Advice from an ATYP Alum!

Hi ATYPers!

I’m Aurora, an ATYP alum for math and English, and a senior at Harper Creek High School and BCAMSC. I just wanted to share a few lessons I’ve learned that might help you in the year ahead.

First, and as I’m sure you already know, ATYP is a lot of work – probably more than you’ve had before. Success is all about time management and efficiency. When you get your work for the week, try to plan it out (see Ms. Nan’s post on planners), and start as soon as possible. That way, if you get stuck or something goes slower than expected, you’ll still have time to puzzle it out, go to help sessions, or ask your teacher. However, be careful to set time limits. Sometimes I would sit down to work, and if I didn’t have anything else planned, I’d spend way too long on one assignment. You may have heard that “work expands to fill the time available,” and I’ve found that’s very true – especially for essay-writing. To prevent this, I set reasonable time limits based on past experience. This minimized perfectionism, helped me stay efficient, and left room for fun, too!

Initially, I know the workload feels overwhelming, but ATYP has a strong support system. If you’re ever confused about an assignment, or need help in any way, I encourage you to go to help sessions. The tutors are super knowledgeable and fun to talk to, and it’s also great practice in getting comfortable asking for help. In college, many professors have office hours, which are very similar. You might not realize it now, but ATYP is excellent preparation for college: challenging workloads outside of class, heavy responsibility, and the need for independence.

While you’re in ATYP, try to make connections, too. This was a challenge for me, since I lived in Battle Creek and only had virtual classes, but I really wish I had connected with classmates more. I’ve since become close with some friends who were also in ATYP from BCAMSC, and we share a lot in common. ATYP definitely changes people – it made me more resilient, hard-working, and curious. Your classmates are great people to befriend, and the connections you make here can stay with you for years. ATYPers like you are very likely to be successful in life, and who knows – maybe one day you’ll meet up again with one of your classmates – it is a small world.

Above all, my best advice is simply to keep going. There were many times I felt overwhelmed, but it is all worth it. Finishing high school coursework while still in middle school is no easy task, but it makes high school much more enjoyable and gives you crucial skills for success in college and life – skills your regular classes may not offer. Be proud of how far you’ve come, and keep working hard!

Many thanks to Aurora for her words of wisdom!

MAKING A PLAN FOR ATYP

Welcome (and welcome back) ATYPers!

By now you’ve seen what your schedule looks like with ATYP classes and homework factored in and had a chance to think about how to plan your time.

How’s that going?

Some of you may have settled in and started to get a feel for how to plan and prioritize your routine to accomplish what you must, and some of you may still be wondering how to get everything done. Some of you may have used the time management system (that blank weekly calendar) that we discussed at orientation, some of you may have tried that and decided it doesn’t work for you, and some of you may not remember what I’m talking about.

We’re going to expand on that discussion of time management by discussing academic planners. We highly recommend the use of a planner (and we can send you the .pdf of a fantastic one created by Ms. Dekker-Black), but not all students need or want the same type of planner or even understand why they’re useful.

Why do we recommend using planners? What are the benefits? 

First, studies show us that writing things down makes them easier to remember. It also frees up working memory. In other words, when you write things down and create good reminders, you free up space in your brain that you can then devote to other topics. This is called reducing your  “cognitive load.” Planners also provide you with external cues, or reminders, of things like due dates. And external cues tend to be much more reliable than thinking I pretty much know when this assignment should be turned in. Because pretty much is not definite and almost guarantees that at least part of the time you will remember incorrectly.

According to Edutopia.com, the goals of planners are to “capture our to-do lists and activities, schedule our actions and represent time, and remind us of future tasks.” So when you are selecting a planner, you want to make sure you pick one that effectively helps you to plan and prioritize. You may have been given a planner before, used it for a week or two, decided you hated it, and never used it again. If this planner wasn’t designed for the way you think and plan, it was likely very frustrating. We suggest trying different planners for a week or two until you find one that helps you with those initial goals (capture, schedule, represent, remind).

