WBT & Students who are Introverted

 I heard in an article about the students in our classes who may be introverted and how we can best address their needs in our classrooms. Ever since then, I have been trying to brainstorm some ideas on how I may use whole brain teaching strategies and have them be a positive experience for these students.

     Tony Baldasaro the writer mentioned a few times throughout the post that students who are introverted need time to think and reflect silently on a subject before sharing their ideas with others. He used the example that a student who is introverted may not be able to provide a response in class but will think of a wonderful response in their next class after they have had time to think things through. One of the things I thought that may assist this issue is to provide our students with a "schedule" of what the next day is going to look like. This could be a physical handout, an agenda on the board or a note that we have our students copy down. It would outline the different topics that we are going to cover and what type of activities we would be doing (group discussion, reading, handout, project, etc). By providing this schedule, our students who are introverted would have a full 24 hours to think about what information is going to be introduced in class and what will be required of them in regards to participation. I think that this may assist in achieving a positive classroom experience because our students already have a basic introduction to the class and can be more prepared to participate. Bonus, it will keep us more organized as well! :)
               SAMPLE
               Geography: First Nations and the Treaty Process
                - Definition of First Nations (Teach-Ok with partners)
                - Group discussion about prominent First Nations individuals
                - Definition of a treaty (Teach-Ok with partners) 
                - Do you know of any treaties in the United States?
                - History of treaties
                
     One thing that people are quick to notice is that whole brain teaching classrooms are not always quiet environments! While being structured and on-task, they require high levels of student involvement which often asks students to participate verbally. How would this work if one, or more, of our students, requires silent time in order to process information?  One of the things that we could incorporate is silent "Teach-Ok". It would function the same as regular "Teach-Ok" but we would have our students mouth the review silently while they do the gestures as opposed to verbally reviewing. This is something that I would use to switch up in the classroom if I noticed that one, or more, of my students, we're needing a bit of a break. Playing off this same idea, we could also use a noise-meter in the classroom to indicate to our students what level of noise is appropriate during a specific time. If I felt that one, or more, of my students, needed a break I could "crank down" the noise meter to have students whisper during "Teach-Ok".

     I know that this isn't a long list but it is a start! I would love any suggestions that you can offer on other ways that we could adapt whole brain teaching strategies.

(These are just some ideas that I came up with that are specifically related to whole brain teaching strategies that I have used. I understand that every student is unique and I would ensure that I had full comprehension of my student to guarantee that my student's needs are being addressed in the most appropriate manner.)

Read More

Resources to Start Off Your Week 2

It's Friday and what better way to end our week by finding some great new online resources to use in our classrooms. Remember, I will be adding these to my Favorite Websites page in the future to ensure you head over there to check out the full list that I've compiled so far.

1 ) Classroom 2.0 LIVE
- A website used to host online professional development conversations.
- Teachers can use this website to educate themselves on new and exciting topics as
  well, as connect with other people in the educational field.
- The website maintains a great archive and resource list!
- http://live.classroom20.com/

2 ) Student Blogging Challenge
- A website hosting the twice-yearly student blogging challenge.
- This challenge can be a great way to encourage blogging in your classroom
  and/or add structure to the blogs you already have established.
- The next challenge begins on October 6, 2019, so start getting organized!
- http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/

3 )  A Principal's Reflections
- A school administrator's blog.
- A great blog to read and see how an administrator interprets different
  aspects of education.
- http://esheninger.blogspot.com/

Happy Friday everyone!

Read More

Whole Brain Teaching Series! Teach-Ok

 I'm excited to be writing my second Whole Brain Teaching Series post! I hope that this focus on a specific WBT strategy is helpful to those of you who are wishing to learn more about how a certain strategy may work and what my personal experience with it has been. Yesterday I highlighted "Class-Yes", today I would like to introduce you to the WBT strategy of "Teach-Ok".

"Teach-Ok" is a formative assessment tool that allows for you, as the teacher, to gauge student's comprehension on the topics you're teaching. This strategy, however, is not your average worksheet that bores your students.

Studies have shown that when the primary cortices of the brain are engaged simultaneously, information is more easily stored in long-term memory. This strategy engages your students visually, verbally, mentally and physically! In addition, it is fun for both the students and the teacher, which engages the emotional system of the brain as well.

