How Do People with Autism Experience the World?

I have always wondered how others experience the world.  Do you see the same colours as I do?  Do you hear sounds the same way I do?  This type of thought experiment can be extended to wondering how people with Autism experience the world.  I set out to find some information.

I found some intriguing accounts in the following blog:

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1792

In it, the author discusses two individuals with autism, both of which have shared their personal experiences with how they experience daily life.  One of these, a high-functioning doctor, describes an overwhelming flood of sensation in a hug or in daily noises, so much so, that she needed to hide from it.  She did this by withdrawing inside herself, cutting herself off.  The other personal account came from a low-functioning autistic boy, who described not enough sensation in his body, which made him feel disconnected from his body; as a result, he resorted to repeated shaking of his arms to enable him to feel their presence.  The movement calmed him and reassured him that his body was still present.  These two accounts seem completely opposite to one another, although both of these people suffer from the same disorder.

In another resource, The Australian Society of Autism’s website, an Autistic person is said to see the world as a jumble of people, places and events that they have difficulty making sense of.

photo by vmiramontes

The brains of Autistic people are physiologically different.  They show marked differences in several brain regions (cerebellum, brain stem, hippocampus, amygdala and frontal cortex, according to brynmawr’s blog reference).  They also process information in different ways; for example, when processing image information, the Autistic brain ‘lights up’ in regions that are entirely different than those in a normal brain. 

One further reference I will leave you with is Discover Magazines website featuring artwork of autistic people: How Autistic Artists See theWorld. 

One of the artists expressed her view of people, without features because she is face-blind, and the landscape without specific background because she doesn’t understand context.  Another artist is a savant, who captures impressive detail in her paintings.  Yet another artist, one who has Asperger’s draws a black and white face with a colourful flower over the mouth; the flower distracts from the eyes, perhaps to convey how difficult it is for people with Asperger’s to maintain eye contact.  My favourite piece of art is the one depicting a jumbled conversation, with faces thrown into a maze of words.  If I were to ever begin to understand Autism, this picture may be the starting point.

Digital Story Telling in the Classroom

Do you need a way to hook student interest?  Try digital storytelling. 

Last week I participated in an Elluminate presentation given by Alan Levine.  For those of you who have ever looked up information on Digital Storytelling, you’ll probably know that name.  Alan is practically a pioneer in the area, and he is kindly sharing his knowledge in a wonderful resource: 
http://50ways.wikispaces.com/

Very briefly here is how you can tell a story digitally…

STEP 1.  Pick a topic that interests you.  If you have trouble choosing a topic, Alan suggested you tell a story about your family, or you can do something that is pure fun: tell a story based on a prompt like “you wouldn’t believe who showed up at dinner…”

Then lay out your story in 5 to 10 points.

STEP 2. Find some media.  You can use Google advanced search for content that is licensed for re-use.

Pick one image (and maybe some audio) or video for each of your story points. 

STEP 3.  Pick your tool and create your story.  Alan lists dozens of tools.  Many may already be familiar to you (Picassa, Glogster, Flickr, Wiki, OneTrueMedia, Slideshare).  Alan suggests that you try a tool; if it doesn’t fit your preferences, there are plenty of others to choose from.

A great way to differentiate instruction!  Imagine a science class that hooks you in by posing the question: How many oranges does it take to power an iPhone?  How could you not be engaged? 

And what about allowing students to demonstrate learning using Digital Storytelling?  Now, that’s a fun project!

Thank you Alan for the great information! 

You can follow Alan on Twitter: @cogdog

Powerful Video from Peel District School Board

At a recent Professional Development I attended, this very uplifting and inspiring video was shared.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

A Few New Steps in My Journey

Practicum 1 is winding down, and what a whirlwind it’s been.  I’ve gone from taking 8 hours to prepare a lesson to a much more reasonable 1-2 hours!  I don’t know how teachers get three lessons prepared within one prep periodPerhaps they are not sharing with me the space-time wormhole they have found. 

Practicum 1 has been a valuable experience.  I’ve gotten to experience the ins and outs of classroom management, been able to try out learning strategies on unsuspecting students, had the opportunity to volunteer in a learning resources classroom, chaperoned a field trip (to a CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!!), gotten to know several students, attended an energizing staff meeting, participated in technology meetings, gotten to observe a few teachers in action, and had a great amount of practice on the SMARTboard.  Most importantly, I enjoyed the opportunity to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses and had a tremendous amount of support from highly skilled and generous teachers.

I’m glad of all of the people I met, and hope that I was able to give at least a portion of what I was given.

Practicum Week One: Experimenting with Strategies in Math

My associate teacher put me at ease rather early; his advice was simple: “this is a time for you to have fun and try out new things”.  It was exactly what I needed to hear, and the confidence boost that I needed.  In my first week, I experimented with traffic lights; these are assessment tools in the form of red/green/yellows as indicators of understanding. 

I have also implemented what I have always wanted to try: a balance analogy for equations.  I built a large (albeit rudimentary) model of a balance, which requires three students to operate.  I cut out X shapes, and Y shapes, used fun representations of number units (eyeballs, as Halloween was approaching).  We practiced ‘what you do to one side, you must do to the other’ to maintain equation balance.  This helped students ‘see’ why this well-known phrase holds true, and also provided a physical connection to simple mathematical operations.

