Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums GT Research non-linear follow up

Just wanted to let people know that I wrote several leaders in "the gifted" and I heard from Renzoulli. He has asked a specialist on his staff to contact me about the nonlinear stuff.

Grinity, did you hear anything yet?

What I asked is how do you support development of the non-linear as the linear support seems straightforward.

Ren

sorry, I got lost ... can you make a short summary here about the non-linear issues?

That's great that you'll hear from an expert, Ren. I'd like more of an explanation, too, as I've been reading your posts but not really understanding what you're referring to. Thanks.

First of all non-linear can be explained simply as picture recall or understanding in pictures. Like when I read I have to visual what I am reading, or when someone talks to me, I have total memory or "scenes" in my life and that is how I remember what is said. Linear, you remember the words. You don't think in terms of pictures, you think of the words "in sequence" so most rote learning is linear. Non-linear is the stuff that happens when you don't understand how you got there. Like the 2 year old saying 87-56 is 31. Now, if they happen to have gone through their math tables already, then it is linear, but if they haven't they just get the answer popping into their heads.

Hunter explained to me that they don't even understand that the answer just pops into the head until 6 or 7 and the difference between their linear calculations.

Non-linear is right brain and why they say many big non-linear thinkers or gifted musicians are left handed. It is the big picture, analytic, strategic thinking.

And we support the linear learning very easily. But the non-linear is different. How do you support that? By playing chess? Hence, my inquiries.

Non-linear calculation is a very powerful tool and since DD has shown non-linear capabilities, first with the early math calculations and now with her thinking and analysis of situations, I would like to support that as much as I support her reading skills by getting different books from the library.

Question off topic. When your child started to read did you have to use different books all the time because they would memorize it the first time they read it and clearly the second time, she is just going through by memory rather than reading.

Ren

Ok! I think of linear and non-linear in terms of visual-spatial (non-linear) vs. auditory-sequential(linear). I think we tend towards the visual-spatial at this house, so I've done a bit of reading about visual-spatial learners and how to challenge and reach them best. I like this list of visual-spatial vs. auditory-sequential learner traits.

http://www.visualspatial.org/Articles/appendc.pdf

I do think you can be a blend and nuture both sides.

And chess has been a great game for my son!

On the reading - my son went from not reading books (he would read signs, labels sometimes) to reading long stories in a matter of months (which is a very visual-spatial way to learn to read) he never memorized books because he never had the opportunity to do so. Well, he had some board books memorized before 3. But my DD3 does memorize books quickly. We never had early readers for DS until it was too late. I was under the impression preschoolers couldn't and shouldn't read (silly me). DD's not a super strong reader, but I suspect it will come all at once like with DS. Who is reading at jr. high level in 1st grade. DS is a pure sight reader, as is DD, who knows her phonics but doesn't use them except to maybe identify what letter something starts with.

hi - you're here! i just sent you a pm.

Got it st. pauli!

Thanks for the link.
Ren

Ren, definitely go to the link kimck posted - lots of helpful articles there. I likewise would refer to this as visual-spatial (right-brained) learning vs. auditory-sequential (left-brained) learning. There are so many articles I like from that website that I'd just end up posting links to them all LOL, so I'll let you look for yourself. Also there's Linda Silverman's excellent book, "Upside Down Brilliance, the Visual Spatial Learner". It's out of print, but sometimes there are used ones on amazon. In my opinion, it is the bible on this subject (some of what is in the book is also located somewhere on the web, though not nearly all of it and not all in one place).

Here are a handful of articles that I am preparing to give to my kids' teachers (I have at least two VSLs):
http://www.visualspatial.org/Articles/appendc.pdf
http://www.visualspatial.org/Articles/teaching.pdf
http://www.visualspatial.org/Articles/intro.pdf
http://www.visualspatial.org/Articles/appenda.pdf

hope this helps...

Based on the link that kim provided I conclude that DD, DH and me (and thus most probably DS too) are visual spatial thinkers.

I would be interested very much in hearing what the experts have to say on suporting visual spatial learners at the school.

Intuitively speaking, for Montessori I would group several related activities into a more complex one.
And I would let the child do task B even if s/he cannot do task A.