Engaging and Supporting the Wake Forest Student: Pedagogical approaches to

1. Engaging and Supporting the Wake Forest Student: Pedagogical approaches to success The Office of Multicultural Affairs and The Teaching & Learning Center WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY

2. Welcome & Introductions! • Wesley Harris, Assistant Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs • Van Westervelt, PhD., Director of the Teaching and Learning Center • Megan Figueroa (‘06) • Shelly Cardi, Staff Psychologist, Teaching and Learning Center • Catherine Ross, Director of the Teaching and Learning Center • Who else is in the room and why?

3. Agenda • What? • National trends indicate that students with disabilities are attending college in increasing numbers, primarily because improved services make it possible for them to be successful. • So what? • Who are our students with disabilities (esp. reading disabilities and ADHD)? What assets do they bring to our classrooms / campus? • What challenges do they face? • Now what? • What can we do to position them for success?

4. Disclaimers & Limitations • We won’t cover it all. • The information shared will not reflect all students in all settings / situations. • An intercultural mindset is more effective than a monocultural one (IDI, LLC, 2012). • But generalizations are still possible. • Supporting students with disabilities benefits all students.

5. Reading Disability and ADHD Van D. Westervelt, PhD Shelly Cardi, PhD Learning assistance Center & Disability Services

6. Distribution of Disabilities by Type (2011-12)

7. Dyslexia [Reading Disability] Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. G.R. Lyon, National Institute of Health, S.F. Shaywitz, B.A. Shaywitz, Yale University, 2003

8. Dyslexia [Reading Disability] • A specific learning disability that is characterized by the following: • Neurobiological origin; • Difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition; • Poor spelling; and • Decoding difficulties G.R. Lyon, National Institute of Health, S.F. Shaywitz, B.A. Shaywitz, Yale University. 2003

9. Areas of the Brain Used for Reading

10. Normal & Dyslexic Reading Children Normal Readers Frontal & Temporo-parietal Frontal but NO Temporo-parietal Dyslexic Readers

11. Dyslexia [Reading Disorder] • Difficulties: • Deficit in the phonological component of language ; • Often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities; • Despite the provision of effective classroom instruction.

13. Dyslexia [Reading Disability]

14. E. Willicutt and B. Pennington, 1999 Reading disability 5-10% of population M:F, 3 or 4:1 in clinic populations, 1.5:1 in community samples Runs in families, usually if one parent or an older sibling has a reading disability there is about a 40% chance of the child having RD

15. “Twice Exceptional” or “Gifted Dyslexic”

16. Overcoming Dyslexia Fortune 5-13-2002 article by B. Morris. Highlighted business and law leaders who were highly successful despite their dyslexia. • John Chambers • Charles Schwab • Richard Branson • David Boies

19. Schwab’s Thinking Style Like Chambers, Schwab fast forwards past the smaller, logical steps of sequential thinkers. “Many times I can see a solution to something and synthesize things differently and quicker than other people.” In meetings, “I would see the end zone and say ‘This is where we need to go.’ This annoys sequential thinkers, he says, because it short cuts their “rigorous step by step process.” [excerpt]

20. 2006 WFU Graduate in General Business M’s difficulties with Reading, Spelling and copying words became evident in first grade She received Reading support or was in Resource from 3rd -8th grades M was described by teachers as having a positive and energetic attitude toward school. She was eager to get involved and clearly wanted to do well.

21. An Evaluation • Age 12 years, 5 months • 7th grade • WISC-III (M=100, SD=15) • Verbal IQ 115 81%ile • Performance IQ 133 99%ile Significantly lower Reading and written language skills Strong Math skills

22. An Evaluation When she moved to high school, M was no longer eligible for support or Resource because she was doing well in her classes. Informally, her teachers worked with her and gave her extra time on tests when she needed it.

23. Age 16 Years, 6 months 11th Grade Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-Bit) *

24. Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT)

25. What Helps At the College Level • Possible accommodations • Extra time on tests/exams (50%) • Use of a word processor with spell check • Books on tape (novels) • Foreign language alternative or modified foreign language instruction/curriculum • Spacing out heavy reading courses across semesters

26. Study by M.K. RunyanThe effect of extra time on reading comprehension for university students with and without learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1991 GroupStandard TimeExtra Time LD (n=16) 13%ile 76 Non LD (n=15) 82 83 * All students at UC-Berkley

27. ADHD: A Description of the Disorder and the Students It Affects Shelly Cardi, PhD

28. ADHD: A Clinical Definition (DSM-IV-TR) • A disorder with a persistent pattern of inattentionand/orhyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms that can be described as follows: • More frequent and severe difficulties than those at a comparable developmental level • Symptoms present before age 7(12 y/o with DSM-V) • Impairment present in at least two settings (e.g. at home, school or work) • Social, academic, or occupational functioning difficulties • Rule out other diagnoses

29. ADHD Chronic condition requiring ongoing treatment; Inability to regulate one’s behaviors, emotions, and attention due to executive function difficulties; and Many areas of an individual’s life affected

