub-in emotion or opinion.

Look for trends in grades and behavior; a change in friends and a change towards the family.

Write down only the facts.  Just gather data.

You must use “reflective listening” with your child—you must ask, and listen: not tell and assert your belief.

Kids don’t have enough life experience to yet be able to understand all the emotions and feelings they go through.

You’ll hear Dean explain how all this is done, and give you the key question to be asked:

  • What are the possibilities of change?
  • Are there medical conditions (hearing, eyesight, biochemical) behind the trouble?
  • What about tutoring services?  How do you evaluate the options?

Dean brilliantly and clearly answers all these questions . . . .

 

Click here to listen  Dean Larson 3-5-12 redo of e too large 

Jennifer Turner is an Honest to Goodness, Genuine Home-Schooling Mom Who Believes in student-led learning.

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The Learning Curve February 27, 2012   Jennifer Turner

Jennifer Turner is an Honest to Goodness, Genuine Home-Schooling Mom Who Believes in student-led learning.

Jennifer is lucky to be able to benefit from A Cyber Charter School with on-line curriculum along with on-line teacher back-up and testing.

The benefit of all this to Jennifer’s two children is that, while they have to meet the state testing standards, she can allow the kids to progress through each item on the curriculum at the pace that best suits the child and also ensure mastery on all subject matter.

Hear how Jennifer practices Student Led Learning.

Hear how she works the interests and needs of each child into the lesson plans and material.

She is also able to allow each of her children to learn in the style best suited to the child—indeed she pays special attention to facilitating her children’s two different learning styles.  And this further enhanced by her practice of Student Led Learning.

Jennifer says this method of educating her children has developed in them a wondrous love of learning, and the ability to discover and master anything they will ever have to deal with in later life.

And the big bonus Jennifer has found is that Home Schooling allows families to be flexible in meeting all of the needs of each member of the family.

Hear Jennifer answer these questions:

  • What is student-led learning?
  • How do home school parents incorporate their children’s interests during instructed learning time?
  • How do our children meet state and federal school requirements by following the student led philosophy?
  • Can traditional school settings incorporate a student-led philosophy?

More wisdom from Jennifer at her Blog: http://www.studentsathome.wordpress.com/

 

Click here to listen  February 27, 2012 Jennifer Turner

Roger & Virginia at The Learning Curve

 

 

How Can You Best Help Your Kids Get Good Grades? How Can You Ensure You Win at Learning in Life?

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The Learning Curve July 25, 2011

Roger and Virginia discuss how Virginia uses the secrets of the Seven Barriers to Comprehension when tutoring adult learners in her evening classes at Literacy Partners in New York.  http://www.literacypartners.org

Hear how Virginia discovered the secret to her own learning style and also overcame the learning problems she had as a child in school.  She found that it wasn’t her fault — it was the fault of the teaching style and practice that actually prevented her from “getting it.”

Is your child being impeded by the teacher?  Is your child being falsely labeled “slow,” “inattentive” or even “learning disabled” when in fact it is the teacher or educational practices that are to blame?

This is a must hear show for parents who truly care about their children winning at school and in life.

After all, all of life is a learning curve!

 

Click to listen July 25, 2011

For more information go to our website at http://www.howtolearneasily.com 

send any questions you have to questions@howtolearneasily.com

 

What Children Need to Learn to Read

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The Learning Curve May 23 2011

Michelle Vallene is the author of What Children Need to Learn to Read

This is a very inspiring story of what a dedicated, loving parent can accomplish, both for herself and her child.  Michelle’s daughter who is now 19 years old was the inspiration for her to start her endeavor, develop her classes, and write her book. Her daughter was very low in reading in 2nd grade so Michelle developed the reading classes and within 6 months her daughter went up 2 grade levels in reading. Her daughter is now a freshman in college working toward an English degree with an emphasis on creative writing.

Click her to listen  May 23, 2011

Her book What Children Need to Learn to Read is available on Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/What-Children-Need-Learn-READ/dp/0982285604/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273011810&sr=1-1

Michelle has a website http://www.LearnersLane.com

Check out her Learners Lane YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LearnersLane

Become a fan of Learners Lane on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Learners-Lane/116020068425096?ref=sgm

Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/LearnersLane

For more information go to http://www.howtolearneasily.com  send any questions you have to questions@howtolearneasily.com

 

Dr. Roger McIntire Speaks on How Students Win in School or College

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The Learning Curve April 25, 2011

Dr. Roger McIntire Speaks on How Students Win in School or College

This is Part Two of our interview with Dr. Roger McIntire PhD, who is the author of Raising Your Teenager: 5 Crucial Skills for Moms and Dads and Raising Good Kids in Tough Times. Dr. McIntire is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Maryland, where he taught for 32 years. An award-winning columnist, McIntire shares his wisdom in the Martinsburg (WV) Journal and other publications.  As a child psychologist, a consultant and a teacher of teachers in preschools, grade schools, high schools and colleges since the 1960s, McIntire has worked extensively with families and children of all ages. He is the father of three children, now adults. Dr. McIntire’s scientific writings, over 100 in all, address everything from infant vocalizations, eating problems, and strategies for teachers, to high school motivation and college retention.  One of the key points Dr. McIntire makes is: “Happiness in Childhood Depends on School.

Click here to listen April 25, 2011

For more information go to http://www.howtolearneasily.com  send any questions you have to questions@howtolearneasily.com

 

The Barriers to Comprehension that Prevent Learning

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The Learning Curve March 28, 2011

The Barriers to Comprehension that Prevent Learning

This show focuses on the vital information all parents, teachers and students need to know if they are going to be truly successful in their learning or teaching activities.  This show deals with three of the barriers to learning and how to prevent them.  It also gives you answers on how to detect and undo the damage done when your child or student is suffering the effects of these learning barriers.

Click here to play March 28, 2011

For more information go to http://www.howtolearneasily.com

Send any questions you have to questions@howtolearneasily.com