Some of the practical applications are validation of some of the crazy things I already do. (I think Jackie said something like that in class today, too.) Taking class outside or taking “field trips” to enjoy the view of the Hackensack River from our cafeteria are not just “fun” but ways to make sense and meaning of Walt Whitman’s poetry by getting sophomores’ bodies moving, get them laughing about the task — even if it is laughing at me for starters. I’ll return to things I once did and bring some new things in as well. As I plan my classes, I will certainly maintain a greater awareness of not teaching two similar things in the same learning session, giving closure its due, and allowing time for incubation. In the process, perhaps I’ll even renew my grassroots revolution and refuse to pack in the content at the cost of this attention to the brain. Less is more was once the rule where I teach; it has been lost. Maybe it’s time to take a risk and bring it back. Homework done.
As I said earlier in class I am thinking of ways to have brain brakes that are content specific. I must admit that I’m not a believer in less is more simply because the students will always try to do the least possible.(nature of being a teenager) I try to “make them” rise to the challenge both in content as well as in amount of material. That said I understand the importance of keeping within what the brain is capable of so the b.bs will be in a sense a way to cram more in 42 minutes without losing the learning. Being a high school teacher I feel obligated to mimic the real world as much as possible. I believe that without “pushing” them they will not know what they are capable of. Believing in ones ability to do more than initially one though possible is a very powerful life skill.
Since we are trying to get information and skills into our students’ brains, it is important for us to understand how the brain works. The brain principles seem like they could be very useful not only for the teachers to know to help their students, but for the students to know in order to be able to help themselves.
So far, this course has broadened my understanding of the importance of the brain. The 12 principles are important concepts to remember. It’s really cool that the brain needs a variety of stimulation and it’s OK to have fun with it in class. Even shorties like “Megu” prove to be lots of fun and an easy way to wake up the brain and incorporate healthy, happy laughter in the classroom. Your students will think you’re nuts but they will see your fun side as well and hopefully make a connection with you. I’ve already begun to purchase more squishy balls, big balls , noisemakers, colorful items and I’m always looking for great music to go along with content. I’m so excited to begin third grade this year. I think it’s a perfect level to gradually introduce lots of fun brain breaks and activities we’ve been learning. You may be interested in the last course I took called “The Kinesthetic Classroom” We used lots of movement and brain breaks. The text was very helpful and packed with short, simple activities related and unrelated to content areas. It’s called ” The Kinesthetic Classroom…Teaching and Learning Through Movement” by Traci Lengel and Mike Kuczala, RTC people I believe. I can bring it in and maybe we can try a few brain breaks from there. See you all Wednesday, after another concert night. Eric, hope we can meet up for a cocktail before the show. Gotta love summer!!! Be good.
I agree with Suzanne. Some of things we’ve been learning in class back up some of the nutty things I do in my own classroom. All of the mnemonic devices, graphic organizers, physical movements, and corny curriculum related songs that I have my kids use are backed up with scientific data. That is quite validating for me!
Your statement “If the bum is numb so is the brain”, is sooo true. I know when my brain has reached the point of no return during meetings and they become so painful. Much of that information is totally lost on me. Thank goodness for wonderful colleagues to keep me on track! I will try to keep that in mind when planning my lessons. My goal will be to not cram as much info. as possible into my students, but it will be to make the things they do learn memorable and get to that filing cabinent!
I hope to use some of the ideas we have already learned as well as new ones from next week. Some ideas I am excited about are brain breaks, teaching similar concepts like area and perimeter or to two too alone, the good morning walk/share activity, and I can’t wait to download that calming music! I also want to concentrate on that small window of opportunity in the first few minutes of class to introduce new concepts which keeping in mind that my 9 year olds can only focus on that concept for about 10 minutes!
Can’t wait to learn more! See everyone on wed.
The information on the windows of opportunity will help me plan activities that are developmentally appropriate for my students. I will be more willing to let students take water breaks and bring in water bottles – it will encourage me to drink more water, too! I will be chunking the material by the time frame that my students can handle and then get them up and moving. KISKIM – Keep It Simple, Keep It Moving (check out that cool mnemonic!). And gotta love those brain breaks…Pull My Finger – but not until Wednesday!