     Who amongst us can honestly say that they haven't had students that look like the picture above? We know that the longer we lecture in front of a class, the more students we lose to boredom. The "Teach-Ok" strategy shortens the time that you, as the teacher, spend lecturing at one time. It does not shorten how MUCH content you cover, it just changes how you DELIVER the content. The following describes the "Teach-Ok" content as it is stated by Jeff Battle on the Whole Brain Teaching website.

Teach-OK works like this: Divide your class into teams of two. One student is a One, the other member of the team is a Two. You want students to do a large amount of teaching. Present a small amount of information, complete with gestures. (I'll discuss gestures in more detail later on) When you finish, look at the class and clap two times, say “Teach!” Your students clap twice and respond “OK!”  Look at our Power Teachers videos for examples of this approach.

Teach your students to copy your gestures (kinesthetic) and mimic the emotion in your tone of voice (limbic).  As your students teach each other, move around the room listening to what they are saying.  This is an excellent opportunity to monitor student comprehension.  Then, call them back to attention with the Class-Yes!  If you are not convinced your students have understood your lesson, repeat it.  Otherwise, go on to the next small group of points.

     Essentially, many teachers do use strategies similar to this idea. Just think of how many times you have your students discuss a topic with their partner or table group before you go on to a new idea. This strategy follows this basic idea but with a more structured and purposeful layout. Remember, you want to ensure that you are presenting information in shorter chunks and encouraging visual, verbal, mental and physical engagement!

 This technique Is incredibly engaging and your students won't be zoning out because they don't have an opportunity to! One thing that I do recommend is that you chose your pairings with careful consideration to your student's personalities to ensure that students will be able to concentrate on the co-teaching component (sometimes certain students can just not teach effectively to one another), but with some management, it works great.
 
Check out the Whole Brain Teaching website to see Jeff Battle's instructions in context or check out Chris Biffle's YouTube channel to see this strategy in action

Thanks for checking out our second Whole Brain Teaching Series post!

Read More

WBT & Differentiated Instruction

Dr. Carol Tomlinson


First of all, I wanted to address the WBT website has so many amazing strategies and resources that I will be able to highlight different ones on the WBT Series for quite some time. Thank you to everyone that checked out the posts and, as always, I look forward to your opinions and stories on these strategies.

Today I'm going to talk about Differentiated Instruction by Carol Tomlinson, (view her website here). We talk about Differentiated Instruction in every single one of our education classes. If you are not familiar with this topic, it centers on the idea that every classroom is going to have students that represent a broad spectrum of learners and, as teachers, we must plan for these differences. We need to keep in mind that our students are going to be coming into our classrooms with different ability levels, different learning styles, different backgrounds, etc. and we need to tailor our classroom to best accommodate all of our students.

One teacher that I saw in their classroom who had three different types of assignments/tests/projects that he provided for his students. There was the "straight-ahead" option (the easiest level), the "uphill" option (intermediate level) and the "mountainous" option (the most challenging level). The names for the levels were chosen with consideration as they are all meant to imply a step-forward in the learning process. Through conferencing and open communication, the students knew exactly what level they should be working at and they would pick the appropriate assignment. Although each level was tailored to a different ability level, they all focused on the same curricular outcomes which still allowed for group discussion within the classroom. It worked wonderfully!

This got me thinking about if some of the WBT strategies could fit into a classroom that is practicing Differentiated Instruction. A textbook that I found "Success for all Learners: A Handbook on Differentiating Instruction", put out by Manitoba Education and Training, a handy chart is provided that overviews what "A Continuum Towards Differentiated Instruction" looks like. The following will summarize areas of the chart and include my opinions about how WBT strategies* may fit into this model.

Culture & Climate
Traditionally, "learning is associated with silence".
Through Differentiated Instruction, "learning is associated with on-task student activities".
- Well we all know that WBT is definitely anything but silent! In my classrooms
  I encourage participation in WBT strategies such as "Class-Yes" (see last
  Wednesday's post) which is far from silent but still an on-task student activity.
  I think that by encouraging student's to share their information and discuss
  topics together they will be more comfortable in your classroom which leads
  to the development of a positive learning environment.

