Classes Offered Through The SLD Center
Choose one of the available classes below to learn more about each...

Engage Their Brain!© Workshop
Schedule: Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 from 7:00-9:00 @ Kalamazo RESA 1819 E. Milham Rd. Call today to reserve your spot for this free workhop!

Engage their Brains!©

In order to repair a car, an auto technician first learns how the parts of a car work together.
In order to practice medicine, a doctor first has to spend years learning the parts of the human body and how all of these work “normally”.
In order to provide the most effective education and to reach all students, anyone involved with education should have basic background knowledge of how the brain processes language. With our “Engage Their Brains!” workshops, SLD can provide you with this information. Also, we will discuss how learning to read is not a natural act for the brain. It is a system the brain must master. It is a concise, timed process involving many areas of the brain and, in order to be an effective, efficient reader, this process needs to be automatic.   When there is a “miscommunication” or “misfire” among the required brain areas, reading problems will occur. These “wiring” issues can be caused by a genetic or an environmentally-based condition.
 
Our brain is involved in all we do; it changes based on our experiences (neuroplasticity), therefore our experiences at school will change our brain.  “Brain-based education is the engagement of strategies based on principles derived from an understanding of the brain." (Jensen, 2005).
The brain loses attention to a single task after 15-20 minutes so “engage their brains” by using a multisensory approach! We’ll share with you multisensory techniques and ideas to use with any curriculum using inexpensive material which may already exist in your classroom!
Comments from attendees of “Engage Their Brains!”:
  • “I learned how the brain functions and understand how it processes information better.” (Kim, Kalamazoo teacher)
  • “The most valuable information I received was the different learning styles and how to cater to a variety of different students. We need to move, feel and see to learn.” (Jon, Grand Rapids counselor and teacher)
Contact Heidi Turchan by phone @ 269-345-2661 or by email @ hturchan@sldcenter.org for more information or to schedule a workshop for your group!

 

 

“Why is Reading so hard for me?” (kindergarten through adulthood)

Open to parents, grandparents, educators, paraprofessionals, Title I providers – anyone who works with struggling readers!