Archive for the ‘Pattern Recognition’ Category

Autism and Patterns?

Thursday, June 4th, 2015

Over these years, I’ve hears from countless mothers of children with ADHD who have shared their stories of their child’s success with my method. Recently, I have been hearing from mothers of children with autism.

Children with ADHD have an affinity for patterns. Patterns reveal the underlying structure and make the tables easy to learn. Autistic children also have an affinity for patterns and see connections that the rest of us might miss. Patterns make sense. Rote memorization, on the other hand, is boring and may seem nonsensical.

Growing up, I liked math and excelled in it. However, I chose to study literature. When my son balked at learning the tables through rote memorization, I knew there had to be a better way! Why not a new approach to the tables — one that would discover similarities and differences among the tables? I knew tables 2, 4, 6,and 8 would end in some combination of 2-4-6-8-0. Why not learn the tables for EVEN numbers first which are so easy to learn? Why not see the similarities between them? Tables for ODD numbers also have interesting patterns. Why not explore these and find similarities between them?

My goal in writing my workbook was not only multiplication mastery for all children but to instill in them a love of numbers and fascination with math. Discovering patterns is fun. Let me know how your child did with my method on the contact form of this blog.

How to Become a Mom Entrepreneur?

Monday, November 1st, 2010

v401rcat2qicwcad0em4bcai5vbkncal7izubcaw6cg9zcazxqfejcasuo2ppcailvec9ca1n5n3hca5z76p8caklebbacabwwvn6cabl13x5cajx997aca68r29bcaeokuvucab3mgmtcaia1jl11I enjoyed watching  Donny Deutsch’s show, The Big Idea.  Donny Deutch, an advertising executive, got his own cable tv show after appearing in an early episode of Trump’s The Apprentice.  On his show, Donny would interview entrepreneurs about their products.  The question he asked his guests was:  “How did YOU come up with THIS product?”  Restated the question was:  “How did you come up with your BIG IDEA?”  Invariably, the guest entrepreneur would answer:  “When I was confronted by X problem, I found a way to SOLVE it.” 

The story the entrepreneur told was compelling, sometimes arising from a personal tragedy such as designing a better infant car seat after having had a child injured in a car accident or a nagging, everyday irritant such as not being able to fish out car keys from the bottom of one’s purse (what woman hasn’t had this problem?) or how to keep bra straps from showing when wearing sleeveless tops with wide armholes.   The products featured on his show might cost but a few dollars.  Donny would urge his audience to find solutions to problems in their daily lives. A problem solved could the BIG IDEA for a new or improved product. 

I would dream of being on Donny’s show and telling him that I too fit his entrepreneur pattern of:  frustrating PROBLEM prompts BIG IDEA and determination to SOLVE that problem.  It’s not that difficult to come up with a BIG IDEA.  What is difficult is carrying through on a BIG IDEA and transforming it into a product consumers will actually buy.  I imagined telling Donny how frustrated my son was filling in pages of mindless drills to learn the multiplication tables and my deciding right then and there that there HAD to be a better way!  I would tell him how I drew a grid for tables 1-10 and found amazing patterns for all the tables.  I would tell him how each day my son and I papered the fridge with our discoveries. I would conclude by saying I decided to hire a graphic artist, design my book from cover to cover and publish Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables to help other families and how in four years I’ve sold almost 10,000 copies!

Every day, moms are confronted with frustrating problems such as discovering toilet paper cascading down the stairway from a child’s bathroom.  An enterprising mom invented a toilet paper dispenser to keep that from happening.  Another mom used her creativity by improving the design of the standard baby pacifier. Why not a pacifier shaped like a rasberry in an eye-catching color?  Look at everyday items in a new light.

Moms spend their days solving problems large and small.  Why not take the leap and become a mom entrepreneur?  Hats off to dad entrepreneurs too!  The results of improving other people’s lives are rewarding.

                              [Image from makijlal.com] 

Pattern Recognition and Intelligence

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

 

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My method of teaching the times tables is based on pattern recognition. Did you know there’s a relationship between pattern recognition and intelligence? 

 

I found the following on www.intelligencetest.com/questions/precognition.htm:

 

Out of all mental abilities this type of intelligence [i.e., pattern recognition] is said to have the highest correlation with the intelligence factor, g.  This is primarily because pattern recognition is the ability to see order in a chaotic environment . . .  Patterns can be found in ideas, words, symbols and images and pattern recognition is a key determinant of your potential in logical, verbal, numerical and spatial abilities.  It is essential for reasoning because your capacity to think logically is based on your perception of the logic around you.  Your pattern recognition skills are expressed verbally through your long term exposure to language and your mathematical and spatial abilities are based on your perception of numerical data and 3D objects.

 

 

 

The webpage presents five problems that can be solved through pattern recognition. 

 

Back to “pattern recognition is the ability to see order in a chaotic environment.”  Don’t we feel relieved when we recognize a pattern when confronted with a chaotic environment?  We feel panicked and stressed in a chaotic environment.  Stuck in a long line at the movie megaplex?  You notice the line on the left is comprised mainly of families with children while your line has mostly adult couples.  Your brain takes this in.  It has found a pattern.  The line with the families will move more rapidly because there will be fewer transactions at the box office. You step into the left lane behind families and smile as your line moves more quickly than the other. You’ve made order out of chaos. 

 

We are happy when we make sense out of chaos.  We are frustrated when we can’t.  This is how many children feel when confronted with mastering the multiplication tables.  All those tables, all those math facts to learn.  For many children, the tables become a blur.  How to make order out of the chaos?  I believe my method of pattern recognition does just that.