Ways of Learning & Demonstrating Learning
Traditionally, "teachers present new information through lectures and reading".
Through Differentiated Instruction, "teachers use a variety of instructional modes including music, demonstrations and kinesthetic activities".
- The possibilities with this one are endless! As far as I am concerned, it is a given that
  I will have some sort of visual to go along with my lessons but after that, I believe that
  a teacher's only major restriction is their creativity level. What really stood out for me
  with this one was the demonstrations and kinesthetic activities. Many WBT strategies
  incorporate visuals referred to as "Power Pix" that a teacher uses kinesthetic
  gestures and demonstrations to explain so I think that this is a great match.

Instructional Methods
Traditionally, "students are passive".
Through Differentiated instruction, "students are active".
- I think WBT allows for students to be incredibly active! In "Teach-Ok" students are
  continually engaged and participating in the lesson. It also allows for them to develop
  an awareness of their meta-cognition process because by having to "teach" material
  to their neighbor, they develop an awareness of how much of the material they
  understand. Teachers can then use this awareness when holding teacher-student
  conferences to help understand the student's individual style of learning.

Assessment
Traditionally, "assessment happens at the end of a unit or course".
Through Differentiated Instruction, "assessment is ongoing".
- Yay for formative assessment! I think that this is something that teachers can do
   in many different ways. Remember, your only restriction is creativity. When using
   "Teach-Ok" teachers circulate around the room as their students work as teams
   to review material. This is a perfect opportunity to assess if your students have
   understood the lesson or not. As this assessment occurs, teachers can then plan
   accordingly to either spend more time on the topic or move onto something a
   bit more challenging.

Classroom Configuration
Traditionally, "desks are arranged in rows facing the teacher".
Through Differentiated Instruction, "desks or tables are rearranged as needed to facilitate working groups and student interaction".
- I am a HUGE fan of moving around desks and tables.
  WBT incorporates a lot of group work amongst students and encourages
  discussions with peers so I would move around the desks into partner groupings
  or larger groups (up to 4 or 5) depending on the activity.

Through this summary, I am comfortable saying that I will be able to use Differentiated Instruction in my classroom and still be able to incorporate elements of the WBT strategies. In my eyes, they almost seemed to naturally go together anyways!

* I tried to focus on the strategy of "Teach-Ok".
(1996). Success for all learners: A handbook on differentiating instruction (1.12). Manitoba: Manitoba Education & Training. 

Read More

Resources to Start Off Your Week!

Who doesn't love expanding their list of educational resources?? I know that as soon as I see a list of resources online my mind immediately starts turning on how I can incorporate and use these new and exciting ideas! Each Wednesday I will post a list of Resources to Start Off Your Week (These may be related to Whole Brain Teaching or just general educational resources.)

1) Inclusion Educator Checklist
- A great checklist that allows teachers to gauge their level of inclusion in their
  classroom.
- No matter where you fall on the checklist, this is a great resource to help teachers
  maintain inclusion in their classrooms.
- Provided by TeachHub
- http://www.teachhub.com/inclusion-educator-checklist

2) America's First Peoples
- A video about American history.
- Teachers can use this to learn more about the history and show it to your
  students.
- Yay for American material!
- https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/the-first-americans-video

3 ) 100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers
- A comprehensive list of educational videos on YouTube.
- Includes videos on history, science, language, arts, inspiration, classroom
  management, how-to's, technology and more! 
- Provided by Classroom 2.0
- http://www.classroom20.com/profiles/blogs/649749:BlogPost:177332

4 ) EdGalexy
- A lesson plan search engine that will search verified lesson plan websites that DO
  NOT charge for their materials!
- A great resource to search for new materials to add to your classroom.
- http://www.edgalaxy.com/lesson-plan-search-engine/

5 ) Teacher Discounts List
- A comprehensive list of businesses that offer discounts for teachers and people in
  the educational field.
* Provides two links to free printables and labels before the list starts. Make sure you
  scroll down
- Provided by the Frugal Girls
- http://thefrugalgirls.com/teacher-discounts

Read More

Whole Brain Teaching Series! Class-Yes

Today is our first Whole Brain Teaching Series, a special post dedicated to highlighting a specific WBT strategy in more detail than I do during some of my regular posts.  To kick it off our first WBT-Series I would like to start with "Class-Yes". 


