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“Task Analysis:” Going Old School (Once Again)

by | Aug 24, 2016 | ,

There are a number of old school concepts in education that I don’t hear much about any more that I think still apply.  “Task analysis” is one of them.

Years ago as part  my special education course work task analysis was frequently mentioned. (OK, it was many years ago, I admit.)

With task analysis, the idea is that any end point task that you want someone to master should be broken down into sub-tasks to help the person move along a continuum toward mastery of the skill.

For example, teaching a cognitively impaired child  to brush his teeth successfully was the classic example used to illustrate task analysis.  Most of us take brushing teeth for granted, thinking it’s no big deal.  We don’t tend to consider how many sub-tasks and steps are involved (e.g., taking cap off the tooth paste, squeezing the tube properly, holding the tooth brush in one hand, etc.) to get to the endpoint.

Recently a mom talked to me about how her son was struggling in youth football.  There were the usual explanations offered – he wasn’t paying attention or trying hard enough. For this child, there were other explanations.  He was simply too confused and overwhelmed on the field.  Sports like football can be quite confusing for a lot of kids. They have trouble with the sequences and the rapid decision making.  (In fact, some time ago I worked with a Division I college football player who could have made it to the pros if he had the ability to keep the play sequences straight.)

In other words, the boy needed the task broken down into more manageable steps and sequences for him to master.

My guess would be that if we task analyzed much of what we expect our children to master (like playing football, comprehending a story, making a sandwich or getting out the door in the morning), we’d see that there were many small steps involved that we may not have considered.

Take Away Point

If you see your child struggling with a task, analyze the sub-tasks.  Try and break the task down and back it up.  Practice at easier levels and then lead up to mastery of the task.

I know my wife’s still trying to do that with me in terms of learning how to make the bed properly!

Frankly, I don’t think she’s broken it down enough.

 

Adapted, “School Struggles, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.,  (2012), Sentient Publications

Direct Instruction?

by | Jul 14, 2016 |

A mom called this week to talk to me about the school district offering a computer program (“Orton-Gillingham based, was the claim) that was providing “direct instruction.”  The mom questioned whether the program was “direct instruction,” as the school was telling her it was.

Listen, if I get a tennis ball machine to feed balls to me, that can be very valuable for improving my game, but it’s called “PRACTICE.”  When the tennis instructor breaks down the skills for me, shows me how to do a skill, watches me hit, and gives me feedback, it’s “Direct Instruction.”

Related to the issue of direct instruction vs. practice, parents will also be told that their child is slated to receive “in-class support.”  In-class support may involve direct instruction, but this needs to be clarified, as chances are the in-class support is of the “don’t-let-the child-drown in the deep end of the pool” variety.  That is, a lifeguard is  close by in the deep end of the pool with the child, but not teaching the child to swim.  That is usually what “in-class support” involves.

Direct instruction involves the teaching of specific skills in a structured, sequential manner, with one skill being directly taught to mastery, leading to the next skill to be taught.

As a side point, while it is nice if the child is given one-on-one instruction, direct instruction can also be delivered in a small group (ideally, no larger than four in a group).  A tennis teacher can do a fine job directly instructing in a group.

Takeaway Point

Practicing on the computer with a program that has been designated as “evidenced based”  (aren’t they all) or that has the elements of, say an Orton-based program, may be very good for your child to do as an activity.  It is not “direct instruction.”  Chances are “in-class support” isn’t either.

 

 

What is a Dyslexia Screening?

by | Jul 24, 2015 |

Dyslexia screening is a tool for identifying children who may be at risk for dyslexia (reading disability) and for gathering information to assist those children.  A dyslexia screening can be performed by a range of educational professionals.  Although it might be ideal for the screening to be conducted by someone specializing in learning disabilities (such as a school psychologist, reading specialist or special education teacher), the nice thing about a dyslexia screening is that practically any teacher can perform one.

As with any other screening – whether for health issues, athletic skill, or artistic ability- a screening for dyslexia should be relatively quick and easy to conduct.  When you administer the screening, you ask a child to perform several tasks designed to predict who is “at risk” for dyslexia (reading disability) and who appears to be “good to go” and not to be at risk.

