PAYING ATTENTION - allkindsofminds.org · Workshop, “Paying Attention,” from All Kinds of...

FA C I L I TAT O R N O T E S

L e a r n i n g a b o u t L e a r n i n g W o r k s h o p s :

PAYING ATTENTIONHELPING STUDENTS MANAGE &

STRENGTHEN ATTENTION

UNDERSTANDING ALL KINDS OF MINDS ™

All Kinds of Minds® and Understanding All Kinds of Minds™ are trademarks of All Kinds of Minds.www.allkindsofminds.org

All Rights ReservedNo part of these materials may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from All Kinds of Minds.

© 2006 ALL KINDS OF MINDS®

U N D E R S TA N D I N G A L L K I N D S O F M I N D S

LEARNING ABOUT LEARNING WORKSHOPS

PAYING ATTENTION

PAYING ATTENTION | FACIL ITATOR NOTES

© 2006 ALL KINDS OF MINDS

PARTICIPANT OBJECTIVES

> Appreciate that there are all kinds of minds

> Understand that Attention has many parts to it

> Learn strategies for helping children manage and strengthen the different parts of Attention

Activity Facilitator Materials Video Participant Materials Time

I.A. Introductory Video & Refl ection/Icebreaker

Clip 1 Journal Page 1 10 min.

I.B. Presentation: Workshop Contextualization

PowerPoint slides 2-7 Journal Page 2 5 min.

II.A. Mental Energy System Video Clip 2 Journal 17 min.

II.B. Mental Energy System Activity Journal Pages 4-6 10 min.

III.A. Processing System Video Clip 3 Journal Page 7 15 min.

BREAK 7 min.

III.B. Processing System Activity Journal Pages 8-10 10 min.

IV.A. Production System Video Clip 4 Journal Page 11 15 min.

IV.B Production System Discussion Journal Page 12 10 min.

V. Attention Action Plan Activity Journal Pages 13-14 15 min.

VI. Closing Refl ection & Video PowerPoint slide 8 Clip 5 Journal Page 15 6 min.

TOTAL TIME 120 min.

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PAYING ATTENTION | FACIL ITATOR NOTES | 1


WORKSHOP SETUP

1. If before the workshop, you determine that your audience might struggle to process this amount of information in one sitting, you may elect to divide the workshop into two sessions. A natural division would be between sections III. Processing and IV. Production.

Between sessions, ask participants to complete a “homework assignment.” Participants should choose a management strategy to try at home. At the beginning of Session 2, ask for volunteers to share their experiences. The beginning of your second session will need to include a review of the material covered in the fi rst session! If possible, do not let more than 2 weeks elapse between sessions. The maximum elapse is one month.

2. Ideally participants work at tables during this workshop. If you don’t have tables, desks should be joined together for participants to work together in several of the activities.

3. Before participants arrive, place a participant journal at each seat.

4. Project the “Welcome” PowerPoint slide 1.

ADVANCE PLANNING NOTES

Welcome to Learning about Learning:

Paying Attention

Please sign in and fi ll out a nametag with your name, the names of your children, and the ages of your children.

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A. INTRODUCTORY VIDEO & REFLECTION/ICEBREAKER (10 MINUTES)

1. As participants enter, direct them to a seat and have them follow the instructions on the slide.

2. Once everyone is settled, introduce yourself and welcome them to the Learning about Learning Workshop, “Paying Attention,” from All Kinds of Minds. Tell them that by way of introduction to the topic, you would like them to meet a few students who struggle with attention.

FACILITATION POINT: If several participants are late, and you have some latitude about your start and stop time, consider a slight delay in the start of the workshop so that no one misses this video and accompanying icebreaker.

3. Ask participants to open their journals to page 1. Tell them to use this page to refl ect upon their own attention as they watch this introductory clip.

FACILITATION POINT: To protect participants who struggle with reading, you may choose to read the question aloud before getting started.

