Jan
22
 
The kinesthetic learners characteristics, tips to help them study in a better manner and useful information for teachers about how to teach kinesthetic learners is presented in short, in the following article.
The kinesthetic learners who are also known as tactile learners grasp things in a better manner by actually doing them. Performing a physical activity associated with learning, rather than mere reading/listening helps the kinesthetic learners to understand things quickly. Instead of premeditating or thinking about a particular activity in advance, kinesthetic learners resort to trying out things and understand them in the due process. Kinesthetic learners form 15% of the total population of the world. Characteristics of kinesthetic learners are presented in the following paragraph.
Characteristics of Kinesthetic Learners
The kinesthetic learners characteristics given below should be useful in understanding about their behavioral patterns and needs. Teachers, parents and kinesthetic learners themselves can make most of the information presented below. The information can also help in understanding more about the kinesthetic learners activities.
- The kinesthetic learners, owing to their restless disposition, are deemed as hyperactive in childhood. Read more on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
- They have a habit of tapping feet, moving their legs, wiggling, etc.
- The energy or probably urge of making movements continuously should help kinesthetic learners to become good athletes, dancers, actors, etc.
- It is observed that kinesthetic learners are good at sculpting, repairing stuff, painting, woodworking and many things which requires working with tools.
- The hand-eye coordination of tactile learners is quite sharp; a strong sense of timing is one of their special characteristics.
- Curiosity and interest in exploring their surroundings are amongst the important features of kinesthetic learners’ personality. In the childhood, kinethetic learners are inclined towards craft works like making paper airplanes and many such things.
- These people can’t help but take frequent breaks while reading. The tactile learners have a habit of lying down while studying.
- The kinesthetic learners are inclined towards touching people while they speak with them.
Having a coach for these students can be really helpful. The coach not only teaches them stuff, but also acts as a support system in difficult times. Coaches help students in setting appropriate goals, taking into account their specific needs. In short, the coach helps such students to stay on track.
How to Teach Kinesthetic Learners
The teaching process and methods for kinesthetic learners should include activities which provide them with hands-on experience. The following teaching methods can be useful.
- The kinesthetic learners should be allowed to draw, paint, sculpt and do many such things which help channelize their energy.
- Kinesthetic learners have good observations skills which help them in seeing a particular thing and trying it out. Teaching efforts for such students need to be taken in this direction.
- For children who have just started learning alphabets, the use of magnetic letters or letter tiles is recommended. Board games, spelling games and other such interesting activities need to be incorporated in the teaching process.
- For teaching numbers and related concepts, one should make use of monkey bars. Using such tools gives them a feel of exploring things. Tapping/clapping out the letter and numbers that are taught should help in memorizing them quite easily.
- Kinesthetic learners should be encouraged to write on a regular basis. This activity involves movements and it also helps in repeating things being taught. Learning process of these students is greatly benefited from this activity.
- Engaging these students in laboratory work is necessary, because it provides them with hands-on experience of concepts being learned during classroom sessions.
Kinesthetic Learners Tips
The following study tips for kinesthetic learners should prove to be useful.
- The knowledge of past experiences/learning is used by kinesthetic learners for the trial and error activities they undertake. These type of learners need to experiment constantly with what they are doing. It helps minimize the mistakes of past.
- The tools like flow charts, maps and such visual things can help kinesthetic learners in grasping the concepts quickly. However, it would be important to note that the process of creating such graphs, flow charts and drawings is useful and not the later part of studying them.
- Online learning is better suited for kinesthetic learners than others. Of course they have to do a lot of reading while studying online. However, the interactive tools available online should encourage them to ‘go’ (proactively) for the learning activities, rather than sit back and absorb things that are taught in classrooms.
The facts about kinesthetic learners presented in the article should help in knowing about them from various angles. Behavioral patterns of kinesthetic learners and the capabilities they possess are understood with the information given above.
By Shashank Nakate
Published: 5/28/2010
Source:Â http://www.buzzle.com/articles/kinesthetic-learners.html
 
ScienceDaily (May 28, 2010) — VI Fit, a project at the University of Nevada, Reno, helps children who are blind become more physically active and healthy through video games. The human-computer interaction research team in the computer science and engineering department has developed a motion-sensing-based tennis and bowling exergame.
“Lack of vision forms a significant barrier to participation in physical activity and consequently children with visual impairments have much higher obesity rates and obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes,” Eelke Folmer, research team leader and assistant professor in the computer science and engineering department, said.
