I never considered blowing your nose to be such a complicated process! But boy do I take it for granted! This morning we attempted to create a task analysis for the process involved for the body and brain in order to blow your nose. Lets just say it involves a lot more than getting a tissue, blowing and putting the tissue in the garbage.
Blowing your nose requires attention to task, kinesthetic functions, auditory processing, working memory, visual processing, balance, gross motor skills, fine motor skills and the list goes on and on. There are so many steps that have to be in place before the task can be completed. From what I have learned today, this is no small task.
While Maureen and I were trying to complete this task, we experienced a little frustration along the way. We weren't really digging deep enough at first. We were focusing on the physical process, not everything else that goes along with it. This process really made me reflect and think about my students who experience difficulties completing specific tasks in class and how they might feel when this occurs. This task analysis relates back to the reading task analysis that we are continuing to work on. As Barb said, "Reading never just happens, it is one of the most complex cognitive processes that occur in the brain." As I continue to work on the reading task analysis, I realize just how complex the reading process is.
PBS The Secret Life of the Brain
This film contains five different episodes: The Baby's Brain, The Child's Brain, The Teenage Brain, The Adult Brain and the Aging Brain. Below is the episode on The Child's Brain.
APP SHOPPING!
Who would have thought we would be shopping in class! We finished up today's class with a little shopping. Everyone I know loves shopping, so what better way to end a class? I really enjoyed searching for apps to support students with reading difficulties. As I was reading some of the descriptions and reviews there were certain students in my class last year that I knew could benefit from the apps we were exploring. I was also thinking of ways I could use these apps in my class this upcoming year. My school purchased a couple of iPads in June, so I look forward to testing out these apps with my students. We'll be compiling a list of the apps we chose and posting them here tomorrow. Stay tuned....
I also keep thinking back to students from last year who would have benefited from a lot of the apps we're looking at. It's frustrating in hindsight but good to look forward to next year. You're very lucky to know that you'll have iPads to use in September, you'll have to do some PD with some of the other teachers at your school! Then again, you don't want them to be competing with you for time with them ;)
ReplyDeleteTeachers are sometimes quick to judge students who cannot complete a task on time. The Runny Nose activity made me realize that not all students have the organization, recall and prior knowledge necessary to execute certain tasks. I take a lot of things for granted such as the abilities to read, write and blow my nose without having to think about it. Our brains are not wired the same way. Therefore, we cannot assume that all students will meet our expectations with ease.
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