Richard Selznick, PhD, Director of the Cooper Learning Center at the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper

As students file into Jace Dutweiler’s Flex Time technology period at Logan Elementary School in Logan Township, New Jersey, they grab kits of Legos and begin to build elaborate projects. Inspired by concepts in The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child, by Richard Selznick, PhD, Director of the Cooper Learning Center at the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper, for 30 minutes each day this “special” period allows students to show personal gifts that may not show in the regular classroom.

Since the release of Dr. Selznick’s book in 2009, schools like Logan Elementary have been inspired to create programs that encourage students to learn through the use of hands-on tasks and visually-based activities. Flex Time, a program developed by Logan principal Bob Fisicaro, gives children a chance to express creativity through a number of different course modules or “cohorts”. The school completely revamped its curriculum as a result of the inspiration from Dr. Selznick’s book.

“When I wrote The Shut-Down Learner, I was primarily aiming to help parents gain perspective on their struggling children,” says Dr. Selznick. “Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought that a school district would revamp its curriculum based on concepts from my book.”

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Flex Time is a new concept being applied at Logan Elementary School that was developed by the school’s Principal, Bob Fisicaro, and implemented at the beginning of the school year.

Based on a book by Richard Selznick, PhD, Director, Cooper Learning Center, called “The Shutdown Learner,” the program aims to find strengths in children and allow them to explore them, rather than a constant focus on test taking and scores.

Flex Time is a new concept developed by Principal Bob Fisicaro and implemented at the beginning of the school year. Based on a book by Richard Selznick called “The Shutdown Learner,” the program aims to find strengths in children and allow them to explore them, rather than a constant focus on test taking and scores.

“The educational system is primarily tailored to students with a verbal type of intelligence,” Fisicaro said. “All students should learn how to read, write and reason, but our staff is honing in on educating the whole student.”

There are many different types of learners spatial, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, logical and more and Fisicaro hopes to identify with all of them at Logan Elementary. A second book that influences him in developing Flex Time “Strengths Finders 2.0″ by Tom Rath helps to determine to what types of activities certain learners might be better suited.

To read the complete article, visit www.nj.com.

Richard Selznick, Ph.D.

Richard Selznick, Ph.D., Director of the Cooper Learning Center, wrote an article featured in Calgary’s Child about seven strategies to help a child who is struggling academically in school. Several tips for addressing or preventing shut-down learners include open and positive communication with your child, understanding and identifying the problem, and finding someone to act as a school mentor.

“Academic discouragement is debilitating to children and families,” says Dr. Selznick. “Connecting with your child’s natural strengths and letting them know that you are both on the same ‘team’ can make an enormous difference in preventing your child from becoming a shut-down learner.”

To read the complete article visit calgaryschild.com.

In its fifth year, The Cooper Summer Reading Institute at the Lanning Square School is keeping kids academically connected through a fun and friendly summer reading camp.  On Thursday August 5, the program was showcased to the community.

With the continued generous support from the sponsorship of  Anne E. Koons of Prudential Realtors, the Cooper Reading Institute at Lanning Square is helping kindergarten through fourth-grade students from the Camden area build lifelong reading skills through its six-week summer program. Students attend this full-day program with no cost to parents. It is through these kind-hearted donations that the program can continue to thrive and make a difference in the lives of these Camden children.

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Richard Selznick, Ph.D., Director of the Cooper Learning Center, wrote an article featured in the Great Schools Newsletter about seven strategies to help your child climb from struggles to success.

Shut-down learners are children who become academically discouraged and disconnected from school over time.

“In my evaluation of shut-down learners, I have found that many receive work on a daily basis that they simply cannot handle, causing them unnecessary frustration. Too often, parents and teachers do not understand the skill deficits that are causing a child difficulty. For example, I recently tested a fourth-grader who struggled to read certain words presented in a text, including porcupine, passage, and amazement. Since most fourth-graders read silently to themselves, the student’s teacher and parents mistakenly believed that she had a comprehension problem, when she was actually experiencing difficulties with word reading and decoding.”

To read the complete article, visit the Great Schools Newsletter at
greatschools.org.