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Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
 
Dr Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
---mid-September '10 Edition--- (current subscribers: 21,442)
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News and updates to Kathie Nunley's Layered Curriculum® Sites for Educators:
http://Help4Teachers.com
http://brains.org

Do you have a NEW EMAIL address? You can unsubscribe your old one and
subscribe the new one using the link at the bottom of this newsletter.

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--------SECTION ONE: TEACHING TIPS ------
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Teacher Tip # 1: Dance the vocabulary words. Victoria Cayuela, The Study
School, Montreal, Quebec.

Teacher Tip # 2: Call home early in the year (before you "need to"), so that
you have some report with parents as adults with a common interest - the
child's success. Andaluza Nagy, Ontario.

Send your favorite teaching tip to me at Kathie@brains.org
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------SECTION TWO: HOT TOPICS in Neuro & Educational Psychology------
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HOT TOPIC # 1: Moral Disengagement is a term psychologists use to
denote what can happen when a young person is raised in an environment
with exposure to a lot of trauma. It is associated with frequent aggressive
and violent behavior. Apparently it is easier to rationalize violent or
aggressiveness if your surrounding seem to indicate it is the “norm” and
still allows you to consider yourself a moral person.
Higher trauma = poor social problem solving = higher moral disengagement.
Inner-city adolescents are exposed to a lot of trauma. Interventions that only
address or treat only the child are ineffective because they just return to the
same traumatic environment.
Kedel L Coker, PhD, Nova Souteastern University. T"rauma and Violence in
Adolescent Populations: Linking Trauma and Moral Disengagement in
African American Inner-city Youth". August 12, 2010. APA Annual Convention,
San Diego, CA.

HOT TOPIC #2: There are some simple things one can look for in diagnosing
autism in a very young toddler: Eye contact and gesturing using other people’s
bodies are the first things to note. Also watch for what the infant does when
ignored. A toddler without autism, when ignored in the room, will seek out
attention within 7 – 11 seconds. A toddler with autism will go for long periods
of time.
Catherine Lord, PhD, University of Michigan. Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum
disorders: From research to practice. August 13, 2010. APA Annual Convention,
San Diego, CA.

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---SECTION THREE: WEB UPDATES ---
BRAINS.ORG & HELP4TEACHERS.COM
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Are you ready to operate a differentiated classroom this year, but not sure how
to get started? We have a variety of ways to help you learn
Layered Curriculum®?

1. Watch the 4-part video mini-lesson to get you started at the website:
http://help4teachers.com/articles.htm

2. Or try the individual study kit (regular or the new deluxe version which
comes with the 90 minute training video).
http://help4teachers.com/books.htm

3. Read the articles and look at the sample lesson plans:
http://help4teachers.com/samples2.htm

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New VIDEOS POSTED ON THESE TOPICS:

#41 A Summary of the ADHD research:
http://www.youtube.com/brainsorg#p/u/2/qDctydfotho

#44 Research and Setting Policies for Cyberbullying
http://www.youtube.com/user/brainsorg?feature=mhum#p/u/0/cfZPc2PNObA

Also I've posted a video outlining our Uganda project for those interested in
helping this year:
http://www.youtube.com/brainsorg#p/u/0/fz-qmNTTn0M

If you visit our YouTube channel, you can watch all 40+ of my video tips and topics.
=========================================

New PODCASTS NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD
August started our monthly podcasts available for download at Brains.org
The first one is on the importance of sleep to the learning process:
http://brains.org/podcast1.mp3

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-----SECTION FOUR: KATHIE'S EMAIL
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Dr. Nunley,
I'm a parent of a 14 year old son, in Ontario, Canada. I have been extremely frustrated
with the school system and the cookie cutter approach so many teachers use. My son
is a hands-on learner and he's struggling right now in Grade 9 science. Each day, his
science teacher stands at the front of the room and lectures to the class while they
take notes. These are 14 year olds! It's boring and it has no meaning for them. I know
that the world of science can be interesting and yet this teacher is turning kids off. As
a consequence of this teacher's approach, not only is my son failing to learn, his
self-esteem is taking a beating as well.

Reading articles on your website reinforced my understanding of how teaching ought to
be undertaken. I don't know how to address this with the teacher/school so that he's not
penalized for me speaking out; however, I can't sit back and let this continue. I would
appreciate any suggestions you may have as to how I should deal with this. I am so
concerned for my son.
Sincerely, L. M. (name withheld)

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Dear L.M,
I can certainly hear your concern and the frustration in your note. I take it though
as very positive that we now see more and more parents seeking out
dynamic, student-centered programs for their child. You are correct, traditional
teacher-centered programs are boring our children right out of an education!
.
I would suggest that you have a talk with the administration at the school to see if
they could place your son in classes which have adopted a more student-centered
approach. It's early in the year, so perhaps a change could be made now. If not,
then at the term. If more administrators hear the demands from parents, perhaps
they will start to see that these traditional classrooms will have to reform or they will
be extinct very soon.

Best of luck to you and your son,
Kathie

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------SECTION FIVE: WORKSHOPS / SCHEDULE / MISC CHAT------
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Welcome Autumn! We are having an early fall here in New England. The
nights are down-right chilly, the sweaters are on, the firewood is being stacked
and the fall colors are peaking through a bit on the trees. I hope you get a
chance to enjoy this amazing season.

I also want to send my best wishes to the teachers in Bermuda who were
so cordial to me earlier this month. Last night they had to suffer the strong
winds of Hurricane Igor. I hope all is restored soon on your beautiful island
nation.

As the new school year settles in, schools everywhere are dealing with the
same challenges - budgets are tightened and the recession takes it's toll
on the kids. But somehow we all still persevere in the hopes of making a
difference in the lives of future generations. The regional differences though,
are sometimes amazing. My dearest friend, Deetta Bird, teaches 11th grade
English in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah. She shared with me this week that she has
a class load this year of 221 students in 6 classes! Wow, that sure puts our
classloads of 80 here, in perspective.

I have several new workshops, conferences and presentations in the works and
on the schedule. If you are looking to attend a Layered Curriculum® presentation,
information is posted online at: http://help4teachers.com/calendar.htm

If you are wanting to host a "Differentiating with Layered Curriculum®" workshop
at your school or education center in the upcoming school year, there are still a
few openings on my spring and summer 2011 calendar. Just send me an email.

As always, my best to yours,
Kathie

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=======================================================
Layered Curriculum® is a trademark developed by and registered
to Dr. Kathie F Nunley. Usage information available at:
http://help4teachers.com/usage.htm

Dr Kathie F Nunley
Layered Curriculum® . . . because every child deserves a special education (tm)


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