Reflection

The main purpose of my project was to be able to reach out to others who may be having a tough time in school. I want them to know that there are others who feel the same way and that there are other options for ways to learn.

I have learned much about our minds and how they are able to analyse information differently depending on the type of thinking pattern your brain prefers. This project to gave me the opportunity to learned much about myself as well. Because of this research I am better able to better understand myself which I can then use to help others who are willing to listen.

When I started this project I felt jealous of the people who could open a mind-numbing Biology book and understand everything with one or two read throughs. I was unable to reach my full potential when doing this because of words moving on the page, reading flipped and obscure letters, trouble focusing and so forth. So I began thinking of Dyslexia as a setback, but this project gave me the opportunity to research much about my own mind. After this research I feel that Dyslexia is more of brain modification, than a setback. The reason I feel this way is because although Dyslexia may cause me some trouble, it also allows me to think and look at things differently than others. I feel this project was a success because I set out to learn about myself and came back with knowledge about minds, brains, and the inter-workings of both. I know know that being different isn't all bad. :)

Fish Climbing Trees

This project allowed me to explore how other's minds use information as well as my own. Throughout the time working on this project, I have learned a lot about myself. As the difficulties in school increased, I found myself unable to do the work as easily as other people. Throughout my studies on this project, I soon found that dyslexia may be the cause of my learning difficulties. The gifts that often accompany dyslexia have allowed me to understand universal concepts such as bridge structure and design, aeronautics, and other complex concepts that others may not understand as easily as I do. Though others may understand the steps and in time come to see the whole concept, I am able to understand the whole concept but cannot map out the steps needed to get there. 

My step-father embraces my creative side and encourages me to continue to work with my gifts and not focus so much on the things that I am unable to do. He bought me a drawing desk and top of the line drawing pencils and materials so that I am able to continue to develop my creative side.

I continue to use my drawing desk every day and enjoy my quiet space where I can express my creativity. I always listen to music with my headphones while drawing. Though I throw many of my drawings away because they don't meet my standards, I don't care a lot about the end product. I focus on the process of improving my art each day. 

Along with the gifts of creativity and universal understanding, comes challenges as well. These challenges include words moving on the paper while reading (which is very annoying), horrible spelling (thank you spell check), and troubles with organization (thanks Mom!).

As a popular anonymous quote states, "Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

Embrace your talents. Strengthen your weaknesses, and always nurture the genius within.

My Point of View

So far I've written about how our minds work including multiple intelligences and its relationship to how we prefer to learn, dyslexia, two dominant types of thinking patterns, and anxiety related to feeling different. 

These are important blog topics to inform others so in case you are one of these people that think differently than mainstream, hopefully you'll accept and embrace your unique talents associated with your mind set.

As most people know, Einstein was considered slow and dull when he was in school. This is an example of what I've been blogging about. Einstein is a creative genius but school didn't provide the environment that allowed him to express his unique thinking patterns. Even his doctoral dissertation had to be dumbed down because the university board could not understand it, and they wouldn't approve it without him simplifying the concepts presented. 

How many of you reading this blog have untapped talents that school has not been able to support? The facts are that 20% of high school students drop out of school and the number is higher for inner city schools. Are there creative geniuses in that 20%? 

If more teachers, students, and parents understood the different ways minds access and utilize information, maybe the drop out rate would decrease. Also, the person who thinks and learns differently than mainstream would experience more success in future endeavors leading to higher self esteem.

As Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." It is important that in the quest for knowledge, our imaginations are also nourished.

Reflection

I have two more areas to cover to complete my posts. When we think about how our minds work, it is interesting to know that the two hemispheres in the brain enjoy doing different types of thinking. Some of us prefer one type of thinking over another and will probably choose careers that support our preferences. School, however, doesn't always support our preferences and this can be a bit stressful when school assignments or courses don't allow for using the preferred type of thinking.

Here are a few links you may find interesting on this topic.

This is an interesting example of linear vs. fragmented thinking http://www.akidjustlikeme.com/id79.htm 

Here are some lateral thinking puzzles http://www.folj.com/lateral/  

This is an overview of gestalt versus linear thinking http://www.geocities.ws/josh_shaine/gestalt.html

When work or school environments don't facilitate your preferred thinking patterns, you could end up feeling anxious or even depressed. I hope that these blogs have helped you to see that all types of thinking are valuable, and if you are a different type of learner or thinker (gestalt, fragmented, creative), you are your best self and celebrate that!

Here is a link that may be valuable if you are feeling anxious or depressed because you feel that you are out of place due to your thinking preferences not aligning with what is expected of you.

http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/ask-and-learn/webinars

All these links will be posted at our Facebook page for others to comment and add resources. Please visit our page when it is completed. It is under construction at this time and will be finished soon.

Reflection:

I enjoyed learning with Sarah about different types of thinking and how our minds work. Sarah and I are similar in the way we think but I have more tendencies toward being on the dyslexia continuum than she does. Sarah really supported this project and brought great insight to it. I thank her for her support.

