Blog

List of 22 items.

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  Should Technology Be Used in Classrooms?: Pros and Cons

  Michele Heimbauer, MA CCC-SLP

  Associate Director, Winston Innovation Lab

   

  At Winston Prep, technology is approached as a tool for enhancing learning, considering individual needs. Pitfalls include using it as a reward or crutch, leading to passive learning.
  
  However, when used intentionally, benefits include improved engagement, organization, and collaboration. Responsible use is crucial, fostering digital citizenship and wellness.
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  Dyslexia Remediation

  Jaclyn Baharestani

  Special Projects Coordinator, Winston Innovation Lab

  
  

  At Winston Preparatory School, we often approach initial discussions about dyslexia by debunking myths frequently associated with this neurological disorder. For example, dyslexia only affects boys, dyslexia refers to a visual weakness, or dyslexia is curable. These prevailing untruths about dyslexia tend to perpetuate various harmful ideas about the diagnosis.
  
  We believe that in conversations about dyslexia remediation, it is important to discuss its causes. It’s crucial to understand how and why it impacts learning. Dyslexia is rooted in several key weaknesses. These can include rapid automatic naming, phonological awareness, and working memory, resulting in challenges in learning to read. 
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  Working Memory & EF: Helpful Strategies

  Keran Davison

  Focus Program Director, WPSSFN

  
  

  Executive function describes the control and regulation of mental processes involved in sorting, planning, and organizing information. Further, it describes the ability to respond flexibly, strategically, and appropriately to that information.
  
  

  What does this have to do with bolstering working memory? Everything!
  
  

  In this blog, we’ll expand on how WPS teachers enhance working memory through the development of executive function skills. Continue reading to learn how these processes work together and how to support your child at home.
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  Developing Self-Advocacy Skills in School and at Home

  Jaclyn Baharestani

  Special Projects Coordinator, Winston Innovation Lab
  
  

  Michele Heimbauer

  Associate Director, Winston Innovation Lab
  
  

  Self-advocacy can be hard for students with learning disabilities who have trouble with identifying, organizing, and problem-solving. Learning difficulties exacerbate the already arduous task of identifying and accessing needed support. At Winston Prep, teachers help students improve self-advocacy skills by teaching them what self-advocacy means. They also discuss how it supports growth and progress.
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  The Importance of SEL in Education: Pandemic Outcomes and Beyond

  Jaclyn Baharestani

  Special Projects Coordinator, Winston Innovation Lab

  
  The pandemic brought significant changes to education, with notable declines nationwide in academic skills. Despite funding efforts, learning loss persists and students with learning disabilities have been disproportionately impacted. However, social-emotional learning (SEL) shows promise in boosting outcomes for the students who need it most. Winston Prep's research highlights SEL's positive effects, emphasizing problem-solving skills and parental support as crucial components for success.
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  Understanding NVLD Symptoms: What You Should Know

  Michele Heimbauer, MA CCC-SLP 

  Associate Director, Winston Innovation Lab
  
  In recent studies, it has been estimated that 2.2 to 2.9 million children and adolescents in North America are struggling with NVLD (Nonverbal Learning Disorders). That is 3-4% of children and adolescents.
  
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  The Importance of Relationships in Teacher to Pupil Connections

  Michele Heimbauer, MA CCC-SLP

  Associate Director, Winston Innovation Lab

  
  Beginning in 2013, WPS kicked off the Lives Over Time study (LOTS). The study explores the post-high school experiences of our alumni. Our goal was to better understand what factors promote success and life satisfaction.
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  AI in Education: An Ever-Evolving Landscape

  Michele Heimbauer, MA CCC-SLP

  Associate Director, Winston Innovation Lab
  
  All across the nation, schools are making use of AI supported assessment and analysis tools. They are being used to track and better understand student performance, outcomes, and growth. Furthermore, AI technology also supports many administrative tasks, such as transportation and scheduling.
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  The Importance of Background Knowledge

  Jaclyn Baharestani

  Special Projects Coordinator, Winston Innovation Lab
  
  

  When we consider the building blocks of comprehension, background knowledge is an often overlooked, integral component of the learning process. 
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  Winston Preparatory School Publishes Research on Success of Social Emotional Learning for Students with LD

  [NEW YORK, N.Y. — Oct. 25, 2023] Winston Preparatory School's Innovation Lab research team announced the publication of their first research article with Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, the official publication of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, over the summer. The published article, titled “Supportive Environments Explaining Success in People with Learning Disabilities through Social and Emotional Learning,” details how Winston Prep’s emphasis on social emotional skill building leads to higher rates of post-graduation success, compared to schools nationwide.
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  Our Student Life Cycle: A Day in the Life of a Winston Online Student

  Tabitha Mancini, Director Winston Online

  Jaclyn Siegel, Academic Dean
  
  At Winston Prep, we begin with the overarching belief that every student can learn when given the right environment and instruction. Winston Online creates this space. 
  