4. Play video clip 1. Stop video at the PAUSE screen.

5. Tell participants that you are going to take the next fi ve minutes to have everyone introduce themselves by stating their name and completing the following sentence, “I have trouble paying attention when….” Model the process by introducing yourself fi rst.

FACILITATION POINT: Be sure to model the introduction as concisely as possible to encourage participants to stay within the time parameters you’ve established.

I . INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES (10 MINUTES TOTAL)

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B. PRESENTATION: WORKSHOP CONTEXTUALIZATION (5 MINUTES)

1. Display slide 2 and read aloud the bullets, explaining that you will address each of these questions in the next fi ve minutes so that participants have a better understanding of how the workshop works.

FACILITATION POINT: If you have given more than one of the Learning about Learning Workshops and most of your participants are repeat visitors, you can consider modifying the PowerPoint presentation. For instance, you can give a copy of the background information (slides 2-3) for participants to review on their own, but you should still present slides 4-7, which remind participants of your and their roles in the workshop, as well as the role of the Parking Lot.

2. Display slide 3 and go over the bullets, using your own words if you wish.

I . INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES

Some Preliminary Questions

> What are the Learning about Learning workshops?

> What is my role in the workshop?

> What is your role in the workshop?

> What is the Parking Lot?

What are Learning about Learning workshops?

> Developed by All Kinds of Minds, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Dr. Mel Levine and Charles Schwab

> Facilitated by educators who have attended the Schools Attuned Program, a program that prepares educators to meet the learning needs of all students in their classroom

> Additional topics include mastering the challenge of homework, learning and self-esteem, getting organized for learning, and building learning alliances with your children and their teachers

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B. PRESENTATION: WORKSHOP CONTEXTUALIZATION CONTINUED

3. Display slide 4.

FACILITATION POINT: Explain the difference between a facilitator and an expert. It is very important for participants to understand that you are NOT an authority on neurodevelopmental variation and that they may have questions that you cannot answer. It’s also important to validate participants’ own wisdom about their child.

In your own words let participants know:

> I may say “I don’t know” to some of your questions.

> I may pose the question to the group and let you hear the wisdom of your peers.

> You are the ultimate expert on your child.


What is my role in the workshop?

Facilitator = encourage and guide conversation among you

Facilitator = provide expertise on neurodevelopmental variation

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4. Display slide 5.

Explain the following points in your own words:

> One of the goals of Understanding All Kinds of Minds is to promote conversation among parents and caregivers that allows you to learn from one another and share your wisdom.

> Your job today is to:

> Listen thoughtfully to the new information you will be learning.

> Have thoughtful conversations with fellow participants about the information in order to deepen your understanding.

> Work with fellow participants to come up with ideas and strategies to help your children become more successful learners.


What is your role in the workshop?

> Listen

> Discuss

> Collaborate

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5. Display slide 6 and show participants where you have posted the Parking Lot list.

Explain in your own words the following points about the Parking Lot:

> These workshops are designed to explore learning differences in general.

> I expect that you will relate the information you are learning to your own children and, to the extent that you are comfortable, share your experiences with your fellow participants.

> However, there is not enough time in the workshop to dwell on one child or one problem, and I hope you will be mindful of this during discussions.

> Questions will come up that need answers. We will “park” them in the parking lot and return to them before the end of the workshop.

> If we can answer these questions with our collective wisdom in the time allotted, we will attempt to do so. It’s possible, however, that these questions may require further discussion beyond the time we have for the workshop.


What is the Parking Lot?

> A temporary place for unanswered questions

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6. Display slide 7, ask participants to turn to page 2 of their journals, and go over the workshop goals.

FACILITATION POINT: If you have prepared an agenda for the workshop, you may now distribute and discuss it as well as any procedures or logistics.

7. Continue by saying something like:

> In this workshop we will spend approximately two hours understanding what “paying attention” really means and looking at how we can help children strengthen their attention.

> Being able to productively use our attention is something that we all know is essential, not only for school, but for life.

> We’ll see video clips and do activities that will help us better understand and help children whose kinds of minds might struggle with attention.


