Using Validation to Help Regulate Emotions

Kim CarterLearning about Learning, Learning Specialists, Nonverbal thinking, Social Emotional Learning, Whole Child

This post by Sara Caitlyn Deal was originally posted on Southeast Psych’s blog.  Have you ever said something mean when you were angry that you later regretted? Or sent an email when you were really upset that later you wished was never sent? We have all done these things but communicating when overwhelmed with emotion does not usually work well. … Read More

The Mind Matters Show: Study Tip — The Format Shift

Kim CarterAffinities, Classroom Culture, Language, Learning Challenges, Learning Specialists, Student Strengths, Student Weaknesses

Here is the latest video from Dr. Craig Pohlman’s “The Mind Matters Show.” Ben Berg describes the video on this blog post as such, When it comes to studying for a test, some methods give you a better chance for success. On this episode of the Mind Matters Show, Dr. Craig Pohlman explains the difference between active and passive studying … Read More

Addressing Sensory Needs in the Classroom

Kim CarterAttention, Graphomotor Function, Learning, Learning Challenges, Learning Specialists, Nonverbal thinking, Whole Child

The following guest post is by Dr. Penny Cuninggim, Founder and Associate Director at New England Adolescent Research Institute (NEARI) and Director of the Brain-based Learning and Resource Center. You can sign up for NEARI’s “Smoothies for the Brain” Newsletter here.  Imagine your child in a world where something as basic and reliable as the sound of the school bell or … Read More

One School’s Faculty-wide Exploration of Schools for All Kinds of Minds

Kim CarterClassroom Culture, Differentiated Instruction, Differentiated Learning, Learning, Learning about Learning, Learning Challenges, Learning Specialists, Private School, School Culture, Strategies for teachers, Teacher Effectiveness, Teachers, Uncategorized

By Mary Mannix, Guest Blogger Last spring, administrators at Indian Creek School, an All Kinds of Minds School of Distinction, searched for a book for summer reading for the faculty that would be meaningful and relevant to teachers across all three divisions of the school, from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. Why Schools for All Kinds of Minds? Administrators chose Schools … Read More

Building Schools for All Kinds of Minds

Kim CarterAffinities, Classroom Culture, Differentiated Instruction, Learning, Learning about Learning, Learning Challenges, Learning Specialists, School Culture, Strategies for teachers, Student Strengths, Student Weaknesses, Teacher Effectiveness, Teachers, Uncategorized

In our recently-published book, Schools for All Kinds of Minds: Boosting Student Success by Embracing Learning Variation, our CEO Mary-Dean Barringer makes the point that “Educators, school leaders and policymakers … talk around learning but not about learning,” and she notes that equipping educators with current knowledge from science about how we are wired to learn is essential to the … Read More

Summer Blog Series Post #8: The Role of Social Cognition in Talking to Different Audiences

Kim CarterDemystification, Differentiated Learning, Learning, Learning Challenges, Learning Specialists, Social Cognition, Strategies for teachers, Teacher Effectiveness, Teachers

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

Adapting to New Realities

Kim CarterLearning Specialists, Private School

There is one particular area where independent schools can play a large leadership role over the next generation. Because they are less encumbered by the laws and mandates that public schools face, independent schools can more readily adapt their programs to meet the needs of 21st century learners, digital natives in the parlance of the field. The sooner schools realize … Read More

Independent School Leadership

Kim CarterLearning Specialists, Private School, Teachers

As noted in the last entry, an independent school’s administration plays a role in developing a climate that welcomes students with diverse learning needs. Most administrations probably fall into one of these three categories: Willing and able – can promote an atmosphere welcoming to the needs of individual learners Willing but unable – promotes the ideal of a comprehensive learning … Read More

Consulting in Independent Schools

Kim CarterLearning Specialists, Private School, Teachers

Many of the students I work with attend private, independent schools, and the Philadelphia area is blessed with a large variety of high-quality schools. For students who learn differently, the atmosphere of the school they attend has much to do with their sense of success. It has been my observation that atmosphere is established in either a top-down or a … Read More

AKOM and the Solo Practitioner

Kim CarterDemystification, Learning Specialists, SA, Teachers

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