I Speak of Dreams

The Teachers We Need

In a previous post, TMAO heard a presentation by Jack O'Connell and responded to O'Connell's elision of the factors contributing to the achievement gap.  He felt he did not get his point across, and clarified here:

Come Learn About Dyslexia from the Shaywitzes, and More

On Saturday, April 12, 2008, Drs. Bennett and Sally Shaywitz are speaking on dyslexia, and Dr. Eric Tridas is speaking on ADHD: Beyond the Basics.

Overcoming Dyslexia: The Science of Reading and Dyslexia with Drs. Sally and Bennett Shaywitz

Extraordinary progress in understanding the nature of reading and dyslexia, including their neural underpinnings, have direct implications for the earlier and more accurate identification and more effective treatment of dyslexia. This presentation focuses on these discoveries and their translation into clinical practices for overcoming dyslexia and for appreciating the sea of strengths associated with dyslexia.

ADHD: Beyond the Basics with Dr. Eric Tridas Nationally-recognized expert Eric Tridas, M.D. will speak on what parents need to know about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including the appropriate use of medications and what can be done to help these students at home and school. Dr. Tridas is an informative, practical, and inspiring speaker.

When: Saturday, April 12, 2008
8:30 - 9:00 am - Check-in
9:00 am - 12:00 pm - Overcoming Dyslexia
12:00 - 1:00 pm - Lunch
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm - ADHD: Beyond the Basics
Where: San Francisco Day School 350 Masonic Ave., San Francisco, CA 94118 (Street parking is available)
Cost: Pre-registration - $50 (includes lunch) Onsite - $50 (without lunch)

We strongly encourage you to pre-register as space is limited

See you there.

Skeptics' Circle -- Now With Conspiracies!

Conspiracy Factory is hosting the Skeptic's Circle -- Leap Year Edition.  Go, read, and fight the endarkenment.

On Teaching Algebra Well (and note to self)

Over at Kitchen Table Math, Catherine posts about an amazing math teacher and summarized research on good math teaching

• formative assessment (KTB Wiki)  and Carol Boston's 2002 article
• distributed practice
• cumulative practice
• Gambill Method
   

Who Is Jimmy Kimmel and Why Is Ben Affleck Sweet on Him?

I don't watch TV much.  No reason, really, other than I got out of the habit about a year ago.

So I was vaguely aware of Sarah Silverman, the comedian, but I didn't know bupkis about Jimmy Kimmel.   Well, it seems they are a couple, and Silverman and the actor Matt Damon made a  practical-joke video for Kimmel's birthday.

Well, few practical jokes go unreturned.  Jimmy Kimmel got Ben Affleck and a host of other celebrities to participate in a riposte.  I was particularly taken by Harrison Ford's performance.

The Kimmel-Affleck version is laugh-out-loud funny

I read all about it at Gene Expression. 

Evaluating A Course's Value

I am paying a bit more than  $1.20/minute for one of my graduate school classes.  How do I know this?  I divided the tuition cost for the class by the number of minutes the class is nominally in session.

To date, on the $/minute metric, I've spent $864.  Personal valuation of information received?  $125, max.

Well, I've made some friends and/or future colleagues.   That's worth something. 

On the other hand, it has really sharpened how I think about the airtime I take up in class.  Before I open my mouth (which usually lasts at least a minute), I think, "Is this worth $1.20 of my classmates' money?"

On the gripping hand, there's the Ditz Boredom Index.  My urge to talk is directly related to how dissatisfied I am with the rate of  [information/data] transfer.

Grumpity grump.  But you know, in every training program there are the slog-through bits.

And I am learning to be a better listener.

David Kirby Thinks He Has Proof. I'm Waiting for Less Biased Opinions

Update: Also read Orac at Respectful Insolence, in which he gives Kirby's screed a close and caustic reading.

Update #2: Kevin Leitch's correspondence with Andrew Zimmerman, M.D.; the guest-blogger SL at Autism Blog: Mitochondrial Diseases, Vaccination, and Autism; Steven Novella at the NeuroLogica blog: Has the Government Conceded Vaccines Cause Autism?

The way-too-condensed version: this child has a rare mitochondrial mutation.  Yes, the administration of vaccines exacerbated the child's physical woes caused by the mutation, including developmental regression.  As Steven Novella wrote:

This is a unique and idiosyncratic case that raises more questions than it answers. In my opinion as a neurologist, with the information provided, the child has a mitochondrial encephalopathy. The role of the vaccines is unclear, but at worst a rare vaccine reaction exacerbated the underlying mitochondrial disorder. This case has no clear implication for the larger question concerning vaccines and autism, which is likely why both sides agreed to settle.

