Matteo, Kristen, Tayler

Resource being discussed:

Cognition, Metacognition, and Memory in Students with Learning Disabilities:

Big Ideas:
- Felt it simply defined the issues, but did not dig deeply into application. This
reading never provided the strategies in an easily accessible way instead of just
listing what each term meant. This resource is built around developing an
understanding of the issues at hand, by reading it as an instructor you should be
able to describe or identify each of these challenges in students.
- Children with LDs are struggling with metacognitive / executive functions,
often exhibiting low motivation or learned helplessness.

Critique the content negatively:

- Its definition or explanation of task chunking, was built more around the idea
of breaking ideas apart into smaller tasks, as opposed to a collection of smaller tasks
to make a greater goal.
- It didn't do a great job of explaining the application of the ideas discussed in
the reading.

Critique the content positively:

- It was very clinical, and concise with the information that it wanted to get
across.
It explained that the content of the definitions very well.
- Considered Culture in its explanations and definitions. This in practice will be
invaluable, as culture often plays an important role in understanding or lack thereof.
-

Lays out approaches to metacomprehension effectively.

Teaches self monitoring as a principle of metacognition.

Indicative of how the group will use their understanding of the course material to
support students in their learning

- Utilize the cultural component to identify learning tendencies, reinforcing

developing a relationship with the student to bolster their learning.
- It lays out all the terminology, and different challenges that students with LDs
may encounter. This helps make understanding more clear as to what a student will
be going through and by extension have a more pragmatic complete approach to
teaching a student.

Resource being discussed:

-

Executive Function in the Classroom.

Big Ideas:
- Explains the strategies and principles for application of metacognitive
interventions. How to plan and set goals, and how to effectively reflect on those
ideas later. Ideas like self monitoring and self checking

Critique the content negatively:

- This reading was incredibly curriculum focussed and didnt necessarily
provide the ways in which these skills transfer into the real world. Including those
facets of education make it easier to address students that dont see the value in the
academic outcomes in school.
- Metacognitive strategy should be taught explicitly, was a quote found in the
readings which didn't really resonate well. Metacognitive skills should be taught
explicitly but also should have the opportunity to demonstrate these strategies
implicitly throughout other coursework and task assessment.
-

Does not necessarily conform to a non test driven environment.

Critique the content positively:

- Provides real world examples and templates that are effective beyond just the
courseware.
- The article highlights the importance of flexibility in the classroom as opposed
to a one size fits all approach.

- Deems it important to teach test taking strategies as it can often be neglected

in earlier grades.
- Focused heavily on self regulation and self checking in the classroom.
Teaching students not just how to look over their assignments but what to look for as
well.
Indicative of how the group will use their understanding of the course material to
support students in their learning
- All the templates and graphic organizers used in this reading should prove
incredibly valuable when teaching in a real world classroom.

Resource being discussed:

-

Supporting Students with working memory difficulties.

Big Ideas:
- Knowing what memory difficulties look like followed by the appropriate
strategies are to address them.
- It is focussed around differentiating LDs from laziness as a quasi field
manual.
Critique the content negatively:
- It doesn't leave room for a lot of student growth, and individuality within the
strategies and approaches discussed.
- Does not provide a lot of examples, just the information.
- Asking some students to verbalize the steps can be contradictory to the prior
information that states that repeated information is often still not fully understood.
The article appears to be at odds with itself at this point.
Critique the content positively:
- This reading was extremely concise and effective at providing information,
interventions, detection, and application.

- It provided step by step strategies, as well as supporting strategies that

synergize.
-

It provided tonnes of checklists and acronym mnemonics to use in classroom.

- It gave a wonderful interaction of how to work with kinesthetic learners, and

context that makes sense.
-

Provides a further learning section if you feel it hasn't fully discussed a topic.

.
Indicative of how the group will use their understanding of the course material to
support students in their learning
- Utilization of the checklists, the explicit strategies, the acronyms and the
mnemonics in a real world classroom.