Personally, I enjoyed learning about this topic and it helped me to understand myself better and value my mind's unique way of thinking about the world.

The Dyslexia Mind

There is a lot of misunderstanding about dyslexia. It is interesting to learn more about dyslexia. For many students who struggle in school, their minds learning differently than other students could be part of the reason. Also if schools are not teaching the way a person with dyslexia learns, the person will have challenges. If you want to explore dyslexia, Sarah and I have provided some informative links. The first two links are general tests you can take but keep in mind, these tests do not diagnose but just give you an idea about whether or not you might be dyslexic. 

Dyslexia tests online:

http://www.testdyslexia.com/

http://www.beatingdyslexia.com/online-dyslexia-test.html

People tend to think of dyslexics as having brains that don't work well or have a glitch. When I watched this video, I related a lot to the presenter's examples. The video is brief but very informative. The animations are cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zafiGBrFkRM

There are a lot of groups now that are supporting dyslexia as an advantage or gift. These two links are interesting to read if you or someone you know has dyslexia. 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-advantages-of-dyslexia/

http://www.happydyslexic.com/node/6 

Here is a link to the video I created showing how I made my bridge for my math class. I added effects to the video so it is interesting. You don't have to download the video, you can simply watch it in the dropbox viewer just by click on this link and waiting a few seconds for it to load. As a person with dyslexia, I was able to use my creativity to complete this project, even though it will be smashed to kingdom come when it's tested for how much weight it will hold. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pt995xgoim58c5t/bridgefinal.mp4?dl=0

Hope you enjoy it! Dyslexic Daniel

Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner, from Harvard, created multiple intelligence theory. His theory provided a broader range of what it means to be smart. Up until his work, IQ tests were all that was used to measure someone's intelligence. This theory identifies seven areas of intelligence. His original book was titled Frames of Mind. These area are:

Visual-Spatial: very aware of their environments, like to draw, do jigsaw puzzles, read maps, and daydream; taught through drawings, verbal and physical imagery 

Bodily-kinesthetic: keen sense of body awareness, like movement, making things, and touching; communicate well through body language and being taught through physical activity

Musical: love music, but they are also sensitive to sounds in their environments; may study better with music in the background; taught by turning lessons into lyrics, speaking rhythmically, or tapping out time

Interpersonal: understanding, interacting with others; learn through interaction; have many friends, empathy for others, or street smarts; taught through group activities, seminars, and dialogues

Intrapersonal: understanding one's own interests and goals; learners tend to shy away from others; in tune with their inner feelings; they have wisdom, intuition and motivation, as well as a strong will, confidence, and opinions

Linguistic: use words effectively; have highly developed auditory skills and often think in words; like reading, playing word games, making up poetry, or stories; taught by encouraging them to say and see words and read books together

Logical-Mathematical: likes reasoning, calculating; thinks conceptually, abstractly, and are able to see and explore patterns and relationships; like to experiment, solve puzzles, and ask cosmic questions; taught through logic games, investigations, and mysteries. 

According to Howard Gardener's website, http://multipleintelligencesoasis.org, an official test has not been developed. Though many sites offer tests, these are not endorsed by Dr. Gardener. However, we found this website that offered a quick test to give you an idea of your preferred learning modality. The words used to describe the learning styles are a little different than Gardner's.

Visual-Spatial (Visual)
Bodily-kinesthetic (Physical)
Musical (Aural)
Interpersonal (Social) 
Intrapersonal (Solitary)
Linguistic (Verbal)
Logical-Mathematical (Logical)

Please click on the link below to begin learning more about how your mind works. The test will require a user name, password, and email to get the results, although the results come up instantly after you submit the test. You will receive an interesting graphic showing your most preferred to least preferred modality along with numeric data.

http://www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory/

The test seemed to be accurate and gave me a broader view of what is going on inside my mind. I find that I naturally use the learning methods that were shown in the results. I hope you find the test interesting.

Just for fun, we found this entertaining video that expands on how our minds learn. In my opinion, I found it quite enjoyable and hope you also like it. Did you know your mind has fast and slow learning capabilities? Check it out in this interactive video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiTz2i4VHFw

Next blog, we'll be discussing how dyslexia affects the way people think.
See you next time, Daniel! :)

Overview of Project

I met with my mentor, and we discussed the future plans for this blog. We are inviting those who read this blog to come on the journey with us as we discover how our minds work. Each blog post will include a link for a test and a video. You can click on one or both depending upon how you like to obtain information. The blog post will also include a summary of information on the topic being explored.

The final product will be the development of a Facebook page integrating the blog posts and creating a community for people who want to comment and share resources that could be helpful.

The blog post topics will be:

1. Multiple Intelligences
2. Dyslexia
3. Gestalt and Linear Thinkers
4. Anxiety and Depression Based on Thinking Patterns

We hope you will follow our blog and learn about the previously mentioned topics and learn more about yourself.