"...To be a successful scientist, you need to do what you like to do. If you don't like mathematics, don't give up. That doesn't forestall you're being a scientist at all." — E.O. Wilson One of the first science professors I had as a freshman at Harvard was...
Connecting the Dots with John Chambers of CISCO [Premium]
“A lot of leaders would say they’re curious. I can tell you from personal experience that most leaders are not. They don’t ask a lot of questions, rarely challenge conventional wisdom, stick with what they know, and often turn to sources that reinforce their existing point of view… my curiosity about things I don’t understand has been a critical factor in my success as a leader.” – John Chambers I recently came across a book review of Chambers’ book by Emma Wallace, a fellow dyslexic who works in a very different industry, fashion. Despite these differences, Chambers’ description of strengths resonated. “Not only has dyslexia meant that for John (and myself) it forced him to learn important skills early on: persistence, finding your […]
Dyslexic Talents in STEM: Chemistry [Premium]
“Through most of high school, I hated math and science. It wasn’t until my senior year when I took AP statistics and AP chemistry that I discovered that I enjoyed solving challenging analytical problems. After I graduate in May, I plan to pursue a graduate degree in Electrical Engineering.” – Leah Harper Although chemistry may present dyslexic students with challenges, once the initial difficulty of notation and the periodic chart are mastered, the spatial and analytical aspects of chemistry can become life-long endeavors. In a video (that’s now unavailable on YouTube), Dr. Blake Charlton talked about how he discovered the narrative intelligence associated with dyslexia and how he used it to help him learn the periodic chart. Instead of memorizing columns of elements by […]
Spatial Intelligence: Developing One of the Dyslexic Super Powers [Premium]
Although spatial intelligence is often a “dyslexic super power” and associated with famous architects, filmmakers, inventors, and engineers, it gets surprising little education in K-12 education. What that might mean in a practical way is that many of the young members of this community might only stumble into their greatest talents by chance, or worse, not at all. MOST CURRICULA ONLY SPECIFY NAMING AND SORTING SHAPES Math educator David Fielker noticed a surprising blind spot when it comes to math instruction with shapes: typically students are led to practice sorting and verbally classifying shapes, rather than working with them, building, adding, and taking away. It’s physically working with them, “composing and decomposing shapes, comparing and mentally manipulating two- and three-dimensional figures, and […]
STEM / STEAM: Dr. Doresa Jennings, Steam Chasers
Dr. Doresa Jennings is the author of an exciting book series that has positive role models for dyslexia and underrepresented minorities, and it's an exciting book with humor and amazing facts. From Doresa's successful Kickstarter: "Middle Grade readers (9-12 year...
Women in STEM: Kim Mann
Kim Mann is a software architect, and she might not have found her career path if a 9th grade geometry teacher hadn't decided to allow Kim to solve problems her own way. Up until this point, Kim had always been penalized for using her own ways of solving a problem...
Discoverer of the Titanic – Dyslexic Ocean Explorer Robert Ballard [Premium]
“When I was a child, I wrote a letter to an oceanographic institution in California called Scripps (Scripps Institution of Oceanography UC San Diego). It was a Dear Santa Claus letter. “Dear Scripps, I want to be an oceanographer.” I’m sure I misspelled it, because I’m dyslexic. They gave me a scholarship.” – Robert Ballard When I was seventeen, 56 years ago, I went on my first expedition. We got caught in a storm, hit by a rogue wave, and I thought that was so cool. I was too young to be afraid. I just fell in love with adventure with a purpose, where you go out there and overcome the obstacles that you’re always faced with, and then you find this secret, whether it’s a shipwreck like the Titanic, or […]
Why Are So Many Dyslexic Student Good at Science? [Premium]
Nobel Prize winners, MacArthur Geniuses, Engineers of the Century, SiliconValley pioneers, and more. Why are so many dyslexic people exceptional at science and tech? Here are 5 Reasons (there are many more…):