In a recent commentary piece at Education Week, author, speaker and educator Dr. Thomas Armstrong argues for tipping from a deficit model to a more inclusive (and enlightened) model that values students’ strengths, regardless of their learning profiles. He writes, I believe it’s time for a paradigm shift in the field of special education. Fortunately, a new concept has emerged … Read More
Topography of Diversity
Below is a pretty cool topographical map of a brain from UNIT SEVEN. While it is not to be taken as scientifically accurate, it does serve as a fantastic metaphor for thinking about students’ minds. We know that while the major structures of the brain are largely the same from one cranium to the next, the specific architecture of individual … Read More
Origami and Temporal-Sequential Ordering … An All Kinds of Minds Lesson Plan
It’s the time of year when lesson planning is, once again, on every teacher’s mind. And we at All Kinds of Minds are thinking about lesson plans, too – that is, “Learning about Learning” lesson plans! We believe that it is critical to empower students to find success. Educators can promote and support this goal in many ways. One way is to help … Read More
Summer Blog Series Post #8: The Role of Social Cognition in Talking to Different Audiences
By the time children and adolescents arrive at school, chances are that they’ve already interacted socially with a number of different people: their parents/caregivers, siblings, friends, school acquaintances, and bus driver, to name a few. And once they’re in school, they assume the role of student. As students, they also interact with teachers, administrators, and other support staff around the … Read More
AKOM and the Solo Practitioner
There are many roles an educator can play. For years I was blessed to work at the Center School, an independent school outside of Philadelphia. During my years there, our faculty completed the Schools Attuned Generalist Course, and another teacher and I trained to become course facilitators. The school was a perfect setting for using a neurodevelopmental lens to develop … Read More
Implementing SA at WA
Since Max has taken the time to introduce you to the school, I’ll take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Chris English. I am in my ninth year as an educator, and will be starting my first year at Wasatch Academy this month. I have a MA in English, and have been working in North Carolina Public Schools … Read More
AKOM at Purnell School
We are pleased to be the July bloggers for AKOM. We have actively implemented the Schools Attuned program since 2004; all of our students get demystified during their first year at Purnell, all teachers are trained, and AKOM strategies and terminology are utilized in and outside of class. As a small girls boarding school, we at Purnell have the unique … Read More
Understanding and Accepting
Last week I completed the exam accommodation schedule for our students at Forman School. It was enlightening to see that students who were once resistant to taking an exam in the library for a distraction free environment or in the computer lab where they would have access to a word processor to compose essays were now readily signing up for … Read More
