Barbara Robinson considers herself something of a brain plasterer - it?s her job to ``plug?? the learning gaps in young minds.
Mrs Robinson is a teacher aide at Te Puna Primary School near Tauranga. It?s a school that remains under the state system but has taken a very different approach to learning.
At Te Puna the emphasis is on brain-compatible learning and nowhere is it more intense than in Mrs Robinson?s class.
She is responsible for the children who have difficulty learning in one or several areas of their schooling. In her class they are helped to overcome these learning barriers using a variety of ``tools??.
The key is to make learning fun, Mrs Robinson said. Brain-compatible learning taps into all five senses, keeping the children focussed and helping them to retain what they learn.
At Years 4 and 5 every child in the school undertakes a learning style analysis to determine how they learn best and after Year 5 it is repeated at two-year intervals.
Children identified as being below their expected reading or maths level spend time in Mrs Robinson?s class. Often it?s the children who have difficulty processing, she said.
``These children have often got a big gap between what they are thinking and what they say. They need time to process. In the mainstream classroom there?s never quite enough time for them.
``When they are expected to write a story on the classroom, they don?t know where to start. These kids find it very difficult. They don?t know why a story has a beginning, middle and an end or how to structure words in a sentence.
``They develop avoidance strategies, usually behavioural, like saying they?ve left their book at home ? it?s a survival strategy for them.??
``A lot of children I work with have quite a lot of `baggage? so my job also involves behavioural monitoring.
``Education has to have a warm feeling and be fun. I have a lot of tools to use so their minds are taken off the hard stuff. I show them how to do hard things the easy way. I have a very tight structure but we have lots of fun.??
The bright array of posters and shelves of toys lining the walls of the special needs room at Te Puna are testament this is no ordinary classroom. In fact it looks more like a nursery. But this is the room in which children from Year 1 to 8 learn skills that will set them up for life.
Every day starts with a warm-up. In much the same way that athletes warm up before exercising, the children warm-up their brains before they start their lessons.
``At the start of the day they have a lot on their mind. Warm-ups take about five minutes and they?re ready to learn.??
A warm-up can be as simple as performing crossovers or marching on the spot chanting tongue twisters. Of course, at Te Puna School they have developed their own variations - a favourite being the ``canine crawl??, which involves crawling along the ground towards each other with opposite arms and then backwards, all the while chanting a rhyme.
``They?re not embarrassed because we do crazy things all the time, and they?re reading wonderfully.??
Movement is used widely in Mrs Robinson?s class. Whole body teaching is a method she uses to help children learn the letters of the alphabet. For example, the letter ``O?? starts as a sweeping circular body movement, which is then reduced to a circle traced on the table with a knitting needle and finally on to paper. ``It helps the children who are a little bit dyslexic.??
To learn grammar the children have a never-ending story that they build like a long winding snake. It consists of sentences with key sounds missing from some of the words. Each sentence is printed on a long strip of card and the story progresses as another sentence is added. The strips are laid out on the floor, or outside on the grass if the weather?s fine, and the children must fill in the gaps with syllable cards. Sometimes the children jump and cartwheel between sentences. The story has been going for two years.
``It?s a wonderful tool ? very basic but very structured. It becomes a game and they want to conquer the game. It can take 20 minutes and they absolutely love it.??
Remembering vowel sounds is another ``game??. This time, the learning tools are colourful pieces of rope. The children go through the vowels, tying a knot for each sound. The rope stays knotted and when they need to remember the sound Mrs Robinson points to the corresponding knot and it triggers their memory. It?s a simple concept but it works, she said.
The greatest asset of the room is colour, Mrs Robinson said. The brain is stimulated by colour and yet most books are black print on white paper. ``It?s quite offensive to the brain.?? To counter this, she has made plastic see-through strips that the children run down the page, reading through the colour of their choice ? be it bright pink, blue or yellow. ``It brings focus and fun to the page.??
