Solving The Writing and Organizational Chal…

Closing The Gap Solutions e-Magazine, August / Sept 2024 Volume 43 - Number 3

instruction, literacy & inclusion

Solving The Writing and Organizational Challenges of Neurodiverse Learners: The Pedagogy of Visual Thinking Strategies

Globally, most education systems have designed their meth- ods of teaching and assessment using traditional linear meth- ods for decades: front-of-class verbal instructions, combined with information delivered through text-based learning e.g. notes and textbooks. This would perhaps include a splattering of graphic organizers, such as graphs and diagrams, to illustrate concepts visually. For students, the assessment of their ability to remember information and at what level of higher order thinking they've achieved is generally based on evidencing this through written or oral evidence. Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives1 is a popular model for assessing learners' higher order thinking capabilities. There are 6 levels of thinking, starting at the lowest level of remembering, through to the highest level of thinking complexity: to create - independently coming up with novel ideas and solutions. The traditional approach within education means HOW stu- dents "learn to learn" is heavily weighted towards methods that require strong writing and verbal skills. This approach is normal- ly more suited to neuro-typical learners.

But what is the impact of this on neurodiverse learners: the 1 in 10 individuals with dyslexia, the 5% with ADHD, the 1-2% with autism and so on? Learners also often have co-occurring diagnoses! In this article, we will explore the challenges neurodiverse learners face specifically with writing and organizational chal- lenges within the expectation of our current education system, as well as how visual thinking strategies can level the playing field for these disadvantaged students. Embedding visual thinking strategies into instructional de- sign and assessment supports the popular concept of the Uni- versal Design of Learning (UDL)2, which can benefit all learners. We draw upon 36 years of in-field experience developing and publishing Inspiration, a visual thinking software that allows us- ers to quickly capture, organize, synthesize and communicate information in a visual format; great for individuals who prefer to think and work in this way. TechEdology is the developer and publisher of Inspiration, a popular visual thinking tool.

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REEZA AWOODUN Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at TechEdology. Reeza’s passion is making it easy for users with neuro differences or cognitive challenges to use visual thinking techniques to retain information, develop higher order thinking skills and be able to write with more confidence. He draws upon 24 years working within the assistive technology and edtech space. reeza.awoodun@techedology.com

RUBY PETTIFER , Associate Publisher at TechEdology. Ruby has worked in assistive technology and edtech since 2020 and in her role at TechEdology, leads the development of our flagship visual thinking software, Inspira - tion. Ruby champions simplicity of use and accessibility, and ensures the software enhances thinking skills and has pedagogical benefits. ruby.pettifer@techedology.com

CHALLENGES FOR NEURODIVERSE LEARNERS… Research with our neurodiverse users discussing the chal- lenges presented by their diagnosis has identified the following needs that can affect the ability for higher order thinking:

RETAINING INFORMATION They struggle to remember key facts, as the information isn't communicated in an optimal format to be processed and re- tained into their long-term memory. COMMUNICATING IN WRITING Writing is a complex task with multiple stages - pre-writing, drafting, editing and reviewing. For coherent writing, you have to remember what you've written and what you intend to write. Simultaneously, formatting requirements, vocabulary, spelling, grammar and referencing can all add extra pressure to cognitive load. Neuro-typcial learners can struggle with this, let alone stu- dents with neuro differences! WHAT ARE VISUAL THINKING STRATEGIES? We describe Visual Thinking Strategies as: “A method of combining visual cues such as symbols, images and colour, with verbal cues such as keywords and phrases; to organize information, identify relationships and generate new insight.” It is a graphical way of processing information and tasks; breaking them down into its parts, in a creative non-linear for- mat. Often these visual outputs are referred to as graphic or- ganizers, using proven techniques that have been popularized over time: mind maps, concept maps, flow charts, tree diagrams, Venn diagrams and more. POPULAR VISUAL THINKING STRATEGIES There are so many visual techniques, but we will focus on three of the most popular ones in education - mind maps, con- cept maps and outlines.

• Short-term memory and processing • Information retention and revision • Focus and concentration • Organizing and structuring ideas • Managing tasks • Motivation

How do these needs impact their learning?

IDEA GENERATION Most tasks require an element of idea generation to kick things off. Complex tasks such as academic writing can trigger cognitive overload, overwhelming the learner's ability to think clearly, often described as the "blank page syndrome". They may be swamped with lots of unstructured ideas, and so struggle to capture this coherently verbally or in a linear text format. ORGANIZING IDEAS Users commonly describe not being able to visualize how ideas relate to one another in their mind's eye. Therefore they cannot form a mental picture of how ideas should be organized. This impacts the learner's ability to plan and organize their thinking and work, leading to a chaotic-looking output. UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS The format of information presented to the learner can be unsuited to how they best comprehend and synthesize complex topics, so they are unable to mentally process the ideas, identify how multiple concepts relate to one another and combine this with prior knowledge.

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1. WHEN TO USE A MIND MAP? “A mind map is a visual representation of hierarchical information that starts with a single, central idea surrounded by connected branches of associated topics.“ It is ideal for taking a single topic or concept and exploring it in greater depth.

2. WHEN TO USE A CONCEPT MAP? “A concept map is a diagram that illustrates the relationships between concepts and ideas. Concept maps use linking phrases between concepts to explain connections.” For complex topics, where you need to illustrate how different concepts relate to one another, as well as how these relationships affect each other, concept mapping fits the bill. Watch this video to learn concept mapping techniques. (Watch the video on how to create a concept map next page.)