 "Class-Yes" is a classroom management strategy that allows us, as the teachers, to gain our student's attention quickly and efficiently. We all know that it happens, we have asked for our classes' attention only to have two, three, or maybe more students continue talking. Maybe they didn't hear us? I will admit, my voice gets higher than opposed to louder when I attempt to raise my voice, I avoid raising my voice whenever possible! Maybe they are ignoring us? This can sometimes be the case as well. There are definitely times when students are going to want to finish a conversation about a favorite activity rather than listen to a lesson. Whatever the reason, if we are not able to gain our classes' attention that will be only the beginning of our classroom management concerns.

The strategy of "Class-Yes" is incredibly simple. So simple, in fact, that I can feel foolish even explaining it. Since they entered the school system, our students are taught that certain cues given by the teacher are asking for the desired behavior. Maybe if the teacher raised their hand, the students knew that they too must raise their hand and stop talking, so they could hear instructions. Maybe it was that is the teacher started counting down from 3, the students knew that they must be quiet by the time the teacher reached the number 1 so that they could hear instructions. Or perhaps, the teacher would yell out "Eh-oh" and the students would respond in turn and then await instructions. Makes sense right? It is not only teachers that use these techniques, but I have also seen camp councilors and athletic coaches use similar techniques to gain the attention of a crowd. The following describes the "Class-Yes" version of these strategies as it is stated by Jeff Battle on the Whole Brain Teaching website.

To get my classes’ attention I simply say ‘Class!’ and then they reply ‘Yes!’. Next is the catch, the hook that makes this fun, and gets them invested in it in a way that has them looking at me and grinning rather than continuing their conversations.

When I say ‘Class!’ and they 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.

     In my experience, this was the easiest strategy to incorporate because most teachers already use some variation of this idea anyway!  The great thing about this strategy is that even if some students can't hear me personally, they definitely hear the other student's who are responding, "yes"! This is something that I will definitely be using in my classroom.

Check out the Whole Brain Teaching website to see Jeff Battle's instructions in context or check out Chris Biffle's YouTube channel to see this strategy in action.

Read More

WBT Management, New Sites, and Teaching Series

Today I have a lot of things I would like to talk/share with you all. Well, it's official, I can't resist Google and I have my blog over to Blogger. I decided, that with Blogger I would be able to reach more people and make this blog even better for you!

One thing that I've mentioned before is that since I've discovered whole brain teaching I have found the WBT community incredibly supportive. I've been fortunate enough to be able to network with a lot of great educators through their classroom blogs and the WBT forum.


One thing I wonder what is it about whole brain teaching that attracts or repels educators? Obviously, you know that I am a fan of this strategy. My reasons for this are discussed in my past posts and in future posts.

     So for right now, I am wondering what you think the pros/cons are of whole brain teaching as a classroom management strategy. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.




 In the future, I will be posting some pretty great education blogs out there! I hope you check those out.

  Lastly, I will be creating a new page for this site that highlights some of the best websites I have found that are related to teaching. Some of them are networking sites, some of them are curriculum-based and some of them are just cool! I have yet to categorize them into specific subject-areas but I hope to add to this page quite regularly, so as the number of websites grows I will categorize them so its easier to navigate. If you know of any websites that I should check out and add to the list let me know in the comments!

    Hope you enjoy these new updates to start off the week :)

PLEASE READ- Tomorrow I will be kicking off the first post of the Whole Brain Teaching Series. I will be talking about Class-Yes so be sure you are tuned in for that.

Read More

WBT QuickStart

With this in mind, I want to share with you a great new resource from the Whole Brain Teaching team, the "WBT QuickStart" FREE E-BOOK download. This e-book covers the basics of whole brain teaching quickly and easily! It includes information on the whole brain teaching strategies "Class-Yes", "Teach-Ok", and the "Scoreboard", as well as additional resources and tips. Your students are constantly engaged, which means fewer opportunities to get off-task which means they are learning more and you are not as stressed. :)



    To access the "WBT QuickStart", and many other e-books, visit the Whole Brain Teaching website and click on Free Ebooks on the menu at the top of the screen. You may be asked to sign-up but it is definitely worth it! You will find the "QuickStart Guide" as the second e-book on the list. If you don't want to do that option just click HERE
    I challenge you to download this resource and try to implement even just one of the strategies into your classroom. Good luck! Tell me in the comments below if you did this and how was it?

