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Play and Brain Development

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Let’s focus on the importance of play and brain development in the early years.

There is a constant battle over what the best learning environment for young children looks like. I encourage you to look into how a child’s brain and body develops and ask yourself, what environment would be best suited to optimise a child’s development? For example, should young children sit at desks or is it an investigative play-based learning environment that is best suited to their development? And, once you answer that question, ask yourself another one, what age up to should they be in this environment? I have come across many children who have been provided with limited opportunities to explore and play in an effective play-based environment in the early years and as a result, gaps in their learning have emerged, but only identified when they are older when brain connections have been made. It is more effective to make the ‘right’ brain connections in the first place, than try to re-form new connections, although this can be done.

To put simply, without the appropriate play environment a child will not develop and grow to their full potential. We were born to play. Children are born with a natural instinct and curiosity to play, but we need an effective learning environment to stimulate it. Play is essential to every area of a child’s growth and development. A child’s intelligence may carry as much as 20-40 points as a result of environmental stimulation or lack of stimulation (Hunt, 1961). This is huge! Why? It is through play that children develop the core domains (underlying skills) to learn basic concepts required in literacy and numeracy.

No stimulation leads to no elaboration of neurological structure (brain) and processes, while pushing brain maturation (overstimulation) leads to overdevelopment and later deficits in behavior. (Lipton,1974). The constant ‘pruning’ of the brain circuits that are not used, such as in a poorly created learning environment, highlights the concept of importance of developmental windows or crucial periods of brain development in the early years. An appropriately set up play-based environment, provides the best opportunities for a child’s future success in learning.

If you are keen to understand how a child’s brain develops and how you can create a high quality play environment, join me at the next PD’s on Understanding the Amazing Brain or Play-Based Learning Environments.

Natalie Nicholls
BEd.PGDipSpLD.DipNeuroPsych.MEdCogPsych (completing)
Education Consultant, specialising in learning and learning difficulties.

The Brain and Learning

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I recently reflected on how we all learn differently as we explore the world, but that we are all born as learners. Childhood is such a critical time for brain development that we should carefully protect and nurture.

The common approach to children with learning difficulties is to first ask: what is the problem with the child? But what if we first asked: what is the problem that the child has? In order to live a happy, healthy and successful life, I think its important we understand where learning and behaviour comes from and that the ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind learning and behaviour makes big difference on the teaching approaches and environment you adopt.

In seeking to understand the ‘how’ and ‘why’, we should start with understanding the role of the brain in the learning process. Of course, the brain is central to all thought and life and controls everything the child does (or doesn’t do!). The brain’s architecture (which develops in the early years) is responsible for all learning, behaviour and health. But, going deeper, there are four developmental domains that provide the foundations to learning: social, emotional, physical and cognitive. We must focus on teaching the WHOLE child and teaching to all domains. Doing so ensures we are providing the most effective building foundations of the brain to ensure every child has the opportunity for success with learning in school. But in order to teach to all domains, you will need to first know and understand how the brain learns, so when you teach, children DO learn.

So here are five points that may help your understanding of the way the brain fits into learning:

  • The brain changes! For a long time researchers thought the brain couldn’t change – you were born the way you were. Now, research has proven that is not the case. A child is born with the brain waiting for connections to be made. A baby’s brain is born with billions of neurons/ networks waiting to be connected.
  • The environment the child is placed in determines what connections/pathways are made. Lack of exposure to one specific area, can lead to no connection or activation leading to challenges, which are more visible later on. It is crucial that the correct foundations are laid first, this is where the early years are the most fundamental. These networks need the correct learning environment (from home and school) to be connected correctly.
  • Once connected, they need continuous repetition and support to strengthen the pathways or they’ll weaken and in many cases disappear!
  • Get the brain right from the beginning. Early Years is more important than any school choice you’ll ever make! It is more important than any school or university your child will attend. The early years are crucial as that is when the brain is developing and forming the pathways for the future. If an incorrect pathway has been made, it is more difficult to change it, (like a bad habit) than to ensure it’s connected correctly in the first place.
  • The brain is inter-connected and many areas impact each other, so it is crucial that we look at all areas of the brain and learning together to make learning effective.

