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Useful Resources for Whole Brain Teaching

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Useful Resources for Whole Brain Teaching

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Literature Review Articles
Improving behavior using Whole Brain Teaching

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Typical Causes of Poor Behavior in the Classroom

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Misbehavior in the classroom for many reasons often has deep, underlying causes completely unrelated to the present situation. Conversely, many occurrences of poor behavior appear to correspond directly to immediate circumstances and don't indicate any convoluted string of behavioral triggers. That said, some ...

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First Person

For many "old-school" teachers and parents who grew up in an age of greater conformity and fear-based authority, the culture of our schools is in dire straits because they believe there is not enough discipline. Not enough respect. Too few consequences for students who don't toe the line. The kids are out of control.

In reality, we dole out far more punitive disciplinary measures like suspension than we did 30 years ago, and according to research by Villanova University sociology professor Allison Ann Payne, the number of security guards, cameras, controlled grounds, and other police-like measures have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s.

Yet, as a teacher at various public schools in Kentucky over the past nine years, I've rarely seen these types of control measures have the effect of deterring or preventing repeat behavioral problems. At my high school last year, for example, there were 4,996 discipline referrals written on 911 students (over 75 percent of the student body) and 532 suspensions of 284 students. Clearly repeat offenders are not changing their behavior.

Inside Classroom Management:
Ideas and Solutions

I'm certainly not advocating for a "soft" stance on discipline-truly disruptive or violent behavior must be dealt with strongly. But since it seems like punitive discipline isn't always very effective, shouldn't we consider other options to change behavior and create improved school climates? Does the "policing" mindset in schools align with our goal-or what should be our goal-of keeping all students safe, in classrooms, and learning?

To me, it's obvious that there are some serious flaws with the status quo. I also think there are specific actions we can take to cultivate better school climates and behavior. As teachers, I believe we need to set clear boundaries for students in our classrooms and strengthen techniques for engaging them in learning. At the school level, building administrators must introduce policies and programs that emphasize personal growth and responsibility.

Be Friendly, But Not a Friend

As a young teacher, I was nearly run out of the profession due to a poorly run school, unruly students, and my own massively inadequate classroom-management skills. Looking back, it's clear I had no idea how to establish authority. I remember wanting to be friends with my students. I remember thinking I already had what it took to maintain classroom order. I remember being conned into favors by 14-year-olds, making bargains with students who wanted to be let off the hook for various disruptions.

So this is my first rule of classroom management: You are not your students' friend. Friends help each other out with favors and expect give-and-take. This is not the way things work in the classroom. Do not "friend" students on Facebook or other social-media sites, and do not show favoritism to any single student. Because students are perceptive as to how you react to each and every child in the classroom, they are much less likely to talk back or cause other disruptions if it's clear you are not providing favors or loopholes for any of them. We teachers have all been in situations where some students ask for special treatment, like extra bathroom breaks or letting it slide if they are tardy. You think other students don't notice this? Not a chance! Contrary to the belief of many teachers, most students want an authoritative, caring adult in the classroom, one who has a consistent approach to dealing with all students.

That said, it's important to build constructive relationships with students. Show interest in their music, hobbies, and after-school activities. Students will respond. It can be tough to show patience and flash a smile with certain students-a devious fourth-period student of mine comes to mind-but showing you are a friendly, caring adult will go a long way toward preventing behavioral problems. Many students don't have an adult in their lives who asks questions and acknowledges likes and dislikes, generally showing interest in their thoughts and feelings. As soon as students realize you care about them as people, many of them will instinctively come to your side and not want to disappoint you behaviorally or academically.

Engagement as Prevention

A classroom-management argument I certainly don't buy is that it's the student's job to sit there, be quiet, and learn. In my view, it's the teacher's job to make sure students are engaged. Sure, there is always a student who is going to pop off no matter what I do. I've had students who are bipolar, victims of rape, and malnourished when they enter the classroom, among other conditions I can't control. But I can make the situation better for all of us if I take actions to elicit students' interest and attention. If I sit back and pass out work packets and expect students to comply, I'm putting myself in a tenuous position. Giving students extended periods of time with no expectation of active involvement or teacher feedback will lead to disruptions, guaranteed.

There are several methods I use to encourage students' active involvement in lessons. First of all, I have a set of 3-by-5 note cards with each student's name on a card. I use these for random questioning and classroom-participation prompts. I remember coming to the realization long ago that I had a tendency to call on certain students more frequently than others, or would simply let those whose hands shot up get too much airtime. By choosing a random card, I send a message to the class that everyone's voice is valued, that everyone is expected to contribute, and that everyone should be ready to pipe up at any time.

Another processing activity that can ensure greater engagement-and fewer disciplinary issues-is the use of simple polls, such as asking students for a thumbs up, down, or sideways in response to instruction. For example, I might ask students about their understanding of appositives during a writing exercise. "Quick poll," I'll say. "How well do y'all understand this concept?" I don't move on until I see every student's hand gesture.

Another simple technique I use is to ask a question and have students write their responses on the whiteboard or other assigned places in the room. After everybody has recorded a response, I invite students to come up and examine each other's answers, analyzing them for similarities and differences. This technique is a structured way for students-especially, in my experience, boys-to release pent-up energy by being allowed to get out of their seats, walk around the perimeter of the room, and then briefly lead the discussion. Creating opportunities for movement and involvement like this is often a good way to curb emerging behavioral problems.

For other ideas on engaging students, I highly recommend the book Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner by Pérsida Himmele and William Himmele. It's been a valuable resource for me.

Creating the Right Conditions

Educators also need to continually ask themselves whether an infraction warrants losing class time.

Do you want to write up students who come unprepared to class, lacking a pencil or paper, and pass the problem along to the administration? Do you want to remove students from class for dress-code violations? Or, do you want to create conditions where students are in classrooms, potentially learning, for the maximum amount of time?

Over the four years I've been at my current high school, I've seen the priorities shift. Teachers used to remove students from classes for little things all the time, but now the onus is on us to create more rigorous, engaging instruction, which can prevent the bulk of discipline issues. Our administration has begun shortening faculty meetings in favor of time for professional learning communities and embedded professional development focused on instructional issues, so we're also not expected to suddenly emerge as more effective teachers without the support of our building leaders and colleagues.

Developing Empathy

Thinking more big-picture, I believe that an emphasis on social-emotional learning, including approaches like restorative justice, has great promise for schools. Some high schools in Oakland, Calif.; Chicago; Denver; and other cities are shifting away from more punitive disciplinary systems and experimenting with the restorative justice approach in hopes of preventing or reducing student behavioral issues.