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  Problem Solving: Understanding, Approach & Skill Building

  Jaclyn Baharestani
  Special Projects Coordinator, Winston Innovation Lab
  
  Our Understanding of Problem Solving
  As students strive to meet their academic, social and personal goals, they are sure to encounter obstacles varying in size, scope and complexity. While problem solving can be difficult for people of all ages and abilities, breakdowns in comprehension and executive functioning skills which involve skills such as sorting, organizing, prioritizing, and decision making, impede the ability to effectively and consistently identify and solve problems.
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  How Can We Support the Development of Self-Reflection Skills?

  Jaclyn Baharestani
  Special Projects Coordinator, Winston Innovation Lab
  
  

  Self-reflection can often be the gateway to the independence and self-efficacy we hope to foster in our students. This awareness of self, particularly one’s own strengths and weaknesses, gives them the tools to consciously pause and assess their thoughts, actions, successes, and needed supports. 
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  Struggles with Math and Comprehension? Visual-Spatial Skills Could Be the Reason.

  Michele Heimbauer
  Associate Director of Winston Innovation Lab
  
  Does your child often confuse their left from right? Do they struggle when asked to copy information from the board or a book? Do they have a hard time arranging their materials in their desk, locker, or room? Do they get lost easily, especially in a new place? Do they have trouble reading a map or chart? Do they bump into people or have difficulty estimating distance between themselves and others? Do they struggle to recreate a Lego construction based on a picture?
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  A Comprehensive Look at Learning Disabilities and Math Development

  Learning Disabilities And Math Development by Kristen Atkins Head of School, Winston Prep, Marin, CA
  
  Math, who needs it? We all do! It is a sobering fact that many students with learning differences are falling behind in the study of mathematics. According to a study completed by the National Research Council entitled, “Everybody Counts: A Report to the Nation on the Future of Mathematics Education”, only half of our nation’s students take more than two years of high school level mathematics.
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  What is Dysgraphia?

  Kelly Thompson, Monmouth County Project Coordinator and WPS Teacher

  
  Dysgraphia is a condition that affects a child’s ability to effectively acquire writing skills. Although dysgraphia is primarily linked to poor handwriting, its scope is actually much wider and more complex. Similar to a child learning to read, the process of writing and learning to write incorporates many steps including forming individual letters, recognizing and spelling simple words, transcribing ideas into sentences, correctly applying grammatical and mechanical rules, and maintaining organization and clarity throughout a written piece. Struggles in any of these areas can translate, or point to, dysgraphia.
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  More Than Just An ADHD Diagnosis

  Michele Heimbauer, Associate Director of Winston Innovation Lab

  
  Students are often diagnosed with ADHD when they struggle to perform in ways that are expected in the classroom. Though this label can be comforting to some, it is largely inadequate in helping to understand an individual student so that we can develop an effective program for that child. To deeply understand a student, it is vital to go beyond the diagnosis of ADHD, which is simply a label that describes behavioral symptoms that are organized into two categories.
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  What is the Difference Between a Non-Verbal Learning Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder

  Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) was first identified in the late 1960’s. Considering that dyslexia has been in the literature since the late 1800’s and Autism (now known as Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD) in the early 1900’s, NVLD is in a relatively early period of research. That said, the field of research has made significant gains in developing an understanding of NVLD. Currently, the most important work is focused on demonstrating that, although there is what appears to be some overlap in symptoms of NVLD and ASD, NVLD is a distinct and specific learning disability.
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  Can a Fidget Spinner Help My Child Focus | Toys for ADHD and Autism

  Fidget toys have become more and more popular WPS teachers and leaders are frequently asked whether these fidget spinners are an Autism and ADHD treatment. At WPS teachers are dedicated to helping students who struggle with self-regulation acquire the strategies they as an individual need to succeed independently, as opposed to offering a universal treatment such as a fidget toy.
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  What are Executive Functioning Difficulties?

  Executive Functioning difficulties are not well understood. We frequently hear from parents, students, and educators who have questions and express confusion about this area of struggle. They see many kids diagnosed with ADHD and ADD, which are ostensibly about “attention”, but many people don’t fully understand what these diagnoses really mean, where the core deficits really lie, and what else is involved beyond a general understanding of what it means to “pay attention”.
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  What Is Non-Verbal Learning Disorder?

  Caroline Miller, Editorial Director, Child Mind Institute

  
  This is the first in a series of articles about non-verbal learning disorder developed in collaboration with Winston Preparatory School, a New York area school that has taken a leading role in working with students with the disorder.
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  How Can We Help Kids With Non-Verbal Learning Disorder?

  Caroline Miller, Editorial Director, Child Mind Institute

  
  Kids who have non-verbal learning disorder have a wide variety of learning challenges. All of them involve trouble recognizing patterns, but there are many different kinds of patterns they may have trouble with: visual patterns, social patterns, abstract reasoning, math concepts, organizational skills.
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