Workshop Goals

> Appreciate that there are all kinds of minds

> Understand that Attention has many parts to it

> Learn strategies for helping children manage and strengthen the different parts of Attention

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A. MENTAL ENERGY SYSTEM VIDEO (17 MINUTES)

1. Tell participants that they are now going to see the fi rst part of a video made by public television station WGBH, in cooperation with the All Kinds of Minds Institute, that focuses on attention and learning.

2. Demystify the video by previewing for participants that they are going to hear a lot of very technical-sounding vocabulary in the video. In your own words, tell participants not to worry if they don’t catch

everything because:

> You are going to do an exercise that will help make some of the words more meaningful.

> You don’t need to learn EVERYTHING about attention in this workshop, just the things that are most important to you. No one is going to give you a pop quiz!

> You will be given some resources that will help you during this workshop and at home.

3. Ask participants to turn to page 3 in their journals and say something like the following:

> Because we have all kinds of minds, there are all sorts of ways that we learn and remember information.

> If your kind of mind likes to take notes while you listen, you can use this Video Viewing Guide to do so.

> On the other hand, if your kind of mind works best by just listening, you can do that and then refer to the Video Viewing Guide later.

> If you hear strategies you think you might want to try, there is a space at the bottom of your Guide where you can write them.

> Again, please DO NOT worry if you do not catch everything that Dr. Levine or the narrator says. The important points are captured in your journal.

4. Play video clip 2. Stop video at the PAUSE screen.

I I . MENTAL ENERGY SYSTEM (27 MINUTES TOTAL)

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B. MENTAL ENERGY SYSTEM ACTIVITY (10 MINUTES)

SET UP THE ACTIVITY • 2 MINUTES

1. Ask participants to turn to page 4 in their journals. Read the instructions for the activity out loud while participants read along silently.

FACILITATION POINT: Reading aloud is helpful to those participants who may not have strong reading skills. However, it may also be hard for people with weak oral receptive language abilities, so be sure to read slowly and clearly and check faces for understanding.

Mental Energy System ActivityDirections

In this activity, you and a partner will choose strategies to help Clara, a child who struggles with Mental Energy, strengthen her Attention weakness so she can learn more successfully.

Read about Clara on page 5. Choose up to three strategies to help Clara with her Mental Energy. You may use management strategies from the lists on page 6 and your Video Viewing Guide, or you may come up with your own strategies. Customize the strategies based on what you know about Clara. An example has been provided on the activity sheet.

After you’ve selected the strategies, jot down some notes about why you chose the ones you did.

2. Tell participants they have fi ve minutes to complete this activity.

3. Ask participants to pair with someone for the activity. If someone came with their spouse or partner, encourage (but do not press) them to work with another person. If there is an uneven number of participants, create one group of three.

CONDUCT THE ACTIVITY • 5 MINUTES

4. As teams work, circulate among them, helping those teams that seem to be stuck. Try asking probing questions, or if necessary, offering more direct instruction.

FACILITATION POINT: Conversation may naturally turn to participants talking about their own children and strategies they have used. This is not only appropriate, it’s good. Be observant, however, for participants who may tend to use these conversations to talk about their own child to the exclusion of everything else, and intervene as appropriate (see Managing Participant Discussions in the Facilitator Toolkit).

DEBRIEF THE ACTIVITY • 3 MINUTES

5. Ask participants if they would like to share their strategies with the group. Encourage as many teams as possible to contribute their ideas.

I I . MENTAL ENERGY SYSTEM

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A. PROCESSING SYSTEM VIDEO (22 MINUTES INCLUDING BREAK)

1. Tell participants that they are now going to watch a video segment on the second part of Attention: Processing System.

2. Direct participants to page 7 in their journals if they wish to take notes.

3. Play video clip 3. Stop video at PAUSE screen.

Announce a Mental Energy Break! They’ve all been sitting still for over an hour, which is a good point to get up, walk around, stretch, and get out their excess energy to be ready for the next learning activity. Ask them to be back in their seats in 7 minutes.