The value of this kind of screening is that it yields predictive information in a short period of time.  With effective screenings teachers and parents can counter a “wait and fail” mindset by utilizing evidence-based interventions very early in a child’s education

Let’s look at  screening used in sports to help us think about how a screening for dyslexia works.

Imagine that you are the head coach of a Little League baseball team.  It is the children’s first day, you have a large group of eight-year-olds and you must decide where to place each one on the team.  You have no idea about their skills, but you must make your decisions fairly quickly.  To do so, you have your assistants screen the kids by watching them hit, throw and catch a few times.

With this kind of screening, based on a brief interaction you can make a decision regarding each child, including placing children into categories.  For example, some children will be “good to go” – meaning they have pretty good skills – while others will need targeted skill instruction.

Can mistakes happen in this kind of screening?  Of course.  However, the value that comes from identifying children early far outweighs the potential of identifying a child as “at risk” when she may not turn out to be so.

As with the Little League example, a dyslexia screening determines whether a child is “good to go” or needs intervention when it comes to the fundamental skills of early reading, spelling and writing by identifying whether the child needs intervention.

To read about dyslexia screening, go to:  Dyslexia Screening: Essential Concepts

Excerpt from : ”Dyslexia Screening:  Essential Concepts for Schools & Parents,” Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  (2015 SDL Consulting/Publishing www.shutdownlearner.com) 

The Intangibles

by | Jun 5, 2015 | ,

Last night I received a very special recognition from the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper University Medical Center where our program, the Cooper Learning Center is within the Department of Pediatrics.

One thing that was particularly special was that some of the people in attendance were former parents and kids (now grown up) who were there to offer their acknowledgements for what our program and my involvement meant to them. I then thought about the current state of affairs in the field of education.

These days in education and psychology it’s all about the measurable goals, the quantifiable objectives.  The work that you do as a teacher or as a therapist needs to be “evidenced based.”  Your outcomes need to hit a certain percentile of growth to document and justify your work.

I get all of that.  It’s probably good to ground your practice in approaches that are supported by research.  It’s also good  (I think) to measure outcomes.

I can tell you this, though.  The kids in the room last night and the parents who came to offer their own tribute were not there because they hit “outcome measures.”  They were there for something unmeasurable, something intangible.

With all that we know about education and psychology, with all of the research and studies that have done, we can’t get past the intangibles.

It’s still the intangible that impacts kids most.

Think back.  Who is a teacher or mentor that inspired you?  Did they inspire you because you hit your “student growth objectives?”

I doubt it very much.

It’s the intangibles that matter, that make all of the difference in a kid’s life.  I hope in this world of quantifying and measuring we don’t lose sight of that fact.

 

 

by | May 30, 2015 |

Ben Foss is prominent inventor, entrepreneur and activist who founded Headstrong Nation a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving the dyslexic community. He is also the inventor of the Intel Reader® a device CNN called “too ground breaking to ignore.” The Intel Reader® is a mobile device that takes photos of text and reads it aloud on the spot to people who have difficulty with text, creating what Ben calls “a ramp into a book.”

Identified as a dyslexic at the age of eight, Foss became successful by developing a unique approach to his disability. After years of hiding his dyslexia, he challenged himself to use it as a bridge to the rest of the world, realizing that if he thought of himself as being “from dyslexia,” he could integrate his history and harness his strengths. As a compassionate and skilled speaker, he shares this message with Fortune 500 companies, human resources and public policy organizations, and colleges and universities across the country.


 

Why Screen for Dyslexia?

by | Feb 20, 2015 |

Why Screen for Dyslexia?

I continue to be amazed by the amount of misinformation out there on dyslexia related reading disabilities. Over the next few weeks I’m going to try and tackle some of the issues that are involved with screening and assessment.

 

Identifying Children at Risk

When screening for dyslexia the primary purpose is to identify children who are at risk for this learning disability, particularly in preschool, kindergarten or first grade. This means that the screening does not “diagnose” dyslexia. Rather, it identifies “predictor variables” that raise red flags so parents and teachers can intervene early and effectively. These “red flags” are important to identify as early as possible.

