Another implementationHelps students who have difficulties learning to read & write
Encino, CA Westmark School
Students have language-based learning difficulties
Notes:
PREMISE of school: The brain responds to challenges, stimulation, and interactivity, and the brain learns spontaneously
Language-based learning difficulties
dyslexia difficulty in learning to read, write or spell; understanding oral language; or expressing oneself in oral or written language
dysgraphia difficulty in automatically remembering & mastering sequence of muscle motor movements needed in writing letters and numbers
dyscalculia - difficulty in understanding symbols or functions needed for success in math
Staff spent two years studying how the brain reorganizes itself throughout our lifetime & started using more technology in the classroom.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT is important part of success for teachers and the entire school community.
Work with parent community (determined learning styles of staff, parents with multiple modalities tools) How teachers learn, how parents learn, parents and teachers learning how students learn
Created a dynamic learning environment:
Live 10-minute daily broadcast of student news on closed-circuit TV. Include sound,text,graphics to enhance comprehension for all students.
Thematic instruction and integrated curriculum (identify patterns & build on prior knowledge)
Musical stimulation music throughout the curriculum; research suggests that music may stimulate language development, spatial and temporal transitioning, art, journal writing and cursive and printing skills practice.
Multiple intelligences theory.
Multisensorial specialized programs ( based on theory of brain plasticity)
A safe learning environment
Wagmeister, Jane, and Ben Shifrin. Thinking Differently, Learning Differently. Educational Leadership 58, no. 3 (November 2000):45-48.