At the heart of the restorative justice process, according to a New York Times article, is relationship building and problem solving: "It encourages young people to come up with meaningful reparations for their wrongdoing while challenging them to develop empathy for one another through 'talking circles' led by facilitators."

Imagining restorative justice becoming more widespread in schools can be tough, since many educators may view the approach as "touchy-feely." Some may say it's not their job to teach these life skills, but rather to focus on content like geometry or English. But how much can a student learn if he or she is constantly embroiled in tumult? Next to nothing, as I see it.

How often are classrooms, especially those full of students lacking social-emotional skills, disrupted due to students engaged in verbal sparring, which then escalates? Too frequently, at least every couple of years, I've had to deal with this type of counterproductive learning environment.

If students improve their social-emotional skills, the small conflicts all kids bring into the classroom can remain just that-small issues, rather than full-blown yelling matches. This is even more important now that spats begun on social-media outlets are streaming into our classrooms. Perhaps these issues could be contained more effectively with a restorative justice-like approach.

We can't control who comes through our classroom doors or what a student's home life is like, but we can shift how we deal with-and prevent-transgressions, both on the classroom and school levels. As the year continues, I know I'll have to deal with student-behavior challenges that I simply can't prevent. There will be students who stroll into Room 137 angry at the world, their parents, classmates, and what was said on Twitter. But sound classroom and school-wide approaches to behavior can go a long way in shaping environments where students feel safe and are engaged and learning at high levels.

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Reducing Student-Behavior Problems: Notes From a High School Teacher

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First Person For many "old-school" teachers and parents who grew up in an age of greater conformity and fear-based authority, the culture of our schools is in dire straits because they believe there is not enough discipline. Not enough respect. Too few consequences for students who don't toe the line.

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Behavior issues that interfere with teaching and learning have notably worsened, according to an astonishing 62 percent of teachers who have been teaching in the same school for five or more years. The results were reported in Primary Sources: America's Teachers on the Teaching Profession. The report, recently released by Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, shows that the increased level of behavior problems has been seen across grade levels: 68 percent of elementary teachers, 64 percent of middle school teachers, and 53 percent of high school teachers say the same.

The problem affects the whole classroom. Behavior problems distract other students from learning and require teachers to spend precious instruction time on discipline and behavior management. Over half of teachers wish they could spend fewer school day minutes on discipline.

One elementary educator defined the problem this way: "The time it takes to referee fights and solve bullying issues takes away from academic instruction and keeps students from achieving as much as they could."

Concern about behavior issues was not limited to any particular demographic group. While teachers who worked in schools in low-income areas reported concerns about behavioral issues at a higher rate (65%), teachers who worked in high-income areas were not far behind. In high-income areas, 56 percent of teachers reported more behavioral issues that interfere with teaching and learning.

Teachers are committed to helping all their students succeed, including those with behavioral issues. They say, however, that they need help. Overall, 64 percent of teachers say that they need more professional development and training to meet the needs of students with behavioral issues, while 72 percent need more tangible school resources. 'We have no resources available," reported one middle school teacher. "No school counselors or social workers. A great deal of my time is spent trying to create an environment where students feel safe."

Primary Sources surveyed 10,000 educators from all 50 states to learn first-hand how teachers perceive their classrooms, their profession, and the future of education.

To read a summary of the Primary Sources: 2012 findings or to download the full report, visit the Primary Sources website.
Teachers: Have you seen behavior issues increasing in your classroom or school? Do you need more professional development or school resources to help? What kind? Join the conversation and take the poll at Scholastic Teachers on Facebook!

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Classroom Behavior Problems Increasing, Teachers Say | Scholastic

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Behavior issues that interfere with teaching and learning have notably worsened, according to an astonishing 62 percent of teachers who have been teaching in the same school for five or more years. The results were reported in Primary Sources: America's Teachers on the Teaching Profession.

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Additional key findings highlighted teachers' belief in positive approaches that emphasize social and emotional learning over punitive discipline:

Most teachers feel that educators can address even major threats to safety, such as gangs, fights, and student conflict, only by building positive relationships within the school.

Less than 45 percent of teachers said that suspensions are effective, while 80 percent said that classroom-management training, conflict resolution, guidance counseling, and mediation are effective for improving discipline.

But how do busy and often undersupported teachers go about building strong relationships with students and developing positive methods of conflict resolution? In the interest of igniting a dialog about what works in classroom management, we've gathered the following discipline tips from educators.

As with any series of principles for a complex topic, though, this is only a starting point. The end point, to the degree it can be reached at all, lies in your classrooms. We know that even strategies that work don't work all the time, and sometimes it feels like nothing works at all.

So now we want to hear from you. Let us know what you've tried that's worked, and when and how; what you've learned; and what you're still learning. Together, we can build a vision for a peaceful and effective 21st-century classroom.

Here are some tips for starters:

Agree on Classroom Rules at the Beginning of the Year

Taking time out for this simple step can prevent a lot of misery in the long term. Experienced educators suggest engaging students actively in the process of determining a set of class rules. Taking this preventative measure creates a positive climate from the start.

Check in with Students at the Start of Class

Even three minutes can make a difference. You can do this by asking questions, such as, "What do you want to get out of class today?" Teachers can weigh in with their goals for class, too.

"This is a chance for the teacher, while still maintaining control of a classroom, to share with students at their level," says Liz Sullivan, coauthor of the "Teachers Talk" report and education program director at the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative. "Have each kid give a short answer. It's a way to communicate with them. Making them feel like a part of the process sets a positive tone."

Be Consistent About Expectations

This can be the biggest challenge for individuals to address, but it's important to keep in mind that school staff should work together as much as possible to foster consistency in expectations, and discipline methods, throughout the school.

"Sometimes, staff inadvertently set up gaps," explains Nancy Franklin, a veteran educator with more than a decade of classroom experience who now provides training and support for the Los Angeles Unified School District's Positive Behavior Support policy. "Students may think, 'If I go to this teacher, I get this answer, but if I go to the principal, I get another answer.' It's like a kid who gets different answers from Mom and Dad."

Reinforce Appropriate Behavior

"When you are in a classroom with a teacher who reinforces positive behavior, kids calm down," says Franklin. "Think four positives to any corrective feedback."

Franklin argues that correcting students is the weakest way of teaching rules. "It's not about 'Gotcha -- you did it the wrong way; here's the right way,'" she says. "Students need to be able to trust you and feel safe. That enables them to experience emotional health and flourish."

Maintain Student Dignity

When corrections are necessary, experts suggest handling situations quietly and calmly. Don't make a big deal in front of the whole class.