30. ADHD: An Executive Functioning Disorder • Planning; • Working memory; • Attention; • Problem solving; • Verbal reasoning; • Inhibition; Executive functions is an umbrella term that refers to higher-order cognitive processes that involve the following: • Mental flexibility; • Task switching; • Initiation/motivation; and • Monitoring of actions

31. Areas of Brain Affected by ADHD Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex - processing of information, integration of cognitions and behaviors Orbitofronal Cortex – involves impulse control, monitoring and ongoing and appropriate behavior Anterior Cingulate Cortex – involves emotional drives, experiences, and integration

32. Executive Functioning ADHD Symptoms • Underestimation of timeand outcomes; • Lack of anticipating consequences; • Difficulty applying different problem-solving strategies; and • Difficulty making decisions

33. Executive Functioning ADHD Symptoms • Difficulty choosing the most appropriate action based on social expectations and norms; and • Lack of consideration, forgetting and/or not following through with tasks necessary to carry out decisions; and • Sense of overstimulation of sights, sounds, and physical sensory information

34. How does executive functioning affect learning and academic performance? • Difficulty planning and completing projects; • Problems anticipating how long a project will take to complete; • Struggling with telling a story in the right sequence with important details and minimal irrelevant details;

35. How does executive functioning affect learning and academic performance? • Problems initiating activities or tasks, or generating ideas independently; • Difficulty retaining information while doing something with it such as remembering a phone number while dialing; and • Feelings of fear, being overwhelmed and embarrassed/ashamed

36. Strengths of Those Diagnosed with ADHD Creativity; Adventurousness; Looking at the big picture; Thinking outside the box; Comfortable with change and chaos; and Lots of energy

37. Academic Counseling Strategies Goal setting and Motivation Images of persistence Time management, balanced approach Value of exercise Reading strategies for dense text books/articles Mapping Externalizing important information and cues Multiple choice question strategies Management of performance anxiety Addressing negative self-concepts

38. Current WFU Student with ADHD • M is a 20 y/o, Caucasian female • WAIS-IV (aptitude): • FSIQ – Above Average • Working Memory Index – Below Average • Processing Speed Index – Below Average • WJ-III (achievement skills): • Academic Fluency Scores showed most significant discrepancies Difficulties due to executive functioning deficits not lack of cognitive abilities

39. Current WFU Student with ADHD • At the beginning of academic counseling: • Poor grades; • Late or missing assignments; • Missing classes and appointments; • Procrastination; • Inconsistent motivation; • Low self-esteem; and • High level of stress and sense of being overwhelmed

40. Current WFU Student with ADHD • With academic counseling: • More structured; • Higher motivation; • Proactive; • Focus on learning (not grades); • Making good grades; • Engaged in class and with professors; • Procrastination eliminated; and • Engaging in self-care behaviors

41. Academic Skills Counseling Helpful to most students experiencing academic difficulties Individualized strategies based on learning styles, specific difficulties, and emotional obstacles related to learning Reframed understanding of learning disabilities, ADHD, and intelligence Approximately 4-10 individual weekly sessions or more as needed

42. Motivation, Metacognition and Multiple Modalities What Learners Need

43. Food for Thought “We’ve gotten accustomed to a system in which the very few excel in school (and reap the rewards in the vocational world beyond) and the many stumble along and more or less get by, or get through, or fail.” • Warner, J. 2003. “Clueless in Academe: An Interview with Gerald Graff.” The Morning News, September 16th.

44. Definition: motivation • Motivation refers to the personal investment that an individual has in reaching a desired state or outcome (Maehr & Meyer, 1997). • In the context of learning, motivation influences the direction, intensity, persistence, and quality of the learning behaviors in which students engage.(Ambrose, et al, 2010)

45. Definition: motivation Principle: Students’ motivation generates, directs, and sustains what they do. • Value • Expectancy • Environment (Ambrose et al, 2010)

46. Mo Understanding Motivation: Ambrose et al, p. 80

47. Areas of Concern • Hopeless • No expectation of success • Low levels of motivation • Behave in helpless fashions • Fragile • Want to succeed • Dubious about abilities • Protect self-esteem • Feigning understanding • Avoiding performance • Denying difficulty • Making excuses

48. What Faculty Can Do How can we help students with self-efficacy and keep them motivated? Metacognition! “Metacognitive interventions…may be an especially powerful tool in helping the “academically adrift” student find a way to get into the game, to become more aware of the kind of thinking that supports strong academic performance.” Ottenhoff, Liberal Education (handout)

49. Intro to Metacognition • Brief intro to metacognition • Example of using multiple modalities!

50. Definition: Metacognition Metacognition is “the process of reflecting on and directing one’s own thinking” • Metacognitive processes to monitor and control learning:(Ambrose et al, pp. 190-193). • Assess the task at hand • Evaluate own skills and knowledge, identify strengths and weaknesses • Plan approach to task • Apply strategies and monitor progress • Reflect on whether approach is working/adjustments