Understanding and Supporting Complex Barriers to Learning

April, 2016Sophie Lampard Dennis

Dorothy A. Osterholt

Overview

Introduction

Noticing student behavior and language

Assessing behaviors using the framework of The Four Domains of Learning

Addressing barriers to learning through implementation of strategies/The World of Learners Wheel

Autonomy and self-advocacy as a life- long learner

Landmark CollegeSince 1985

• Student body of about 500 students- all with diagnosed learning disabilities• Langauge-based LD, AD(H)D, ASD, NLD, others

• Average of 40-50% transfer from other colleges

• 6:1 student to teacher ratio

• Two and four-year programs• AA Business Studies

• AS Life Sciences

• AA & BA Liberal Studies

• AS & BS Computer Science

• BA Studio Art

Steps to the Self-directed Learner

Noticing student behavior/language

Who Are Our Students?

What are the Common Behaviors that we all experience?

Timeline of Research andDevelopment of The Four Domains of Learning

2009

2012

2014

2015

Our original research at LC; student engagement

• Four Domains of Learning emerged

Our further research; impact of explicitly designed instruction

Development of our World of Learners Wheel

Our informal FY assessment; usability of Four Domains materials by students & teachers

• 51 first-year students surveyed, 50 responded that the model is “very valuable”(32) or “moderately valuable” (18)

Four Domains of Learning content integrated into all First-year classrooms in the ED department at LC

Data Results 2009Student Perspective of Academic Behaviors

End of Semester Results

Beginning of Semester Results

© 2008 Osterholt and Barratt

Barriers Identified

Student perception of the barriers that prevent their success in the classroom© 2008 Osterholt and Barratt

Four Domains of Learning

Steps to the Self-directed Learner

Noticing student behavior/language

Assessing behaviors using the framework of The Four Domains of Learning

Four Domains of Learning

Self-RegulationAwareness,

understanding and

monitoring

of executive

functioning skills

Academic Skill

Attainment

Ability to apply

appropriate thinking,

reading and writing

skills to complete

academic tasks

Social/Emotional

Influences

Awareness and

management of

emotional triggers &

ability to manage

stress

MotivationComprehends the

meaning of

concepts, sees their

relevance within a

larger context, sets

realistic goals

Observable Student Behaviors

•Please Note: students' characteristics do not necessarily fit this neatly into the 4 areas; there is a considerable amount of overlap between student need and domains.

• Long & Short-Range Goals• Understanding• Meaning is Established• Clearly Established Expectations • Perseverance• Flexibility• Appropriate Support System• Able to ActivateBrooks, R. (2006), Ames & Ames (1980, 1990)

• Awareness of Triggers that Induce Anxiety

• Resilience

• Awareness of Strengths & Challenges

• Optimistic Outlook

• Social Intuition

• Detects Social CuesRichard J. Davidson & Sharon Begley (2012)

• Organized

• Established Routine

• Maintains Focus

• Maintains Willpower to Complete Tasks

• Completes Tasks on Time

• Reduces Stress

• Maintains Physical & Emotional

Well-BeingBJ Zimmerman (1990), Ratey, J. (1995)

• Content Mastery

• Consistent Work

• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

• Uses Effective Learning Strategies for

Thinking, Reading & Writing

• Open-MindedDunlosky, ,Rawson, Marsh, Nathan & Willingham (2013)

Motivation Social/Emotional Development

Self-Regulation Academic Skill Attainment

Commonly Heard

• I hate this stupid assignment

• I don’t know why I have to do this

• The teacher’s assignments never make sense

• I am not very good at-

• I’m always being interrupted by friends!

• I had to take my friend to … and now I have an hour to finish this

• I keep missing class and I am lost

• I lost my assignment, then I missed my office hour appt.

• How do I…?

• I don’t know how to -

• I need to-

• I want to…(organize,

read, write)

• I don’t understand-

• Can you help me with-

• This assignment is past

due because I keep

putting it off

• I can’t seem to get

started

• I don’t care about the

topic or assignment

• I don’t see the point of

this assignment

Motivation

Self-Regulation

Social/Emotional

Academic Skills

Steps to the Self-directed Learner

Noticing student behavior/language

Assessing behaviors using the framework of The Four Domains of Learning

Addressing barriers to learning through implementation of strategies

Specific, Attainable, Sustainable Goals

Self-regulation

AcademicSocial/Emotional

Motivation

Areas of ChallengeMotivation:Choose an item.UndirectedLack of PerseveranceRelies on external LOCOther

Social/Emotional:Choose an itemAnxiousVolatileRelies on External WillOther.

Areas of ChallengeSelf-Regulation:Choose an item.DisorganizedDistractedMinimal RoutineOther

Academic:Choose an itemLack of Content KnowledgePassiveResistantOther.

Using the information from the World of Learners Wheel, identify the areas in any domain(s) that present barriers to your academic success by using the dropdown bar in each domain.

Prioritize the challenges you have identified. Look at the relationship between each area of challenge to determine which areas you want to be the focus.1.2.3.

Identifying Actions

1.

Choose an Action.

2.

Choose an Action.

3.

Choose an Action.

