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Showing posts with the label Mindfulness

100 Powerful Learning Specialist and Educational Therapy Materials

This week I wanted to tell you about my online store, Good Sensory Learning. I’m Dr. Erica Warren, and I established this site so I could share all the materials that I have created over the last 20+ years as a learning specialist and educational therapist. When I first began my private practice, Learning to Learn, I had great difficulty finding fun and multisensory materials for my students that were effective and engaging. So back in 2005, I made it my mission to design and distribute high-end, remedial products as well as memorable, motivating lessons that bring delight to learning. If you would like to try a free sampling of my activities , CLICK HERE . How Are the Products Organized at Good Sensory Learning? You can download my Free Printable Catalog or you can browse the site using the grey “search all products” bar in the top right of any page with keywords such as dyslexia, working memory, and executive functioning. What’s more, drop down menus in the red banner allow you t...

Why New Multisensory Meditations Promise Student Success

Over the last 20 plus years as a learning specialist and educational therapist, changing demands have inspired new directions in my continuing education and practice at large. During this period of time, I have witnessed increasing academic expectations, competitive classrooms, and both real and virtual bullying. In addition, with handheld devices at their fingertips and growing class sizes, competing diversions are constantly challenging learners at all times of the day and in all locations. For many, this can offer a distraction from the present lesson or assignment. It can also create a state of overwhelm that triggers the amygdala into a “fight, flight, or freeze response.” Unfortunately, both of these situations can actualize a state of mind that makes learning next to impossible. As a result, more and more teachers, professionals, and parents are seeking solutions. Why do Learners Need Both Cognitive and Emotional Skills? Research in neuroscience reveals that the prefrontal...

3 Reliable Ways to Improve Attention and Working Memory

Did you know that working memory is often touted to be the best indicator of academic success? However, if a student is easily distracted, the academic content can be missed or it can fade before it even reaches this vital part of the learning process. Attention and Working Memory Go Hand in Hand: Executive functioning, or what I like to call the Grand Central Station of the brain, houses both attention and working memory. In fact, attention and working memory operate in tandem, because attention is required to process and manipulate information in one's mental workspace or mind's eye. This includes both auditory information such as following oral directions as well as visual information such as making sense of a complex puzzle. Researchers at The University of North Carolina examined the relation between working memory capacity and attention . They found that students with higher working memory capacity maintain attention better than those with a lower working memory ca...

12 Easy Metacognitive and Mindful Strategies for Student Success

Multitasking seems to be a habitual challenge that many students face.  For instance, juggling modern-day technology while completing homework is a common undertaking.  As a result, many young learners fall prey to constant interruptions from social media, online video chatting, texting, television and more. Although there are some benefits to being able to shift from task to task, the learning process, as well as the time it takes to complete assignments, is often hindered when attention is continually interrupted.  In fact, research suggests that the best way to optimize learning potential is to give one's full attention to a task, and for many young learners this means that they need to develop a metacognitive or mindful approach to learning. Completing Schoolwork with Greater Efficiency? One key to helping students maximize their learning potential is to teach them about metacognition.    Metacognition is the ability to self-regulate o...