Using Braidy and the Story Grammar Marker as a Cognitive Learning Strategy for Children from Poverty. Prepared by Valerie Blackmon, M.Ed. CCC-SLPGreen Acres ElementaryPeer Review 3/28/11

Poverty: the extent to which an individual does without resources (Payne,1996).

•Financial•Emotional•Mental (acquired skills of reading,writing

etc.) •Spiritual•Physical/Health•Support Systems•Relationships/Role Models•Knowledge of Hidden Rules

Poverty Rates according to the 2009 US Census Bureau

• In 2009, 43.6 million people were in poverty, up from 39.8 million in 2008 — the third consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty.

• Between 2008 and 2009, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites (from 8.6 percent to 9.4 percent), for Blacks (from 24.7 percent to 25.8 percent), and for Hispanics (from 23.2 percent to 25.3 percent). For Asians, the 2009 poverty rate (12.5 percent) was not statistically different from the 2008 poverty rate.1

• The number of people in poverty in 2009 (43.6 million) is the largest number in the 51 years for which poverty estimates have been published

Impacts of Poverty • Children from poverty are more likely to suffer developmental

delays, drop out of school and give birth during the teen years

(Miranda, 1991).

• Ethnic and language minority children, immigrants, and children

from low income families are particularly at risk for lower

academic achievement and low literacy levels at school entry

(Washington, 2011).

• Research has shown that the neural systems of poor children

develop differently from those of middle-class children, affecting

language development and "executive function," or the ability to

plan, remember details and pay attention in school (Payne, 1996).

Registers of Language

Formal Register

• Is the Language of School.• Language used for formal assessments. (CRCT, SAT, college entrance exams,

aptitude tests, etc.)• Job Interviews• Discourse pattern is to get straight to the

point.• Story Structure is sequential.• Most important element of story is the plot.

Casual Register• Majority of minority/ low income children are only

able to speak in the casual register.

• Characterized by a limited vocabulary.

• Discourse pattern is to go around the issue before getting

to the point.

• Story Structure is random and episodic.

• Story Structure begins with the end of the story or part with

the greatest emotional intensity told first, is told in

vignettes with audience participation in between.

• Most important part of the story is the characterization of

the people within the story.

Example of personal remote event/story told in casual register. (2nd grade male)

SLP: Tell me what happened? Student: XXX is lying on me and he did it. He hit me in

the face and then his brother said he was gonna whup me and I’m like no you gonna get in trouble but he look at me on the bus and then he start telling a lie cause he know I know that and then I get in trouble cause he start it. That’s why they not going to let him eat lunch in there.

SLP: Why did you get suspended? Student: Cause, cause he-he’s a liar and he stole money

from XXX but he said I did but he did it and XXX saw it too. He’s gonna get in trouble when my mom said you’re a liar too.

SLP: Your teacher told me that you pushed XXX into the storage closet? Did this happen?

Student: Well, he started it.

Dialect vs Register

•Dialects involve the variations of a language that depend on the place where such language is spoken, or the fixed group of people who speak it.

•Registers involve the variations of a dialect that depend on the social situation where such dialect is spoken.

Implications…

• Cognitive research indicates that Story

Structure is how the brain stores memories.

• Relying on a random and episodic story structure

results in disorganization and increased difficulty

with temporal sequencing, difficulty with

understanding causal relationships and reduces

the ability to predict outcomes (Feuerstein, 1980)

Something to think about…(Feuerstein, 1980)

If an individual depends upon a random episodic story structure for

memory patterns, he/she lives in an unpredictable environment, and

has not developed the ability to plan, then…

• If the individual cannot plan, then he/she cannot predict.

• If the individual cannot predict, then he/she cannot identify cause and

effect.

• If the individual cannot identify cause and effect, then he/she cannot

identify consequences.

• If the individual cannot identify consequences, then he/she cannot

control impulsivity.

• If the individual cannot control impulsivity, then he/she has an

inclination toward criminal behavior.

What does the research tell us?• Students coming from poverty lack the basic

concepts, vocabulary and cognitive strategies necessary to achieve academically in school.

• “The true discrimination that comes out of poverty is the lack of cognitive strategies. The lack of these unseen attributes handicaps in every aspect of life the individual who does not have them.” (Payne, 1996).

What are some of the cognitive issues for children from poverty? (Payne, 1996, Feuerstein, 1980)• Lack of a systematic method of exploration which is directly

related to story structure. Learned information is

gathered in a haphazard, incomplete manner with weak

semantic connections.

• Impaired verbal tools. They lack the vocabulary that makes

up the internal learning structure.

• Impaired temporal orientation. The inability to organize or

measure time negatively impacts skills such as planning,

preparing, predicting outcomes, initiating and completing

tasks.

What can the school based SLP do? Currently…

• We teach basic concepts.

• We support vocabulary development.

• We model and teach Formal Register language patterns/rules.

• We teach narrative skills/Story Structure

Moving forward…

• Increase the use of direct instruction of Cognitive/Learning

Strategies as part our language therapy.

What is a Cognitive/Learning Strategy?(Feuerstein, 1980)•Cognitive/Learning strategies are techniques,

principles or rules that facilitate the acquisition, manipulation, integration, storage and retrieval of information across situations and settings.

• The “Filing Cabinet” analogy.

• Strategies are tools and techniques we use to help ourselves understand and learn new information.

How do we learn Cognitive Strategies? (Feuerstein, 1980)

Through Mediation.

• The intervention of an adult.• Mediation builds cognitive strategies. • Consists of identifying the stimulus

(missing cognitive strategies).• Assigning Meaning to the stimulus• Identifying a strategy to remediate the

missing cognitive process.

Interventions that build cognitive strategies (Idol and Jones, 1991).

• Using Graphic Organizers• Teaching systematic approaches to analyzing

data• Establish Goal Setting and Procedural Talk• Teach Conceptual Frameworks• Use Kinesthetic teaching methods• Use Rubrics• Teach the Structure of Language• Teach students how to Make Questions• Teach How to Sort Relevant from Irrelevant

Information• Teach Mental Models

How can we use Braidy/SGM to improve Cognitive Strategies? • Planning/Goal setting/Procedural Self Talk “How do I get started?”

• Focusing on “Key” information

• Improve vocabulary

• Teach the components of Story (beginning, middle, end, main idea, plot and

theme.)

• Improve temporal concepts/use time order words, cohesive ties

• Organize visual information (Graphic organizers, maps)

• Improve comprehension through connections (text, self, world)

• Use kinesthetic/tactile approach (Braidy doll, SGM marker)

• Use rubric as a way to self evaluate/reflect. “Did I….”

• Directly teach the structure of language, build Formal Register “Does that

sound right?” Let students write in casual then translate into formal register

• Critical Thinking Triangle, Direct Consequence and Resolution (cause/effect)

Bibliography

Feuerstein, Reuven, et al. (1980). Instrumental Enrichment: An intervention

Program for Cognitive Modifiability. Glenview, IL:Scott, Foresman & Co.

Idol, Lorna, & Jones, B.F. (Eds.). (1991). Educational Values and Cognitive

Instruction: Implications for Reform. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates.

Miranda, Leticia C. (1991). Latino Child Poverty in the United States.

Washington, DC: Childrens Defense Fund.

Payne, Ruby (1996). A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Highlands,

TX. aha! Process Inc.

Washington, Julie A. (2011 March, Best Practices) Language, Literacy and

Linguistic Differences. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from

http://gosslp.affiniscape.com/associations/12378/files/washington.pdf