View
43
Download
0
Category
Tags:
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
Help! My Child Is So Disorganized!. Kerri-Anne Nolan, PhD Middle School Principal. CDS Family & Education Series Oct. 25, 2011. ? Essential Questions. Who is an organized student? Who is a disorganized student? What factors contribute to disorganization? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Citation preview
CDS Family & Education SeriesOct. 25, 2011
HELP!MY CHILD IS SO DISORGANIZED!
Kerri-Anne Nolan, PhDMiddle School Principal
? ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Who is an organized student?
Who is a disorganized student?
What factors contribute to disorganization?
Which factors contribute to organization?
Who can help teens and preteens become organized?
How can children learn to manage space and time?
WHO IS AN ORGANIZEDSTUDENT?
Doesn’t carry everything he owns in his backpack.
Can identify and bring home the books and materials needed to complete homework.
Can locate his finished homework in class and turn it in on time.
Can study efficiently because he know when tests are coming and has the information needed to study.
Goldberg, Donna, The Organized Student, 2005
WHO IS A DISORGANIZED STUDENT?
His backpack weighs more than he does.
He frequently loses things.
He doesn’t hand assignments in on time or at all.
His locker and backpack are full of crumpled papers.
He can’t manage time well, leaving everything for the last minute.
His home life is disrupted with frantic searches and last minute anxiety-ridden meltdowns.
Goldberg, Donna, The Organized Student, 2005
MORE ON ORGANIZATION
Organization is the ability to create and maintain systems to keep track of information or materials.
Organization is closely related to planning, setting priorities, and initiating tasks.
Children may understand the value of organization, but are unable to discover ways to keep track of things.
Negative consequences for disorganization, i.e. low grades, scolding, don’t motivate disorganized children to become organized, unless they are taught how.
http://www.ncld.org/ld-basics/ld-aamp-executive-functioning/basic-ef-facts/executive-skills-and-your-child-with-ld
THE BOTTOM LINE IS . . .
“An organized student can find what he needs when he needs it.”
Goldberg, Donna, The Organized Student, 2005
TYPES OF DISORGANIZED STUDENTS
The Over-Scheduled Procrastinator
The Scattered Charmer
The Tech Master
The Seriously Struggling Student
The Creative Wonder
The Intellectual Conversationalist
The Sincere Slacker
The Seemingly Satisfied Underachiever
Homayoun, Ana. That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week, 2010
ARE CDS STUDENTS DISORGANIZED?
You be the judge. Take a look at the middle school lost and found after one quarter.
WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO DISORGANIZATION?
Middle and high school are not like elementary school
Teen brains have limited executive functions
Today’s world is loaded with distractions
Technology is changing the way the brain thinks
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL ARE NOT LIKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Students have many different teachers
Students have many different classrooms
Schedules are different every day as well
Teachers expect students to be responsible and being organized is part of being responsible
TEEN BRAINS HAVE LIMITED EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS
Executive functions are the processes the brain uses to create, organize, and follow plans. We use them to
Make plans Keep track of time and finish work on time Keep track of more than one thing at once Evaluate ideas Reflect on our work Change our minds and make corrections while thinking, reading, and
writing Ask for help or seek more information when we need it Engage in group work Wait to speak until called on
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Executive_Function/?page=2
STUDENTS WITH POOR EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS MAY STRUGGLE WITH
Planning projects
Comprehending how much time a project will take to complete
Telling stories (verbally or in writing)
Struggling to communicate details in an organized, sequential manner
Memorizing and retrieving information from memory
Initiating activities or tasks, or generating ideas independently
Retaining information while doing something with it, for example, remembering a phone number while dialing
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Executive_Function/?page=2
EXECUTIVE SKILLS AND ADHD
All children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) need help with executive skills. Researchers now believe that ADHD is primarily a disorder of executive skills, rather than of attention. Children with this condition aren’t able to regulate themselves well enough to be able to plan, control impulses, or organize. It’s important to remember that not all children with weak executive skills have ADHD.
http://www.ncld.org/ld-basics/ld-aamp-executive-functioning/basic-ef-facts/executive-skills-and-your-child-with-ld
ACCORDING TO NEUROSCIENTIST JAY GIEDD
. . . I think that this part of the brain that is helping organization, planning and strategizing is not done being built yet . . . [It's] not that the teens are stupid or incapable. It's sort of unfair to expect them to have adult levels of organizational skills or decision making before their brain is finished being built . . .http://www.edinformatics.com/news/teenage_brains.htm
HERE’S THE BAD NEWS
The prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until a person is in the mid-20’s, with men taking a little longer than women!
TODAY’S WORLD IS LOADED WITH DISTRACTIONS
Your child’s bedroom may be full of objects that weren’t even invented when you were in school
Many of these objects are designed to entertain, communicate, or just plain waste time
They also keep children from staying focused on school work
ACCORDING TO A RECENT STUDY . . .
Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media daily (over 53 hours weekly).
By multitasking they actually pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours.
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia012010nr.cfm
Top online activities include social networking (:22 a day), playing games (:17), and visiting video sites such as YouTube (:15).
Three-quarters (74%) of all 7-12 graders say they have a profile on a social networking site.
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia012010nr.cfm
The study focuses on recreational use of media: for example, time spent using the computer or reading for school is not included in calculations of media use.
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia012010nr.cfm
TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THE WAY THE BRAIN THINKS
While technology is of great educational benefit, it has its downside.
Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are said to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centered. Repeated exposure could effectively 'rewire' the brain.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1153583/Social-websites-harm-childrens-brains-Chilling-warning-parents-neuroscientist.html
ACCORDING TO NEUROSCIENTIST SUSAN GREENFIELD
"My fear is that these technologies are infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.“
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1153583/Social-websites-harm-childrens-brains-Chilling-warning-parents-neuroscientist.html
WHICH FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO ORGANIZATION?
Learning to be organized is a process that must be taught.
An organized person is able to understand and manage time.
An organized person is able to keep track of stuff!
An organized student has good study skills.
WHO CAN HELP TEENS AND PRETEENSBECOME ORGANIZED?
Teachers
Parents
Tutors (maybe)
Professionals (maybe)
The children themselves (with training)
H O W D O C H I L D R E N L E A R N T OM A N A G E S PA C E A N D T I M E ?
We need to understand that organization involves three components:
The home
The school
And timeGoldberg, Donna, The Organized Student, 2005
THE HOME: MANAGING SPACE
The student needs a good study area that provides lots of storage, desk area and supplies.
This could be in the bedroom, but sometimes a more public place such as the kitchen or dining room is better for supervision.
The student needs a binder or folder system to keep track of work that must go to school.
The student needs a filing system for work that is graded or finished, but should not yet be recycled.
THE HOME: MANAGING TIME
A structured homework time – the same time every day!
Avoid multitasking which just serves to distract the student from doing homework -- no TV, music, video games, or social networking.
Strict control over computer -- homework first!
THE SCHOOL: MANAGING SPACE
Students have two places in which to keep all belongings: their locker and backpack.
They are expected to keep the locker clean and to empty the backpack into the locker.
Middle school students have a locker outside of their advisory class.
In middle school, backpacks are not taken inside classrooms; they are hung on hooks attached to the hallway railings.
Items not inside lockers or backpacks are taken to the lost and found.
LESS THAN IDEAL
MUCH BETTER
THE SCHOOL: MANAGING TIME
Get to school early and use the time to get organized.
The middle school uses a block schedule with six short periods on Mondays and three long periods (80 min.) the rest of the week.
The high school has a seven day rotating schedule with five periods each day (57 min.).
Students have 4 minutes to get to class after a break.
Most grade level classrooms are near each other, so limited travel time is needed.
THE SCHOOL: STUDY SKILLS
Check edline daily. Practice listening skills. Practice following directions. Learn to take notes. Learn to set goals. Learn how to break down big projects into
manageable steps. Learn how to study for a quiz or test.
THE PORTABLE OFFICE
Think of the backpack as a portable office.
It transports items between the home and school.
It should NOT become a black hole where everything disappears!
Ideally, the backpack should be completely emptied and tidied up once a week.
Contents should be removed and placed in the locker daily.
NOT THE BEST SYSTEM
THIS IS BETTER
MRS. ORGANIZED
Ana Homayoun
ACCORDING TO ANA HOMAYOUN
The three most important ways for parents to help their children/students:
Distraction Free Study Space
Two-Hour Study Time
Weekly Planning Meeting
STEP BY STEP
Step ONE: a conversation (not a lecture!) at home about organization. Topics to bring up include:
Executive functions
Setting goals
Time management and the use of a planner or agenda
Organizing the backpack, study area, and locker
Creating a portable office system
STEP BY STEP
Step TWO: Get to know your child’s stuff.
Backpack
Desk at home
Locker at school
Portable office (if one exists)
STEP BY STEP
Step THREE: Use the PACK system.
Purge
Accessorize
Categorize
Keep It Up!Goldberg, Donna, The Organized Student, 2005
PURGE
Empty the locker and bring everything home (best done on a Friday)
Empty the backpack
Empty the desk drawers
Throw out the trash
Remove items not needed for school
Set aside what needs to be put back
ACCESSORIZE
Find out what your child needs access to such as school supplies, PE and sports items, materials for the portable office and home study area
Outfit the locker with the accessories your child needs such as an extra shelf, copy of schedule, extra school supplies
Follow up to find out if anything else is needed
CATEGORIZE
Separate the contents of the locker and backpack into categories such as what is needed for classes vs. needed for PE, music, or after school activities
Have your child sort through loose papers and recycle or keep the ones no longer needed at school in a home file
Have your child organize all still needed papers in a binder, accordion file, or a system for transporting them between the home and school
KEEP IT UP!
This is not a one time thing! Explain to your child that even adults must periodically clean out their purses, briefcases, and kitchen cabinets
Explain to your child that the desk, locker, and backpack will get messy again, so regular upkeep is necessary
Find a fixed time each week, either one set evening or on the weekend, to do a general clean up of the desk and backpack
KEEP THE END IN MIND
“Would you tell me please which way I ought to walk from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where –” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way to walk,” said the Cat.From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as quoted in Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits
of Highly Effective Teens, 1998
RESOURCES
Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, New York: Fireside, 1998.
Finder, Allan. “Giving Disorganized Boys the Tools for Success.” The New York Times. Jan. 1, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/education/01boys.html?pagewanted=all
Goldberg, Donna. The Organized Student, New York: Fireside, 2005.
Goldsmith, Bonnie. “Executive Skills and Your Child with Learning Disabilities.” Sept. 8, 2010. http://www.ncld.org/ld-basics/ld-aamp-executive-functioning/basic-ef-facts/executive-skills-and-your-child-with-ld
Homayoun, Ana. That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week, New York: Penguin Group, 2010.
The Kaiser Family Foundation. “Daily Media Use among Children and Teens Up Dramatically from Five Years Ago.” Jan. 20, 2010. http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia012010nr.cfm
Recommended