Education beating Autism

The Learning Preferences and Strengths (LPS) model is comprised of three key components: structure, content and process. Excellent teaching is the fine art of connecting and integrating these key components for each child.

The individual child’s preferences and strengths are at the heart of this model, guiding the structure, content and processes of his program. When there is a match between Learning Preferences and Strengths and program structure, process and content, a synergy is created that is greater than the sum of the parts. When the child’s Learning Preferences and Strengths are engaged, his learning can be optimized and used in tandem to enhance other areas of preference and strength.

By emphasizing metacognition, the child develops conscious understanding of:
• focusing and shifting attention
• identifying and defining important elements in a task, activity or event
• organizing, prioritizing and sequencing tasks and activities
• remembering and retrieving information from memory
• monitoring, checking, evaluating and revising his approach to tasks

Metacognitive learners become intentional learners who take control over their own learning and monitor their own progress. With metacognitive approaches, thinking is made explicit, visible and public. Bransford, Brown and Cocking (2000) have found three important developments in children who use a metacognitive approach:
1. learning is more efficient
2. learning outcomes are improved
3. transfer of learning, or generalization, to new situations is increased.

An important overall goal within the LPS model is to help the child become a self-directed learner. He must learn how to assume control of his body, his thinking and his emotions. The child must learn to shape his attitudes and efforts in order to achieve goals without adult reminders or cues.

As part of the development of metacognition and self-regulation, children are prompted to talk to their ‘brains’. This self-talk is intended to help the children monitor and guide their own learning and use of strategies. When used effectively, it will assist the child in correcting himself, coping and using metacognitive strategies.

In young children, spontaneous self-talk is usually irrelevant to the task, such as about something that happened in another setting. Over time and with prompting and modeling, self-talk becomes more focused on the task, although the early content may not help the child complete the task. With further persistence and consistency, the child’s self-talk will become more metacognitive and helpful to his learning.