In another twist on a common manipulative, I used human algebra tiles; students model solving equations by positioning themselves in the classroom as if they themselves were the tiles (each student holds a large paper tile to identify what they represent).  The human algebra tiles then act out the mathematical operations required to solve the problem.   Seated students have a good view of the equation and they assist the human tiles in their mathematical operations.  This approach was effective in consolidating the traditional algebra tile activity, as well as heightening engagement. 

I’m looking for some other highly kinaesthetic activity ideas.  Is there something you would like to share?  Please comment and let me know!  Happy teaching!

Practicum, Day One!

Phew!  That was not nearly as frightening as my nerves were trying to convince me that it would be.  The fact that I woke up every hour last night didn’t appear to be evident on my face or in my actions.  I can thank adrenaline for that!  I pondered stopping for a coffee this morning, but feared a complete loss of calm demeanour.  I am a professional after all!  Nerves plus coffee equal teacher candidate needing to be peeled off of the ceiling.

There were a few small glitches along the way:  A late student who I didn’t notice come in.   Moving through the demo too quickly.  Rewarding students with temporary tattoos that they all felt needed to be applied immediately.  Of course, water is required for the application and suddenly many students needed to use the washroom!  Then, getting the students to refocus on their work was a challenge.  Of course it was!  It would have been for me too if I was in their shoes.  I’ll chalk that one up as a learning experience. 

All in all, though, I have to say that it was a positive experience.  I did some things right.  And when it comes to the kids, I feel like I lucked out; they are a great group.  I’m so looking forward to getting to know them as my teaching block continues!

Differentiated Instruction (within a Flipped Classroom)

Joy!!!  I’m learning how to improve a flipped class through differentiated instruction.  From my earlier blog, I mentioned that students watch the instruction at home on Youtube.  Once the video is watched (or not), students come into class and get a choice of how to proceed.  Those who feel they understand the topic can move on to practice problems.  Those who wish to view the lesson again (or for the first time) can do so on their own devices or the dedicated computer provided by the teacher.  Those who need a mini-lesson work with the teacher at the board (Smart or chalk).  Additionally, students are encouraged to collaborate and assist one another.  After the mini-lesson, the teacher is available to help on an individual basis.  I love that the students have the choice of how to do their work.  Holy Differentiation, Batman!

Creative Commons - That's news to me!

Ever snagged a photo from the web and included it in your presentation?  Ever added a popular song to your video on Youtube?  What about modified a great photo from the web and sent it out to your contacts?  You may be violating copyright laws.  Oh dear.  I must admit, I’ve never thought too hard about the legality of using web content before.  And apparently many people don’t.  It’s just become part of our culture. 

So, what do we do about it?  Probably should change our MO’s, especially if we want model the behaviour that we ask of our kids.  Start by being conscious of what we are borrowing from the web, and what the restrictions are.  A quick way to ensure that you are not violating copyright laws is to start looking for media with the Creative Commons ‘cc’ designation, and become familiar with the variety of sharing permissions that exist.  For a nice summary of how to use the information in the licenses, check out

Creative Commons on Flickr , or here is a more condensed list (from The Clever Sheep): 

What inspired this new awareness for me was an Elluminate session on this topic given by Rodd Lucier today.  Rodd really opened my eyes relative to permissions on media content. Check Rodd out on Twitter @thecleversheep, or visit his very generous share-friendly space on slideshare, or his blog.  An incredible wealth of information.  Thanks Rodd, for sharing your knowledge and creativity with us.

Flipping for Flipped Classroom

A flipped classroom in action!  Wow!  I had the fortune of visiting a flipped classroom yesterday in a Halton high school math class.  Prior to class, students are asked to watch a math lesson online.  The lesson is a YouTube video of the teacher's Smart Board presentation.  For an idea of what I'm talking about, see this link.  The students do the basic learning at home where they can rewind, pause, or rewatch the lesson as they require.  The following day, the lesson is quickly reviewed, and the students get down to practice. 

The great benefit is that the students are in class during their practice of the topic; typically, it is during the practice problems where the largest number of questions are likely to arise.  The traditional approach, of course, is to teach students the lesson in class and have them work on practice problems at home, where they don't have access to the teacher and their peers for support.  Another great benefit is that students will likely approach their homework with a more positive attitude because it consists simply of watching a video!  Who wouldn't prefer a video over practice problems?  A shortcoming of the flipped classroom that one student shared with me is that it's difficult to know what to take notes on during the video lesson; she misses the note-taking in action that occurs in class.  The teacher suggests to her to download the accompanying notes made available to students online along with the video. 
I was so impressed with how well the flipped classroom worked.  The students arrived having been introduced to the topic, were engaged during the lesson recap, and worked in small groups or individually on the practice exercises.  The questions that arose during practice were immediately addressed by either the teacher or peers.  I believe that the flipped classroom can be extremely successful in a class of relatively self-motivated individuals.  However, those who require more support may find this approach too advanced.

            Thank you Mr. Sampson for sharing your classroom with me!  It was fantastic to see theory put into action!

My Teaching Philosophy

Just a fun assignment from the faculty of education...

The Metaphor of Dance

The classroom is a dance studio headed by a creative choreographer who designs fun, interesting, and challenging dance routines for the performers.  The choreographer motivates and energizes the troupe to perform to the best of their best abilities, and when required, refocuses and corrects the dancers when they get out of step.  Care is taken to ensure proper modifications of dance routines to accommodate the abilities of each individual member.  Expectations are clear, and as the dancers become more accomplished, they are expected to perform more sophisticated routines.  The performers are comprised of varied individuals with different backgrounds, abilities, and experiences, but all know that they are important members of a cohesive group, working together for a common purpose.