Brain Smart Teaching
| “We are on the threshold of leaving behind the old way of teaching—the way based on right/wrong, competition, shame, fear, punishment, rescuing, and judgment, demand of compliance, and obedience to outside authority. We are entering a new age—a time of awakening founded on trust, inner knowing, allowing, choice, personal power, responsibility, love, and unity.”-Chick Moorman (author/educator), “Spirit Whisperers: Teachers Who Nourish A Child’s Spirit” |
There is a God-shaped hole within each of us, and our spirits are restless until they find rest in Him” St. Augustine Background–All kids can see but they can’t bring meaning to what they see. Thus, the need for the teacher! The truth does not change but the teacher has the tools to assign meaning. The Most teachers see themselves as postal workers, they deliver the mail someone else writes and the kids spit it back. Good educators’ assist the students to write their own mail.
Do not take notes during lecture or video
- the most common instructive tool is lecture
- Lecture sends the least amount of info to LTM (long-term memory). The only way info gets into LTM is by hooking onto something already there, so scaffold new learning onto existing!
- Every 15-20 minutes, allow the student to reflect in written or verbal form.
- Content expectations should be the subtle stuff
- Math requires reading; it is 50% a Language course!
- Every 15-20 minutes Freshman and Sophomores need to move
- It is not learned until THEY carry it forward.
- Nobody cares what you teach; it’s what the student carries forward.
- The lecture ratio is 70% me, 30% them,
- to carry forward (invest energy and time) it has to be 50-50
- 80% of humans thru the first 15 years are concrete learners, 80% of the curriculum is symbolic/abstract physicalize IT!!!
The brain is a survival organ and will take that road every time (www. brainconnection.com)! It makes economic/survival decisions. Emotion dominates attention and cognition in the following order—survival, growth plates, social interaction, cognitive; curriculum is number four. “Emotions dictate attention. It is biologically impossible to learn something to which the brain has not paid attention” (Sylwester, 2000, p. 11).
- So what strategies are you using? If I take away scaffolding, the brain cops out! The brain-disconnect is the major cause of behavioral incidents. Classroom relationship meets their social need and DI (differentiated instruction) teaches to their learning level.
| You intentionally create the emotions desired |
- The kids crave positive social interactions
- Meaningful participation
- Opportunities for self-definition
- Structure and clear limits
- Physical activity.
- Creative expression.
- Create the Emotionally inviting classroom
| Use their names | Catch ’em doing it right | Listen intentionally |
| Applaud positive risk-taking | Be prepared | Demonstrate commitment to success, not documentation of deficiency. |
| Let go of grudges | Give assignment choices | Demonstrate academic struggle is a virtue, not a weakness |
| Display student work | hydrate | Give them roles and responsibilities |
- The emerging/maturing brain has 2 factors that affect it:
- Moral and abstract reasoning, awareness of consequences, planning, immediate working memory, impulsivity occur in the pre-frontal cortex
- Input bypasses the cognition center, goes directly to the emotional response center… the teen-brain lacks the governors on impulse and control. The brain matures between 18-25 years of age…look at average-age college enrollments ~29 yrs…
- It takes 5-11 iterations for them to get it.Experts think in patterns, novices in separate pieces.
- DI is not giving the faster learners more work to do, learning is episodic, NOT LINEAR!
- Assessment is derived from the Latin “assidere”, to sit beside. Do we view the report card as an autopsy of physical?
- Use assessment (formal and informal) to group kids for activities. Use it to inform instruction.
- Assessment is done and the results (diagnosis) drive the next lesson or classroom decision.
- Assessment and instruction are inseparable.
- DI is doing what is right for the students. It’s best practice delivered strategically to maximize student learning and embedding info into LTM (carrying forward). It’s changing complexity and not the difficulty. It’s change the quality/nature not the quantity.
- It’s not just the content, it’s presentation too.
- DI makes sure they know the stuff, not that they did it. Kids are getting high grades for doing work and demo of mastery!
- DI structures the info for the student for maximum LTM retrieval later!
- If there is no prior knowledge, intentionally create the link
- “Differentiated Instruction requires that teachers study student differences in understanding learning modalities, and interests,and plan accordingly to allow for different learning rates and structure tasks of varying complexity” (Scherer, 2000, p. 5).
- Content is the legally mandated curriculum
- Process is the way they learn
- Product is the demonstration of knowledge.
How do students arrive?
- Kids come based with their biased with perceptions so assess where they are—know where the kids minds are
- Do not assessstudents unless you take actions (from the Latin, it means to sit beside)
- How does assessment guide my next steps?
How do we group them?
- Readiness
- Interest
- Learning profile—anything that imparts learning. Do not group by ability, it implies permanence and discomfort.
- If we do this right, the next generation gets better!!!
- Do the best to impart learning—
- Synetics—pick 4 words & relate to current topic.
How do I make my classroom inviting?
| Affirmation
§ celebration § humor § inviting atmosphere |
Primary attributes of the Teacher
Learner empathy Whole student attitude Collaboration Listening ability Honesty FFC- firm fair, consistent |
Courage:
§ flexibility § risk-taking |
| Instruction
§ large bag of tricks § authentic learning and application § frequent/ongoing assessment |
Endurance
§ tenacity–ganas § footwork § multi-tasking § organization |
How much time is lost if I don’t have the student’s attention?
- Attention getters for large groups
- movement
- sound
- rain stick
- power location
- 5,4,3,2,1,
- speak quietly, requesting action
- hand up and start counting
- minimize light blinking
- Use of task cards maintains momentum
- Attention moves
| Using the student’s name | Proximity | Use S as assistants |
| Redirecting | Vocal inflection | Unison task |
| Startling | Argue (devil’s advocate) | Props |
| Pre-alerting | Prompts | Humor |
| Drama | Praise | Real-life connections |
Lesson design
Madeline Hunter still Lives (1984)
- The anticipatory set includes activities such as reviewing prior content (scaffolding), checking homework, introducing new topics or subjects and arousing interest. * If I prime the pump (set the purpose and explain the structure) the effect size of retention skyrockets to 0.80, without priming it’s < .3 and .25 is considered worthless!
- Lesson presentation usually consists of what might be considered the traditional teaching activities
- Checking for understanding entails asking questions, observing students working, and audits students’ progress.
- Guided practice—provides activities or opportunities foe students to practice and apply the skills or content central to the lesson with the teacher as guide or facilitator, providing feedback.
- Independent practice—takes place without the teacher
- Closure—at the completion of the lesson, the teacher provides activities or discussion that review and summarizes the content, skills, or materials used during the lesson. The instructor focuses students’ attention on what they have learned or accomplished during the period.
— In your lesson design consider the six facets of Understanding (Wiggins and McTighe)
| 1. Explanation | 2. Interpretation | 3. Application |
| 4. Perspective | 5. Empathy | 6. Self-knowledge |
What is Layered Curriculum”
- When someone walks into the room the teachers is hard to find
- This is one-on-one time with the students, meeting face-to-face in their territory.
- Administrators are usually at a loss on teachers-observation evaluations- it is a bit of a challenge to walk into a room that is student centered (the have the main role) rather than teachers centered.
- Many the students are experiencing success.
- There are few classroom management problems.
- The teacher is smiling at the end of the day knowing she has positively affected the future.
What is available technologically for assessment?
ACCESS
Skills Tutor
Geometer sketchpad
Excel
Thanks to Wormeli, Sousa, Antonetti, Darnell, Fogarty,