Provide actions for each of the challenges listed above by using the dropdown bar.Area of Challenge Action ACTIONS:

*Strengthen

Interest & Skills

*Plan Strategies

*Establish Routines

*Set goals

*Self-Monitor

*Build Resilience

*Problem-Solve

*Build Content

Knowledge

*Learn from Errors

*Micro-unit Steps

*Internalize

Organization

*Choose Topics of

Interest

*Collaborate with

Peers

*Seek Positive

Support

*Shift Mindset

Other:

Accounting for Obstacles

Identify the obstacles that may interfere with your action plan and strategies for overcoming the obstacles:Obstacle: Strategy:

Changing Habits to Achieve Goals

Routine

Reward

CueCurrent:

New:

Current:

New:

Current:New:

In order to think about how to create a new habit it is important to consider what you can use to cue yourself, to take action, what the action will be, and what reward will satisfy your effort enough to continue the process until you have established the

new habit.

Explicitly Designed Instruction

Student Growth

Within the 4 Domains of

Learning

Content

Methodology

Student Needs

Instruction that Supports the 4 Domains

• Structure Discussions Reinforcing Active Engagement• Social emotional development

• Construct Understanding with Colleagues• Academic skills/social development

• Learn and Apply Current Research about Learning• Academic skills/motivation/self regulation

• Apply Disabilities Laws using Advocacy Tools• Building personal responsibilities into learning

First Day Activity: Setting Expectations for Active Engagement

Activity: Teacher poses a question that requires only background knowledge to answer and activates the day’s content.

Objective: To promote class participation that activates background knowledge and fosters active listening and participation by considering a posed question.

Directions: Students respond in turn, one at a time, until all students have responded. Only one student speaks at a time. Everyone else must actively listen. If another student says what you wanted to say, you should refer back to that student’s comment and build on it.

Domains Addressed

• Strengthening interest and relevance/Building Personal investment

• Self monitoring/ Practicing Effective EF skills

• Problem solving/Sense of self-competence

• Building content of knowledge/Completes work successfully

Small Group Activity Supports Learning to Work Collaboratively

Activity: Using an article or chapter, students work together to create a visual representation of the key concepts.

Objective: To practice critical thinking skills and build content knowledge.

Directions: Having read the article for HW, and identified the key concepts, students first form “expert groups” to build their individual knowledge of a portion of the reading. Next, they re-group so there is one expert per key concept represented. This group works to come to consensus on a visual model that will fully represent the relationship between the key concepts. Each group will share its poster with the whole class.

Domains Addressed• Strengthening interest and relevance/Increases personal investment

• Self monitoring/Focus

• Problem solving/Building resilience

• Building content knowledge/Mastery of content

Steps to the Self-directed Learner

Noticing student behavior/language

Assessing behaviors using the framework of The Four Domains of Learning

Addressing barriers to learning through implementation of strategies

Autonomy and self-advocacy as a life-long learner

Student Journal Assignment FollowingFour Domains Activity and Discussion

Journal prompt

After completing today's activity on the four key Domains of Learning, what is your initial reaction to this framework?

~Can you see yourself as a learner somewhere within this model?

~Which domains represent strengths for you right now?

~In which areas are you currently challenged?

Student 1: When I first heard about the Four Domains of Learning I was a bit surprised that all of the attributes that go into helping someone become a good and successful student could fit into four distinct categories. As I started to think and talk about the idea it started to make a lot more sense because I started to realize that each one of the four domains was an umbrella term that could be used to cover a lot of smaller ideas.

Looking at the four domains in this way makes me realize that the way I learn is embodied in this design. Of the four domains I would have to say that right now my strengths are in the areas of motivation, academic skills and social/emotional, because I am currently doing well in school as well as my social life.

Right now I am being challenged in the self-regulation domain because even though I am doing well in school I need to get better at completing and handing in assignments.

Student 2: The concept of the Four Domains of Learning seems to be a good way of thinking about your education. It can get a little messy sometimes, since there's a lot of aspects of learning that exist between the established four domains, but the overall framework is solid. I can definitely see myself using this model to improve myself as a student.

I think I'm pretty strong in terms of Academic Ability and Social/Emotional skills. I'm certainly capable of getting strong grades, I can empathize well with others, and can gauge my own emotions.

I could stand to work on my Self-Regulation and Motivation. I'm pretty good at maintaining a day-to-day structure, but long-term projects are still somewhat of a struggle. And motivation for me has a lot to do with self-worth and a whole bunch of other stuff which is kind of a huge mess that I'm not sure I want to get into right here, but I know where my weaknesses are and how I can turn them around into strengths.

Student 2: I would say that this framework is malleable. It isn't static, it represents how a person is or can be at a present time and situation, not as they are as a whole. Which means I would be careful to assess people based on a system as such, and use it more as a personal growth and analytical tool.

I would say that I'm not missing much, but what I am missing is a few of the more important qualities (at least to me). For example, being disorganized, does not detect social ques, and procrastination.

I would say that my strengths are more in academic skills than any of the others, with mixed strengths in motivation and self regulation, and either hit or miss for social/emotional. This makes sense for me but means I still have work to do for improvement.

Student 3: I find the framework to be very accurate. In my opinion and experiences the four domains do a good job of encompassing students. I see myself as a learner in academic the most. But all four of the domains apply to me. Everything comes back to the academics for me.

I find my strongest domain to be motivation. I have lots of motivation to be here at landmark and want to be successful. My motivation is to keep my RA job, join PTK, stay eligible for sports, and get a transfer scholarship.

The biggest challenges are emotional influences. With my goals, taking 16 credits, being an RA, and playing two sports, I feel stress to finish work and sometimes struggle with the amount I have to do.

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Dorothy A. Osterholt Sophie Lampard Dennis

dosterholt@landmark.edu sdennis@landmark.edu