"An approach to discipline that is respectful of human rights and maintains student dignity leads to a school that is inherently safe," says former teacher Sally Lee, coauthor of "Teachers Talk" and executive director of the New York City organization Teachers Unite. "A school in which students and teachers don't feel safe creates a fearful environment. And where there is a fearful environment, there are low expectations for discipline."

Be Neutral, Not Accusatory

When problems arise, don't ask, for example, ""Why did you take Sally's pencil?" This apporach often provokes defensive comebacks such as, "She was mean to me." Instead, ask what happened, opening the way for students to tell their story. Follow up with questions such as "How do you think that made Sally feel?"

Look for the Cause

It's a good idea to notice when students act out, educators advise. Does it happen only when the child is doing math or reading? Identifying when problems occur may help you recognize the reason.

Similarly, it's helpful to figure out what the underlying problem is. "If it's a skill deficit, a kid doesn't know how to behave," says Joseph Ryan, a special education researcher at Clemson University who has worked in schools for disabled children. "If it's a performance deficit, the kid knows what to do but needs motivation."

Establish a Fairness Committee

"Often, a person who is acting out wants to make amends for what they've done," says Josh Heisler, a teacher at New York City's Vanguard High School. "They won't feel right until they fix the problem."

Heisler's school set up a fairness committee of teachers and students that promotes a restorative approach, rather than a punitive one, to righting wrongs: Instead of directing offenders to the principal's office or threatening suspensions, teachers let them tell their side of the story to the committee and, hopefully, make amends. When the committee convenes, it asks students questions ranging from "What happened?" and "Who else has been affected?" to "What do you need to do now to repair the harm?"

Share Your Experience

What would you add to this list? Do you have specific examples of how you've achieved these goals -- or others? We want to know.

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How to Develop Positive Classroom Management | Edutopia

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A recent report found that educators believe that the secret to effective discipline is proactively building relationships, not reacting punitively to student misbehavior. But how do busy and often undersupported teachers go about building strong relationships with students and developing positive methods of conflict resolution?

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The National Education Association (NEA) is more than 3 million people-educators, students, activists, workers, parents, neighbors, friends-who believe in opportunity for all students and in the power of public education to transform lives and create a more just and inclusive society.

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This study done by Jessie Fishel (2011), discusses the importance of engagement through active learning.  This study compares the differences and results of active and passive learning.

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Dear readers, This year, the topic of my research project was prompted by two youtube videos I stumbled upon in August. As I was setting things up for this classroom, I was youtubing videos...

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Whole Brain Teaching in the Philippines

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Great article on Kinesthetic teaching through the use of creative movement.

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First Person

I specialize in kinesthetic teaching, the use of creative movement in the classroom to teach across the curriculum. My techniques, in which I have trained hundreds of classroom teachers, release students from a passive learning posture—glued to their seats, dissociated, with decreased oxygen in their brains—and engage them physically and creatively with what they are learning. Simply by getting students out of their seats, we encourage new levels of self-discovery and self-expression. And by letting students experience the curriculum through their bodies, we help them make deeper emotional, interpersonal, and kinesthetic connections to academic subjects.

According to Harvard Medical School's Professor John Ratey, in a 2008 Education Week article, physical exercise "puts the brain of the learners in the optimal position for them to learn." My methods build upon this observation by bringing physical movement into the classroom and connecting it directly to the content of the curriculum. Imagine, for example, students sitting at a desk and listening to a teacher expound on a topic with a certain amount of dialogue, questions, and answers. Think about how much brain activity is being generated. Now imagine those students working with their classmates: figuring out how to show the causes of the American Revolution through whole body shapes; climbing into the skin of a literary character or improvising a creative-movement response to a plot element; enacting a journey through the water cycle; or arranging themselves as solid, liquid, and gas molecules to demonstrate density.

Such experiential learning can apply to math, science, history, literature, punctuation, grammar, and a range of other curricular subjects. By creating a rich contextual environment, kinesthetic learning constructs memories connected to time, place, and emotions, which we call episodic encoding. Students activate and integrate physical, emotional, and cognitive responses to what they are learning, making learning more meaningful. As neurophysiologist Carla Hannaford says in her book, Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not All in Your Head, "Movement anchors thought."

A Lifeline to Students

Often, children who have trouble reading or remembering information can increase self-confidence by learning through the body. It's not unusual for a class hierarchy to get reshuffled in the course of kinesthetic lessons, allowing such children to shine, which can have immediate carryover into other classroom activities. Success in the realm of creative movement grounds their understanding, so that communicating with words becomes less challenging. One teacher from Hudson, N.Y., described two boys who never raised their hands in class. During energetic sessions, they:

... smile, stay glued to the story, and interpret the character's feelings and actions with grace and creativity. They even volunteer to verbally respond to questions about the story. I think it is because they feel so grounded in their physical experience of listening through their bodies that they have a new confidence.

By teaching through the universal language of movement, we can offer a chance for real success to children who may be caught in a spiral of academic failure. At the very least, kinesthetic teaching throws a lifeline to kinesthetic learners, who often can't sit still and are seen as disruptive or learning disabled. Allowing these students to become leaders can strengthen the learning community of the whole class.

By working together creatively—constructing a tableau (a group body sculpture) or a piece of choreography, for example—students acquire many skills they will need to be successful adults. They learn about communication and teamwork, giving and taking, leading and following, taking risks, being accountable, and giving and receiving affirmation. They learn about their individual responsibility for a successful group effort, and the role the group must play in supporting the needs of individuals. This also helps build a genuine learning community, as students become invested in the process and the product. In short, people who create and perform together simply feel a stronger bond than individuals who sit in separate seats facing a teacher.

In a traditional classroom, when a teacher asks a question, "Who can tell me ... ?" usually four or five hands go up. The teacher will call on one student, and perhaps on another few to see if their answers agree with the first, but the teacher will have no way of knowing what is going on in the heads of the other 20 students.

The kinesthetic teacher has a different approach. "Show me ... " Twenty-five students are being asked to respond physically to the question: Show me what comes first, the comma or the closed quotation mark. Show me if this is a series or parallel circuit. Show me an animal that lives in the rainforest; show me how the character feels just before the story's climax. Immediately, all of the students respond, and their learning is made visible. They have to think about what they are going to do, and literally take a stand. If they want to change their answer, they don't have to erase anything, they just change their pose. Rather than calling attention to the "mistake," the focus is on the "re-take," which lessens the fear of failure that is so prevalent among students today—and teachers can give immediate feedback to students (formative assessment) rather than waiting for a weekly or unit test.

For the sake of awakening and engaging our students in today's stressful, high-stakes academic climate, teachers can find new inspiration by embracing kinesthetic teaching. They need not be dancers or even comfortable with their bodies in order to use kinesthetic techniques effectively; they need only learn how to recognize the links between curriculum and creative movement, and then ask their students to embody learning.

