MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'gifted'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:28:29 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4259033&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fresearch-bytes-cognitive-employment.html Three interesting articles from one of my favorite journals--Current Directions in Psychological Science.As per usual when I make a research byte/brief post, if anyone would like to read the original article, I can share via email---with the understanding that the article is provided in exchange for a brief guest post about it's contents. :) (contact me at iap@earthlink.net if interested). Also, if figure/images are included in the post, they can usually be made larger by clicking on the image.- iPost using BlogPress from my Kevin McGrew's iPadintelligence IQ tests IQ scores CHC theory Cattell-Horn-Carroll human cognitive abilities psychology school psychology individual differences cognitive psychology neuropsychology special education educational psychology psychometrics psychological as... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4259033 Wed, 15 Dec 2010 02:43:00 +0100 4259033 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4237942&cid=t_105247_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F12%2F07%2Fjohn-lennon-psychodrama-of-a-gifted-child%2F When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. ~ John Lennon On Dec. 8th, 1980, I was in bed listening to the radio when suddenly, in a voice labored by heavy breathing and halting words, the disc jockey broke the news that John Lennon had been shot and killed in front of his New York City apartment building. The news ransacked my brain. The Beatles weren’t just a rock band; they gave us an identity. Their songs weren’t simply catchy tunes or stray memorable lyrics. The music told us who we were. It pointed us in a whole new direction. The simplicity and ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4237942 Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:43:08 +0100 4237942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133998&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fresearch-bytes-gf-and-gv-related-to.html To cite this Article: Prescott, James , Gavrilescu, Maria , Cunnington, Ross , O'Boyle, Michael W. and Egan, Gary F. (2010) 'Enhanced brain connectivity in math-gifted adolescents: An fMRI study using mental rotation', Cognitive Neuroscience, 1:4, 277 - 288, First published on: 09 August 2010 (iFirst) AbstractMathematical giftedness is a form of intelligence related to enhanced mathematical reasoning that can be tested using a variety of numerical and spatial tasks. A number of neurobiological mechanisms related to exceptional mathematical reasoning ability have been postulated, including enhanced brain connectivity. We aimed to further investigate this possibility by comparing a group of mathematically gifted adolescents with an average math ability control group performing mental rotatio... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133998 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:44:00 +0100 4133998 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074242&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fipost-are-you-high-iq.html Woodley, M. A. (2010). Are high-IQ individuals deficient in common sense? A critical examination of the 'clever sillies' hypothesis. Intelligence, 38(5), 471-480.AbstractA controversial hypothesis [Charlton (2009). Clever sillies: Why high-IQ people tend to be deficient in common sense. Medical Hypotheses, 73, 867–870] has recently been proposed to account for why individuals of high-IQ and high social status tend to hold counter-intuitive views on social phenomena. It is claimed that these ‘clever sillies’ use their high general intelligence and Openness to Experience to overanalyze social problems for which socially intelligent/common sense responses would seemingly be more appropriate. The first three sections of this review will consider i) the relationship between general and so... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074242 Sat, 16 Oct 2010 17:01:00 +0100 4074242 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3519504&cid=t_105247_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F04%2F30%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-april-30-2010%2F Call me biased, but I think those with mental health “problems” are actually the healthiest of the bunch. It’s what’s hidden in Alice Miller’s book title The Drama of the Gifted Child. It’s also how I perceive these lyrics from Natalie Merchant’s song Wonder: “Know this child will be gifted. With love, with patience and with faith. She’ll make her way.” That with therapy and other types of treatment those among us who work on their stuff will end up on the other side, healthier and stronger than the rest of the lot. With that being said, I hope you’ll take wisdom and hope from our top posts this week and keep carrying on your own personal journeys towards greater peace, health and happiness. Sneak Preview: New Film about ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3519504 Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:57:49 +0100 3519504 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3463640&cid=t_105247_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F04%2F13%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-april-13-2010%2F It’s a brand new week. Glad you made it! April’s a pretty hectic month, but we’re nearly halfway through. You’ve already gotten through April Fool’s Day, hopefully your taxes are finally done, spring break’s about over and well Earth Day is still to come. May the rest of this month be all about relaxing and enjoying the sun! For me, getting a little R&R means sitting down in a cafe and reading various chapters in my ever-growing stack of books. My shelf contains every subject including memoirs and psychology books. There’s a handful of fresh reads as well as a number of good old favorites. Have you ever gone back to reread an oldie to discover a new gem, some new found insight that makes you rethink your life? I recently flipped through The Dr... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3463640 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:08:46 +0100 3463640 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3026804&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2009%2F11%2Fwmf-press-chc-cognitive-profiles-of.html Researchers focusing on cognitive assessment research, particularly that focused on CHC theory and assessment, should take a peak at a new publication outlet for quicker dissemination of research results (which the authors retain the copyright for possible publication in professional journals)."The WMF Press™ publishes professional research and theory articles of interest to professionals in cognitive ability assessment. The on-line publication of these papers is a professional contribution of the Woodcock-Muñoz Foundation; there is no download fee."  Additional information regarding WMF Press can be found at the above link.  The first research bulletin has just been publishedMargulies, A. S., & Floyd, R. G. (2009). A Preliminary Examination of the CHC Cognitive Ability Profiles o... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3026804 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:21:00 +0100 3026804 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3019123&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F11%2Fless-is-more-smaller-corpus-callosum.html Conclusions: Although these results were not predicted, perhaps, as suggested by Bogen and Bogen(1988), decreased callosal connectivity enhances hemispheric specialization, which benefits the incubation of ideas that are critical for the divergent-thinking component of creativity, and it is the momentary inhibition of this e hemispheric independence that accounts for the illumination that is part of the innovative stage of creativity. Alternatively, decreased CC size may reflect more selective developmental pruning, thereby facilitating efficient functional connectivity."The data are particularly interesting given our work with gifted dyslexics - during development, gifted dyslexics may be able to do relatively pure left-hemispheric tasks well (e.g. logic, analytical reasoning) and relativ... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3019123 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:01:00 +0100 3019123 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2814560&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F09%2Fdyslexia-entrepreneur-lawyer-idealist.html “By rewarding me for the careful consideration of one idea instead of reading hundreds of pages of text, philosophy helped me conquer dyslexia." - Dov Seidman, CEO LRNDov Seidman struggled in school and was a classic dyslexic late-bloomer: "“My high school transcript boasted A’s: two of them, in Phys Ed and auto shop,” he joked, when he gave the commencement address at the UCLA in 2002. His SAT scores never topped 1000. Only later did he realize that he was dyslexic."Seidman managed to get admitted to UCLA, then stumbled into philosophy class because it wasn't full. "Philosophy and ethics became his passion, and he went on to earn a B.A. and an M.A. in philosophy from UCLA, a B.A. in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford (where he captained the Balliol college crew team) a... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2814560 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:01:00 +0100 2814560 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2748029&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Fdyslexia-and-autism-are-opposites.html s Structural studies from Michael Casanova and colleagues showed that the brains of dyslexic and autistic subjects had opposite findings. Microcolumns are repeating groups of neurons that share a common dendritic bundle. The microcolumnar hypothesis is the idea that the microcolumn is the basic unit in the cortex, not individual neurons."Dyslexia and autism are on opposite tails of the normal distribution of the width of minicolumns...Autistic individuals have increased number of smaller minicolumns and dyslexic children have decreased number of larger minicolumns..." When the depth of gyral depths were measured of dyslexics compared to controls, "mean gyral white matter depth was 3.05 mm (SD ± 0.30 mm) in dyslexic subjects and 1.63 mm (SD ± 0.15 mm) in the controls." Researchers specula... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2748029 Mon, 31 Aug 2009 07:01:00 +0100 2748029 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2727275&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Fbad-good-and-variability-of-time.html "Time is more flexible than most of us think." - Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiWe know them, we love them, we are them - the time blind are constantly running into trouble for being late or missing assignments, but they also can persist longer than non-blind people at projects or activities (forgetting to eat, sleep, etc.) and achieve things that time-keepers can only dream of.Who is Time Blind?Time perception is worse for children than adults, and children diagnosed with ADHD and children diagnosed with specific language impairment, but some variations in time perception occur in healthy people (apparently we are better at perceiving time in the morning compared to the evening...makes sense), and video games like Tetris causes adolescents to lose time (underestimate video game time vs. reading).... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2727275 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:01:00 +0100 2727275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2616763&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F07%2Fbeginnings-of-reason-earlier-than-you.html Developmental Psychologist Jean Piaget observed that if you presented 10-11 year olds with a counterfactual syllogism such as:All cats bark. (major premise)Muffins is a cat. (minor premise)Does Muffins bark?Most children fail to solve the syllogism because they answer, "No, cat's don't bark." But when a clever psychologist group decided to retry the questions in a playful tone of voice, they actually found that children as young as 2 years old could deductively reason (hmmm- now do we in our school systems assume that children reason that early?). Piaget had assumed that children did not develop the capacity for abstract reasoning until they were 11 years old or so, but he was wrong. Children were expecting the answers should be given on the basis of real-world reasoning and not as a hypot... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2616763 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:05:00 +0100 2616763 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2594521&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F07%2Fwhy-mit-students-cant-write-and-harvard.html An MIT PhD engineer dad was recounting an old saw about how MIT students can't write and Harvard students can't count and it made me chuckle because I am a Harvard grad who counts on her fingers. Like the old MIT-Harvard rivalry, there's often a cortical battle for resources between spatial and verbal / visual "picture" thinking. In studies of spatial experts, high levels of spatial expertise were correlated with lower levels of verbal fluency, auditory verbal memory, and visual memory (for more, read here. But these studies, if you look at mathematicians and physicists talking about their thought processes (see Hadamard's Psychology of invention. From the mathematician Hadamard: "I insist that words are totally absent from mind when I really think...even after reading or hearing a questio... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2594521 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:04:00 +0100 2594521 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2594522&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F07%2Fblack-sheep-or-gifted-dyslexic.html "'What will become of Fred?' That's the question that echoed through my home when I was a child. I was the son of two accomplished professionals, and my older brother was a good student who seemed destined to follow in my father's footsteps as doctor. Meanwhile, I was in second grade and still hadn't learned to read." - Fred Epstein, M.D. pioneering pediatric neurosurgeon, NYU Medical CenterDr. Epstein's story is all too familiar - one child from an academically-talented family seems to have so much trouble in school, and parents and teachers begin worry and possibilities fly about- mild retardation? immature? slow? Parents worry that they're just expecting too much from this child, and teachers may worry that over-achieving parents assume too much from their children. But what everyone ne... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2594522 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:02:00 +0100 2594522 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2572993&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F07%2Fparadigm-shift-for-big-picture-thinking.html What is 'big picture' thinking? Business consultant Andrew Sobel described it as:1. Having a simple framework2. Using analogies and metaphors3. Developing multiple perspectives4. Looking for patterns and commonalitiesBig picture thinking is usually lauded in the world of corporate leadership, but it doesn't cut the mustard in most K-12 classrooms. What makes a good grown-up leader and innovator, doesn't make an ideal student let's face it. But maybe we need a paradigm shift.Instead of training for compliance, careful rule-following, and exact memorization or a paragon of crystallized intelligence, we need to make more room for 'big picture' thinkers - while still recognizing the need for basic skills and knowledge.Pint-sized big picture thinkers really do exist and they seem to be over-rep... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2572993 Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:03:00 +0100 2572993 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2572994&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F07%2Ffamous-people-with-dyslexia-silicon.html "I invested a lot of hours disassembling door locks and things like that. My mother just called it mischief."- William Hewlett, co-founder Hewlett-PackardBill Hewlett was co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, currently the largest technology company in the world. Hewlett had a difficult early childhood because of his dyslexia and loss of his father in his teens. What started out as a few hundred dollars and space in a garage would soon grow into a high technology company with offices in nearly every country in the world. Hewlett's accomplishments were not limited to technology, however. Some believe his greatest accomplishment was in creating a model for creative corporations today..."...an egalitarian, decentralized system that came to be known as 'the HP Way'..."...one of the first all-company ... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2572994 Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:01:00 +0100 2572994 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2553141&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F06%2Ffamous-people-with-dyslexia-william.html “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” - William Butler Yeats, poet, Nobel Prize Winner in LiteratureWilliam Butler Yeats is one of the most famous poets of all time, but fewer people know of this quote from Yeats Autobiographies: "My father was angry and impatient teacher and flung the reading book at my head." But lest you get a permanent wrong impression of WB Yeats' father, this was also said of him (from Eileen Simpson's wonderful book Reversals):"When John Butler Yeats finally realized how useless it was to bully his son to rad aloud, when his son was clearly incapable of doing so, the father took over the reading himself. From the time the boy was nine until he was sixteen, father read to son from Macaulay, Scott, Shakespeare, Shelley, Rossetti, Blake- the nar... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2553141 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0100 2553141 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2463118&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F06%2Fgifts-and-talents-of-dyslexia-dyslexic.html NBC's leading foreign correspondent, Richard Engel was once "a frustrated child (who) got into frequent fistfights and struggled with dyslexia". From the Washington Post: "He was down in the mouth and low on self-confidence...He lived in the shadow of his older brother, Mr. Perfect," who is now a cardiologist. In fact, she had only "a very faint hope" that he would be able to go to college.When he was 13, Engel asked his parents to send him to a wilderness survival program in Wyoming. Frustrated by his learning disabilities, he was eager to escape the comforts of Upper East Side life and try a tougher environment...When the teenager returned, he told his mother: "I learned a lot about myself...Engel says the experience began a transformation that largely enabled him to overcome his dyslexi... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2463118 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0100 2463118 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2442132&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fdyslexic-mind-dyslexic-advantage-social.html We've just launched a new social network called Dyslexic Advantage at Ning (http://dyslexicadvantage.ning.com). We recognized a tremendous need for a community that approaches dyslexia from the big picture - recognizing as much (if not more) of the strengths associated with dyslexia as its frustrations and learning obstacles. Dyslexia also changes dramatically through the life span - and needs of an 8 year old are different from a 16 year old, are different from a college student, and an adult at the peak of their career. Dyslexia also runs in families - and there are issues and that affect siblings, spouses, and the whole household dynamic - and we really found little discussion of that aspect of the dyslexic experience. Our site also has videos, podcasts, journals, and discussion forum.F... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2442132 Tue, 26 May 2009 07:35:00 +0100 2442132 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2415556&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fspatial-thinkers-not-visual-and-not.html Although learning styles experts often mention "visual-spatial"together, a closer look at many of these people reveals distinctions - some who are both visual and spatial, but also other who seem nearly exclusively spatial, but not visual or vice-versa. Spatial thinkers are more common than most people think (in our clinic, this applies to many children of engineers, physicists, mathematicians, architects, and dyslexic kids in general), but though they may initially think of themselves as visual thinkers, when questioned carefully, they confess that their thinking is not actually pictoral. Rather, thought processing seems to involve space or kinesthetic / bodily sensations or associations. Ideas are located at different positions in space (or associated with the body), or bodily "feelings"... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2415556 Mon, 18 May 2009 07:01:00 +0100 2415556 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2405721&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fdifferent-brain-networks-for-novelty.html This may come as no great surprise to parents or teachers, but still the implications are significant for the classroom: different brain networks exist for attention depending on whether it is novelty-induced or voluntary. So it should come as no great surprise that a child with strong attention for novelty things or ideas (perplexing puzzle, a strange objects, etc.), may still be seen to thoroughly struggle when trying hard to direct his or her attention (voluntary control). A novel stimulus captures attention passively (whether you want it to or not)while other brain pathways are responsible for attention under voluntary control.It's those voluntary attention networks that are also more likely to take time to develop in children (including high IQ kids).If we really appreciate this neuro... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2405721 Mon, 11 May 2009 07:01:00 +0100 2405721 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2320513&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fgifted-2e-online-conferences-with-drs.html We're delighted to invite you to our upcoming online Gifted / 2E conference sponsored by OGTOC (Our Gifted Online Conferences) to benefit our daughter Karina's cancer / health fund.It should be a wonderful event: Topic: Gifted /Twice-ExceptionalGuest Experts: Drs. Brock & Fernette EideAuthors of The Mislabeled ChildDate: April 21- 23 2009 Register by April 18th!Time: 8:30 - 10:00 PM EST -USA 5:30 - 7:00 PM PST - USADay 1: Understanding Gifted Children - Comprehensive framework for understanding differences and similarities of gifted kids - Development, Neurobiology, Motivation & Interests, Temperament, and Experience.Day 2: Twice Exceptional: Gifted Children with Dyslexia / Gifted Children with DysgraphiaDay 3: Twice Exceptional: Gifted Children with Attention, Sensory Processing, and Soc... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2320513 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:29:00 +0100 2320513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2287229&cid=t_105247_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F03%2F24%2Fperfectionism-ring-the-bells%2F I recently dragged my kids to Baltimore so that I could have lunch with an old colleague (he’s young…but we’ve known each other for 13 years) at the National Catholic Education Association convention. A gifted writer and speaker, my friend can get his audience to laugh right after they’ve cried. As my Katherine and David grabbed his pieces of watermelon off his plate after rolling in the aisles of the publishers’ exhibit, he described his process of becoming comfortable in front of a large group of people who expect him to inspire them and say something spiritual that they can take home in their tote bags. The next day I sent him an e-mail thanking him for our time together and for sharing his gifts with the world–even though that’s, at times, a s... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2287229 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:57:54 +0100 2287229 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2293104&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fbiology-of-creativity-right-hemispheric.html A Northwestern research group has found that people that solve anagram puzzles by sudden insight rather than by conscious search or analytic strategies have an EEG resting state that prefers the right over the left hemisphere. What's different about this finding compared to a previous study is that this hemispheric difference exists even before problem solving begins. Wouldn't it be preferable if teachers knew which problem solving style students they before they taught them? Couldn't mismatches between problem solving approaches (insight vs. non-insight) contribute to school-related struggles and so-called underachievement?It's not a great leap to consider how these brain-related differences impact success or failure in the classroom, because we see many bright, creative children who seem... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2293104 Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:01:00 +0100 2293104 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2259408&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fpassion-and-flow-as-learning-strategy.html "When we look at highly successful dyslexic individuals, we see that they succeeded by following their substantial gifts, not by focusing on their difficulties." - Thomas G. West, In the Mind's Eye, Thinking Like Einstein"I was at the bottom in reading skills and spelling. I was a very, very, slow reader and couldn't read out loud or silently...when I was a freshman in high school, I became fascinated with nitrogen chemistry so I got organic chemistry textbooks and read them and various aeronautic journals..." - Roy Daniels, dyslexic biochemistWhen a student struggles with learning, the most common response of a parent or teacher would seem to be to have them work longer and harder on weaknesses. Presumably strong areas should be able to take care of themselves. But this strategy could bac... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2259408 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:34:00 +0100 2259408 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2150849&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F02%2Flate-talking-children-confused-with.html This study (figure above) provides insight into some of the whys of speech delay. When late-talking children listened to their mother's voices "recalling relatives, pets, and events; and singing familiar songs", they listened with their right language areas rather than their left (controls). We've blogged on some the characteristics of right-hemispheric language (Searching for the Right Word in the Right Brain); gifted dyslexic storytellers (here) also tend to have a right hemispheric pattern of expression - cinematic (immersive, multisensory, rich in associations), but often non-linear. The fMRI appearance of autistic subjects, on the other hand, is very different from this. Language problems associated with autism showed reduced connectivity with sentence comprehension tasks, but the act... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2150849 Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:01:00 +0100 2150849 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2113646&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fgifted-with-learning-disability-brain.html Since the 2004 re-authorization of the IDEA, twice exceptional students (students with gifted abilities or talents and LDs) have qualified for individualized educational support in the form of 504 accommodations or an IEP. That said, twice exceptional students are often overlooked in conventional school settings because their gifts may compensate enough to avoid identification for help, but not enough to avoid emotional problems and often gross academic achievement.From Successful Strategies for Twice Exceptional Students above, it's easy to see how students' gifted abilities might be missed; often it is only parents or teachers who develop a close relationship with a student who notice advanced conceptual ability, abstract reasoning, self-initiated creative activities in the presence of o... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2113646 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:01:00 +0100 2113646 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2081146&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fcareer-success-of-adult-dyslexics.html "It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between." — C.S. LewisWe've been reading a great old book over the New Years holidays - Margaret Rawson's Dyslexia over the Lifespan, a 55 year longitudinal study of a group of 56 boys attending a school for dyslexia (Rawson put finishing touches on the book when she was 93 years old!). The Rose Valley School seems to have had a large population of gifted dyslexics. IQs ranged from 94 to 185, and the median Binet IQ was 131. 20 of the boys were moderately to severely dyslexic. Their dyslexia was diagnosed between the ages of 6 and 12 years. Following these kids over a 55 year period showed a positive future awaiting these kids - something that is often overlooked when a c... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2081146 Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:01:00 +0100 2081146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2074295&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fmathematical-minds.html "Most mathematicians did not just take up math as a "job"...(most) get more pleasure out of mathematics than almost any other activity. And they often discovered this pleasure when they were young..."While most people would agree that "math people" are not like "non-math people", it's not always easy for non-mathematical minds to recognize (and appropriately nurture) mathematical ones. The reasons for this are several - mathematical kids are often independent and internally-driven problem solvers who may or may not excel in the standard math tasks of the elementary school classroom (if he's such a math kid, how come he's getting C's on his timed drills?...) Many students with extreme talents in math may also be relatively verbal-poor, so are less obviously the "smart" children in class. Al... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2074295 Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:01:00 +0100 2074295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2042802&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fiq-isir-scholar-spotlight-david-lohman.html David Lohman presented at the 2008 ISIR conference. I've been a big fan of Lohman's work as much of it has direct application to the work of practicing school and educational psychologists. Lohman was a student of the late Richard Snow, whose work has had a significant work on my thoughts regarding non-cognitive factors important for school learning (see prior post today). Lohman is an author of the group CogAt (click here to see prior post re: study with WJ III). Aside from being an excellent applied psychometrician, Lohman has written papers on a wide variety of topics in educational psychology and intelligence. He is also very generous in making his various publications available for download at his web page.At this conference he presented a paper comparing scores and norm characteristi... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2042802 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:24:00 +0100 2042802 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2008161&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fdissertation-dish-gifted-screening-and.html This study investigated the relation between children's executive functioning skills, assessed both before and during elementary school, and sixth grade academic and social competence. In addition, the influences of the type of school setting attended in sixth grade and elementary classroom experiences on children's academic and behavioral outcomes were examined. Finally, associations with children's level of physiological development (pubertal status) were investigated.Executive functioning skills were assessed broadly, using the Continuous Performance Test, the Woodcock-Johnson Memory for Sentences subtest, the Day-Night Stroop test, the Delay of Gratification test, and the Tower of Hanoi. Children's executive functioning skills significantly predicted sixth grade competence, as rated by... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2008161 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:13:00 +0100 2008161 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1939206&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F11%2Fdr-james-webb-webinar-nov-20th.html Because they lack training, mental health professionals are misdiagnosing gifted and talented children and adults as having mental disorders. The characteristics of gifted/talented children and adults - particularly if not understood at school, home, or work - often are mistaken for significant behavioral or emotional problems that can be misdiagnosed as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Conduct Disorder, or Bi-Polar Disorder... Parents and educators, therefore, must become more informed about these issues. However, for other children and adults, their giftedness is related, but often overlooked, for diagnoses that are accurate such as Existential Depression, Bi-Polar, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, Sleep Dis... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1939206 Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:55:00 +0100 1939206 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1889032&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fchanging-needs-of-gifted-education.html In anticipation of a new book from the American Psychological Association (The Development of Giftedness and Talent Across the Life Span) comes this Education Week article:Excerpt: "If schools were to view giftedness as more of a developmental process than an immutable attribute, they would likely need to test children more often. And children might move in and out of “gifted” programs more frequently, based on their individual needs."The points made include concepts such as "...Academic talents can wax and wane...(so that) a child who clearly outpaces his or her peers academically at age 8 can end up solidly in the middle of the pack by the end of high school. Instead of being innate and immutable, giftedness can be nurtured and even taught—and if ignored, it can also be lost."In mo... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1889032 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 07:01:00 +0100 1889032 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1871467&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fdissertation-dish-k-abc-ii-sb5-wj-iii.html Two new CHC-based dissertations I stumbled across this weekend.A joint-confirmatory factor analysis using the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Ability and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales: Fifth Edition with high-achieving children by Williams, Tasha H., Ph.D., Ball State University, 2005, 206 pages; AAT 3176652 Abstract: A considerable about of research has concentrated on studying the performance of high achieving children on measures of intellectual functioning. Findings have indicated high achieving children display differences in performance patterns as well as in the cognitive constructs measured when compared to their average peers. The conceptualization of intelligence has evolved over time and contemporary theories of intelligence have described cognitive ability as c... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1871467 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:04:00 +0100 1871467 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1773251&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Fflash-from-past-he-passed-in-what-he.html "He passed in what he thought idleness, and was scolded by his father for his want of steady application. He had no settled plan of life, nor looked forward at all, but merely lived from day to day. Yet he read a great deal in a desultory manner, without any scheme of study, as chance threw books his way, and inclination directed him through them..."When the teachers were interviewed about this Flash from the Past as a child, none recalled ever having corrected him except when "talking and diverting other boys from their business." Throughout his life, this Flash from the Past would be troubled by vision problems, hearing problems, facial tics, severe depression, and poverty. And yet despite these burdens, he would later be hailed as one of the "most distinguished man of letters in English... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1773251 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:01:00 +0100 1773251 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1754772&cid=t_105247_133_f&fid=35090&url=http%3A%2F%2Faspiehomeeducation.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Fhome-educated-savant.html From Wikipedia: "Matt was a precocious infant who walked early and learned to read by age 18 months. He was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder, a form of autism, at age three. Matt did not like any noises or music during his early childhood. At age six, Matt taught himself to read piano music. He and his younger sister, Rebecca, are both home schooled. Despite his young age and his autism, and even without formal instruction in musical composition, Matt is an accomplished musician and composer."Matt also appears in Mad but Glad. Part 2 of the documentary can be watched here. (Source: Aspie Home-Education) Aspie Home-Education blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1754772 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:41:00 +0100 1754772 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1750241&cid=t_105247_133_f&fid=35090&url=http%3A%2F%2Faspiehomeeducation.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Fchild-genius.html This channel 4 documentary includes two gifted children who are, or at least were, at some point, home educated: Adam Napier-Smith and Peter Williams. Curious? Watch it online: Part 1 - Part 2 (Source: Aspie Home-Education) Aspie Home-Education blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1750241 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:46:00 +0100 1750241 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1618090&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F07%2Fsmart-girls-smart-boys.html Using a connectivity model and fMRI imaging, researchers at Cinncinati Childrens Hospital found that intelligent girls and boys use different brain pathways to processing and understand verbal information.When students were matched by IQ and performances on a verbal comprehension task, researchers found that girls relied more on their left superior temporal gyrus connection to left hemispheric language areas, while boys needed their right superior temporal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus to connect to left hemispheric language areas.So boys and girls need to pass through different neurobiological hurdles to reach the same level of intellectual proficiency(at least in narrative comprehension)...what might that mean for different teaching strategies? One wonders whether right hemispher... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1618090 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:01:00 +0100 1618090 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1603104&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F07%2Fflash-from-past-i-must-be-slightly-off.html "I must be slightly off my head. I get caught up in all the extraordinary adventures of my heroes. I regret only one thing, not being able to accompany them pedibus cum jambis (on foot)." Although our flash from the past wrote the above quote while he was a 20-something young author of adventure books, while he was just 11 years old, he ran away from home to work on a merchant ship as a cabin boy. Alerted to the scheme by a neighbor, his father had him removed from the ship before he had sailed far, and the flash-from-the-past was "given a good talking to, thrashed, and reduced to bread and water..." He would later vow, "Henceforth I will travel only in dream."Who was he? None other than Jules Verne. Biographers have said that Jules was running away more from boarding school than his famil... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1603104 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:43:00 +0100 1603104 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1554474&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fquick-creativity-music-improvisation.html In this interesting paper from the NIH, researchers found that when jazz musicians improvised or made a spontaneously creative musical phrase using a MIDI keyboard, they deactivated large areas of their prefrontal (planning, attention) and limbic (emotions)cortices, and activated their sensory and motor areas. In this paradigm, then, creativity is the result of both negative and positive forces.Some interesting implications come to mind - previous work on the coincidence of ADHD symptoms and creativity, the finding of delayed prefrontal development among children with superior IQ, and even the dichotomy between deductive / analytical and inductive / intuitive creative thinking. From the perspective of the brain, we were also struck by the front vs. back pattern of deactivation & activation... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1554474 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:01:00 +0100 1554474 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1538029&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fout-of-box-thinking.html There's a great test we like to give students when we're testing them - it's the Cookie Thief picture from the Boston Aphasia battery. When you show this picture to adults and ask them to describe it, the usual response is a dry recitation of what people, objects, and events are being seen in the picture. But in many kids (often creative ones, young engineers, artists, or gifted storytellers), we get the most insightful, charming, and sometimes downright devious responses.Typical adult answer: "I see a family. The boy's going to fall off a stool. The sink is overflowing." Sample Creative kid answer: "Water's flowing out of the sink because the kids plugged it up with vegetables they didn't want to eat for dinner. While Mom is distracted, the kids steal the cookies. Johnny's going to fall a... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1538029 Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:01:00 +0100 1538029 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1502626&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Faha-organized-mind.html In this interesting paper from UC Davis and Berkeley, the we get a fascinating view into the requirements for keeping organized information "in mind". We all know people who are able to sustain good attention for items of interest, but who are completely overwhelmed or oblivious to organization. These are kids (or adults) who miss the forest for the trees, remember minutiae, but can't recall the big picture, and who struggle with representing the depth of their knowledge because they can't organize it in a form that others can quickly assimilate.It turns out that there are different cortical areas for keeping information in mind and keeping it organized! And it may also be very interesting to parents and professionals of students with sensory processing disorders, that the site for organiz... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1502626 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:02:00 +0100 1502626 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1451871&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Focd-giftedness-and-rapid-effects-of.html OCD affects 1 in 50 people and associated with high IQ. There are many famous people with OCD, including such diverse individuals as David Beckham, Nikolai Tesla, and Jeff Gomez, creator of the mythic series, Magic: The Gathering. The current issue (May / June 2008) of 2e Newsletter spotlights issues and resources of interest to parents with a gifted child with OCD (unfortunately articles not free online). We especially liked their resource links like School Accommodations for Children with OCD. Cognitive behavioral therapy is known to be particularly effective in children and adults with OCD, and a recent study at UCSD and UCLA showed that improvements in PET brain imaging can be seen in as little time as 4 weeks post daily desensitization therapy.From Dr. Sanjaya Saxena: "First of all, w... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1451871 Mon, 19 May 2008 07:01:00 +0100 1451871 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1436941&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fmemory-for-facts-and-events-takes-time.html From the Gabrieli lab, declarative memory pathways require the prefrontal cortex, so no surprisingly, declarative memory pathways take time to fully mature. In this new report, fmri changes develop quite late, with even teens not fully developed as subjects in their 20's. Interestingly though, medial temporal lobe systems (important for both episodic and declarative memory) were fairly mature by the age of 8.Developmental studies such as this may be helpful in designing the most efficient ways of using children's memory systems (they may also be helpful in deciding reasonable expectations). Immaturity of the PFC in children was felt to "limit the episodic specificity of memories such that memories are less likely to be subjectively vivid or objectively detailed."These are very general conc... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1436941 Mon, 12 May 2008 07:01:00 +0100 1436941 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1419675&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fwhat-works-dyslexic-ceo.html Great little story from CNNmoney.com about how a dyslexic CEO was able to build a successful $36 million business despite struggling to read and write. Highlights: - Hired a writer, drew ideas for business plans- Use crayon and pencil to convey with ideas, meet with top executives to explain ideas to their departments- Phone or personal meetings instead of email- First names and personality or doodle physical traits to remember- Tape record notes, tape record phone calls - Franklin Talking DictionaryFor some middle, high, college, and beyond dyslexics, having a system for improving the efficiency of communication or learning may be more important than remediation. Eide Neurolearning Blog: Big Picture Thinking, CEO Orfalea...Eide Neurolearning Blog: Why Dyslexics Make Great EntrepreneursEid... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1419675 Mon, 05 May 2008 07:01:00 +0100 1419675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1369707&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F04%2Ffluid-reasoning-from-right-brain.html Children (like adults) may vary widely in their ability to engage in fluid reasoning, but as a group they are inferior to adults at analogical reasoning (a car is to a road as a boat is to...). One reason for this may be that it takes time for the right prefrontal cortex to develop.In the figure, it's clear that children are able to activate many brain regions to identify different relationships between information, but they are less able to integrate the information, and so the picture of a child knowing lots of information, but missing the forest for the trees, is a normal part of development, and not "ADD".Analogical reasoning is important for virtually all inventive or creative work:From the Dunbar lab: "Analogy is a basic human reasoning process used in science, literature, art, educa... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1369707 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:01:00 +0100 1369707 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1253258&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F02%2Fteaching-students-to-think.html In the latest issue of Educational Leadership, Robert Sternberg tackles the issue of teaching students to think. The acronym for his model is WICS, or wisdom, intelligence, and creativity synthesized.Excerpt:"As an example, in social studies, we might assess understanding of the American Civil War by asking such questions as (1) Compare and contrast the Civil War and the American Revolution (analytical); (2) What might the United States be like today if the Civil War had not taken place (creative)? (3) How has the Civil War affected, even indirectly, the kinds of rights that people have today (practical)? and (4) Are wars ever justified (wisdom)?In English, we might assess understanding of a novel such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by asking (1) How was the childhood of Tom Sawyer simila... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1253258 Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:01:00 +0100 1253258 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1221297&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F02%2Fspatial-motor-expertise-gifted-surgery.html We are back. And there's nothing like witnessing your daughter's successful surgery to be reminded of the importance of spatial and motor expertise. Our surgeons at UCLA did an absolutely phenomenal job and we want to make sure conventional education doesn't snuff out the futures of those spatially-talented young people who will be tomorrow's surgical heroes.The initial procedure was very difficult and had to leverage resources and meticulous attention to detail. The reconstructive surgeon had to use a great deal of ingenuity and spatial / motor experience - how things manipulated, rotated, and used in different ways. Not anything one could simply get from a book.Talking to the residents afterward, we had chance to hear how difficult it was to learn surgical expertise even from a master - ... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1221297 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:01:00 +0100 1221297 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1167232&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2Fwhy-dyslexics-make-great-entrepreneurs.html Articles in Business Week and NY Times highlight the interesting finding that dyslexia is much more common among successful entrepreneurs than its incidence in the general population. How could successful entrepreneurship be related to dyslexia? Several possibilities come to mind - on some tests of creativity, dyslexics score higher than non-dyslexics, and in many instances, dyslexia seems to associate with strong personal communication skills (strong verbal fund of knowledge, strong personal memory, social perception), good divergent and analytical problem solving skills, in additional personal traits of independent thinking and resilience. Now the question for those of us working with children, can be spot these strengths in children (which may or may not correlate with conventional scho... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1167232 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:20:00 +0100 1167232 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1148202&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2Fvivid-memory-of-past-linked-to.html Washington University scientists have found that the patterns of brain activation seen in vivid recollections of the past are very closely linked to prompted imaginations of the future. The full length paper is available at the link below. Study subjects had more vivid future projections if the prompts relied on contexts or environments that they were familiar with, and the the activation of brain areas association with autobiographical or personally-experienced memory back this up.A number of implications come to mind. When a child has trouble imagining themselves in future events or circumstances, is it simply a lack of planning, or could a weakness in their personal memory make it hard for them to visualize what this situation would be like. And on the other end of the continuum, is tha... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1148202 Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:01:00 +0100 1148202 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1065848&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F12%2Felementary-angst-early-problems-with.html "Themistocles was an unruly boy, and carried on his mad pranks without much restraint. When taken to task for them he said, "The wildest colts make the best horses when they come to be properly trained." - Plutarch (46-120 AD)There's a lot of buzz about two new studies this month that suggest that children with attentional and behavioral problems in the early elementary grades are not doomed to failure as they grow up. In fact most of them seem to do just as well as their "easier" fellow students in the early grades.From the NY Times:"Kindergartners who interrupted the teacher, defied instructions and even picked fights were performing as well in reading and math as well-behaved children of the same abilities when they both reached fifth grade, the study found."and from the NIMH, Dr. Phili... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1065848 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:01:00 +0100 1065848 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1049033&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Fis-prodigy-myth.html At the most recent APS convention, Malcolm Gladwell spoke about potential problems of identifying precocious talent:"I think we take it as an article of faith in our society that great ability in a given field is invariably manifested early on, that to be precocious at something is important because it's a predictor of future success...but is that really true? And what is the evidence for it? And what exactly is the meaning and value of mastering a particular skill very early on in your life?" Gladwell goes on to present what he believes is good evidence that "what we mean (by prodigy)...when we say that someone is 'naturally gifted' is that they practice a lot, that they want to practice a lot, that they like to practice a lot...", even suggesting that Mozart's precocious ability was simp... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1049033 Mon, 26 Nov 2007 01:53:46 +0100 1049033 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1019391&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Fsmart-but-underachieving-when-knowledge.html "I know he knows this. I can't understand why he's not able to..."This unfortunate scenario plays out all too commonly at parent-teacher conferences, or when digging in the backpack for returned tests or getting back report cards or important test scores.Why is that that some kids choke on their academic performance while their knowledge base seems so good? There are many possible reasons for this, but one paper I came across this week reinforced the notion that knowledge, creativity, and knowledge or information retrieval are very different things.Information retrieval is not as catchy a notion as attention these days, but it is a distinct process in the brain, and it what you are asking students to do when you ask them to repeat back what they learned in class or from their homework. In ... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1019391 Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:49:21 +0100 1019391 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=915379&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F10%2Fdirecting-attention-bane-of-multi.html Along the lines of walking and chewing gum at the same time, this study from the Just lab shows that does indeed take more prefrontal work (directed attention) to listen and watch at the same time. In fact, if you're trying to listen and watch at the same time, you're more likely to lose what you're listening to.This makes sense with what we see below, and is not surprising that youngsters in general (including young gifted children) struggle with not paying attention to what you said...it may be too much coming in visually to listen.The main problem we see in our clinic is that unitasking kids are misdiagnosed as having ADD or ADHD ("hyperfocus", e.g. not hearing Mom call when playing a video game or watching TV), or autism. Children who struggle with multi-tasking may indeed have real cl... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=915379 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 00:59:37 +0100 915379 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=856815&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F09%2Foutgrowing-adhd.html From the NIMH: "A genetic variation that boosts risk for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) paradoxically appears to predict who will grow out of the learning disability. Scientists found that brain development in ADHD-afflicted children with this variation was out of whack at age 8 but normalized by 16. ADHD symptoms in this group were also more likely to disappear with age."Isn't that interesting? But also don't forget that finding that young gifted kids were more likely to have a late blooming pattern in terms of their frontal cortical development (executive function). So how should this impact our expectations? our educational process? or medical treatments?Outgrowing ADHD? (Thanks, HT: 2E Newsletter)Eide Neurolearning Blog: Biology of Late BloomersEide Neurolearning Blog ... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=856815 Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:01:00 +0100 856815 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=838867&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F09%2Fthinking-more-in-dyslexia.html It's nice to see more data about non-reading differences and dyslexia. At right, MIT researchers found that dyslexic groups didn't just have less active signals in the posterior pathways important for sound-letter correlations; they also had more activation in prefrontal cortex. And these differences were seen even if dyslexic and non-dyslexic subjects were matched for reading ability.One possibility is that the extra prefrontal cortex reflects the extra effort (e.g. working memory) required to read to a certain level of proficiency; it's also possible more activation is because dyslexics are using more analytical skills in the reading process.Many professionals working with dyslexic students notice how many seem to demonstrate such strong analytical skills. Perhaps we are seeing some of t... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=838867 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 07:01:00 +0100 838867 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=720441&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F07%2Fdifferent-experiences-of-reading-speed.html Our schedule is still pretty unpredictable, but we'd like to post interesting articles that we've found when we get a chance (maybe weekly?). Thank you all for your outpouring prayers and encouragement. We are taking everything day-by-day. So, on to the post:Some interesting new papers shed insight into the biology of differences among readers and possible implications for gifted dyslexics as well. We've mentioned before the recent Asilomar presentation The Literate Brain, but added to that is paper that made the interesting observation that better or more fluent readers had less interhemispheric connectivity than weaker or slower readers.Excerpt: ..."this axon size and density interpretation also suggests that good readers have fewer total callosal connections passing through this part of... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=720441 Mon, 09 Jul 2007 06:08:49 +0100 720441 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=687734&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Ftalent-discovered-phone-salesman-to.html Thanks, Kristine for this wonderful HT. Paul Potts only discovered opera at age 28. He's a cellular phone salesman by day and still works at CarPhone Warehouse.He now has an invitation to record an album and sing for the Queen.Paul Potts - Opera's Very Own CinderfellaURL Link to Paul Potts VideoEide Neurolearning Blog (Source: Eide Neurolearning Blog) Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=687734 Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:25:00 +0100 687734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=687044&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fgifted-autistic-quirky-embracing.html From a recent editorial at the Washingtonpost.com entitled Gifted? Autistic? Or Just Quirky?: Excerpt "...parents, teachers and children themselves need to see past the blazing brightness of any label and into the individuality and potential of the person in front of them."Edith Sitwell's reflection comes to mind eccentricity: "Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd."There is something vitally important about how we see differences and embrace them. Some may object to the word eccentrics in the following passage from Jacobs'... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=687044 Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:17:00 +0100 687044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=683274&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fvoluntary-control-of-attention-visual.html In this recent study from the Just lab, we see why multi-tasking is hard, whether it's looking and listening at the same time while watching and listening to a lecture or demonstration, take notes, or learning multi-stepped math procedures.There is a yin and yang effect between visual and auditory attention. When one is looking, then auditory processing areas go down, and when one is listening, then visual processing areas go down. Mixed visual-auditory stimuli have an underadditive effect, so that if you have to do both at the same time, total brain activation goes down, and interestingly, language processing becomes more left hemisphere-dominant.This is interesting because we often see children with strong right hemispheric language processing style whose parents report they "hyperfocus"... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=683274 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 07:02:00 +0100 683274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676162&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fwhen-smart-people-make-dumb-decisions.html MSNBC has a brief article on decision analysis research at Carnegie Mellon. Why is it that intelligence tests and socioeconomic status aren't very reliable at predicting who may make bad decisions in real life? Some people suggest that pencil and paper tests have very little relevance to practical world problems, but Bruine de Bruin suggests that while general intelligence tests may not be that predictive, tests of reasoning will do a pretty good job sorting out who is more likely to make big mistakes in real life. Excerpt:"...the researchers asked the subjects about their real-life experiences and how frequently they ended up in bad situations — such as having spent the night in jail or racked up credit-card debt. People who performed better on the hypothetical reasoning tests were, in ... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676162 Wed, 13 Jun 2007 07:02:00 +0100 676162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676163&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fwho-are-bright-children-cultural.html Today I found this new Sternberg article, in Educational Researcher, Who Are the Bright Children?: The Cultural Context of Being and Acting Intelligent (click here).Excerpt:"How do you identify a schoolchild who is bright or who acts the way a bright child is expected to act? In North America, we might look at conventional ability or achievement test scores, or grades in school..."(In Chinese culture, the) Confucian perspective emphasizes the characteristic of benevolence and of doing what is right. As in the Western notion, an intelligent person spends a great deal of effort in learning, enjoys learning, and persists in lifelong learning with a great deal of enthusiasm. The Taoist tradition, in contrast, emphasizes the importance of humility, freedom from conventional standards of judgmen... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676163 Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:02:00 +0100 676163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676164&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fdifficult-temperaments-resistant-to.html From Jerome Kagan's work (Boston Globe):"At 4 months old, plop your baby into a bouncy seat and present him with a series of colorful new toys - ones he's never seen - one after the other, for 20 seconds at a time...If he screams at 4 months, he'll be more likely to stay home from junior-high dances. If he screams, he'll be more likely to answer "no" when a psychologist asks, at age 11, "Are you happy most of the time?"It won't really matter if you cuddled your child as an infant or showered him with play dates as a toddler. He'll probably never be a brash CEO or politician, although he might become a brilliant solitary researcher or a melancholy poet.On the other hand, if your baby just stares calmly at the toys, he will be calm on dates but also slightly more likely to become a delinquen... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676164 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:02:00 +0100 676164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=660491&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fliterate-brain-what-we-need-to-read.html Here's an excellent new presentation from Stanford's Bob Dougherty re: what brains need to read. Highlights: A more balanced view of the different neurobiological processes involved in reading (i.e. not phonics-only) ...In our clinic, many of our gifted dyslexic students have the "engineering-dyslexic" combo, more interhemispheric connectivity is good for many things (like advanced mathematics, spatial visualization, Johns Hopkins CTY), but may be bad for early reading acquisition (lower interhemispheric connectivity means better language lateralization)!Below are examples of visual data showing the developmental variation in word visibility. Because of maturation factors in the visual cortex, it really is harder to recognize words at younger ages.So...considering the normal variation in t... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=660491 Wed, 06 Jun 2007 19:02:00 +0100 660491 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=655540&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fnot-losing-our-minds-in-school-talent.html We were recently directed to this Ted.com video, Do schools today kill creativity?. Ken Robinson raised some excellent points:Main take-homes:- our existing educational system imposes a hierarchy of intellectual skills that undervalues intellectual diversity (e.g. do we all want to be University professors?)- the dominant ethos of public school education is that "school is for work" - as a result, many classes are eliminated and our current student population are more narrowly educated ("You don't want to be an artist, don't do art; You don't want to be a musician, don't do music.")- our schools are telling kids "they're not good at things" (our addition: and not telling them what they're good at)- we need to rethink the fundamental principles on which we're educating children- we need to ... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=655540 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 07:02:00 +0100 655540 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=629289&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fcare-and-nurturing-of-young-engineers.html For those who know, love, and mentor young engineers:But despite all the interest in increasing the pool of American engineers here in the U.S., most non-engineering professionals are downright ignorant went it comes to knowing how to cultivate talent and even how to recognize it. We don't think it's on purpose. It's usally due to the tyranny of our thinking styles.Some resource and reading links for the young inventor / engineer you know and love:Lemelson Inventor of the Week ArchiveHoagies' Kids & Teens: Physics and MechanicsNurturing an Inventive Spirit - Handbook for Teachers pdfPrism Magazine - American Association for Engineering EducationChild as Learner, Critic, Inventor, and Technology Design Parter pdfHow to Nurture Young InventorsENTP: Inventor-Rational Keirsey Temperament Sorte... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=629289 Tue, 22 May 2007 07:03:00 +0100 629289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=629290&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fmindset-and-effort-improve-achievement.html We've blogged on Carol Dweck's work before, and now Stanford's alumni magazine has an interview with Dweck and her paper testing the effect of interventions on teen math scores is available free online now in Child Development. Here book Mindset came out last year.What Dweck finds is that young people's expectations about intelligence and achievement affect their performance. Not surprising? Well, you'd still be surprised how kids (and adults) could benefit from a little pep talk in this regard. When it comes to a subject that is difficult, many people underachieve because they think they're not good at it, and they may also have an unrealistic expectation of the work that's required to produce success. When Dweck and her team educated students about the brain, the common negative stereoty... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=629290 Mon, 21 May 2007 07:02:00 +0100 629290 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=588381&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fvote-now-for-gifted-kids-string-theory.html Bravo!! Bravo!! Congratulations to these TAGMAX kids (Talented and Gifted Homeschooling List) for making it to the finals in Discover Magazine's "String Theory in 2 Minutes" Contest. Vote for them here. It seems there are lots of interesting things one can learn outside of school. (Apologies if you can't see the video below - I think it requires Flash Player)Technorati tags: math, physics, gifted,gifted kids education, string theory, science, astronomyEide Neurolearning Blog (Source: Eide Neurolearning Blog) Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=588381 Fri, 04 May 2007 02:17:00 +0100 588381 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=568307&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fbenefits-of-mixed-dominancelefties.html If you are frustrated by what's not easier to do with mixed-dominance, then read on- In a recent study by Australian researchers, lefties and dyslexic subjects were found to be faster at interhemispheric transfer than more conventional right-handed controls. Although it seems to be a right-handed world (90%), people with quicker interhemispheric connections are over-represented among the mathematically gifted and they tend to perform more quickly and accurately in demanding and complex tasks. In the figure at right, BDA corresponds to "Bilateral Distribution Advantage". So the idea is that although "L-brain" folks may be better at simpler visual or motor response activities, when visually demanding tasks are given (challenging both hemispheres simultaneously), the mixed-dominance folks win... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=568307 Wed, 25 Apr 2007 07:01:00 +0100 568307 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=563672&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fcreative-minds-what-is-divergent.html Thanks, Kristine for this HT at acleareye.com. "...how would an engineer see the glass? Probably that it's twice as big as it needs to be. The accountant would want to know if the glass really needs all that water. The physicist would say that the volume of this cylinder is divided into two equal parts; one a colorless, odorless liquid, the other a colorless, odorless gas. Thus the cylinder is neither full nor empty. Rather, each half of the cylinder is full, one with a gas, one with a liquid. And the quantum physicist would tell you that the glass has a 50% probability of holding water." Click on the link to read more descriptions, and also check out the comments from marketers about what they see.I love this post because it made me think about how superficial many of our attempts at dive... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=563672 Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:48:00 +0100 563672 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=550007&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fcuriosity-and-mind.html "Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last." - Samuel JohnsonWe are not all equally curious, what research there is, suggests that while curiosity can be inherited as a stable personality trait, it can also be manipulated by external means.Daniel Berlyne was one of the earliest researchers in the science of curiosity, and he divided exploratory behavior into two types: one that sought relief from boredom and another that was more goal-directed or epistemic - "the brand of arousal that motivates the quest for knowledge and is relieved when knowledge is procured." It this type of curiosity that can be particularly valuable to awaken for creative achievement.The biology of curiosity is still in its infant stages, but from curious researchers at Cal Tech, we hav... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=550007 Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:02:00 +0100 550007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=531795&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Ftaking-time-to-listen-to-music.html We're on vacation and off the blog this week, but couldn't resist sharing this recent post from the Washington Post - Pearls Before Breakfast. WaPo put Joshua Bell (one of the top violinists in the world) into a DC subway station, candid camera-style...waited to see how many people might stop and take time to listen to the music. You can see for yourself with WaPo's videos.Not everyone can recognize the difference between good and "world class". Bell is fortunate because his gift and expertise are well-recognized (at least in some circles!). How many young people don't develop their exceptional qualities because they learned how good or unusual they were?Technorati tags: music, gifted, beauty, talentEide Neurolearning Blog (Source: Eide Neurolearning Blog) Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=531795 Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:01:00 +0100 531795 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=506286&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fhow-can-educators-learn-from.html An interesting paper from U. of Massachusetts looking at the common ingredients of software developers, with speculation on what that could mean for student education in general: "What is it about experts that makes this problem-solving expertise possible? The primary difference between experts and novices is NOT in basic intellectual processes, such as IQ, memory, or speed of processing. Rather, the distinguishing feature of expertise is that experts have extraordinary action-based knowledge in their field."They conclude that education should:1. Develop procedural skills.2. Develop metacognition.3. Develop declarative knowledge.These ideas are not new, but their discussion of the need for strategic and metacognition provides some useful pearls. Years of experience was not predictive of de... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=506286 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:03:00 +0100 506286 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=490877&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fmisdiagnosis-of-dyslexia.html Although dyslexia may be the most common learning "difference" or disability, in our practice it is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions that leads to school struggles. What's alarming is the number of different conditions that students are misdiagnosed with:1. Not Trying, Careless (Underachievement)\Children with unrecognized dyslexia are often told they're just not trying hard enough or they're careless. Students may be unfairly accused of being overly perfectionistic, unrealistic about how hard they may need to work, or sloppy.When tested orally, these students are often able to demonstrate their intelligence; their submitted work may be far below their orally-tested knowledge because of dysgraphia, the need for extra time, and misreading and miswriting errors.2. Attention D... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=490877 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:17:00 +0100 490877 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=490876&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fonline-conference-with-thomas-west.html There will be a free online gifted conference with Thomas West, author of In the Mind's Eye (Visual Thinkers, Gifted People with Learning Difficulties, Computer Images, and the Ironies of Creativity) this weekend from March 23rd-25th.Read instructions to sign up for the conference here: Online Gifted ConferencesYou will need to send an email to: OGTOC-subscribe@yahoogroups.comWe're going to take a long weekend from the blog, see you back Monday March 26th. We'll also be listening in to Tom's conference over the weekend. Highly recommended!Eide Neurolearning Blog (Source: Eide Neurolearning Blog) Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=490876 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:04:00 +0100 490876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=487385&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fpower-and-perils-of-praise.html Thank you everyone who sent us this link to NY Magazine article, How Not to Talk to Your Kids. Bronson makes some good points and cites research by Carol Dweck (Praise the effort, not the child, but there are more issues to consider when children don't seem to be flourishing in school.1. The Context: In the article's example, Thomas, a young man with a super high IQ test, "wasn't very good at spelling" and had trouble with cursive handwriting. Was this parental praise run amuck? Or perfectionism, unrealistic expectations, gender-related "delays" in writing, or an unrecognized challenge like dysgraphia or "stealth dyslexia"? It's easy in a magazine article, research study, or blog post, to give a quick answer to a problem (e.g. "Giving kids the label of "smart" does not prevent them from un... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=487385 Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:04:00 +0100 487385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=487393&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fflash-from-past-expelled-from-his-first.html He was..."a juvenile deliquent. He was expelled from his first school in his first school in Dundas, Ontario after a series of pranks which included locking a flock of geese into the school-room over night, unscrewing all the benches and desks and hiding them in the attic, and shouting disparaging remarks about the headmaster through the keyhole of the classroom...(At a second school), he proceeded to organize a trio of trouble-makers who were baptized "Barrie's Bad Boys..." The list goes on, including theft, some jail time for smoking out the school matron's room with a mixture of molasses, mustard, and pepper..."But reform for this delinquent came from inspiration rather than further punishment. A weekend School Warden took packs of boys on trips that included collecting nature specimens... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=487393 Thu, 08 Mar 2007 08:02:00 +0100 487393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=487403&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F02%2Ffluent-reading.html How about these correlations between fMRI brain activation and reading fluency? Poor (red) and fluent (green) readers were compared in the 3rd and 5th grades, and their performance correlated quite well with activation in the left middle temporal gyrus (well-known to be affected in dyslexia) and the right parietal lobe. The ages of students were well chosen because 4th grade tends to be around the time when big jumps in reading fluency can be seen; it's also when the brain is very active establishing connections to multisensory areas.The parietotemporal activation is particularly important to note here, because of it is distinct from pure sound processing. It may be more noticeable, too when individuals are sentences instead of single words. Reading fluency is often what well-compensated d... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=487403 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 08:15:00 +0100 487403 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=487406&cid=t_105247_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F02%2Fmind-of-masters-intelligence-and.html In a recent study of tournament chess players, scientists found that high intelligence and expertise (ELO ranking) had different contributions to brain activation, although both increased speed and performance on chess-related reasoning tasks. High IQ also seemed to confer an additional advantage...the higher the IQ, the more brain efficient, so EEG event-related desynchronisations suggested they also didn't have to work as hard to get correct answers.Superior performance and neural efficiency: impact of intelligence and expertise pdfTechnorati tags: intelligence, IQ, psychology, brain, science, gifted, education, chess, expertiseEide Neurolearning Blog (Source: Eide Neurolearning Blog) Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=487406 Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:07:00 +0100 487406