Countering the Matthew Effects

In the 1970’s Dr. Keith Stanovich used a biblical allusion to describe what happens when children do not receive the help they need to develop their reading and writing. The idea captured by the term “Matthew Effects” is that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

When it comes to reading, if a child begins reading in the early grades without difficulty, he finds learning to read gratifying and typically wants to do more of it. The more the child reads, the better he gets at it. This child is “rich” and getting “richer.” I have described such a child as someone who is on the “smooth road.”

In contrast, for struggling children, the task of reading and writing is not fun at all and can be a laborious and onerous process.

Screening for these “rougher road” children is important to be conducted so that appropriate interventions can be offered.

Sharpening Targeted Interventions

Another reason to screen for dyslexia is to sharpen the targeted interventions. For example, if a screening reveals weakness with phonemic awareness or writing, you know that the child will need an extra dose of remediation that targets these skill areas. If the child is shown to have weakness with sight words, then they should targeted instruction to improve this area of development. In other words, a good screening guides your instruction and helps establish clear goals for the child.

Informing Parents

Screening also helps to inform parents.  Parents often feel that they are in the dark and do not know what is the next best thing to do for their child. A good screening can help cut through such a sense of confusion and helps bring a parent along with appropriate “next step” suggestions.

 

Adapted from, “Dyslexia Screening:  Essential Concepts for Schools and Parents,” Richard Selznick, PhD, 2015. www.shutdownlearner.com .

Dyslexia Intervention: What Every Parent Should Know

by | Dec 5, 2014 |

As some states around the country have implemented new laws on dyslexia, some people have come to me to talk about how, “They have finally discovered dyslexia and this new method –  Orton-Gillingham.”

Well, not to burst any bubbles, but dyslexia has been around for a while, long before the laws were formed.

Dr. Samuel Orton (co-creator of the Orton-Gillingham method) wrote an article titled “Word-blindness in school children,” for the Archives of Neurological Psychiatry.  That article appeared in 1925!

This was followed by his 1937 text, Reading, Writing & Speech Problems in Children, published by Norton press.  Building on his original writings, Dr. Orton then collaborated with Anna Gillingham resulting in the Orton-Gillingham method.

If you read the original writings, you will quickly see that most of the modern methods that we think were discovered yesterday are essentially unchanged from the original writings. The same basic principles that they discussed continue to apply.

Isn’t that incredible?  With all of the evolution of technology, we are essentially left with the same approaches  for reading disabled children that were used in the 1930’s, 40s, 50’s ’s.

So, what should parents know about these methods?

This Tuesday night (12/9) I talk about Orton-Gillingham with two experts in the field, Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley and Tracy Block-Zaretsky, co-founders of the Dyslexia Training Institute in San Diego.  The show will air on  “School Struggles,” on the Coffee Klatch Network.

To access the show go to:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thecoffeeklatch/2014/12/10/dyslexia-intervention-what-every-parent-should-know

If you can’t make the show, you will have access to it afterward on the home website for The Coffee Klatch:

http://thecoffeeklatch.com/school-struggles-with-dr-richard-selznick/.

 

Direct Instruction vs. In-Class Support

by | Jul 8, 2014 |

When I ask parents of children who are struggling with reading what is being done to correct the problem, I frequently hear something like, “he’s getting in-class support.”  When pressed further to explain what remedial method is being used, I usually don’t get much of a response.

Understand this, “in-class” support is fine for what it is.  But, you need to contrast “in-class” support with “direct instruction.”

Direct instruction provides a child with specific and very direct instruction and feedback in the context of skill development.  If the child does something correctly, he is reinforced.  If it is not correct, then the teacher models and offers feedback.  Effectively, the child is told in other words to try again, but with a different strategy.

