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DESIGNING LESSONS THAT INCORPORATE NON-COGNITIVE SKILLS

Externalizing the tasks and refueling the self-control tank

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THE NEXT 19 MINUTES

Brief update on research surrounding the relationship between EF skills and SEN, primarily from the literature on ADHD and dyslexia.
Implications of the research
Six tips for designing lessons
Cultivating Motivation: how it differs for neuro-typical and atypical students, and how to respond
Using motivational language in lessons and assessments
The Role of Reframing
Student specific Q/A

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RESEARCH UPDATE: EXECUTIVE ABILITIES AND SEN

A disruption of executive functions in two domains: Inhibition and meta-cognition (i.e. working memory)
Inhibition is from a form of ”time blindness” or “neglect of the future”
Meta-cognition delays mean that the student is not able to sustain memory or attention on future events, without a lot of self-control, self-regulation.
Our ability for self-control is a limited fuel tank.
Using / exhausting the EF abilities will deplete the fuel tank of self-control quickly, making work demotivating, frustrating, etc.
One way of dealing with SEN (esp. ADHD) is to not exhaust their E.F. abilities

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KNOWLEDGE IS NOT THE PROBLEM

Students usually know “what and how,” just not “where or when” to do it.

Robert J. McInerney & Kimberly A. Kerns (2003) Time Reproduction in Children With ADHD: Motivation Matters, Child Neuropsychology, 9:2, 91-108

Cynthia L. Huang-Pollock , Amori Yee Mikami , Linda Pfiffner & Keith McBurnett (2007) ADHD Subtype Differences in Motivational Responsivity but not Inhibitory Control: Evidence From a Reward-Based Variation of the Stop Signal Paradigm, Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 36:2, 127-136, DOI: 10.1080/15374410701274124

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MOTIVATION IS NOT THE PROBLEM

We need to help students to be less of who they are “in the moment” and more of who they are when thinking about short and long-term goals.

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TIPS FOR LESSON DESIGN

Don’t rely on mental information- put critical information that is needed to preform in the visual field

Use physical reminders; notes, signs, lists, charts, or other cues that they can see to guide their behavior.

Externalize time but letting them see, hear, how much time they HAVE and how much time they HAVE LEFT.

Google timers.

Tasks must be broken into steps and externalized onto lists, calendars, notes, etc.

Externalize the information; offload it from the mind to devices

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TIPS FOR LESSON DESIGN

External means of motivation: rewards, tokens, points sprinkled throughout the tasks.

Levels of rewards: i.e. verbal praise, empathy, preferred seat, *sugary drink from the café.

Problem solving needs to be physical and manual not mental manipulation of information.

For example; math problems should be accompanied by a device or toy to do the work of the working memory (calculator, abacus, foldables, etc.)

Replenish or restore their self-control resource pool.

Even 3 minutes of mental relaxation can refuel their mental energy.
Small amounts of sugar containing liquids to replenish the glucose needed while they accomplish tasks toward a goal, e.g. lemonaide

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IMPLEMENTATION INTENTIONS

Contingency Plans:

Behavior that you want to either increase or decrease, or Major Task to be completed	Reason(s) that this is important. Keep it worded in affirmative or positive language; i.e. what they want, not don’t want.	Conditions under which the behavior will occur Where/When/How (e.g. whenever I have an assignment, only between 9-10, if I need help, etc)	Criterion for completion (e.g. 4 out of 7 days a week, earning at least a 70%)	Reward, if I do it, then I will… (immediate at first and then with less frequency).

The primary goal of this study was to examine whether children with ADHD have a true deficit in subjective time sense, or whether their impairment reflects a motivational deficit. Thirty children with ADHD and 30 matched control children completed two versions of a time reproduction paradigm (“Regular” and “Enhanced”) in which motivational level was manipulated by the addition of positive sham feedback and the prospect of earning a reward. A secondary goal was to investigate performance on measures of working memory and behavioural inhibition, and how those constructs relate to time reproduction in the context of Barkley’s (1997a) model of ADHD. Children with ADHD performed significantly better on the motivating ‘Enhanced’ versus the Regular time reproduction paradigm, although they continued to perform significantly worse than controls on both tasks. Control children exhibited no reliable change in performance between versions of the task. Significant group differences were also observed on the working memory and behavioural inhibition tasks. We discuss the impact of motivation, working memory, and behavioural inhibition on time reproduction performance.