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The Power of Movement in Teaching and Learning

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First Person I specialize in kinesthetic teaching, the use of creative movement in the classroom to teach across the curriculum. My techniques, in which I have trained hundreds of classroom teachers, release students from a passive learning posture-glued to their seats, dissociated, with decreased oxygen in their brains-and engage them physically and creatively with what they are learning.

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The study of Neuroscience and how it effects teaching

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Even though I was a physician with a strong science background, when I decided to become a classroom teacher (and thought I'd teach science), I did not want to make that career change without the benefit of instruction and guided student teaching. The year I spent in my graduate school of education program was invaluable in my transition to becoming a professional educator.

Curriculum in schools of education has changed in response to changes in society, pedagogy and technology. As computer technology became an asset in classrooms, schools of education appropriately included that instruction in the curriculum. Many states made similar education program curriculum adaptations in response to multiculturism, increases in English language learners, and the use of the concrete-connect-abstract progression in math instruction.

Now that the neuroscience research implications for teaching are also an invaluable classroom asset, it is time for instruction in the neuroscience of learning to be included as well in professional teacher education.

Neuroscience Knowledge Strengthens the Lifeline

For today's students, educators are the lifeline they need to climb for access to the playing fields of 21st century opportunity, open only to those who acquire the necessary skillsets. Teachers who are prepared with knowledge of the workings of the brain will have the optimism, incentive and motivation to follow the ongoing research, and to apply their findings to the classroom. These teachers can help all children build their brain potential -- regardless of past performance -- bridge the achievement gap, and reach their highest 21st century potential starting now.

One example is the research about the brain's neuroplasticity and the opportunities we have as educators to help students literally change their brains -- and intelligence. To become a teacher without understanding the implications of brain-changing neuroplasticity is a great loss to teachers and their future students.

Beyond understanding the brain's neuroplastic response to stimulation -- how activation and use of memory networks makes them stronger -- future teachers need to recognize how stress inhibits neuroplasticity. It is only when information is processed in the brain's reflective, cognitive prefrontal cortex that new learning can be incorporated into networks of long-term, conceptual memory.

Seeing neuroimaging scans of students during stress states, such as those that build up with sustained or frequent boredom (information already mastered; no evident relevance) or frustration (repeated past failures in subject), offer powerful insights into the importance of classroom climate and differentiation of instruction. These scans reveal the increased metabolic state that blocks processing in the highest brain (prefrontal cortex; PFC) when this boredom or frustration alienates students from instruction. The amygdala is the switching station that, when hyperactive in response to high stress, switches input and output away from the PFC and down to the control of the lower, reactive brain. Behavior reactive responses from the lower brain are the involuntary survival responses of fight/flight/freeze (act out/zone out).

What Triggers Student Behavior

As students' stressors build, loss of information access to the PFC for memory construction means new learning is not retained. The lost communication from the PFC emotional control networks to the lower brain means the lower brain's reactive behaviors are in control. These students and uninformed teachers come to believe that nothing better can be expected. Students develop the fixed mindset in which the brain's primitive survival networks restrict effort toward goals that, by experience, are not expected to be reached.

Teachers who understand this neurological consequence of the brain's programmed response to stress can change the educational and life outcomes for students who have been blamed and punished for unintentional acting out or zoning out. When teachers know about the brain's reactions to the stressors that promote the low brain control state of involuntary, reactive behavior, they become more aware of how much they can influence students' successful brain processing. When they understand that the brain responses in the high-stress state are neither voluntary student choices nor reflective of a student's academic potential, knowledgeable teachers recognize that their interventions can reduce stress, return students' voluntary control of their behavior, and promote successful memory construction and cognitive processing in the PFC.

When new teachers understand how they have the capacity to reduce the stress of frustration or boredom by providing all students with opportunities to learn at their appropriate level of achievable challenge, their motivation will increase with the expectation of success. As we know, it does take dedication, motivation and lots of time to achieve the often onerous task of differentiation for all students. The background knowledge of neuroscience provides that extra motivation.

Bringing Neuroscience into Education

There are no more critical life supports than passionate, informed teachers who can resuscitate students' joyful learning. When educators learn about how the brain appears to process, recognize, remember and transfer information at the level of neural circuits, synapses and neurotransmitters, and when they share that knowledge with students, they share empowerment with their students. Informed teachers help students understand their ability to change their brains and experience success and renewed confidence. Students thrive in classrooms where teachers have the added tools from their neuroscience understanding. The result is nothing less than reigniting the joys of learning, even when they have been extinguished for years.

The most valuable assets for improving education won't be developed in a neuroimaging laboratory. It will be educators, with the foundational knowledge about the science of learning, who will be prepared to evaluate the validity and potential educational correlations from neuroscience research. These teachers will be the front line professionals who will recognize potential applications of laboratory research and develop the strategies that bring the benefits of this research to their students.

Frontloading is More Critical Than Ever

If you've read this far, you have probably developed your foundation of the neuroscience of learning knowledge through professional development, reading or professional learning communities in your schools. Sadly, those opportunities are increasingly limited for new teachers.

With decreased funds for substitute coverage, professional development conferences, consultants and prep time, it is becoming more difficult for teachers to access new topics of expertise after leaving schools of education. There is also the problem of integrating new learning into the classroom without guidance and feedback. The time for future teachers to build the foundations of neuroscience knowledge is during their studies and supervised teaching experiences while they are in schools of education.

The future developments in neuroscience, with the most extensive and useful classroom applications, will likely arise from input that educators provide to scientists. When experience reveals particular strategies as repeatedly successful, classroom-to-research lab channels will be open for teachers to suggest investigations into what is happening in the brain in response to those conditions. Through this collaboration, their observations about what works for their students will feed neuroscience research. As the data is analyzed, replicated, applied and adapted, and as strategies become even more effective, what started as a teacher's observations will be disseminated to benefit students worldwide. After all, isn't sharing what we teachers do so well?

References

Eisenhart, M., & DeHaan, R.L. (2005). Doctoral preparation of scientifically based educational researchers. Educational Researcher, 34(4): 3-13.

NCATE report recommended instruction in developmental and cognitive psychology and neuroscience in teacher education as having beneficial effects on teachers and students.

Links to additional information about the neuroscience of learning

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A Neurologist Makes the Case for Teaching Teachers About the Brain | Edutopia

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Even though I was a physician with a strong science background, when I decided to become a classroom teacher (and thought I'd teach science), I did not want to make that career change without the benefit of instruction and guided student teaching.

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Whole Brain Teaching Effects self-concept

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Whole Brain Teaching/Brain Based Research

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Find and save recipes, parenting hacks, style inspiration and other ideas to try.