Peace and blessings
I feel like my own brain has been awakened! So many of the techniques Mike uses in class are easily transferable to any classroom, any grade. I am especially looking forward to trying the “brain breaks” and bringing more music into my classroom. I often play jazz because I like jazz. Now I know I have to mix it up. Also, I am a member of the “Intervention and Referral Services Committee” at my school. We meet with teachers who have social, emotional, and/or academic concerns about students. As new information is presented in class, I keep thinking of students and teachers we have tried to help in the past. I wish I knew then what I know now…so I plan on taking a lot of this information back to my committee as well as my classroom in September. We continually ask teachers what they are doing to present the material to the child in question in the manner in which this child learns it best. Often, the teacher’s next comment is , “What do you mean?” Now I will have research to support my suggestions and new ideas and strategies to offer.
I am fascinated with “discovering” how things work! The human brain is both a miracle and a mystery and I really enjoyed going over all that “dry” brain anatomy:) As a consultant I often guide, confer, trouble-shoot, etc. with my peers on challenging classroom issues and students. I have always found that backing up your suggestions, ideas, guidance, etc. is always received with much more enthusiasm and respect when you back it up with cold, hard science. It’s really cool to have all this concrete information to support what I already know about brain function and dysfunction in individuals with disabilities. Most promising however, is the fact that I now have in my “rolodex” new and exciting information for the staff on what is actually happening in those little brains sitting in their classroom, and most importantly, how they can affect change as they teach!
What I notice a lot is that during a typical “first college conference,” the parents usually ask a ton of questions and the kids shut down after 15 minutes. I am not sure how I am going to adjust yet, but knowing what I now know about the differences of brains by age and that younger brains can only take so much information at once, I will possibly make changes to the format. It may just be too much information thrown at the student at once. Because college counseling can be so generally information-based, it really changes the way I look at how much more effective I can be if I keep these basic ideas in mind.
All of the information we have learned in this class is practical in the sense that we can have a better understanding of our students and know what they truly need in order to learn. Before taking this class, I noticed the “dead fish” stares from my third graders and always knew in the back of my mind that I had to get them up and moving! I have a little toys I toss around, we use the SmartBoard, and once a day we stop and do little exercises led by a student. This class has showed me other little fun “brain breaks” that I will definitely use this year. And more importantly, learning not to teach material that is related at the same time. I am so excited to teach “to, two, and too” to my students this year without confusing their little brains! See you guys tomorrow!
I agree with Sara – I will try not to overwhelm my students with too much too soon or it will be lost. I will try to be more sensitive to their comfort level and the levl of frustration for the students – not too much layering and appropriate breaks with movement or music.
The thing that keeps coming back to me is the idea of repetitive practice/learning using diffferent parts of the brain to increase the number of pathways that connect in the brain — thus increasing retention. Practically speaking that means that I will have to do more fun things that stimulate the brain quickly — quick learning activities more often that repeat the main ideas that are most important for the students to walk-away with. Too often I think that I have whipped through something – and expect the kids to “learn it” — but in reality, very little long term memory is utilized. One example from the website that I thought would be great to try is the snowball fight — so quick, so much fun, and so much higher-order brain stimulation!
Info on windows of opportunity will help structure my day more efficiently. Brain breaks will disguise mecessary movement as fun – KISKIM: Keep It Simple, Keep It Moving (check out the mnemonic device!). Got to keep the new information to a time frame they can handle and then get them up and moving. I will not be as reluctant to let students take water breaks or bring in water bottles; it will encourage me to drink more water, too! I will also make a greater effort to have students make their own (emotional) connections to the content in order to move that info into long-term memory.
Some of what we are learning is what I do in my class now…I thought that what I do is just crazy, but this class shows me that what I do, no matter how nuts it may seem, works. I love the brain breaks especially since I teach all 4 subjects in a self contained classroom…Brain breaks are definitely needed, both for the me as well as the students, to go from one subject to another. I truly want to focus one single step at a time. Using one or two of the 12 principles effectively will help focus the desired outcome. In addition, I find that so many of the brain principles align with Gardner’s and Sternberg’s Intelligences. I need to learn how to fuse all of these concepts into one that works for me. I’m looking forward to this week’s class.
Looking at it from a pe/coaching perspective, the concept that I will remember is that when teaching two similar things, break it up or the student gets overwhelmed. Looking back, I could have achieved more when coaching if I structured my practices differently to help the athletes absorb the formations/plays and strategies I was teaching.