FACILITATION POINT: Be transparent with participants when announcing the break: just like the children in the video, even adults need to recharge during the learning process! If you have some leeway with time, you can give participants a longer break.

I I I . PROCESSING SYSTEM (32 MINUTES TOTAL)

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B. PROCESSING SYSTEM ACTIVITY (10 MINUTES)

SET UP THE ACTIVITY • 2 MINUTES

1. Ask participants to turn to page 8 in their journals. Slowly and clearly read the instructions for the activity out loud while participants read along silently.

FACILITATION POINT: If you have a number of people who you think would struggle with the reading demands of the activity, consider doing it as a group with you reading the description of the child aloud.

Processing System ActivityDirections

On the next page, you will fi nd a description of Jason, a child who has a strength in the Processing System of Attention but struggles with spelling.

On page 10, you will fi nd a list of Processing System management strategies. Choose one strategy from this list or your Video Viewing Guide, or come up with your own strategy to manage Jason’s weakness by taking advantage of his strength.

After selecting the strategy, jot down some notes about why you chose the one you did.

2. Tell participants they have fi ve minutes to complete this activity.

3. Have participants pair with a new person. If people previously teamed with their spouse/partner, encourage them to try working with a new person. If there is an uneven number of participants, create a group of three.

CONDUCT ACTIVITY • 5 MINUTES

4. Circulate among teams as they work, helping teams that seem to be stuck.

DEBRIEF THE ACTIVITY • 3 MINUTES

5. Go over the activity with the group, encouraging teams to share their strategies.

6. Use this moment as an occasion to explore the following important points:

> All children—all people—have Attention strengths and weaknesses. No one person is overall weak in Attention, which is why it’s not helpful to label a child as an “attention problem.” Parents/caregivers who see Attention weaknesses in their children should also seek out their strengths.

> Leveraging strengths – whether it’s an Attention strength or a strength in some other area—is a critically important learning strategy. Children who struggle with some aspect of learning, especially one that might cause them problems in school, like an Attention weakness, need to realize that they have important strengths and that those strengths can be very helpful to them now in school and most certainly later in life.

I I I . PROCESSING SYSTEM

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I I I . PROCESSING SYSTEM

B. PROCESSING SYSTEM ACTIVITY CONTINUED

> Leveraging affi nities, too, is a very powerful learning strategy, similar to but different from leveraging a strength. Again, an affi nity is something you enjoy or are interested in. A child does not have to be good at something for it to be an affi nity.

> Leveraging an affi nity to engage children with Attention challenges in learning tasks gives them a pathway or focal point of interest that can actually help them strengthen their Attention.

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A. PRODUCTION SYSTEM VIDEO (15 MINUTES)

1. Tell participants they are now going to watch the fi nal video segment on Attention: Production System. Direct them to page 11 in their journals if they wish to take notes.

2. Play video clip 4. Stop video at PAUSE screen.

IV. PRODUCTION SYSTEM (25 MINUTES TOTAL)

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B. PRODUCTION SYSTEM DISCUSSION (10 MINUTES)

DISCUSSION OF PRODUCTION SYSTEM • 7 MINUTES

1. Say to participants:

> Let’s look back at the Video Viewing Guide for the Production System.

> Where have you seen evidence of your own strengths and weaknesses in the Attention Production System during today’s session?

> Where do you see evidence of your child having a strength or weakness in the Production System?

2. Explain to participants since they’ve already had opportunities to practice identifying strategies, you would rather use this time to discuss what they’ve learned throughout the session. Assure them strategies for the Production System are included in their journals. Invite them to take a moment to scan the Production System strategies on page 12.

DEBRIEF • 3 MINUTES

3. Say to participants:

> What is the value in recognizing three different parts of Attention?