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The author discusses the importance of limiting the amount of lecture time to one minute to accommodate the attention span for young learners

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RACINE - When Heidi Treffert begins a lesson to her first-grade class at Goodland Elementary School, 4800 Graceland Blvd., she gives herself no more than a minute to talk.

Explaining the concept with hand gestures for certain words that students repeat, she ends the introduction with a clap and says "teach," to which the students unanimously respond "OK." They turn to each other in pairs and begin repeating the concept back to their partner using the same gestures.

"The longer you speak, the more students you lose," Treffert said after a lesson.

She was citing a key tenet of "whole brain teaching," a teaching methodology she has been implementing in her classroom over the course the past year, especially during the last semester.

During that time, she said that her students have been better behaved, more engaged in class and covering material much more quickly than before.

"We've gotten a lot farther this year than I got by the end of the year last year, and it's only Christmas," Heffert said of her class' progress. "That's why I believe in it so much, and I just want to keep learning more about it and show people about it, because this class to me just looks so amazing; they're always on, they're always into it."

Staying actively engaged

The crux of the method is that children remember concepts more effectively when they are actively engaging in the material - not when they are sitting and passively listening to a lecture.

To facilitate fuller student engagement, the method uses hand gestures that denote certain concepts, Heffert explained. In reading lessons, these hand gestures can signify punctuation, like commas or periods, or terms, such as "and," "because" or "if ... then ..."

After repeating the concept as a class, the students then turn to each other and "teach" or practice in pairs. Heffert said she typically pairs a stronger student with a struggling peer. Then, some students apply the lesson in front of the class and briefly re-teach the concept to the entire class.

"Those kids are only 7 or 8 years old and all of them can teach each other the concepts, so that's pretty amazing," said Jeremy Benishek, professional development supervisor at Goodland.

Benishek started at Goodland last summer as part of the extra resources invested in the school when it was designated as a "priority school" by the state on account of low student performance.

Explaining that objectives are posted in each classroom to remind students of their goals, Benishek noted that students in other classrooms often cannot remember these objectives when asked, but Treffert's students can.

"Anybody in that class can teach anybody else what they're learning and they can refer to the objectives that are posted in the back of the room," he said.

Impressive progress

Heffert began using whole brain teaching at the start of second semester last year, the middle of her second year as a teacher and at Goodland. She primarily began using the "classroom management" portion as a way to handle poor behavior and brash disobedience among students.

Within a couple months, she said students who had been walking out of the room during class were willingly coming back into class and participating.

In September, she decided to use whole brain teaching in her classroom even more and has found that her students are covering far more material than last year. She pointed in particular to how she had planned for the students to be able to articulate a five-sentence paragraph by the end of the school year, but they did it by October.

"They're getting the commas, they're getting the punctuation, the capital letters," she said. "I've been really impressed with how it's been working in here this year."

Still working to improve her use of whole brain teaching in the classroom, she attended a conference on whole brain teaching over the summer and interned with another teacher more experienced with the method.

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Teacher uses 'whole brain teaching' method to engage

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RACINE - When Heidi Treffert begins a lesson to her first-grade class at Goodland Elementary School, 4800 Graceland Blvd., she gives herself no more than a minute to talk. Explaining the concept with hand gestures for certain words that students repeat, she ends the introduction with a clap and says "teach," to which the students unanimously respond "OK."

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I can articulate the research behind the techniques in Whole Brain Teaching and state why these techniques, according to research, work in the classroom. What's my goal??? Technique: Teach-Okay! Technique: Switch Why does Whole Brain Teaching work? Technique: Class-Yes! The primary attention-getter activates the prefrontal cortex, often called the CEO of the brain. The prefrontal cortex controls, among other functions, decision making, planning and focus of attention. Little, if any, learning can take place if the prefrontal cortex is not engaged. Brain and learning research indicates that students learn the most when they are engaged in teaching each other. By emphasizing energetic, instructional gesturing, we engage, during teach-okay sessions, five of students' most powerful brain areas: visual cortex (seeing gestures), motor cortex (making gestures), Broca's area (verbalizing a lesson), Wernicke's area (hearing a lesson), and the limbic system (giving emotional content to a lesson).

Additionally, learning research indicates that teachers, as a general rule, TALK TOO LONG! The longer we talk, the more students we lose.

Short term memory for most people is limited to 3 to 7 items. As new information is added to short term memory, recently acquired information is dropped. You can only fill the cup so full and then it overflows. Your students have small cups! What we do in Whole Brain Teaching is talk in shorter chunks- thirty seconds to one minute. We focus our lessons into groups of two, three or at most four points. We are teaching to short term memory, a small cup, which quickly fills. Teaching for shorter periods of time and presenting fewer points, takes some practice ... but it is easier than it seems. Some students talk easily, often too easily! Other students fall into the role of passive listeners. In terms of brain structure, classes are often divided between those who are Brocaians (speakers) and Wernikites (listeners). By using Switch, an instructor can easily teach listening skills to the speakers and speaking skills to the listeners. Technique: Hands and Eyes When we are making an important point, we want students to focus intensely on what we are saying. In the hands of a practiced WBT instructor, Hands and Eyes creates instant silence, eliminating all learning distractions. The prefrontal cortex takes control of brain activity focusing the visual cortex and the auditory cortex on the lesson at hand. Whenever you want your students to pay close attention to an important point, say, "Hands and eyes!" Your students respond, "hands and eyes!," fold their hands and stare at you intensely. When I say 'Class!' and the students say 'Yes!' They have to say it the way I said it. If I say 'Classity-class-class!' they have to say 'Yessity-yes-yes!'. If I say it loudly, they have to respond loudly. If I whisper, they respond in a whisper. They have to match my tone and intensity. You want students to do a large amount of the teaching. Present a small amount of information, complete with gestures. When you finish, look at the class and clap two times, say "Teach!" Your students clap twice and respond "OK!" When you are using Teach-Okay you'll notice that you have some students who are chronic talkers and some are chronic listeners. We want the talkers to learn to listen and the listeners to come out of their shells and talk! This is where the Switch command comes in handy. Technique: Mirror As students imitate your motions, their motor cortex, the brain's most reliable memory area, is automatically engaged. Use mirror when telling a story, giving directions, describing the steps in a procedure, demonstrating a process ... anytime you want your class locked in to what you are saying. Mirror is one of WBT's simplest and most powerful techniques. You say "mirror" and your students respond "mirror." They then pick up their hands ready to mimic your gestures. Research Studies San Jacinto, CA
98% Free and Reduce Lunch
80% Hispanic
12% increase in reading achievement in 3 months as compared to non-Whole Brain Teaching settings Detroit, Michigan
50% decrease in negative student behavior between pre-observation to post-observation More research available on the Whole Brain Teaching website

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I can articulate the research behind the techniques in Whole Brain Teaching and state why these techniques, according to research, work in the classroom. What's my goal??? Technique: Teach-Okay! Technique: Switch Why does Whole Brain Teaching work? Technique: Class-Yes! The primary attention-getter activates the prefrontal cortex, often called the CEO of the brain.