Some of the practical applications are validation of some of the crazy things I already do. (I think Jackie said something like that in class today, too.) Taking class outside or taking “field trips” to enjoy the view of the Hackensack River from our cafeteria are not just “fun” but ways to make sense and meaning of Walt Whitman’s poetry by getting sophomores’ bodies moving, get them laughing about the task — even if it is laughing at me for starters. I’ll return to things I once did and bring some new things in as well. As I plan my classes, I will certainly maintain a greater awareness of not teaching two similar things in the same learning session, giving closure its due, and allowing time for incubation. In the process, perhaps I’ll even renew my grassroots revolution and refuse to pack in the content at the cost of this attention to the brain. Less is more was once the rule where I teach; it has been lost. Maybe it’s time to take a risk and bring it back. Homework done.
As I said earlier in class I am thinking of ways to have brain brakes that are content specific. I must admit that I’m not a believer in less is more simply because the students will always try to do the least possible.(nature of being a teenager) I try to “make them” rise to the challenge both in content as well as in amount of material. That said I understand the importance of keeping within what the brain is capable of so the b.bs will be in a sense a way to cram more in 42 minutes without losing the learning. Being a high school teacher I feel obligated to mimic the real world as much as possible. I believe that without “pushing” them they will not know what they are capable of. Believing in ones ability to do more than initially one though possible is a very powerful life skill.
Since we are trying to get information and skills into our students’ brains, it is important for us to understand how the brain works. The brain principles seem like they could be very useful not only for the teachers to know to help their students, but for the students to know in order to be able to help themselves.
So far, this course has broadened my understanding of the importance of the brain. The 12 principles are important concepts to remember. It’s really cool that the brain needs a variety of stimulation and it’s OK to have fun with it in class. Even shorties like “Megu” prove to be lots of fun and an easy way to wake up the brain and incorporate healthy, happy laughter in the classroom. Your students will think you’re nuts but they will see your fun side as well and hopefully make a connection with you. I’ve already begun to purchase more squishy balls, big balls
, noisemakers, colorful items and I’m always looking for great music to go along with content. I’m so excited to begin third grade this year. I think it’s a perfect level to gradually introduce lots of fun brain breaks and activities we’ve been learning. You may be interested in the last course I took called “The Kinesthetic Classroom” We used lots of movement and brain breaks. The text was very helpful and packed with short, simple activities related and unrelated to content areas. It’s called ” The Kinesthetic Classroom…Teaching and Learning Through Movement” by Traci Lengel and Mike Kuczala, RTC people I believe. I can bring it in and maybe we can try a few brain breaks from there. See you all Wednesday, after another concert night. Eric, hope we can meet up for a cocktail before the show. Gotta love summer!!! Be good. 
I agree with Suzanne. Some of things we’ve been learning in class back up some of the nutty things I do in my own classroom. All of the mnemonic devices, graphic organizers, physical movements, and corny curriculum related songs that I have my kids use are backed up with scientific data. That is quite validating for me!
Your statement “If the bum is numb so is the brain”, is sooo true. I know when my brain has reached the point of no return during meetings and they become so painful. Much of that information is totally lost on me. Thank goodness for wonderful colleagues to keep me on track! I will try to keep that in mind when planning my lessons. My goal will be to not cram as much info. as possible into my students, but it will be to make the things they do learn memorable and get to that filing cabinent!
I hope to use some of the ideas we have already learned as well as new ones from next week. Some ideas I am excited about are brain breaks, teaching similar concepts like area and perimeter or to two too alone, the good morning walk/share activity, and I can’t wait to download that calming music! I also want to concentrate on that small window of opportunity in the first few minutes of class to introduce new concepts which keeping in mind that my 9 year olds can only focus on that concept for about 10 minutes!
Can’t wait to learn more! See everyone on wed.
The information on the windows of opportunity will help me plan activities that are developmentally appropriate for my students. I will be more willing to let students take water breaks and bring in water bottles – it will encourage me to drink more water, too! I will be chunking the material by the time frame that my students can handle and then get them up and moving. KISKIM – Keep It Simple, Keep It Moving (check out that cool mnemonic!). And gotta love those brain breaks…Pull My Finger – but not until Wednesday!