Exergames are a new type of video game that use physical activity as input and are considered powerful weapons in the fight against obesity. Unfortunately, exergames have not yet been accessible to children with visual impairments, although it is evident they could benefit from them the most.
“Our games are adaptations of the popular Nintendo Wii Sports exercise games that have been modified so they can be played without visual feedback,” Folmer said.
VI Tennis and VI Bowling are the first of several games to be made available. VI Tennis implements the gameplay of Wii sports tennis providing audio and vibrotactile cues that indicate when to serve and when to return the ball. It can be played against the computer or against a friend using two Wii remotes.
“VI Tennis was evaluated at Camp Abilities in New York with 13 children who were blind,” Folmer said. “We found our game to engage children into levels of active energy expenditure that were high enough to be considered healthy, which shows the feasibility of using video games as a health-intervention method.”
The gameplay of Wii sports bowling is implemented through VI Bowling with a novel motor-learning feature that allows players to find the direction in which to throw their ball using vibrotactile feedback. Audio and speech effects are used to indicate the result of each throw. VI Bowling was evaluated with six adults and was found to yield levels of active energy expenditure that are comparable to walking.
Compared to the general population, individuals with visual impairments have even fewer opportunities to engage in physical activities that provide the amounts and kinds of stimulation needed to maintain adequate fitness and support a healthy standard of living. Folmer and his team are exploring alternative forms of interaction that allow individuals with visual impairments to play exercise games and to increase their participation in physical activity.
Folmer’s team includes: Tony Morelli, a doctoral candidate at the University of Nevada, Reno; John Foley, a faculty member in the physical education department and expert in movement studies in disability at State University of New York, Cortland; and Lauren Lieberman, a researcher in the Department of Kinesiology, Sports Studies and Physical Education at SUNY, Brockport who specializes in adapted physical education, especially children with sensory impairments.
To play the VI Fit games, a user would need a Wii remote and a Windows PC with bluetooth support or a USB bluetooth dongle. The games can be downloaded using instructions at www.vifit.org. The games are not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo.
Source:Â http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100528131037.htm
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ScienceDaily (May 28, 2010) — VI Fit, a project at the University of Nevada, Reno, helps children who are blind become more physically active and healthy through video games. The human-computer interaction research team in the computer science and engineering department has developed a motion-sensing-based tennis and bowling exergame.
“Lack of vision forms a significant barrier to participation in physical activity and consequently children with visual impairments have much higher obesity rates and obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes,” Eelke Folmer, research team leader and assistant professor in the computer science and engineering department, said.
Exergames are a new type of video game that use physical activity as input and are considered powerful weapons in the fight against obesity. Unfortunately, exergames have not yet been accessible to children with visual impairments, although it is evident they could benefit from them the most.
“Our games are adaptations of the popular Nintendo Wii Sports exercise games that have been modified so they can be played without visual feedback,” Folmer said.
VI Tennis and VI Bowling are the first of several games to be made available. VI Tennis implements the gameplay of Wii sports tennis providing audio and vibrotactile cues that indicate when to serve and when to return the ball. It can be played against the computer or against a friend using two Wii remotes.
“VI Tennis was evaluated at Camp Abilities in New York with 13 children who were blind,” Folmer said. “We found our game to engage children into levels of active energy expenditure that were high enough to be considered healthy, which shows the feasibility of using video games as a health-intervention method.”
The gameplay of Wii sports bowling is implemented through VI Bowling with a novel motor-learning feature that allows players to find the direction in which to throw their ball using vibrotactile feedback. Audio and speech effects are used to indicate the result of each throw. VI Bowling was evaluated with six adults and was found to yield levels of active energy expenditure that are comparable to walking.
Compared to the general population, individuals with visual impairments have even fewer opportunities to engage in physical activities that provide the amounts and kinds of stimulation needed to maintain adequate fitness and support a healthy standard of living. Folmer and his team are exploring alternative forms of interaction that allow individuals with visual impairments to play exercise games and to increase their participation in physical activity.
Folmer’s team includes: Tony Morelli, a doctoral candidate at the University of Nevada, Reno; John Foley, a faculty member in the physical education department and expert in movement studies in disability at State University of New York, Cortland; and Lauren Lieberman, a researcher in the Department of Kinesiology, Sports Studies and Physical Education at SUNY, Brockport who specializes in adapted physical education, especially children with sensory impairments.
To play the VI Fit games, a user would need a Wii remote and a Windows PC with bluetooth support or a USB bluetooth dongle. The games can be downloaded using instructions at www.vifit.org. The games are not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo.