At firstprintable.com/weekly-calendar/ you will find a wide array of free planner templates that you can choose from until you find one that works. Single page, two page, lined pages, empty boxes, spots for goals, non-academic activities, etc. There are sheets for students who are minimalists and sheets for students who like to write a lot. You can also Google free academic planner templates and plenty of options will appear. And you are not restricted to paper (although we confess that we find the physical act of writing down and crossing out to be helpful) – you can use Google calendars, MyHomework, or check out this article on other digital systems https://www.sunsama.com/blog/productivity-apps-for-students if you prefer a virtual option (some of these may cost money.

Another important role of the planner is to help students with the difference between DUE dates and DO dates. Especially for ATYP students, this is an incredibly important distinction. Being able to break assignments/projects down into smaller chunks so that they don’t try to complete everything at the last minute is a life skill that they can carry over into high school and college and beyond. If I put into my planner something that I can DO every day so that when my homework is DUE I am not overwhelmed…that understanding is priceless. (creatingpositivefutures.com/the-psychology-of-student-planners/)

You may find in the long run that your planner morphs into something that looks more like a to-do list. That’s fine. You may find a system that looks absolutely nothing like anything we’ve described. That’s fine. Dr. Kelly likes to have a weekly calendar on one side and a list of goals on the other that she can then prioritize her tasks for the week. Also fine. You do you. But do it every day or week until it becomes a regular habit, and don’t forget to put some fun things into your planner so you schedule time to relax and be a kid.

 Until next time,

Ms. Nan

The Art of Writing Effectively #4 – Odds and Ends

 Here are the last two last tips to help you either get started OR keep writing in a focused manner:

The Pomodoro Method is…what, exactly? The Pomodoro Method is a strategy that helps writers keep their brains fresh. It involves writing for 25 minutes and then taking a five-minute break. (I do not recommend getting onto any kind of digital device for this break, it’s too easy to get sucked in.) You can modify this technique if there are better time spans for you. (I like to write for 50 minutes and then take a ten-minute break.) If you can write endlessly and don’t feel like you wind down, great, but many students, regardless of the subject, will find that using this method helps to keep from getting fatigued and burning out too quickly. This is definitely a try-it-and-see approach.

Just start. Sometimes all you can do is sit down, set your timer for half an hour, and start writing. You might feel like you are just barfing up words. Here’s the thing - you can always fix what you write, but you can’t fix what isn’t there. So even if you don’t think it makes sense, or sounds stupid, or whatever, putting something down helps get your gears moving. Greases the wheels. You might be amazed at what comes out in just 30 minutes. Try it.

We hope these strategies have been helpful, and that you've given them a try!

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

HOW TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY #3 - Perfect is the enemy of the good.

 

 

Many students struggle to start writing because they can’t make what they want to say in their head perfect on paper, especially the thesis statement. This is another big cause of the dreaded blank screen struggle.

First, it doesn’t have to be perfect when you write it down, because you’re going to edit and proofread your own work. And then your instructor, tutor, and/or possibly fellow students are going to give you feedback. 

Second, if the thesis statement is really an obstacle, have a general idea of what you’re saying and start with your arguments first. There’s a good chance that by the second or third point, what you want to say as a thesis statement will have jelled and you will be able to write it down or go back and clean up your first idea. 

Third, there’s no such thing as perfect, and if you spend three hours fixating and trying to turn what was a really good thesis or paper into something you think is “perfect,” you will mostly just have wasted a lot of time. So, focus on what you think is “good” or even “great,” but try to leave perfectionism behind.

An addendum to this thought – longer isn’t better. More words don’t make your argument stronger, they just create more work for your instructor. Keeping within the page-length requirement (not too long, not too short), means that you are answering the prompt fully but also respecting your instructor’s time AND learning to be precise with your language. (Unlike Ms. Nan, who tends to be a little wordy.)

So just...start. Sometimes all you can do is sit down, set your timer for half an hour, and start writing. Fair warning, you might feel like you are just barfing up words. 

But even if you don’t think it makes sense, or sounds stupid, or whatever, putting something down helps get your gears moving. Greases the wheels. You might be amazed at what comes out in just 30 minutes. Try it.

You can always fix what you write, but you can’t fix what isn’t there. 

