Humor — It’s all in your head

Kim CarterBrain Facts, Higher Order Thinking

Humor is generally regarded as an important and valuable tool for sustaining engagement with students (in moderation, of course). But what is really going on in the brain when it comes to humor? In an article in New Scientist magazine, Daniel Elkan writes, Yet humour is a far more complex process than primeval pleasures like sex or food. In addition to … Read More

The Mysterious Workings of the Adolescent Brain

Kim CarterBrain Facts, Higher Order Thinking, Student Strengths, Student Weaknesses

There is a common thread that connects the earliest parents to the current ones. It isn’t walking to school uphill in snow both ways, negotiating screen time, or bedtime battles. At some point or another we have all thought the same thing about our kids: “What in the world were they thinking?!” While neuroscience still has a long way to … Read More

What’s Up with Kate? (Part 2)

Kim CarterAffinities, Differentiated Instruction, Differentiated Learning, Higher Order Thinking, Language, Learning, Learning about Learning, Learning Challenges, Memory, Reading, Strategies for teachers, Student Strengths, Student Weaknesses, Teachers

Last week we told you about Kate, a 6th grade student with some learning challenges.  Kate is earning good grades, but she really has to work hard for everything – seemingly much harder than her peers.  She struggles to retain new vocabulary words, recall information from reading passages, follow multi-step directions, and master math facts. So what’s really going on … Read More

Teachers: What’s Your Framework?

Kim CarterAttention, Classroom Culture, Differentiated Instruction, Differentiated Learning, Higher Order Thinking, Language, Learning, Learning Challenges, Research, School Culture, Strategies for teachers, Teacher Effectiveness, Teachers, Uncategorized

By Craig Pohlman, Ph.D., Co-author of Schools for All Kinds of Minds and Director of MindMatters at Southeast Psych, a learning program in Charlotte, NC In some circles, All Kinds of Minds has become equated with the neurodevelopmental framework it uses, but this framework is only one aspect of their approach to understand learning and learners.  All Kinds of Minds is … Read More

Summer Blog Series Post #6: The Role of Higher Order Cognition in Revising Written Work

Kim CarterDifferentiated Learning, Higher Order Thinking, Learning, Learning Challenges, Strategies for teachers, Teacher Effectiveness, Teachers, Writing

Adding content and new ideas to a story, essay, or report can be difficult, but it is also very important. Students may stop at the end of a sentence, reread what they have written, and decide there is a better word to express what they want to say. They may find places where they need to add more description or … Read More