For their senior film at the Ringling College of Art and Design, Marisabel Fernandez and Alexander Bernard created an animated simulation of life through the eyes of a non-verbal child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) “and her constant struggle to cope with the world around her,” as they write in their artist statement.
Look at Life Through Autistic Eyes
via NYTimes.com and Larry Ferlazzo
Anthony and Matthew are among a growing number of children on the autism spectrum who use electronic devices—in their cases, iPads equipped with a software program called Proloquo—for learning. Just a few years ago, they would have used bulky communication devices costing $6,000 to $10,000, if they used any technology at all. Or they would have communicated by picking out pictures and sticking them to a board.
via Special education and tech: The apps and devices that can help autistic students learn..
Engagement Method #1: Lively Teaching
Involves group work, games, and projects. The emphasis is on the students constructing knowledge, not on the teacher delivering it. Think social and fun.
Engagement Method #2: Academic Rigor
The instructor creates cognitively demanding tasks and environments (called “academic press”), emphasizing that students will need to work hard. The teacher also shows passionate investment in the content. According to research that Cooper cites, students’ perception of challenge is a strong predictor of achievement gains.
Engagement Method #3: Connective Instruction
In connective instruction, the teacher helps students make personal connections to the class, content, and learning. The power of connective instruction comes from the instructor helping students see the curriculum as critical to their current lives, their future, and their culture. Additionally, six instructor behaviors play into creating high quality relationships where, according to Andrew Martin, students “actually internalize the beliefs valued by significant others.”
- Promoting relevance: relating content to students’ lives.
- Conveying care: understanding learners’ perspectives.
- Concern for students’ well-being: demonstrating knowledge of students’ lives.
- Providing affirmation: telling students they are capable of doing well; using praise, written feedback, and opportunities for success.
- Relating to students through humor: showing that you enjoy working with young people (not as a class, as individuals).
- Enabling self-expression: connecting learning and identity by encouraging students’ expression of ideas, values, and conceptions of self.
New Study: Engage Kids with 7x the Effect
via Edutopia.
Math in Real Life is a series of 33 TED-Ed lessons. The “real life” context in these lessons isn’t things like “how calculating percentages helps you be a frugal shopper.” The “real life” context found in the videos in the Math in Real Life series is broad in nature. For example, you will find lessons about how math is used to guide ships and calculating rates of travel in space.