If you’d like to know more about how we learn, remember and forget (and much more!) attend one of our workshops on Understanding the Amazing Brain.

Why do some children avoid reading?

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I come across this question a lot with parents and teachers. There are usually at least a handful of children in each class who are not interested in reading. But why?

Using research and experience I have put together 5 possible reasons for educators and parents to explore:

  1. Has the child struggled with developing the basic skills required of reading? As human beings we enjoy things that we are good at. If you think about something you love, it is likely that have the confidence to perform the activity well. Children who enjoy reading are able to access the meaning and they REALLY understand what they are reading. Children who struggle with mastering the foundations of reading, learn that reading is too hard and it becomes pointless. In these cases, it is important to explore whether the child has a learning difficulty.
  2. Interest level. A significant part of our motivation comes from autonomy, being able to chose something ourselves. It is very important that we provide a selection of books that each child is interested in. They are more likely to want to read the book, ask questions and develop a love or reading that if it is something they do not like.
  3. How is reading perceived at home or school by others? Does the child see their parents reading? Are there books scattered on the coffee table, in the car and is there a bookshelf where books are readily available? Is there a set time of the day when the whole family takes time to read a book, individually or as a family? Make it fun!
  4. Is the book too hard? In many cases, children are given reading books or choose reading books that they are unable to read fluently and therefore access meaning. If they are interested in a particular book, don’t discourage the child, but allow the adult to read the book to them instead.
  5. How has reading been encouraged at school and at home? By intrinsic or extrinsic motivation? Intrinsic motivation is an internal drive to do something for yourself, for example, ‘I want to read this book, because I want to find out what happens in the story.’ This can be contrasted to extrinsic motivation, ‘I have to read this book because my teacher told me to. It is for homework. ‘ Or, I’ll receive a lolly after I read this book.’ In the case of the extrinsic motivation, the love of learning will die off. Many adults lack motivation because as a child they were controlled and drive by extrinsic motivation. Encourage children to use their internal drive to read. If the child has been driven by extrinsic motivation for many years, you’ll need to gradually remove it.

Natalie Nicholls
Education Consultant
Dyslexia & Learning Difficulties Specialist
Director

Help, my child can’t read. I think they have dyslexia!

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I received a message from a parent and with her permission, I have documented recommendations below for other parents. I hope you find it useful. The names of the parent and child have been altered to protect confidentiality.

‘Hi Natalie, I hope you don’t mind, but I’d love your advice on dyslexia. I’m concerned about Milly who is 6.5 years old and she has just started year 1. She is a bright and curious child but is struggling with reading. It is like all the right ingredients going into the oven but no cake ever comes out! My eldest could read chapter books by this stage but Milly is still on CVC words with limited sight vocabulary despite lots of practice. How do I tell whether she’s just making slow progress of whether there is an underlying difficulty such as dyslexia? What assessment processes do schools have for this? Jane, concerned mother.’

My response was a follows:

Thanks for your message Jane. I’d be glad to help you. Firstly, well done for being such an observant parent and giving your child lots of reading guidance at a young age. It is important to note that all children develop at different rates especially up the age 8, but I commend you on noticing a possible ‘red flag’. It sounds like you know your daughter very well.

I particularly like your cake analogy. Your situation is very common, where the child is brought up in the same home environment, receive the same support a sibling had, but for some reason the outcome is totally different. From what you have indicated, Milly may not receiving and/or processing the information in the brain from the outside world ‘correctly or efficiently’. During a child’s development, the brain is continuously making new connections. At times, due to a number of factors, the brain makes what I like to call, ‘odd’ connections. The good news is, that the brain can change and ‘new’ connections can be made. It just involves the right strategies to get the brain ‘reconnected’ to operate in a more efficient way.

