Twenty Eagle Hill Parents Walked Into a Dining Hall… Here’s What They Learned

The activity seemed simple enough. Turn to the person next to you and hold a conversation for two minutes. Then, as a group, describe the skills that were needed to do it.

What came next yielded surprising insights for Emily Burley, whose eight-year-old son, Merritt, is in his first year at Eagle Hill.

“We had to go back and hold a conversation with our whole table of parents—about ten people—then discuss the skills needed for that,” she recalled. “The exercise highlighted how much harder conversation was! You needed to listen, to wait your turn, and to be focused on what someone else was saying instead of the one thing you wanted to say. And there’s also the back and forth of the group and the topic knowledge needed to take part.”

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Dinner

COMING OUT OF COVID: Balancing parental guidance while fostering independence GREEN TEAM

By Christine Sweeney and Melissa Giglio

Introduction

Using metacognition to develop independence in our students has been an effective way to teach children about taking ownership. Metacognition is a lifelong skill that can be applied across contexts, but not every student acquires an understanding of what works for them, so we teach it explicitly.

Our time living through the pandemic deprived children of learning many skills because they didn’t get the in-person modeling and practice of waiting, sharing, learning, social dynamics, and developing executive function. Learning how to use metacognition at school and home has terrific benefits that will lead to increased levels of independence and confidence.

Skills and Manifestations of Deficits

Knowing the difference between cognition and metacognition is important to our children in order for them to independently navigate their days. Cognition is specific information a student is taught and the strategies that act as tools to help them acquire, remember, and express information.

Metacognition is when students are aware of and reflective on the way they learn, how they are learning, and what works for them. Their ability to ask thinking questions sounds like: Am I ready? How am I doing? What else can I try? These are examples of a child thinking about their own learning and controlling next steps with independence.

We see manifestations of skill deficits in every area of child development when they don’t know how to ask themselves these questions, can’t think ahead, or can’t see different perspectives as they navigate through a day.

EHS & Home support and strategies

We strongly believe that our students will grow exponentially if metacognition is infused into daily activities at home like we do here in school and in the dorm. We encourage you to use and model metacognitive thinking and planning out loud at home like we do here.

If we all use a consistent message and language at home and school, the children will be immersed across learning contexts to increase awareness, motivation, and independence. When children are given support and ownership of their learning, they flourish.

COMING OUT OF COVID: Unmasking social dynamics with children who have language-based learning differences

YELLOW AND BLUE TEAMS

By Lauren Polinsky, Aimee Byrne, Ali Walsh, Jillian Kozel

Introduction

As we slowly return back to “normalcy” after covid, the impact of deficits in the development of social skills from that time are becoming more apparent in our students with language-based learning disabilities. After encouraging students to remain six feet apart and wear masks that made it challenging to read facial expressions, students are now developing these skills at an older age. With students now able to engage in more frequent social interactions, Eagle Hill is partnering with parents to provide the critical growth of these skills.

Skills and Manifestations of deficits

Multiple skills are at play when having a social interaction, including sustaining attention, responding with relevant information, reading nonverbal language, and keeping a regulated body. When any of these skills are impacted, it can lead to inappropriate interactions, withdrawal, or misinterpretation, among other presentations of social challenges.

EHS & Home support and strategies

At EHS, we are able to provide the structure and support of language through direct instruction of these social skills. Students are able to work toward the development of these skills through structured activities during classes and teachable moments with faculty. Families of students are encouraged to help students to practice these skills at home through planning and role playing of upcoming social situations, reflection of social interactions, and a gradual cut back of support as skills develop.

how hard it is for my son to really listen.”

“It really hit home to me,” Burley said. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what if you’re missing even one of those skills?’ Kids have to figure all these things out in order to successfully have conversations. I now have more of an appreciation of how complex conversation is, and how hard it is for my son to really listen.”

Burley’s enlightenment occurred at one of five “Dinner & Discussions” held in February for Eagle Hill parents. Warmed by conversation and camaraderie, the group shared a meal in the campus dining hall and delved into topics presented by faculty members.

Topics on the menu for the evening? The impact of the pandemic on social skills, metacognition, fostering independence, executive functioning, and the impact of technology on students. Perhaps most important: how to support children with language-based learning challenges.

Melanie Kaplan, whose youngest son David attends Eagle Hill in the Upper School, appreciated the explanation about executive functioning and how it can affect kids in the classroom and throughout their lives. “It was an ‘aha moment’ for me in terms of the things I’ve heard David say,” Kaplan said. “I realized it has a lot to do with executive functioning, which develops much later in life.

For children with learning differences, it can impact them much more in terms of their flexibility and how they plan, control impulses, manage emotions, and perceive issues.”

Kaplan proudly talked of David’s progress at Eagle Hill. “Now he knows how to organize and plan his work and the right way to study. He has a framework and the confidence to do things on his own and be independent. He’s caught up with his reading and writing. He’s also getting many more tools at Eagle Hill than I ever imagined possible.”

“My main desire for David is to develop a lifelong love of learning,” Kaplan continued. “And I am just so grateful he has this opportunity at Eagle Hill.”

Dylan Keefer is now in his first year at Eagle Hill. His parents, Annie and Ed, have observed “an unbelievable progression” in his learning.

It wasn’t always that way.

Dylan has faced learning challenges, including dyslexia and dysgraphia, since preschool. The couple steered their son to services in their local schools to get help. But during the pandemic, the hurdles came into sharper focus.