A Neurodevelopmental View
The human brain is like a complex orchestra, with many different instruments playing many roles. These roles, or neurological functions, desperately need to be coordinated, integrated, and synchronized. As with any orchestra, each player's role varies depending upon the situation. Just as the strings or woodwinds may be highlighted in music, different neurological functions take the lead when students study English or math, have to write a report, or take part in athletic activities. And, just as instruments create harmony in an orchestra, the different neurodevelopmental functions interact to enable students to acquire certain knowledge, skills or sub-skills, or to accomplish specific school tasks, such as being well-organized, efficient, or strategic planners.
Activity: Think of something that you are good at - kayaking, playing hockey, playing a musical instrument, reading, problem solving, etc.
What are the skills that are needed in order to be able to do this? E.g. being coordinated, being able to concentrate for long periods of time, etc.
When students are having difficulty with a particular academic skill, the task of parents, teachers, and clinicians is to pinpoint the areas of difficulty, to specify the weak sub-skills, and to create a plan for strengthening strengths and areas in need of improvement.
There is a need to ask: Where is the breakdown occurring? Which sub-skill is not playing its role? And within that sub-skill, which related functions are not operating well? For example, students with strong vocabulary skills and memory abilities may still have problems remembering words. In this case, the difficulty might lie with their word retrieval ability, a very specific sub-skill that enables students to remember words on the spot.
Neurodevelopmental Profile
At any point in life, students come to school with "neurodevelopmental profiles." Such profiles are, in essence, balance sheets of individual strengths and weaknesses in the various neurodevelopmental functions. Each profile facilitates work in some areas, while hindering work in others. Some students have strengths that make them strong achievers at six years old, but weak performers in high school. Others may have early difficulties and find success in later years. Just as expectations change over time, so do students' performances.
In order to better understand how students' profiles affect their learning and performance at any time, those profiles are divided into "neurodevelopmental constructs." Constructs are groupings of related neurodevelopmental functions. They help to organize thinking and communicate about learning differences by focusing on the roles and interactions of neurodevelopmental functions with regard to specific behaviors. They also allow for flexibility in the ways that differences in learning are evaluated, while at the same time, pinpointing areas of learning breakdown and creating very specific plans for helping students succeed.
The constructsused to organize students' profiles are listed below:
Attention: Attention is more than just "paying attention." It includes such aspects as the ability to concentrate, to focus on one thing rather than the other, to finish tasks one begins, and to control what one says anddoes.
Temporal-sequential Ordering: Whether it's being able to recite the alphabet or knowing when to push a button to give a response on "Jeopardy," being able to understand time and sequence of various items or pieces of information is a key component of learning.
Spatial Ordering: Closely related to the functions of time and sequence, spatial ordering is the ability, for instance, to distinguish between a circle and a square or to use images to remember related information. On a more complex level, spatial ordering helps musicians, for instance, to be able to "see" a piano keyboard, and enables architects to "imagine" the shape of a particular room.
Memory: Even if, in the moment, people are able to understand, organize, and interpret the most complex information, if they cannot store and then later recall that information, their performance often suffers dramatically.
Language: Being able to articulate and understand language is central to the ability to do well as students and learners. Developing language functions involves elaborate interactions between various parts of the brain since it involves so many separate kinds of abilities - pronouncing words, awareness of different sounds, comprehending written symbols, understanding syntax, and telling stories.
Neuromotor Functions: Whether students are trying to write their first words, catch a football, or punch away at a computer keyboard, their brains' ability to coordinate their motor or muscle functions are key to many areas of learning.
Social Cognition: One of the most often overlooked components of learning is the ability to succeed in social relationships with peers, parents, and teachers. Students (and adults) may be strong in other construct areas, and yet have academic difficulties because of an inability to make friends, work in groups, or cope effectively with peer pressure.
Higher Order Cognition: Higher order cognition involves the ability to understand and implement the steps necessary to solve problems, attack new areas of learning, and think creatively.
Activity
Go back to the activity that you are good at.
Which neurodevelopmental constructs are involved in order for you to be able to be successful with this task?
Temporal Sequential Ordering
Spatial Ordering
Memory
Language
Neuromotor Functions
Social Cognition
Higher Order Thinking