There's a special federal court to hear claims from parents (on behalf of children) that vaccination harmed their children's health.  In November, the court found that one child's illness was in fact exacerbated by vaccination.

David Kirby decided that the finding somehow overturns study after study, which has found no causal relationship between vaccination in childhood and autism.  I'm not going to link to Kirby's overheated piece.  You can read what Kristina Chew has to say about it:

Too Many Questions from David Kirby and one from Charlie.

Meanwhile, I'm doing homework.

WT??? Every Time I Hit Return, Ask.com Intrudes

I'm using Firefox

I probably need to restart the computer -- something noxious is afoot.  I'm using Firefox 2.0.0.3.

Everytime my right pinky hits [return], I'm taken to  http://www.ask.com/?o=1292

Hey Ask.com?  It may not be your fault, but it makes me hate you.

Dore Again, Again, Again: Still No Evidence of Efficacy, But Merrily Marketing On

Update June 1 2008: Dore seems to be out of business, world-wide.  See this summary post.  My sympathies to those families who prepaid and have no economic recourse.

That's a screenshot from today.  The Dore approach to treating dyslexia, other learning disabilities, ADHD and autism has not shown evidence of efficacy ( Download Bishop, D.V.M (2007).pdf ; link to Nature Neuroscience 10, 135 (2007). But as the screenshot above shows,  Dore UK,  Dore USA,  Dore Australia,  and Dore New Zealand merrily market on, promising "a unique drug-free approach that can bring lasting positive results where nothing else has helped."

Dore (UK)'s marketing strategy seems to involve getting endorsements from sports stars (examples: Scott Quinnell, rugby star, Wales; Paul Nixon, cricket, UK; Kenny Logan, rugby, UK).  Mr. Logan is about to open a Dore center.

After meeting with Mr. Quinnel, a member of the Welsh legislature,  Alun Cairns, wants to make the Dore program part of the educational landscape in Wales.

A Civilized Disagreement on the Efficacy of the Davis Dyslexia Method

Last fall, Gimpy, a blogger in the U.K., wrote a scathing diatribe against learning disability profiteers, and a second post blasting the Davis Dyslexia Method.  A woman Abigail Marshall, who is the Davis Dyslexia Association's webmistress in the U.S., responded to Gimpy's second post. 

A civil conversation ensued in A response to Abigail Marshall and the Davis Dyslexia Association International.

I have two distinct objections to the Davis Method:

1. Ronald Davis came up with the method in  1980, before the publication of objective research (using brain-imaging technology) on the neurocognitive roots of dyslexia were widely known.  (mid-1990s).  He did not alter or change his Method based on new research, and the implications of the new research have been misrepresented by the Davis Dyslexia Association  (also see here, Brain Research and Dyslexia)
2. While the Davis Method has been offering "treatment" since 1982, no independent, objective evaluations of efficacy of the Davis Method have ever been performed, or  has the efficacy of the Davis Method ever been evaluated compared to other approaches to remediating dyslexia, such as the variations of the Orton-Gillingham approach or Rave-O

To summarize: The Davis Method has no basis in what we now know about the neurocognitive nature of reading, and has no evidence of efficacy.   Any educator or educational therapist recommending the Davis Method for remediation of dyslexia is behaving unethically.

As John Wills Lloyd wrote:

However, it seems to me that failing to make clear statements about the tenability of erroneous ideas is, in itself, a failure to serve as a provider of useful information. In the the absence of clear evidence that Treatment X is beneficial and presence of substantial evidence that Treatment X is actually harmful, I consider it important to advocate that parents, educators, and clinicians not use Treatment X. Indeed, as an advocate for kids and their families, isn’t it my duty to call “Bologna” when I’m confronted with unsubstantiated and disconfirmed hypotheses?

I don't think the Davis Method is "actively harmful" -- except to the parents' wallet, and the child's time and expectations.  But there is another sense in which it is damaging -- the totally unfounded "explanation" of dyslexia gets in the way of a more sophisticated and nuanced view of each dyslexic child's strengths and weaknesses.

Update: I, like Gimpy, believe that the people associated with the Davis Dyslexia Correction Method are motivated by  " a genuine desire to help dyslexic people" and that they believe in the validity and efficacy of what they are doing.

But "belief" isn't enough.  Data is necessary.

What would get me to change my mind about the Davis Method?  A randomized, controlled study, with a sufficiently large number of participants,  with pre- and post-treatment reading measures,  comparing (a) a known program training  phonological processing and decoding skills such as the one used in this study (b)  the Davis Method  and (c) no interventions, that showed that the Davis Method was superior in improving reading, as measured by the pre- and post-treatment measures.