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How to Create a Concept Map. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_Qm4EfSB-U

3. WHEN TO USE OUTLINING TECHNIQUES? “An outline is a preliminary summary of ideas placed in a logical order, typically hierarchically organized in headings and subheadings.“

Outlining is ideal for note-taking and writing as

• Ideas are neatly organized by concepts • Clear prioritization of ideas • A technique that naturally scaffolds into the writing process

The outlining methodology is ideal for individuals who like…

• Structure and simplicity • To organize information into lists

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MIND MAPPING BY HAND The pen and paper approach is often how visual thinking techniques are introduced to learners such as hand drawn spi- der diagrams and mind maps. Whilst it can be hugely beneficial to learners, particularly those who like the kinesthetic approach, it has its limitations, compared to the digital approach. For ex- ample, once you’ve captured those ideas in paper, it is difficult to make corrections and changes. Plus, using digital techniques, with the right software you convert your work into other for- mats, such as an outline. Watch this video below.

Designed to be simple to use, but powerful in the impact it has on users, it is a tool for creating mind maps, concept maps, graphic organizers, outlines and presentations. Inspiration 11 makes it easy for users to quickly capture their ideas and visually organize them. Then, transfer their visual diagram to a written outline in just one-click, perfect for structuring writing projects. Students are tasked with various assignments during their education, each of which can bring up unique challenges. Inspi- ration supports users at each stage of their journey - from time management and note-taking to essays and presentations. The different environments within Inspiration allow individuals to select the view most appropriate for the task and most beneficial for their particular way of working. Students can continuously add to their Inspiration documents and use the interchangeable views to produce work for different tasks, meaning they don’t need to start from scratch each time. CREATIVITY AND BRAINSTORMING We know students are not short of ideas! To allow creativity to flow, students need to be unencumbered at the initial ideas generation stage of a task. Inspiration’s Rapid Fire tool means users can first spill all of their ideas into the software using keywords and phrases, before considering how ideas connect, spelling, formatting and so on. The visual nature of Inspiration encourages creativity in thinking and allows students to see the big picture. ORGANIZING AND PLANNING Students are juggling many tasks, so it is vital for them to get them all out of their heads and down somewhere that they can visually understand and organize. Creating timelines or lists can be useful in understanding the bigger picture of everything coming up, or the breakdown of a task, that allows each part to be approached confidently by the student.

Comparing hand drawn to digital mind mapping. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RGueCOFBB4

SUPPORTING THE STUDENT JOURNEY WITH INSPIRATION 11 Let’s introduce you to our software Inspiration 11 and how it supports visual thinking strategies.

Inspiration 11

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Note Taking - The French Revolution example

NOTE-TAKING We don’t remember whole sentences, but we do remember keywords, ideas, connections and visuals. The simple-to-use na- ture of Inspiration encourages effective note taking, meaning students will get down only the information they need in a time- ly way. Digital notes mean students can rearrange and rework what they have written as new information is made available, keeping work neatly organized and ensuring it is more benefi- cial to the student when they look back at it. ESSAYS Written projects can be overwhelming, but when broken down into smaller chunks, students can feel confident in tack- ling them bit by bit. Instead of staring at a blank document and not knowing how to get started, we suggest users start by breaking down the word count into rough sections relevant to the project, e.g., an introduction, for, against, and conclusion. As- suming the topic has already been studied to some degree, the student is likely to have ideas floating around in their head that they can then brainstorm around each section, adding notes and hyperlinks to additional information if needed. This usually provides a confidence boost as students can see just how much information they already know and start to see how it links up. Flipping between the visual view and the synchronized Outline View, students can start to structure their written project and continue writing. Users can export to Word, OneNote, and Goo- gle Docs when they are ready. RESEARCH Students are bombarded with resources, as well as their own research, so it can be hard to keep track of it all. Keeping it all in one place with relevant notes is invaluable when it comes to cre-

ating a bibliography when working to a deadline. Students can add hyperlinks to their Inspiration documents, as well as use the Citation Collection tool to create lists of resources relevant to a particular concept or idea. Any citations added will then be seen as an alphabetically ordered bibliography in the Outline View.

Essays - Outline example

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Presentations

Testimonials from users of Inspiration - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfem534lpZ0

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PRESENTATIONS Presentations can be another daunting task, but when bro- ken down and using information the student already knows, they are easier to tackle. Inspiration makes presentation slides from your visual diagram, meaning the visual cues that students have added to their diagrams can then become visual cues for them whilst presenting. This helps to keep them on track with what they are speaking about, as well as provides a visually ap- pealing presentation to the audience. TEACHING As well as a tool for empowering students with neuro differ- ences to be independent learners, Inspiration 11 makes it quick and easy for educators to produce graphic organizers that sup- port the teaching of curriculum concepts in an accessible for- mat. Tricky concepts that can be difficult to explain verbally in class or text, can be concisely summarized in an engaging diagram on a single page. For example, creating a concept map covering difficult topics in STEM subjects. This allows students to easily synthesize the information and deepen their understanding. HOW INSPIRATION HAS HELPED OUR USERS In this video hear from three users on how Inspiration has changed their lives, making a positive difference to their learn- ing. Watch 3-minute " Testimonials from users of Inspiration " vid- eo. LEARN MORE ABOUT INSPIRATION AND HOW IT SUPPORTS NEURODIVERSE LEARNERS We have developed a Needs Recommendation Guide for both education and the workplace, which illustrates how spe- cific features of Inspiration 11 support different challenges of learners and employees. You can access these guides via our As- sessor Toolkit: https://www.inspiration-at.com/assessor-toolkit/ If you would like to know more about Inspiration 11 including trialing it for free with students, please visit https://www.inspira- tion-at.com/ REFERENCES 1. Bloom, B.S. et al.(1956). 'Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. Book I: Cognitive Do- main,' New York: David McKay Company.

2. CAST Universal Design for Learning: https://www.cast.org/ impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl

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