I’ve taken tennis lessons for many years.  I’m a slow learner apparently, because the instructor keeps same the same basic thing over and over.  The instruction is very direct – “drop the racket lower,”  “respond sooner,”  “follow through to the target,” “bend your knees more.”  When I do these things he tells me I’m doing them right and when I don’t, he corrects it.  This is done on the spot.

Good reading instruction is no different.  Why individual remediation or small group (no larger than two or three) is so important, is that the teacher can offer so many opportunities of reinforcement and correction.  (In fact, as I am writing this I am hearing one of our teachers working with a child.  Probably in the course of an hour, she modeled sounds for the child she was working with at least 25 different times in a 45 minute period.)

The Orton-Gillingham methods and their offshoots embody direct instruction.  The child is directly taught sounds and how to blend them in words.  Later he or she is taught more complex syllable types and patterns.  Nothing is done indirectly.  Everything is explicitly taught.

One of the things Orton-Gilliingham programs do not do is worksheet a child to the point of excess.  If your child is coming home with worksheet after worksheet from his classroom, there is probably little direct instruction taking place.  Instruction by worksheet is not teaching.

I guess that’s where “in-class support” comes in to play.  When worksheet confusion overwhelms the child someone has to support him.

Just don’t confuse it with direct instruction.

Walk for Familial Dysautonomia

by | Feb 28, 2013 |

I wanted to pass this along from my dear friend, Lloyd Stone:

In less than 2 weeks, On Sunday, March 10th, our family will be participating in the Walk for Familial Dysautonomia) in support of our amazing nephew/cousin Gregory Brandt.  

FD is a Jewish-Ashkenazi disease; 1 in 27 Ashkenazi Jews are carriers. People with FD do not have proper control of their autonomic nervous system and are unable to control functions — such as breathing, digesting, crying, and swallowing — that the average person takes for granted.

The Familial Dysautonomia Foundation is one very close to my heart as it helps to raise awareness and funds for research of this incurable disease.

I humbly request a bit of your financial support as I will be walking to help raise awareness and funds for research of this incurable disease.

FD is rare but we are hoping that the money we raise at this walk can go a long way in helping those who struggle with the disease. By contributing to research that helps FD, patients obtain improved medical care and increased life expectancy. 

If you would like to support my efforts for this great cause, please visit:

http://www.familialdysautonomia.org/events/w_sponsor_item.php?eventID=54&itemType=Sponsor&itemBid=4602

Thank you very much for your support.

Mr. LLoyd Stone

(To learn more about FD, visit:  http://www.familialdysautonomia.org/)

 

There Will Be Rage

by | Dec 15, 2012 |

In light of the terrible tragedy in Newtown Connecticut, it is worth reminding ourselves of a few things. 

I talk to parents all of the time about the “smooth road” vs. the “rough road” that kids travel (see “School Struggles” for elaboration).

When you’re a smooth road kid, life is pretty good.  Reasonable gratification is experienced in school.  Your parents are proud of your accomplishments.  You seem to get along nicely with others.   School and social life progress along on a relatively positive trajectory that continues into college and beyond.  From where I sit, about 50% of the kids are on a relatively smooth path.

Then there’s everyone else.

Within this bell-shaped curve are kids struggling academically, socially, and emotionally.  School is not a gratifying place for them.  Many of them feel like “losers.”  There is a cumulative effect to all of this.  One grade of negativity layers on top of another until the canvas cannot take any more of the splatted paint.

Research has shown that challenging/struggling kids get yelled at on average about 65 times a day.  65 negative comments a day X 365 days in the year equals 23,725 negative comments on average for the year.  That’s 237,250 comments for a 10 year period.

 So by the time a rough road kid reaches his mid- twenties he’s probably heard about a half million times in his life that there’s something wrong with him.   While that number may be exaggerated some, the basic facts are inarguable.

Kids on the rough side of the road do not feel good about themselves.  By the time they hit their mid- teens, many are angry and disconnected.  They do not feel that anyone is on their team.  There is no sense of encouragement coming from any source that matters.  Getting past their “loser” thinking becomes virtually impossible.

I won’t pretend for a second that I have the answers, but I do know unless we recognize the issues and get these kids connected, there will be rage.

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