O8: The Importance of Promoting Talent in all Students

The educational system is designed for some students’ kind of minds (e.g., those with strengths in attention, memory, language, social skills), for others, it is a daily struggle. Unfortunately, the academic setting rarely accounts for this variability. Regardless, at some point in time (for whatever reason), almost all students “hit a wall” (or face a challenge) which can make them doubt whether they have the capacity to succeed.  Studies from multiple fields indicate that the impact of “differences in learning” on society may be much broader and deeper than previously realized, affecting not only students’ ability to succeed in school, but their overall health and well-being into adulthood. Learning difficulties can be experienced at any age because the expectations of school change over time, such as the volume, rate and complexity of information that students are required to process and/or produce. In addition, students can spend years hiding their learning challenges in fear of not living up to the real or perceived expectations of their parents and teachers (or even themselves), which consequently manifests through a range of bio-psycho-social-emotional issues. When students struggle, the focus tends to be on what they can’t do, rather than what they can do. Yet, every child has have a unique set of strengths and talents that needs to be recognized and nurtured. The Center for School Success has identified key learning trends that can serve as either risk or protective factors related to a student’s performance at different times in his/her school career. These trends have been corroborated by a large-scale US National Institutes of Health study on the reciprocal nature of health and learning. This presentation will explore the areas that most impact school success and offer an approach that incorporates recent brain research to maximize learning, support the neurodiversity in classrooms and discover the potential in every learner.