So what is dyslexia? Dysleixa is a neurological condition that affects the development of literacy skills. It is characterised by difficulties with processing sound, rapid naming, working memory and processing of information. Dyslexia affects approximately 10% of the population.
So what do I do?

  1. It is very important that Milly’s confidence stays in tact. Avoid pushing her to do something she may not be able to do. We want to avoid her feeling like a failure and thinking something is wrong with her. Continue with what reading she can do and provide plenty of encouragement, praise and support. Keep reading to her daily.
  2. It is important we look into how the brain is receiving and interpreting information. If all sensory channels, such as the vision, auditory and movement channels are not working 100%, then a child will experience difficulties in one or more areas. As they get older, they become more noticeable. These must be addressed first.
  3. The next area to look into is her ability to manipulate and understand sounds in words, her processing speed, working memory and speed of retrieval. These areas will be looked at during an assessment.
  4. Early intervention is key. If you are concerned, don’t dismiss your feelings. Parents intuition is usually spot on. It is worth looking into an assessment and specialist literacy tuition now. Ensure you engage a specialist literacy tutor as they have unique training in using different methods and strategies. You are more likely to see progress with a specialist tutor than a ‘normal’ tutor.
  5. In regards to getting an assessment, it depends on the school your child is at. Speak to the class teacher or the Learning Support Coordinator to see what the process is. It can take a while. The other option is to seek a private educational psychologist. Keep in mind, a formal diagnosis cannot be made until she is 8 years old.  At the Learning Centre, I’d be more than happy to arrange an assessment to identify the gaps in her learning and whether an underlying learning difficulty may be present.

I hope this helps Jane and let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you and Milly.

Natalie Nicholls
Education Consultant
Dyslexia and Learning Difficulties Specialist Teacher
Director

Why I Teach Spelling Rules?

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I was speaking to a colleague a few days ago who attend a training seminar on literacy instruction for children with LD. She was curious to know my opinion on whether I teach spelling rules to children with learning difficulties, such as dyslexia.

Spelling rules are a core part of teaching a child how to spell and are a very effective tool you can equip a child with. In order to be good at something, we first have to understand it and the same applies to spelling. Every child I have taught, has been taught the core spelling rules and found them very valuable (& has remembered and been able to apply them!).
I have outlined my 5 reasons why I think spelling rules are important to teach:

  1. Children with LD (learning difficulties) may take more time to learn the spelling rules, but by using the correct methods, they will learn them. All children have the right to be equipped with the knowledge of the English language and part of that is spelling rules, whether they have a LD or not.
  2. Understanding the English language is a core part of being a good speller. Spelling rules are an essential part of understanding the English language. Research has shown that good spellers have better understanding of morphographs, than poor spellers. Similarly, explicit instruction in morphological structure significantly improves the spelling ability of students identified with dyslexia as compared to students matched by age and by initial spelling performance (Tsesmeli & Seymour, 2008).
  3. Students who lack spelling rules will likely have difficulty spelling new words with prefixes, suffixes, base words and understanding short and long vowels. Words such as ‘hopping’ and ‘hoping’, using rules to drop ‘e’, magic ‘e’ on the end of a word changes the sound such as ‘mat’ and ‘mate’, ‘ck’ follows a short vowel such as in ‘click, rock, deck, pack, luck’, or the flossy rule, doubling the letter at the end of word following a short vowel in a 1 syllable word. Without this basic understanding, children are left to ‘guess’ how to spell words they are unfamiliar with.
  4. Once children have learnt basic spelling rules they can apply this knowledge to numerous words. It opens up a bank of spelling that they may not have been able to otherwise.
  5. Equipping students with knowledge of spelling rules, gives them confidence and autonomy, increasing their intrinsic motivation to try new spellings.

Natalie Nicholls
Education Consultant
Dyslexia and Learning Difficulties Specialist
Director

References:
Styliani N. T and Philip H. K. Seymour (2008) The effects of training of morphological structure on spelling derived words by dyslexic adolescents. British Journal of Psychology 1-29.