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

HOW TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY #2 - ARE YOU A PLOTTER OR A PANTSER?

How do you plan a long car trip? Do you like to know where you’re staying every night, and every stop you might make along the way, or do you just like to get in the car and drive? In other words, when you write do you like to plan, or do you like to fly by the seat of your pants?

The truth is, you might want to be a pantser (and you might learn to be later), but right now it is likely best if you try the plotter method. It is too easy at this stage to just start writing about something, accidentally take a sharp left turn, and end up nowhere near where you want to be. So try making a plan, otherwise known as an outline.

(I had a student years ago who liked to pants it when he wrote. If the prompt said “describe the Death Star” he would start, meander, spin around twice, and end up writing about an X-Wing Fighter. It was not effective, and he learned how to do better.)

How detailed you want to be is up to you, but the more details you can add, the more writing your journal or essay becomes a matter of connecting the dots. At the very least, your outline should include: your general thesis, your supporting arguments (including the citations you plan to use), and any original ideas you have for the conclusion.

It may feel like outlining is a waste of time, but in reality, getting lost is the waste of time. Doubling back, ending up at a dead end, and going in circles can take hours. So if you are trying to be a good writer AND effective with your time, this is one of the first strategies you should try.

Bonus outlining tip: Try color! 

My daughter liked to color-code her outline; each argument had its own color – say green – and every point within that argument would be a different shade of green (jade, turquoise, lime, etc.) This works well if you are an extremely visual person, and/or if you are writing something longer, like a multi-page essay, where you have more than one point to make for each specific argument. It’s not for everyone, but if your brain gets happy at the thought, give it a try.

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

THE ART OF WRITING EFFECTIVELY – COOKING UP THE BEST IDEAS

Many of you know that part of my job here at ATYP involves working one-on-one with students who need assistance with executive functioning, be it time management, organization, or planning and prioritizing. Historically, the biggest problem facing students has been time management. ATYP homework being lengthy, plus students with a number of extracurricular activities, could equal situations where figuring out how to fit in all your homework took some practice. But usually, we could determine a system that worked.

Post-pandemic, student issues seem to be shifting, especially for English students. The jump, for students who have not had to produce a lot of writing in school, is higher. The gap, between what was expected at school and what ATYP expects, is greater.

How do we bridge that gap so students can produce quality work in a reasonable amount of time?

I will be posting a series of blog posts with a number of tips, suggestions, and ideas drawn from my experience as an ATYP English parent, from ATYP alumni, from professional writers, and from my own experience as an English major in college and a sometime writer now. As I always tell students, try one or two new techniques every week, then keep what works, throw out what doesn’t, and then try something else. Don’t stop trying – you never know what might make the difference for you.

I know that many of you are going to read some of these tips and think, “Oh my gosh, that’s just more work.” And it might seem like it at first, but when you string them together you will hopefully find that they do in fact save you time because the time you spend in front of your computer or with a pen in your hand will be more effective.

1.     Give your ideas time to marinate. Or rise. I don’t know about you, but I am not very good about getting a topic and being able to sit down and write about it immediately. My brain needs time to stew things over. Many other writers work this way, which is why we take three years to prepare you for the AP exams, which require you to do just that: read a prompt, decide how to answer it, and write your response in 30-45 minutes. That is not a skill most 7^th or 8^th graders have.

So, when you get home, the evening after you have class, read over your ENTIRE homework sheet carefully, including the prompts for any journals or essays. Maybe write down the prompt in your own words to make sure you understand it. If you’re not 100% sure what it asks, don’t worry about it quite yet. The whole idea of this exercise is to give your brain time to think.

Now your brain can use the time when you’re doing other things – playing basketball, riding the school bus, eating a snack – to ruminate about the prompts and how you might want to approach them. Professional writers guess that up to 80% of what they write has been coming together in their head before they pick up a pen or touch a single key. If you’ve been spending a lot of time sitting in front of a blank screen, waiting for an idea to come to you, this strategy can be a lot of help.