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Whole Brain Teaching Improves The Health Of The Brain, And One's Ability To Learn | fpea.com

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Many home educators now understand that each person prefers different learning (and teaching) styles. However learning styles are not written in stone. One can actually strengthen the less dominant learning (and teaching) styles. Why is this important?

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The main focus is on the techniques used to exercise the five parts of the brain that are important for learning.

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The class yes, the teach OK and the scoreboard

In an article which I wrote for ajarn.com I introduced a wonderful system of teaching called "Whole Brain Teaching" (WBT) in which I outlined the fundamental techniques it uses. For those of you who have not read the article, WBT is a pedagogical approach which is based on current research into brain activity and how we learn. Not specific but very applicable to EFL , WBT uses techniques which activate both hemispheres of the brain - thus it is a "Whole Brain" approach.

Traditionally education has focused on right brain activity - the reasoning, rational part of the brain. WBT techniques seek to make connections between this rational part of the brain and the left side of the brain which is concerned with creative activity . It is being proven more and more that an approach which integrates these two different activities of the brain leads to far more effective teaching. We will today look at three of the most basic techniques involved in WBT: "THE CLASS-YES", "THE TEACH-OK", and "THE SCOREBOARD". These are three amazingly simple techniques you can quickly learn and immediately use to greatly improve your effectiveness as a teacher.

What makes them especially useful in ESL classes is it gets the students talking in English , which is often problematic, especially here in Thailand. It is not necessary to implement all of the WBT techniques at once. You can choose to use just a few techniques,. I have however found the more techniques you use the better you and your students' performance will be.

It is important to note that of course when introducing a new technique to class that they understand what is expected of them. In addition you have to practice the procedures with them and get them to the point where they can do what you tell them on command. It doesn't take too long. . Depending on your level of Thai you may at times need somebody to explain to the class in Thai what it is they are required to do. The directions are basically like rules to a game. WBT is very big on rules and has easy ways to get students to comply with them.

TECHNIQUE ONE: THE "CLASS-YES" - "PLUG" YOUR BRAIN INTO THE BRAINS OF YOUR STUDENTS.

The prefrontal cortex is nicknamed the "CEO" by scientists who do research into the human brain . It controls decision making, planning and is also responsible for the focusing of attention. The "CLASS-YES' works like this: The teacher makes a decision to get the class's attention. To do this the teacher is activating his/her prefrontal cortex by using the decision making function of that part of the brain. The teacher then says "CLASS" and the students respond by saying "YES" in unison. The students must say "YES" in the same tone of voice and in the same way that the teacher says "CLASS" - this is crucial.

So if the teacher says "CLASS CLASS' in a high whiny tone the students respond "YES YES" in a high whiny tone. The students, by mimicking the tone of the teachers voice, have now activated their own prefrontal cortexes by using its focusing mechanism. In a very literal sense the teacher's brain is now "plugged into" the students' brain. The "CEO" of teacher's brain, exercising its decision making capacity, now has the attention of and is ready to instruct the "CEO" of the students' brains, which are utilizing its focusing mechanism.

It is fundamentally the same type of relationship that would exist, at that moment, between the CEO of Pepsico and the CEO of KFC. (Pepsi owns KFC and I assume KFC takes direction form the parent company). The technique can be understood as a brain switch which readies the students for instruction. In Whole Brain teaching classrooms it is used whenever the teacher needs the class's attention, which is of course quite often. This technique, like almost all WBT techniques,can be used from kindergarten to university and with adult classes. With children in addition to being a "brain preper" for instruction it an indispensable tool for classroom management.

TECHNIQUE TWO: THE "TEACH- OK" - TEACHING ISN'T JUST FOR TEACHERS

Some of us may have come to Thailand just a bit unclear on the differences between the Present Perfect and Past Simple tenses, or between First and Third Conditional. I know I did. I also know that I could now tell you about fundamental English grammar in my sleep and I am sure, at least hope, that everyone reading this who has taught English for a few years can as well.

How did you learn this grammar so thoroughly? . You did it by teaching. This is the main idea behind the next crucial technique of WBT- the "TEACH-OK". Research has shown, not surprisingly really, that students learn best when actively engaged in the teaching process. When students , using energetic gesturing, reteach to their partner what the teacher has just taught them they are activating five parts of the brain important to learning : the visual cortex (seeing gestures), motor cortex (making gestures), Broca's area (verbalizing), Wernickes area (hearing) and the limbic system (giving emotional content). I will number the steps of the ""TEACH OK" to hopefully make it easier to understand and use.

STEP ONE - Divide your classes into pairs. You will want to group weaker students with stronger ones. I think two is the ideal number but if you have an odd number of students you will have to have at least one group of three. In this case put the best student in the class with the two who need the most help and ask the best student to take special care of the group. I have found that at first you may need several groups of three students if stronger students are hard to come by. However as time passes and you continue to implement WBT, you will see a more uniform level in your students ability. This is due to the fact you will be getting almost 100 per cent participation and the students lagging behind will begin to catch up with the others.

STEP TWO - Micro teach with gestures. This means giving one small bit of information that the students will reteach to each other. It requires the teacher to be animated and use gestures as he or she teaches. As an example, if we were teaching the Present Perfect, the teacher would begin the process by introducing a very small bit of information such as "We form the present perfect with have or has." After the students have learned this small bit of information you build on this idea. The following TEACH-OK segment would be " We form the present perfect with have or has and verb three."

We continue building so on and so forth until all the rules of present perfect have been taught or at least all the rules that we wish to cover . If this were a very advanced class the final installment of our look at the present perfect would finally build to up to the studetns teaching each other in pairs something like" The present perfect is formed with have or has plus verb three. It is used for both unfinished actions from a specific time in the past which are continuing into the present and with finished actions that have a relevance to present circumstances. Although it is used exclusively with already, just and yet in British English, these words can be be used correctly with both the Present Perfect and the Simple Past in American English." I have used an extreme example here of a final "TEACH OK" mini lesson on the Present Perfect to make my point that we build to whatever level the dictates of the course demand, as opposed to giving a lot of information at once.

