Schools for All Kinds of Minds

This book shows how schools can--and must--develop expertise in "learning variation" (understanding how different kinds of minds learn) and apply this knowledge to classroom instruction in order to address the chronic learning challenges and achievement gap faced by millions of students. Barringer shows how using what we know about learning variation with a focus on discovering learning strengths, not just deficits, can help schools create plans for success for those students who often find it elusive. The book specifically addresses how school leaders can incorporate this knowledge into instructional practice and school-level policy through various professional development strategies.

Schools for All Kinds of Minds:

• Provides a readable synthesis of the latest research from neuroscience, cognitive science, and child and adolescent development as it relates to understanding learning and its many variations.
• Links this information to strategies for understanding struggling learners and adapting school practices to accommodate a wider array of learning differences in a classroom.
• Demonstrates how this understanding of learning variation can change the way teachers and others help students succeed in various academic and content areas and acquire necessary 21st century skills.
• Includes discussion questions and facilitator guidelines for staff developers and teacher education programs; downloadable forms that accompany exercises from within the book; an action plan for schools to implement the ideas found in the book; and more.

FOREWORD: AMERICA NEEDS ALL KINDS OF MINDS VII

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XI

ABOUT THE AUTHORS XIV

INTRODUCTION: AN ENDURING DILEMMA XVII

1 UNDERSTANDING LEARNING AS THE CORE BUSINESS OF SCHOOLS 1

2 BRINGING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING INTO THE CLASSROOM 17

3 KEY INGREDIENTS OF LEARNING 33

4 DIGGING DEEPER: KNOWING STUDENTS AS LEARNERS 65

5 BUILDING ON STUDENT ASSETS 93

6 LOOKING DEEPER: A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON BEHAVIOR 115

7 BOOSTING WRITING ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING 139

8 GETTING STARTED: CREATING SCHOOLS FOR ALL KINDS OF MINDS 183

APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS 215

APPENDIX B: ALL KINDS OF MINDS SCHOOLS OF DISTINCTION 221

APPENDIX C: THE EFFECTS OF THE SCHOOLS ATTUNED PROGRAM: A SNAPSHOT OF RESEARCH RESULTS 229

APPENDIX D: PROGRAMS FROM ALL KINDS OF MINDS 235

APPENDIX E: ALL KINDS OF MINDS WEB SITE RESOURCES 239

NOTES 241

INDEX 253

THE AUTHORS

MARY-DEAN BARRINGER is CEO of All Kinds of Minds, a nonprofit organization that translates the latest research from neuroscience and other disciplines on how children learn into a powerful framework for educators. She was a founding board member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and then served as vice president of Outreach and Mobilization for that non-profit education organization from 1990 to 2000.

CRAIG POHLMAN, PH.D., is the director of Mind Matters at Southeast Psych, a learning assessment and consultation program in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the author of Revealing Minds and How Can My Kid Succeed in School?, both from Jossey-Bass.

MICHELE ROBINSON has worked with All Kinds of Minds in various capacities—developing program curricula, training facilitators, supporting research, and translating the knowledge base. She has personally taught thousands of educators the All Kinds of Minds approach.

Schools for All Kinds of Minds

Based on cutting-edge brain research and the pioneering work being done at the All Kinds of Minds nonprofit organization, this groundbreaking book offers a dynamic approach to closing the ever-widening achievement gap in schools. Schools for All Kinds of Minds shows how edu tors at all levels can develop expertise in "learning variation"—understanding how different kind of minds learn—and demonstrates how to apply this knowledge to raise achievement for all. This focus—which recognizes kids' learning strengths, not just deficits—can lead to school success even for struggling students.

The All Kinds of Minds model is defined by these essential components: Expertise in the science of learning and the belief that differences are variation, not deviation; evidence gathered from multiple sources, including an approach for understanding how specific students learn; a problem-solving model that helps to identify passions and affinities that can drive scholarship, careers, and other life choices; a set of five core beliefs about how all students are treated; and a commitment to align school and educational practices and policies to the way students learn and vary in their learning.

The book includes reflection exercises and accompanying online resources that can facilitate the use of the All Kinds of Minds model within school-based professional learning communities (PLCs) and other staff development activities, as well as teacher education programs.