Upper School English teacher Candace Carr attended a day of workshops and presentations at Landmark College in Vermont. Landmark is one of the only accredited colleges in the U.S. designed exclusively for students with learning disabilities (such as dyslexia), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, or executive function challenges. She came away with new strategies and a new appreciation for their program.
Every summer, Landmark College in Vermont hosts a three-day institute for educators. Landmark is one of the only accredited colleges designed for students with ADHD, executive function challenges, and learning disabilities such as dyslexia. Thanks to a Parents Association grant, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend one day of the institute, which allowed me to participate in a writing workshop, hear the keynote speaker, and listen to a panel of current students and alumni.
The workshop Visual Thinking, Activation, & Motivation: Teaching and Tutoring Writing for Students with Executive Function Challenges was particularly useful to me as an English teacher in the upper school. Three of the concepts that particularly stood out to me were the Picture Superiority Effect, Visual Thinking Strategies, and Mapping Shared Experiences. The Picture Superiority Effect states that oftentimes pictures communicate an idea more effectively than a long verbal or written explanation. Visual Thinking Strategies, such as showing students dramatic images and asking questions, can hugely impact a student’s ability to think and write about a given topic. Presenting students with a picture and asking them questions such as “What’s going on in this image?” “What do you see that makes you say that?” and “What more can we find?” can help students generate ideas about themes within a literary text.
Mapping Shared Experiences can also be highly useful in English classes. Mapping Shared Experiences can create understanding of narration as an intersection of universal and individual experiences. This is something I look forward to using in my 9th grade class as we discuss Coming of Age stories. Creating a visual representation of shared experiences, such as identity exploration and loss of innocence, can help students recognize commonalities with their peers while also acknowledging and honoring differences. The presenter emphasized the importance of giving students models of exemplary writing. This practice helps to reduce the cognitive load for students with ADHD and executive function challenges. For upper school students, models of thesis statements, proper citations, and works cited pages can help them visualize the finished product.
The keynote address was delivered by Mirko Chardin, the Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer at Novak Education. His presentation addressed Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a Key to Equity. He emphasized the importance of providing students with options and choices as a means to engagement. Well-designed UDL allows individuals to make decisions about how they experience their own learning. Providing students with choices on how they demonstrate their understanding of the curriculum can be pivotal in their connection to the material. Allowing students to create video responses, visual art, or podcasts related to the content can increase their investment in their own learning.
The day ended with a student panel in which they shared stories about how Landmark College helped them to destigmatize their learning disabilities while deepening their understanding of how they learn best. Many Landmark alumni have returned to work at the college in different capacities, which I found to be quite impressive. I really appreciated the strategies they found to help them be successful as college students. I have already shared some of these tools with my MMFS students.
I am grateful that I was able to visit Landmark College and connect with other educators of students with learning disabilities. I highly recommend others look into attending the summer institute. Thank you to the Parents Association for making this informative experience possible.