STEP THREE - To recap steps one and two-we have divided the class into pairs and presented a small bit of information . Now it is time for the teacher to say TEACH! and his/her hands clap hands and have the students respond in the same tone of voice with the same number of claps with an OK! They then work with their partner taking turns reteaching what was just presented. the students are expected to use gestures as they teach each other.

STEP FOUR - The teacher monitors the groups as the students teach each other.

STEP FIVE - The teacher brings the "TEACH-OK" to a close with a "CLASS-YES"

STEP SIX - The teacher then continues with another bit of information building on the previous bit of information, or if it is time, change activities.

Two other valuable tools which are often used during the presentation of a micro bit of information are the "HANDS AND EYES" and "MIRRORING." These are related but separate techniques that will be elaborated on at a later date that augment the effectiveness of the presentation of information. If you just cant wait for the next blog visit www.powerteacher.net for an immediate explanation.

I have not found a lot of information about EFL and WBT, although it is certainly being used for teaching foreign languages. In my past training I found an emphasis on getting students to use the language creatively. I have certainly done this in the context of WBT. Since I work with phratom students now the steps to creativity are very small but they are creative nonetheless.

For example during the presentation of information I may want the kids to practice using the question word "where." I may drill the class as a whole by asking students a question like "Where is the dog?" trying to get them to think of places a dog might be. Often times kids will come up with something really silly like "The dog is on the sun." I love this kind of response. It shows they have used the language creatively. In fact a kid told me when asked once "The dog is on the sun." I quickly joked back with the question "Is he a hot dog?" and pretty much everybody got the joke.

That really shows that language acquisition was taking place with a group of phratom two students. Think about the implications of that- Phratom two students involved in the creation of and appreaciating a double entendre. Thats the power of Whole Brain Teaching at work. After the good laugh about the" hot dog on the sun" the kids were coming up with wacky places the dog was. During their " TEACH OK"segment of "Where is the dog?" they seemed to be trying to outdo their partner with the craziest place a dog could be. This is proof of being able to use the language creatively which means real learning is taking place.

TECHNIQUE THREE: "THE SCOREBOARD" - KEEP THE TEACHER HAPPY AND EVERYTHING IS SABAI.

The scoreboard is a central feature of the Whole Brain Teacher' s classroom. It is an integral part of class management when working with younger students and is critical in keeping older students focused. It basically operates on good ole positive and negative reinforcement. It is simple to understand and use.

STEP ONE - On one side of the whiteboard draw a "Smiley face" next to a "Happy face."

STEP TWO - Draw a line between the two faces creating a column under each face.

STEP THREE - When students are paying attention, and paricipating with gestures and you are happy with the way things are going put a check in the Smiley face column and have them cheer your approval by saying an enthusiastic "OH YEA" in unison (known as 'the "MIGHTY OH YEA").

STEP FOUR - When student performance/behavior is not up to par put a check under the the Frowny face and have the students moan a a collective "OH NO" while wiping away an imaginary tear.

STEP FIVE - At the end of class add up the checks under the respective faces. More checks in the Happy face column means the class has earned some kind of reward (I usually use less homework as a reward) More checks under the frown face means a negative reinforcement (for me more homework).

IMPORTANT NOTE! Do not have a total of more than three checks in in the Frowny face column in excess of the number in the Smiley face otherwise the "SCOREBOARD" loses effectiveness. Students become resentful and lose interest in the "game."

The "SCOREBOARD" works on the limbic system which is the part of the brain that controls emotional response. It is a powerful tool to keep order and keep things focused. In follow up blogs I will discuss "THE FIVE CLASSROOM RULES" which for the most part are used for class management issues with kids. The rules obviously relate closely to the "SCOREBOARD". Remember though the "SCOREBOARD" is also used with older students to keep focus.

If I were teaching up university anywhere in the world I would have no qualms about using the "SCOREBOARD" as a fun way to give the class feedback about how well they were performing . That being said I would feel a little foolish walking into a corporate training class anywhere but sanook loving Thailand and drawing a Smiley face and Happy face on a whiteboard in front of a group of business executives and telling them to give me a "MIGHTY OH NO".

I have taught all kinds of classes here in Thailand as well as a lot of corporate classes . Although I have not had the opportunity to use WBT in a corporate situation, my guess is all Thai students would play along with "THE SCOREBOARD." Having been witness to a teacher leading a group of bank managers in a game of "Simon Says" I gotta figure you are on safe ground with "THE SCOREBOARD" in any class in Siam. (Simon says touch your butt hahahahah....true story).

These are the three most important techniques in WBT. Just these three simple things can greatly enhance your students learning as well as making your job a helluva lot easier and more enjoyable. There is a lot more to WBT but this can get you started.

Finally I want to underscore that these techniques are flexible and can be used in harmony with your own style and class goals/level. That is unless sadly you have an "I don;'t really give a damn" attitude. I think it is more easily adapted to animated lively styles of teaching but I personally think there is room for those of a more phlegmatic nature, however gestures must be used.

You look at professional athletes, say in a sport like golf or tennis, you will see that the pros are all pretty much adhering to the same set of fundamentals to swinging a club or racket. In spite of this commonality each player has his own unique swing. In the same way each teacher will have his own style in which he can adapt a given pedagogical approach to be the most effective teacher he or she can be.

It is my stalwart conviction that Whole Brain Teaching (or in our case here in Thailand "Ajarning"...lol..) is by far the most effective approach to accomplish this goal. Give WBT a try, you'll love it and so will your students. Again to find out more about WBT visit the powerteachers website

Happy teaching!

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Three basic techniques in whole brain teaching

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In an article which I wrote for ajarn.com I introduced a wonderful system of teaching called "Whole Brain Teaching" (WBT) in which I outlined the fundamental techniques it uses. For those of you who have not read the article, WBT is a pedagogical approach which is based on current research into brain activity and how we learn.

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I {LOVE} Whole Brain teaching and use it ALL the time.

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WBT- Worlds most popular instructional system

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WBT- Worlds most popular instructional system

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Whole Brain Teaching - The fastest growing education reform movement in the world!

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Legal Notice: All materials on WholeBrainTeaching.com are copyright protected. This includes, but is not limited to, our ebooks, onsite information, and videos. Our methods and materials may be used by individual teachers in their classroom but may not be used in training of teachers or administrators.

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Authors Maria Szott and Megan Molitoris offer two separate scenarios where WBT is being used in a 6th grade classroom and a 3rd and 4th grade multi-age classroom.

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Research on the brain and how we think and act is influencing the way some teachers teach. Special correspondent John Tulenko of Learning Matters goes into a classroom where the instructor uses different methods to engage different parts of the students' brains, then checks with a neuroscientist about whether that strategy actually works.

