Has cursive gone the way of quills and parchment?

 

Has cursive gone the way of quills and parchment?

From Psychology Today

Accprdomg to Ed Week  only 21 states require the teaching of cursive. EdWeek link 

While some say cursive belongs in the past, research says otherwise. 

The purpose of this article is to explore the reasons why cursive is an important element in learning and to provide one method for the teaching of cursive..

William R. Klemm Ph.D discusses.Cursive and Cognitive Development in Psychology today.  Following is a quote from this article.

Handwriting dynamically engages widespread areas of both cerebral hemispheres. Virginia Berninger, a researcher and professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says that brain scauring handwriting show activation of  massive regions of the brain involved in thinking, language, and working memory.

Writing Beats Typing discusses current research and explains in detail the reasons, though inconvienent, for teaching cursive. 

Whether working with one student or a class of 35, teaching cursive can be a multisensory activity rather than a chore. The following method for teaching cursive has been successful in  general  and special education classes.  The sample below demonstrates the method.  To access the  entire  lower case alphabet and sample writing paper, please follow the link below.

Teaching Cursive

Preparation

Draw two sets of solid, parallel lines about five feet long on the board
approximately 24 inches apart. Draw a dotted line midway between the
solid lines (approximately twelve (12) inches above the bottom lines).

Supply Students with lined writing paper..  Follow the air tracing process included in the Teaching Cursive lesson.

Note: Use this line formation for all letter and word demonstrations for as long
as required. When the students understand the concept of the dotted line
and can write correctly on their papers, the use of lined paper can be eliminated.

Watch What You Say! You May be Teaching Thinking Skills

 

Watch What You Say! You May be Teaching Thinking Skills

There are many ways to think: Well, let’s see, there is critical, creative, lateral, strategic, divergent, and…... There are thousands of papers and books written on the subject, and assessments, of every ilk, measuring how we think. Yet, parents, teachers and caregivers are most-often left without a clear direction on how best to easily bolster thinking in our young people. This post is based on excerpts from two publications I authored a number of years ago: The Nurturing Classroom and a chapter entitled Cognition and Cooperation: partners in Excellence-found in If Minds Matter a Forward to the Future

FRAME OF REFERENCE - a first consideration   

For sure, we need a reference point, usually referred to as frame of reference, to assimilate new information. If we don’t have a reference point on which to connect the new information, It just sits there or disappears from the thinking field altogether.

For new information to become relevant we must be able to either link it to past experience or construct new meaning. Each time we are exposed to a new way to think about something, we add another strategy or path to our thinking abilities. If there is nothing in our past experience OR if we are unable to construct new meaning, we will not be able to make sense of the information.

As parents, teachers, and caregivers we can create an environment that promotes the development of more and more thinking paths. If we tell young people the why’s and elaborate on some of the how’s, rather than just telling them what to do, we help them develop new paths of thinking.

FOR EXAMPLE:

 Style #1

Assume  it is winter and Rob, an eight year old child, does not close the door completely upon entering the house or school room. Rob may be told: Rob, close the door. To a young child this is just another command to obey or get into some kind of trouble.Stylet #1 is a direct command.

 Style #2

If the adult explains: Rob, close the door cold air is coming in.  Rob begins to make the mental connection- if the door is open cold air is getting in the house or school room. The reason for the request starts to make sense. We can not assume the connection comes automatically.

 Style #3

If the adult elaborates even further: Close the door, cold air is coming in. When this happens the house or room will get cold causing the heater to come on frequently. If this happens too often, the heating bill will be so high we will not have any money to take our vacation or field t trip to Disneyland.

Rob is learning about cause and effect, which is a critical element in problem solving. Some might say this is common sense. Consider the fact that Rob may not have the opportunity to learn common sense if his life is filled with direct commands.

In each of these instances the stimulus is identical. The adultt’s response is the critical factor in determining the child’s cognitive growth pattern. In other words, if a child is living in a command-only emvoprm,emt, where the reasons behind a given action are never explained, he may be living in the context of Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy Level 1—Just the facts.

Obviously, it is not appropriate for adults to always give detailed responses. However, if elaboration persists over time a child’s memory bank will be filled with options. Frames of reference will abound. When presented with new information they will have a much better chance to make sense of what comes their way.

What is Task Analysis?

 

What is Task Analysis?

Task analysis is a systematic analysis of content. Breaking a task into sequential parts leads to a set of clear instructions. The student can then move from point A to point B with a clear roadmap. The instructor has the flexibility of teaching each student, be they an adult or a kindergartner, in an age appropriate manner maximizing instructional time.

In the classroom- Task Analysis is an essential tool for designing lessons, and  Individual Learning Plans.

In the home- Task Analysis can be used to explain to children the basics of living. For example, telling a child to clean his or her room does not always achieve the desired results. Task analyzing the job with the child will not only build thinking skills but help

define a new definition of clean.

Not all students require a detailed sequence; however, if needed, the details are available and at the ready.The application of Task Analysis can be understood by stepping outside traditional academics to consider ways to teach a student to tie his or her shoes.

Examples of shoe tying directions developed by students in one of my college classes are listed below. We all agreed there is not one perfect way to conduct a task analysis and the task analysis varies with each student and group of students.

Student 1- Low Level of Complexity: The first student may simply observe others tie shoes, practice independently, and successfully tie his or her shoes.

Student 2- Medium Level of Complexity: The instructor may need to demonstrate and teach the skill as follows:

1. grab one lace in the left hand and the second in the right hand pull the laces straight up cross the shoelaces

2. pull the front lace around the back of the other pull that lace through the hole

3. tighten the lace with a pull make a bow

4. tighten the bow

Student 3- High Level of Complexity: This student may need a longer version such as the one that follows:

1. grab one lace in the left hand and the second in the right hand pull

2. pinch the end of one lace with the left hand and the other with the right hand

3. pull the laces up in the air

4. put one lace on the right side of the shoe, the second on the left side

5. pick up the lace on the left side with the left hand, pick up the lace on the right side with the right hand

6. pull the laces above the shoe 7. cross the laces to form a tepee

8. the student brings the left lace toward him/her

9. pull the left lace through the tepee pull the laces away from each other and so on….

Whether the task is simple or complex, knowing where you are going and how to get there makes life a lot easier