Source:Â http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100528131037.htm
 
By Sarah Arnott
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
The disability charity Scope is launching the first leveraged, private equity-style financing for use in the voluntary sector today.
In a scheme that the charity describes as “venture philanthropy”, 100 wealthy people will be invited to make a £1,750 donation, and provide another £7,000 in a three-year, interest-free loan. Using the donation and the soft loan, plus tax breaks and additional commercial loans, the initial sum can be ramped up to £18,000, according to the Grangewood Venture Philanthropy Project (GVPP) put together by Scope with help from supporters familiar with private equity.
A number of banks – including Charity Bank, Tridos and Unity Trust – have already expressed an interest in the £750,000 commercial loan element of the scheme. Russell Chambers, the Credit Suisse adviser once dubbed “Tony Blair’s favourite banker”, is already backing the plan as a donor.
Karren Brady, the vice-chairman of West Ham United football club, is another high-profile backer. “What’s unique about venture philanthropy is that it allows business people to invest in a great cause in a much more efficient way,” she said. “As the majority of the capital is repaid, people can make donations work even harder by re-investing in other causes.”
The first phase of the scheme aims to raise £1.8m, which will be used to develop 15 new flats for disabled adults who would otherwise have to be cared for in nursing homes geared towards the elderly. “A future in a nursing home when you are aged 19 means you are parked on the ‘hard shoulder of life’ – isolated from your peers and living in unstimulating environments that stifle development and create greater dependency,” Scope said.
If the GVPP pilot proves successful, the concept could be extended to the charity’s £18m asset base, potentially financing more than £40m-worth of new developments.
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By Sarah Arnott
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
The disability charity Scope is launching the first leveraged, private equity-style financing for use in the voluntary sector today.
In a scheme that the charity describes as “venture philanthropy”, 100 wealthy people will be invited to make a £1,750 donation, and provide another £7,000 in a three-year, interest-free loan. Using the donation and the soft loan, plus tax breaks and additional commercial loans, the initial sum can be ramped up to £18,000, according to the Grangewood Venture Philanthropy Project (GVPP) put together by Scope with help from supporters familiar with private equity.
A number of banks – including Charity Bank, Tridos and Unity Trust – have already expressed an interest in the £750,000 commercial loan element of the scheme. Russell Chambers, the Credit Suisse adviser once dubbed “Tony Blair’s favourite banker”, is already backing the plan as a donor.
Karren Brady, the vice-chairman of West Ham United football club, is another high-profile backer. “What’s unique about venture philanthropy is that it allows business people to invest in a great cause in a much more efficient way,” she said. “As the majority of the capital is repaid, people can make donations work even harder by re-investing in other causes.”
The first phase of the scheme aims to raise £1.8m, which will be used to develop 15 new flats for disabled adults who would otherwise have to be cared for in nursing homes geared towards the elderly. “A future in a nursing home when you are aged 19 means you are parked on the ‘hard shoulder of life’ – isolated from your peers and living in unstimulating environments that stifle development and create greater dependency,” Scope said.
If the GVPP pilot proves successful, the concept could be extended to the charity’s £18m asset base, potentially financing more than £40m-worth of new developments.
 
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I recently came across this post by Michelle Dawson that states the thesis that one of the abnormalities in 
Autism spectrum disorders is due to abnormal circadian clock functioning. More specifically, the clock is internally driven and has a greeter ‘free running’ period and does not entrain readily to environmental and social clues.
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I recently came across this post by Michelle Dawson that states the thesis that one of the abnormalities in Autism spectrum disorders is due to abnormal circadian clock functioning. More specifically, the clock is internally driven and has a greeter ‘free running’ period and does not entrain readily to environmental and social clues.
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 1, 2010Â
Genius in art, although difficult to explain, is easily viewed in work by Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and others.
A University of British Columbia researcher has a new theory on what makes Rembrandt’s masterful portraits so appealing.
In the study, published in the current issue of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s arts and sciences journal Leonardo, UBC researcher Steve DiPaola argues that Rembrandt may have pioneered a technique that guides the viewer’s gaze around a portrait, creating a special narrative and “calmer†viewing experience.
Renaissance artists used various techniques to engage viewers, many incorporating new scientific knowledge on lighting, spatial layout and perspectives.
To isolate and pinpoint factors that contribute to the “magic†of Rembrandt’s portraits, DiPaola used computer-rendering programs to recreate four of the artist’s most famous portraits from photographs of himself and other models.
Replicating Rembrandt’s techniques, he placed a sharper focus on specific areas of the model’s face, such as the eyes.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/06/01/enchantment-of-rembrandt-explained/14208.html