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Environment And Behavior Management Is Not A Cure For Motivation; It Is Symptom Management.

If you stop using these interventions, students will return to baseline level of functioning.

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	Internal (Intrinsic)	External (Extrinsic)
Negative	One’s own feelings of guilt, shame, embarrassment, or fear Perfectionism Destructive anger, debilitating stress Need for power Need to please others Worry	Person yelling at you, shaming you Person threatening job security or social status Punishment Withdrawal of love or friendship Aggressive show of strength from another, coercion Expectations of others
Positive	Acting in accordance with your values Satisfaction, Enjoyment, Sensory pleasure Sense of competence Praise from self, Self-respect Fulfillment of aspirations/dreams Sense of achievement Highly engaged in activity Constructive anger or stress Job satisfaction Pursuing our natural tendency towards self-development Need for affiliation with others Perception that what you are doing is morally significant	Money (only lasts a short period) Rewards Prompts and visual cues Alarms Public recognition Empowerment from others Promotion Praise from others Respect from others Pleasant work environment Some autonomy and input into decisions Appropriate responsibility Fringe benefits Friendships at school

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MOTIVATION

Visualize the goal; mentally experience (see, feel, taste) the rewards for getting their work done.
Physical exercise on a daily basis- partner with the PHE dept. for these students.
Increase rewards and positive emotions, and use specifically positive language.

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LESSON DESIGN:�POSITIVE MOTIVATIONAL LANGUAGE

External motivational language	Motivational vocabulary (Positive/ Internalizing)
“You got it wrong" or ”incorrect”	“You aren't there yet" or ”Try another way”
Have to do it/ Must do it	Get to do it
Choose what you want to do? (enquiry work)	Choose what you are willing to do.
Good/ Bad job (performance or behavior)	Useful/ Not useful Helpful/ unhelpful (to your goals)
Did you do the homework?	What did you learn today?
What did you get out of doing that assignment?	What can you give to others after doing the assignment?
This depends on previous skills	This requires a lot of effort to learn.

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ASSESSMENT:�POSITIVE MOTIVATIONAL LANGUAGE

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WHILE WORKING:�COUNTERING THEIR LANGUAGE

They say	You say
There is too much work! It is all too hard!	That assignment’s pretty challenging, huh? Wow, sounds like you’re feeling frustrated! That is tough! (Never- This is easy!)
I am terrible at this subject!	I wonder why this assignment is tripping you up today. Is it all writing assignments or this one in particular?
Writing/reading is hard. I’m stupid.	You’re working hard on writing Making mistakes is part of learning.
I can’t get the answer.	I need you to keep practicing. We are am working toward the goal.
I hate this.	Need a hug? Do you want to set a 5 minute timer and take a break?

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REFRAMING

Reframing is done to help your students actually believe that they can influence their outcomes.
Learning and working as a way to give back, rather than to receive.
Learning is for others.
Let’s reframe the activity to make it more meaningful.

Research anecdote: Counting potatoes or keeping people healthy?

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STUDENT SPECIFIC Q & A

What interventions are you using with students with SEN that you find helpful?

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MOTIVATION�

What comes first, motivation or action?

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EXPERTS SAY:

“Individuals who procrastinate frequently confuse motivation and action. You foolishly wait until you feel in the mood to do something. Since you don’t feel like doing it, you automatically put it off. Your error is your belief that motivation comes first, and then leads to activation and success. But it is usually the other way around; action must come first, and the motivation comes later on.”

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ACTION

Motivation comes from taking action; when you take action, motivation follows.

You need to “prime the pump” to get the brain fluids flowing; this is unlikely to happen on its own.

Don’t wait until you ‘feel like it”