IV. PRODUCTION SYSTEM

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CONDUCT PART 1 OF THE ACTIVITY • 5 MINUTES

1. Ask participants to turn to page 13 in their journals. Read aloud the directions to Part 1.

Attention Action Plan Part 1

Think about what you saw and learned about the different parts of Attention and then answer the following questions about your child. Refer to the descriptions of children with Attention strengths and weakness in the activities you have done. You may also wish to consult the defi nitions of the different Attention systems in the Video Viewing Guides, pages 3, 7 and 11, or the Attention Glossary on pages 28-32.

2. Share the following points:

> You have fi ve minutes to complete your observations on this page.

> Right now you are describing observable behaviors.

> As in the case studies, describe what you have seen your child do and heard him or her say that suggests your child might struggle with or have a strength in Attention.

> You are to work alone (or with their spouse/partner if you came with one), but I will be circulating to help out as needed.

> You are not required to share this plan with me or anyone else, nor are you going to turn it in. No one needs to see it but you.

> It is a planning tool for you, and you can keep it as private as you choose.

FACILITATION POINT: To protect weak readers or writers from humiliation, you might want to walk participants through the SEE, THINK, DO process.

3. Circulate to answer questions or help participants who seem to be stuck. If participants are fi nished before fi ve minutes have elapsed, move on to part 2.

CONDUCT PART 2 OF THE ACTIVITY • 10 MINUTES

4. Tell participants you’re going to introduce them to their Resource Section, which contains additional tools and information for them to use at home. Ask them to turn to page 18, to the Adult-Child Reading, and explain that this essay, written by Dr. Levine, provides them with more information about today’s topic which they can read at home and refl ect on with their child.

V. ATTENTION ACTION PLAN ACTIVITY (15 MINUTES)

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V. ATTENTION ACTION PLAN ACTIVITY CONTINUED

5. Ask them to now turn to pages 24-27 to see the lists of management strategies. Let them know they can fi nd more information and strategies on this topic and other learning issues by going to the Families page of the All Kinds of Minds Web site (www.allkindsofminds.org).

6. Finally, ask participants to turn to page 33 to see the list of resources on the workshop topic. Let participants know that you are available to help them fi nd the right resources to address their concerns.

7. Ask participants to turn to page 14 in their journals. Read aloud the directions to Part 2.

Attention Action Plan Part 2

Now, refer to the strategies from the activities, strategies you generated with your teammates, as well as any other ideas you may have, and create an action plan about how you will work with your child to help him/her strengthen or “get around” those aspects of Attention that might be getting in the way of learning. Be sure to think about how to leverage any strengths or affi nities. If your child does not struggle with attention, think about how you might help someone else you know.

8. Before participants begin, ask something like:

> Notice I’ve only asked you to come up with two strategies. What is the value in limiting the number of strategies?

9. Tell participants they have fi ve minutes to note some ideas for an action plan for their child. Again, circulate to answer questions or help participants who seem to be stuck.

FACILITATION POINT: Note that there is no debrief for this activity as participants will be able to share their strategies for their children in the closing reflection.

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1. Direct participants to turn to page 15 in their journals. Read the three sentences aloud and ask participants to complete them.

Workshop Refl ections

Think about what you learned about Attention in today’s workshop and complete the following three sentences:I was surprised to see…I was happy to learn…I think I’ll try…

Explain:

> You may choose whether or not to share your responses with the group.

> You are not required to write your responses.

> You have about a minute.

2. Ask if any participants would like to briefl y share any part of their refl ections that might include a strategy they’ve chosen as part of their action plan.

3. After about four minutes of discussion, tell participants that you would like to close the workshop with some words of optimism from Dr. Levine. Play the last video clip. As the video plays, display the last PowerPoint slide.

4. Circle back to the Parking Lot to see if there are any questions that remain open and decide with those participants how you will address them (see Managing Participant Discussions in the Facilitator Toolkit).

5. Thank participants for their work. Hand out the feedback form and ask participants to fi ll it out before they leave.

VI. CLOSING REFLECTION AND VIDEO (6 MINUTES)

A Message of Optimism

Students who struggle with attention have

every hope to succeed in school and in life.

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