COURSE TITLE:

SCORES RISE WHEN KIDS REMEMBER: Working Memory & Learning

NO. OF CREDITS:

6 QUARTER CREDITS
[semester equivalent = 4.00 credits]

WA CLOCK HRS:  
OREGON PDUs:  
PENNSYLVANIA ACT 48:  		 60
60
60

INSTRUCTOR:

Brenda McKinney
bbbrain@comcast.net

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

A good working memory is crucial to becoming a successful leaner. Mounting evidence links literacy and numeracy to strong working memory. This course will provide a coherent overview of the role played by working memory in learning and its development during the school years. It will offer teachers/counselors strategies for supporting working memory in students at all ages, especially those who are underperforming. You will receive hands-on support for utilizing numerous techniques including: chunking, organization, keywords, peg words, loci, mnemonics and many more. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain practical, easy-to-implement, and evidence-based methods for working with students of all ages and with all levels of ability.  Appropriate for all teachers K- 12.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, participants will have:

  1. Understood the limits of working memory and how working memory functions
  2. Distinguished differences between working memory and other kinds of memory
  3. Distinguished differences/similarities between working memory, intelligence, and IQ and discover their links with learning
  4. Taken a look at methods for assessing working memory strengths and weaknesses in classroom
  5. Developed classroom based strategies to minimize working memory failure
  6. Combined principles and strategies for the most effective ways to enhance working memory. Participate in memory training to strengthen personal skills in order to assist students with working memory challenges.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit.  The Heritage Institute does not award partial credit. 

 

HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns participant’s their choice of CEUs (Continuing Education Units), Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, or Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours. The Heritage Institute offers CEUs and is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, and Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours.

 

UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION

REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires 75% or better for credit at the 400 level and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level. These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.

  1. Completion of Information Acquisition assignments 30%
  2. Completion of Learning Application assignments 40%
  3. Completion of Integration Paper assignment 30%

 

CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to a "C" or better, 500 level credit is equal to a "B" or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.

AUS Continuing Education quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering determine with your district personnel, department head, or state education office the acceptability of these credits for your purpose.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION

REQUIRED TEXT

Gathercole, Susan & Tracy Packiam Alloway. Working Memory & Learning: A Practical Guide for Teachers. 2012.Los Angeles, CA:  Sage Books. ISBN: 978-1-4129-36143-2.

None. All reading is online.

MATERIALS FEE

Text, Working Memory & Learning: A Practical Guide for Teachers, Approximately $15.00 used at Amazon.com

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:

Brenda McKinney, CEO of Vancouver, WA based BrainVolution, is a developer and dynamic facilitator of workshops that teach practical thinking and learning tools for raising student achievement with the brain in mind. She has trained educators throughout the Pacific Northwest and is a popular presenter because of her ability to motivate, make things fun, and teach practical techniques for the classroom that can be used immediately. Brenda continues to read hundreds of books and articles on the subject of neuroscience and searches for the answer to success for every student. Her work with at-risk students and those with reading problems have made her a popular speaker at the state, regional and national level.

Brenda is able to synthesize the new research and continues to address the role of how to use the latest findings to create high achievement classroom. She brings 30+ years of experience at the elementary, middle school, high school and university level as a mentor teacher, consultant, motivational speaker, university instructor, and reading specialist. Brenda has her Master’s in Education from Washington State University and is nationally certified in Brain Based Learning through the renowned  Jensen Corporation, led by Eric Jensen, a noted international spokesperson for neuroscience and education.

 

Brenda will inspire and motivate you with her energy, enthusiasm and knowledge. Her wisdom, techniques, and brain based approach to education will inspire you and challenge you to meet the demands of this ever changing world.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SCORES RISE WHEN KIDS REMEMBER: Working Memory & Learning

Alloway, Tracy & Ross Alloway. The Working Memory Advantage: Train Your Brain to Function Stronger, Smarter, Faster. Simon and Schuster. 2013. ISBN: 978-1-4516-5012-9. The Working Memory Advantage shows why working memory is linked with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, Alzheimer’s, and ultimately, success in the classroom.
Cook, Gareth. “Brain Games are Bogus.” The New Yorker. April 5, 2013. An alternate view of whether brain games are beneficial for improving working memory.
The article looks at working memory as a critical link with achievement but explores the question of whether working memory and intelligence work together. Do Brain Games actually increase intelligence? This article is in opposition to many sources who believe that they can. Interesting and helpful to take a look at both sides of the issue in understanding working memory and the role it plays in success in the classroom.
Dehn, Milton. Helping Students Remember: Exercises and Strategies to Strengthen Memory. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2011. ISBN: 978-0-470-91997-2.
This book is so valuable I wanted to use it as a textbook. I recommend this book for your classroom. It is broken down into Lower Level and Upper Level activities working memory activities. There are so many quick activities that can be used to assist and assess your students in understanding their working memory.  The strategies help students and teachers understand how to strengthen memory by using the right strategies. Highly Recommended!!
Gathercole, Susan & Tracy Packiam Alloway. Understanding Working Memory: A Classroom Guide. http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/WM-classroom-guide.pdf. 2007. This download is a quick reference on working memory. It also becomes a handy guide for you to pass working memory research to other teachers. This learning needs to be shared as we work with kids who are struggling in the classroom and who look unmotivated. This is a helpful source.
Gathercole, Susan & Tracy Packiam Alloway. Working Memory and Learning. A Practical Guide for Teachers.  Sage Press. 2008. ISBN: 978-1-4129-3613-2.
A good working memory is crucial to becoming a successful learner; the problem I discovered is that it was very difficult to find material in an easy to use format to share about working memory and how to support learners in the classroom. This text provides that and more.
This book offers a coherent overview of the role played by working memory in learning during the school years and uses theory to inform good practice.
Klingberg, Torkel. The Overflowing Brain. Oxford University Press. 2009. ISBN: 978-0-19-537299-5.
Dr Klingberg asserts that working memory capacity, long thought to be static and hardwired in the brain, can be improved by training, and that increasing the demands on working memory may actually have a constructive effect: as demands on the human brain increase, so does its capacity.  The book ends with a discussion of the future of brain development and how we can best handle information overload in our everyday lives.
Mason, Douglas & Michael Lee Kohn. The Memory Workbook: Breakthrough Techniques to Exercise Your Brain and Improve Your Memory. Publishers Group West. 2001. 1-57224-258-2. This book offers an array of innovative techniques, exercises, games, and puzzles designed to help you see and understand how your memory works. At the same time you will be given a chance to stretch your own memory muscles.
Wickelgren, Ingrid. “Calisthenics for a Child’s Mind."Scientific American Mind, May/June 2013, 39-45. Research about the critical importance of working memory and its effect on achievement.
Zimmer, Carl. “The Man who Wasn’t There.” The Wall Street Journal. June 14, 2013. This article on HM provides a background and understanding of memory that has changed research and is invaluable. Check it out. You could also discover HM by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBsW5qz5sDU
SCORES RISE WHEN KIDS REMEMBER REV 6/17/24