It's like baking a loaf of bread. You’re going to read the recipe (your prompt), you’re going to mix together the ingredients (think about some ways you might want to answer that prompt, including quotes or citations that were meaningful to you), and then you’re going to let that dough rise. Let it really come together. If ideas come to you, be sure to jot them down so you don’t forget. Now you can put it all in the pan (write up the ideas that came to you) and see how you do.

2.     What to do if you can’t figure out the recipe. If you’ve had the homework sheet for 48 hours and still are not sure how what a prompt is asking, this is the time to ask the instructor, a tutor, or another student in your class about the prompt. Many times a five minute email or text can save you hours of stress and anxiety. The key is to not wait until the last day to know that you don’t know.

Give these a try! Be sure to say in the comments what works for you!

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

P.S. Many of the ideas here come from authors all over the world interviewed by host Dan Simpson on the podcast Writer’s Routine. You can find out more at https://writersroutinedotcom.wordpress.com/about/

If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you

 ATYP has adopted a new slogan this year, “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you,” a quote attributed to CoreBarreFit co-founder Fred DeVito. Many of you may be wondering what appropriate challenge is, and how ATYP works to create an environment where appropriate challenge is the norm that changes the way students learn and think.

When I think of a challenging curriculum, I think of Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. This theory, which is generally accepted by education professionals, asserts that learners have three zones: The Comfort Zone, what they already know or can learn easily on their own; The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), what they can learn with assistance, either with the guided scaffolding from knowledgeable instructors or with technology and tools; and The Impossible Zone, what is currently beyond their understanding (some refer to this as the Anxiety Zone, since it may make learners uncomfortable to wade into an area where they are not ready to go).

Gifted learners already have a larger than normal Comfort Zone, and many can teach themselves easily (it’s why ATYP students do so well on the ACT or SAT – they have already taught themselves a lot). Our goal is to widen that Zone of Proximal Development, to provide just the right level of growth and challenge so that they continue to expand their knowledge base. For some students, that line between the ZPD and Anxiety is blurry, and many students have to work to overcome the discomfort of being in what is unfamiliar territory, especially for gifted learners who rarely encounter material they don’t understand and who also frequently struggle with the internalized expectation that they should already know everything. And be perfect at it.

Teaching for High Potential, a publication of the National Association for Gifted Children, has a great article this month (August 24) on “The Art of Optimally Challenging Students.” Nancy Hertzog asks, “What are the conditions needed in our classrooms to invite children to go further? How do we scaffold students’ learning?” She recommends four components in an optimally challenging approach:

1.       Strong and positive relationships with and among students and teachers. This is at the core of ATYP’s philosophy. Our instructors want students to be able to express themselves, debate amongst each other, and learn how to question everything. You may find it very different from your traditional classroom.

2.       Introduce tools and materials that provide clearer conceptual frameworks and greater depth of understanding. We do this in ways that might seem basic – using college-level textbooks in our English classes, for example – and ways that may seem foreign, like the “Building Thinking Classrooms” approach that Ms. Koch uses in her geometry and precalculus classes. All of our tools and materials are chosen with research and intentionality.

3.       Encourage autonomy to “figure it out.” As we discuss every year at orientation, this can be tricky. Because yes, a student’s first step should be to try to “figure out” what they don’t know. Think it through. Give it your best shot. Be brave, and okay with making the occasional mistake. And then, if you still don’t understand a question or an assignment, reach out to a friend, your grader/tutor, or your teacher. It’s perfectly okay if it takes you a while to get a handle on where your line is for “I think I’ve got this” and “Help!”

4.       Plan for small- and large-group discussions. No one learns in a vacuum here. What you believe and understand about English, math, and computer science will be tested. You will keep some of what you know, you will add to it…and you might let some of it go. But you will all be on the journey together, and much of it will revolve around discussing literature and exploring math as a group. And the joy of finding groups of like-ability peers is another foundation of ATYP.

How will this challenge change you? Over the course of the year, you might see the creation of new executive function skills. You might make new friends. You may discover a new author, a favorite theorem, or unexpected coding skills. Hopefully you will also find new confidence in your abilities and an understanding of how leaving your comfort zone and taking on something difficult can lead to new rewards.

Until next time,

Ms. Nan