thinking

Sequencing is Important.

 

Jj is for Jottings 127.  Sequencing is Important.

We probably don’t think about it very much, but sequencing is important in many aspects of our lives.  A definition of “sequence” is: a set of related events, movements, or items that follow each other in a particular order.  (This is the definition for the noun.  It is also a verb, as in “I’m going to sequence the tracks on my playlist.”)

Photos of alpacas in a paddock, with the caption: Sequencing is important - but is it important in this picture?

Sequencing is important – but is it important in this picture?

Many times, if things are not in sequence, they don’t make any sense.  Although the playlist referred to above has a sequence, the sequence isn’t vital; it’s just a preference.  But if you put on your shoes first and then your socks… Continue reading →

8 Types of Intelligence.

Jj is for Jottings 109.  8 Types of Intelligence.

Most people know about the IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test, and you may have taken an IQ test at some stage.  Some scientists argue that tests like these favour people with logical and mathematical abilities, and ignore other areas like artistic, linguistic, musical or interpersonal skills.

Harvard scientist, Howard Gardner finally discovered, after many years of research, that there are 8 types of intelligence.  Continue reading →

Auditory Sequential Memory – Useful Figures.

Sam, the toenail-eating dog in Spring 2014, aged 15 years.

Jj is for Jottings 22. Auditory Sequential Memory: Some Useful Figures.

Thinking/cognition involves auditory sequential memory (also referred to as short term auditory processing or short term auditory memory) and visual sequential processing, working memory and executive function.
Auditory and visual sequential processing is how many pieces of information you can take in.
Working memory is how many pieces of information you can take in, hold it in your memory and DO something with it (manipulate the pieces).
Executive function is where you have taken in the information and remembered it, and now you are bringing in other information from long term memory and using visualisation (thinking in pictures) and conceptualisation (thinking in words) to manipulate the information and make associations i.e. think.
Auditory sequential memory is measured quite simply by using digit span – how many single numbers are remembered when presented one second apart. eg. 9-5-2-4. The average adult has a digit span of 7 (but this starts to decline after the late 20’s). At birth the sequential processing is 0. Typically it takes around 15 years to go from 0-7. Here’s a little guide:
Age Number of Digits
3 years 2-3
4 years 3-4
5 years 3,4,5
6 years 5-6
7-15 years 7 Continue reading →

Literacy Development.

Some of the alpacas’ neighbours who live in the orchard next to their paddock. They can have conversations through the gate if they choose, although the alpacas have never seen chicks this small because they are locked in a pen with their mother until they are big enough not to be attacked by a cat or a bird of prey.

Jj is for Jottings 19. Literacy Development.

There is a close relationship between listening/speaking (oral language) and reading/writing (written language).
From early on in life we listen, think and talk. We THINK in oral language and pictures in our minds. We READ and WRITE by building another layer onto the listening, thinking and talking. Therefore, if oral language is reduced or imperfect in any way, we have a faulty base on which to build written language. It is like trying to build a brick wall on a foundation of sand.
Not all children who have early speech and language problems will have difficulty in learning to read and write, but about 50% will. Many children beginning school do not have strong enough language skills to support learning to read and write, even if they don’t have any glaringly apparent speech or language problems.
Speech/language problems can occur at sound, word or sentence level.
Sound Level: Difficulty in producing sounds.
Not being able to hear the individual sounds in a word.
Word Level: Not understanding the meanings of words.
Not being able to remember familiar words.
Not knowing how or why to change parts of words to change
meaning eg. Adding an ‘s’ to make a plural.
Sentence Level: Not understanding or using the grammatical rules of
language.  Continue reading →

Movement and Learning.

Jj is for Jottings 5.  Movement and Learning.

Pictured: “Will you just go away and stop taking photos!” Manuel – an alpaca with attitude.

 

Did you know that learning requires movement? We fall into the trap of dividing life into physical versus mental activities, but in fact we can’t separate movement from learning.
Skills of all types are built through muscle movements, from the physical skills of athletes, dancers etc., to the less obvious (but very complex) muscle movements involved in speech, language and gesture. Even if our thinking is deep and abstract, it can only be manifested through the use of the muscles in our bodies – speaking, writing, making music, computing and so on.
At the very start of the learning process we move so that we align our sensory organs to receive maximum input from our environment eg. turning your head so that one ear is close to the person speaking to you in a noisy room; moving your eyes around to take in the entire diagram on the whiteboard.
There must be movement to “pin down” a thought. You may sit quietly to think, but an action must be used to anchor a thought – either written or spoken words. Talking (or writing) allows us to organise and elaborate our thoughts. When we talk about what we’ve learned, the physical movements internalise and solidify it in nerve networks.
Studies clearly show that more active people – adults and children – score better on mental tests than less active people. Recent research has discovered that muscular activities, especially co-ordinated movements, stimulate the production of neurotrophins, which in turn stimulate the growth of nerve cells and increase the number of neural connections in the brain. How many times have we observed that the students who excel academically at secondary school are also excellent sportspeople, and many are also talented in music and other arts?
So it is essential to the learning process that we allow children to explore every aspect of movement and balance in their environment – walking along the kerb, climbing a tree, or even jumping on the furniture! Or perhaps a more acceptable alternative to that last one.