IPP in the Panoply of Learning

There are three broad stages in human learning.

Humans, unlike almost all other creatures, are slow in developing the capacity to learn appropriate to their environs.  Most creatures come into life pre-wired with almost all they need to survive and thrive — humans have a greater need, and a greater capacity to learn, but they are not completely pre-wired — they need to learn how to learn.

The first stage is so elementary that it was not even identified until the last half-century.  It is called “patterning”. It occurs when babies first start to explore their environment by crawling and otherwise controlling their bodies in exploring the outside world.    This “motor learning” seems so natural, that it is commonly not considered “learning”, but for whatever reason, some children miss developing important aspects of this development, so they

SOI Personalized Program

SOI HELPED AND AIDED THIS STUDENT IN HIS READING AND LANGUAGE ABILITIES.

Good readers are phonemically aware, understand the alphabetic principle, apply these skills in a rapid and fluent manner, possess strong vocabularies and syntactical and grammatical skills, and relate reading to their own experiences.

Difficulties in any of these areas can impede reading and language development. Learning to read begins far before children enter formal schooling. This child in second grade was referred to us with the specific problem areas of reading and understanding. He also didn’t like the school subject Language.

• Spells poorly and has  difficulty recalling facts and numbers
• Has trouble learning new skills (compensates by relying on memorization)
• Has trouble following directions or instructions
• Struggles to recognize letters, match letters to sounds and make a sentence
• Inability to read simple 3 letter words or associate them
• Can’t comprehend what he reads or listens in the classroom

We started with his personalized workbooks and CDs, which are available based on students’ test results. These workbooks have an added advantage in that tasks are articulated within the book. In other words, the easier part of a given module is presented early in the sequence and the more difficult part is presented later.

Classification: A Skill for Life

Comprehension of Figural Classes (CFC) at a lower level is the ability to group and sort. It is how we begin to comprehend. These are yellow; these are red. Beginning with same and different, we ask ourselves, “In what way are these things the same or different? Is this the only way they are the same or different? How else could they be grouped?”

The skill of logical thought is classification. In a very basic way, it helps us to make sense of our world. In a young child’s world it explains, “This is mama’s. This is daddy’s. This belongs to sister. It is not mine…unless I am two.”

At a young age, classification is what helps us make sense of our world. It gives order to our thinking. An older child may think, “These are crayons. These are markers. These are pencils.” We separate them for ease of use. As they enter school, they learn to organize their time. Now is the time to work. Now is the time to play. Classification is the skill that makes order out of chaos. Classified is the opposite of random.