Boys, who read better, at a distance, are given ``speed sticks??. In Mrs Robinson?s classroom bright red chopsticks are used to trace the lines of text while the children sit back from the table with their books propped up on their knees. ``They read beautifully like this.??
If a child is having difficulty concentrating, Mrs Robinson takes him or her outside to read while walking. This brings movement to learning and is particularly effective for those who are strong kinaesthetic learners. ``It?s a change of state and it makes reading fun.??
Music is another important teaching tool. ``We sing a lot in this room,?? Mrs Robinson said. ``I sing greetings to Year 7 and 8 girls and boys. They think it?s hilarious. Some of them blush but they love it. It breaks down barriers, then it gets to the point where they sing back.??
For those who like to work in a quiet environment she has utilised old headphones that the children can wear like earmuffs. ``For the children who like minimal noise, they?re instantly focussed, they feel special and the others know they don?t want to be disturbed ? they?re one of the greatest assets of the classroom.??
The children?s tastebuds and sense of smell are also tapped to help them grasp concepts and stay focused.
When Mrs Robinson explains how words are broken up into ``bite-sized chunks?? called syllables; she uses a loaf of bread and the children?s favourite fillings. They each make their own sandwich and are asked to see how many ``chunks?? they can get out of the sandwich, as opposed to nibbles. ``It gets a bit messy ? but now they apply the principle to a word. It?s especially effective for spelling.?? An imitation sandwich sits on the table and when Mrs Robinson wants the children to remember the concept she points to it.
Banned from most school playgrounds, chewing gum and bubble gum are used to encourage the children to stretch their minds.
They are given a piece of each to put in opposite sides of their mouths and pull on them to see which stretches the furthest. Mrs Robinson likens a chewing gum stretch to a half-hearted attempt and a bubble gum stretch to fully extending themselves. ``I tell them long and strong.??
A quote on the wall (written back-to-front to make their brains work even harder) reinforces this concept: ``The brain that does the work does the learning.??
If the children become restless she uses the sense of smell to distract them and it works like a charm. ``I have fresh herbs in my room ? lavender, mint, parsley and lemon balm ? I put a leaf in front of any child who is a bit off task and they pick it up, smell it and fiddle with it. I had lavender sticks and the boys couldn?t work out what it was. They made moustaches out of them and were all working with them up under their noses ? for them it?s neat fun. It?s harmless and it helps them learn. It?s a good natural smell and it interests them in nature.??
The children also learn about healthy eating ? ``brain food?? ? and are encouraged to drink lots of water to keep their brains hydrated. Water bottles are allowed in the classroom.
Mrs Robinson has been involved with Te Puna School for more than 10 years, through her own children, and has been a teacher aide for the past six years. She is convinced that brain compatible learning is the way forward.
``I?ve been to several teacher aide courses and I have come to find myself saying `there are much easier ways of overcoming these problems?.
``It means shaking the old ways off, getting down to the children?s level and making sure you?re prepared to be a little bit silly with them at the start.??
Mrs Robinson believes children have learning difficulties for many reasons, some of which will never be explained. But whatever the cause, most children will learn if they?re enjoying themselves.
``I want them to develop a soft spot for learning. I want them to look back and think: Because I had fun I learnt it and I learnt it well.??
Te Puna Primary School, 14km north of Tauranga, is one of New Zealand?s largest rural primary schools. It is under the principalship of Mike Scaddan who for the past six years has been developing a brain compatible learning programme.
In April 1999 Mr Scaddan became the first New Zealander to be granted certification by the Jensen Learning Corporation (USA) as a brain based learning presenter.
More than a third of the children who leave Te Puna School to start intermediate or college are placed in accelerate classes. This has risen from 5 percent in 1996 when the programme was in its formative stages to 39 percent at the end of 2001.
Mr Scaddan encourages all his staff to take on the teaching techniques, which extend to Maori immersion and special needs classes.
Schools from around the world visit Te Puna to study its teaching methods.
For further information contact
Julia Holmes