Peace and blessings
I feel like my own brain has been awakened! So many of the techniques Mike uses in class are easily transferable to any classroom, any grade. I am especially looking forward to trying the “brain breaks” and bringing more music into my classroom. I often play jazz because I like jazz. Now I know I have to mix it up. Also, I am a member of the “Intervention and Referral Services Committee” at my school. We meet with teachers who have social, emotional, and/or academic concerns about students. As new information is presented in class, I keep thinking of students and teachers we have tried to help in the past. I wish I knew then what I know now…so I plan on taking a lot of this information back to my committee as well as my classroom in September. We continually ask teachers what they are doing to present the material to the child in question in the manner in which this child learns it best. Often, the teacher’s next comment is , “What do you mean?” Now I will have research to support my suggestions and new ideas and strategies to offer.
I am fascinated with “discovering” how things work! The human brain is both a miracle and a mystery and I really enjoyed going over all that “dry” brain anatomy:) As a consultant I often guide, confer, trouble-shoot, etc. with my peers on challenging classroom issues and students. I have always found that backing up your suggestions, ideas, guidance, etc. is always received with much more enthusiasm and respect when you back it up with cold, hard science. It’s really cool to have all this concrete information to support what I already know about brain function and dysfunction in individuals with disabilities. Most promising however, is the fact that I now have in my “rolodex” new and exciting information for the staff on what is actually happening in those little brains sitting in their classroom, and most importantly, how they can affect change as they teach!
What I notice a lot is that during a typical “first college conference,” the parents usually ask a ton of questions and the kids shut down after 15 minutes. I am not sure how I am going to adjust yet, but knowing what I now know about the differences of brains by age and that younger brains can only take so much information at once, I will possibly make changes to the format. It may just be too much information thrown at the student at once. Because college counseling can be so generally information-based, it really changes the way I look at how much more effective I can be if I keep these basic ideas in mind.
All of the information we have learned in this class is practical in the sense that we can have a better understanding of our students and know what they truly need in order to learn. Before taking this class, I noticed the “dead fish” stares from my third graders and always knew in the back of my mind that I had to get them up and moving! I have a little toys I toss around, we use the SmartBoard, and once a day we stop and do little exercises led by a student. This class has showed me other little fun “brain breaks” that I will definitely use this year. And more importantly, learning not to teach material that is related at the same time. I am so excited to teach “to, two, and too” to my students this year without confusing their little brains!
See you guys tomorrow!
I agree with Sara – I will try not to overwhelm my students with too much too soon or it will be lost. I will try to be more sensitive to their comfort level and the levl of frustration for the students – not too much layering and appropriate breaks with movement or music.
The thing that keeps coming back to me is the idea of repetitive practice/learning using diffferent parts of the brain to increase the number of pathways that connect in the brain — thus increasing retention. Practically speaking that means that I will have to do more fun things that stimulate the brain quickly — quick learning activities more often that repeat the main ideas that are most important for the students to walk-away with. Too often I think that I have whipped through something – and expect the kids to “learn it” — but in reality, very little long term memory is utilized. One example from the website that I thought would be great to try is the snowball fight — so quick, so much fun, and so much higher-order brain stimulation!
Info on windows of opportunity will help structure my day more efficiently. Brain breaks will disguise mecessary movement as fun – KISKIM: Keep It Simple, Keep It Moving (check out the mnemonic device!). Got to keep the new information to a time frame they can handle and then get them up and moving. I will not be as reluctant to let students take water breaks or bring in water bottles; it will encourage me to drink more water, too! I will also make a greater effort to have students make their own (emotional) connections to the content in order to move that info into long-term memory.
Some of what we are learning is what I do in my class now…I thought that what I do is just crazy, but this class shows me that what I do, no matter how nuts it may seem, works. I love the brain breaks especially since I teach all 4 subjects in a self contained classroom…Brain breaks are definitely needed, both for the me as well as the students, to go from one subject to another. I truly want to focus one single step at a time. Using one or two of the 12 principles effectively will help focus the desired outcome. In addition, I find that so many of the brain principles align with Gardner’s and Sternberg’s Intelligences. I need to learn how to fuse all of these concepts into one that works for me. I’m looking forward to this week’s class.
Looking at it from a pe/coaching perspective, the concept that I will remember is that when teaching two similar things, break it up or the student gets overwhelmed. Looking back, I could have achieved more when coaching if I structured my practices differently to help the athletes absorb the formations/plays and strategies I was teaching.