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Teachers tap into brain science to boost learning

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Research on the brain and how we think and act is influencing the way some teachers teach. Special correspondent John Tulenko of Learning Matters goes into a classroom where the instructor uses different methods to engage different parts of the students' brains, then checks with a neuroscientist about whether that strategy actually works.

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This article’s main focus is giving educators who are new to profession a resource they can use to enhance their classroom management skills.

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For a new teacher going into your first classroom is a prospect that is both exciting and frightening. Training and practical experience under the tutelage of professors and experienced teachers is all well and good, but those people are not with you when you walk into that room and look into the expectant faces of your very own students. The methods you use can make your classroom experience enormously rewarding, or enormously stressful, often both at the same time. However, there are ways to approach your interaction with your classes that can make the experience both more fun and less stressful for you, and your students at the same time.

Whole Brain Teaching is an approach designed toward maximizing student engagement, and focusing on the way the brain is really designed to learn. It is an integrated method combining effective classroom management and pedagogically sound approaches to student engagement that are effective with a wide range of student learning populations vetted through 15 years of classroom application. From this research and experimentation Whole Brain Teaching was born.

Whole Brain Teaching can, and is being used at every level of instruction, kindergarten through college, with tremendous positive results.

Learning an effective, flexible approach like this, particularly one that integrates classroom management with effective teaching techniques, can give new teachers a tremendous advantage in their ability to deal with the stresses of the teaching profession.

Whole Brain Teaching is intended to be flexible, adaptable by any teacher to their own teaching methods. It is based on seven core components, referred to as The Big Seven. The speed with which a teacher introduces these to a class depends on the comfort level of the teacher and the students. Never try to add something new until both the teacher and the class are ready to move on. Only a few of these components will be discussed here.

The first element of the Big Seven is the Class-Yes,

and is intended to get the attention of your class with one word. There are a lot of attention getters out there, from flashing the lights, to raising a hand and waiting for the class to stop talking and listen. All of these are missing one critical element to be effective- the students! In most of these methods the teacher is the sole active participant, and the students are completely passive. Students are taught that when the teacher says 'class!' they respond 'yes!' The hook is that the students have to say yes in the same way the teacher says class. For example, if the teacher says 'class-class' the students' respond 'yes-yes'. Teachers should use as many variations of 'class' as they can think of. This keeps the technique interesting and unpredictable for the students. Most importantly they have an important role to play and are an active part of securing everyone's attention for the instructions to come from the teacher.

The next element is the Five Rules.

Rules are an important element in any effective classroom. A new teacher in particular needs to establish expectations for behavior. The problem many teachers have is that they post their rules on a poster, or a bulletin board, go over them a time or two near the beginning of the year, and then are surprised when the students do not know the rules months later. Once again the students are not a part of the rules. In Whole Brain Teaching there are five simple rules, each has a gesture associated with it, and each one is an intimate part of the classroom learning environment. For example, Rule Two is 'raise your hand for permission to speak.' As you practice the rule you raise your hand, and then bring it down and make a hand-puppet like speaking motion with your hand. As one might imagine, it is the most violated rule in a classroom setting. Typically, if a student is speaking while the teacher is addressing the class, the teacher calls the student down and asks them to stop speaking. This can open up a power struggle that can derail the class, or at least lead to hard feeling by the student for the teacher. With this approach instead the teacher addresses the class, calling them up with a class-yes, then the teacher says 'Rule Two!' and the whole class practices Rule Two. This way the teacher has not embarrassed the speaker, every student is involved in practicing the rule, and class has been interrupted for a matter of seconds with no possibility for power struggles. In this approach the students master the rules quickly, and the rules are an active part of class.

One of the most important elements is the Scoreboard Game.

This is a classroom engagement game that your students want you to play, but the teacher cannot really lose. In the Scoreboard Game a scoreboard is drawn on one side of the board, and can be divided for different classes for secondary teachers or teachers who rotate classes. Elementary scoreboards are set up with Smiley versus Frowny. Secondary classrooms are set up teacher versus students. This 'game' rewards kids for doing what the teacher expects. In the secondary environment the only way for a rebellious teenager to rebel is to do what they teacher asks, scoring for the students, keeping the teacher from getting a point. Teachers usually provide a reward for students winning the game on a daily, or weekly basis. However, the rewards are not extrinsic. Recommended rewards include a little less homework, the ability for students to choose their own seats, or time to play a game. The Scoreboard Game will work for most students, but Whole Brain Teaching does have other disciplinary elements that are effective, even with the most difficult students.

Try Teach-OK and then add Switch.

For any teacher maximizing student comprehension is a vital part of the job. Most teachers rely on the traditional methods that were used when they were coming through school themselves. Typical activities in the traditional approach, worksheets, notes, or lecture, engage only one portion of a student's brain when creating memories for content. Students can learn information using all of their senses, but they may learn through some senses more easily than others. A valuable approach for a teacher would obviously be an approach that provides the information to the students using more than one sensory system. The Teach-OK element of Whole Brain Teaching does just that. Using this method a teacher talks about an important concept or idea for a couple of minutes. Then the teacher has the class copy his/her gestures, and teaches the main ideas contained in that short segment of lecture. Then the students turn to face their partner, and teach their partners the same information that the teacher just covered, and they can then take a note on the information if the teacher desires. The students are now part of the teaching that is going on, and they are delivering content to one another using all their senses. As any teacher knows, you learn the most about any content when you are the one who has to teach it. An additional benefit of this technique is that, unlike most traditional instruments, the teacher can tell at a glance if every student is engaged in the lesson or not.

Once the students have learned the Teach-OK approach the teacher can add Switch. The Teach-OK is performed that same as listed above, however, this time one student partner teaches while the other mimics the teacher partner's gestures. In a moment when the teacher calls out 'switch!' the students respond 'switch!' and the teaching partners switch roles. This insures that students who are reluctant to talk are actually teaching their partners.

These are just a few of the elements of Whole Brain Teaching that provide teachers, especially those new to the classroom, with a method that integrates both effective, fun, low stress classroom management and exciting teaching methods that produce enhanced retention and comprehension of content. This has been only a very basic introduction to the things that can be accomplished using Whole Brain Teaching. The flexibility and utility of this approach is limited only by the imagination of the teacher. To learn more about this approach, and talk to hundreds of teachers who use this approach everyday in their classrooms, visit www.wholebrainteaching.com. All of the videos, and e-books detailing this method are free to teachers.

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Whole Brain Teaching: Learning the Way the Brain is Designed

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For a new teacher going into your first classroom is a prospect that is both exciting and frightening. Training and practical experience under the tutelage of professors and experienced teachers is all well and good, but those people are not with you when you walk into that room and look into the expectant faces of your very own students.