* A big thanks to everyone on the WBT team for putting out these free resources for teachers, you guys rock!

Read More

10-Finger Woo & Culture of Respect

   What I've been hearing lately is how important it is for teachers to establish and maintain a culture of respect in their classrooms. When I apply for a job as a teacher soon I will probably be asked how I plan to establish a culture of respect in my classroom and what will that look like? Good thing I'll have WBT in my back pocket!

As we talk more and more about it I realize how great the WBT system can be when it comes to establishing your classroom culture. Right off the start, your classroom rules are great for establishing a clear set of guidelines about what is expected in your classroom. Students will know what your classroom’s basic procedures are, how they should appropriately interact with their fellow students and how they should interact with you. I think that by having clear expectations right from the start and sticking to them, your students are more likely to shape their behaviors around these guidelines (to an extent!)

    Another component of WBT which I think really helps solidify a culture of respect is the “10-Finger Woo” and “It’s Cool”. I think that both of these are great practices that assist in meeting a student’s needs in regards to their sense of belonging within the classroom/school and their self-esteem. For those of you who aren’t familiar with these, when a student does something well (answers a question in class, lines up quickly, turns in homework, etc.) you and the other students wiggle your fingers at the students and say, “woo!” (You can invent variations of this idea to suit your classroom). Your student is left feeling proud of themselves and a sense of community is strengthened by having a public acknowledgment of a student’s success. On the flip side of this, when a student is unable to answer a question or answers incorrectly you and the other students say, “It’s Cool!” Your student is not embarrassed and it allows for a classroom where learning is the focus as opposed to just having the right answers (which students can get fixated on). To read more about these, check out the hyperlinks above which will take you right to the Whole Brain Teaching website!

    I think that when the time comes for a future employer to ask me about how I will establish a culture of respect in my classroom I know that I will be glad that I have WBT to help provide a good foundation towards answering this question!
    I'll leave you with a great video from Chris Biffle that shows him using both the "10-Finger Woo" and "It's Cool" with one of his college classes.

Read More

My Intro to the Blogging Community! Is WBT an Interruption?

Welcome to LP Does WBT. This is my first blog, and I am so excited to share with you my Whole Brain Teaching journey.  Whole Brain Teaching is a methodology founded over ten years ago by Chris Biffle, a retired college professor.  To learn more about WBT I would suggest that you go straight to their website www.wholebrainteaching.com.  

This is where my journey began over a year ago.  Right now I am working hard preparing for what will be my first full year as a Whole Brain teacher.  I started this blog to share with you my successes and challenges in implementing WBT.  I will be chronicling my first full year as a WBT teacher, beginning with the preparations that I am making this summer.  Since I am a very detailed oriented person, the specifics of how a program is put together are very important to me; therefore, this blog will be full of the nuts and bolts of how I am building my WBT classroom from the ground floor up.  My hope is that you too will be inspired to implement WBT in your classroom.

There are many of you out there that have helped me so much by posting your ideas online and for that I say, thank you! I hope that this blog will not only help me by allowing me to reflect and get feedback but that it will help others as well.
2 ) After discovering Whole Brain Teaching over a year ago I am addicted! Since this discovery, I have found the WBT community incredibly supportive and welcoming. The stories shared by other Whole Brain Teachers on forums and other blogs have assisted me so much; I couldn't help but want to be a part of this!

Ok so now you know why I have chosen to start this blog, so here is my first question: is WBT seen as an interruption to student's daily schedule if they are only exposed to it in one class?
    In my research, I have found that some teachers agreed that WBT would be an interruption to the classroom environment. 
    So what I am wondering is:
1 ) If you had a student teacher in your classroom, would you be ok with them experimenting with different classroom management strategies?
2 ) If you use WBT and your colleagues don't, do they view your use of WBT as an interruption to the student's schedule?  What do you think about this write your comments below?

Read More

Should social media be used in the classroom?

For years now there has been a continuous debate about the role social media should play in teens' lives and also in the classroom. Supporters point out the benefits that social media provides for today's digital learners while critics call for a law to remove social media from classrooms.

As an educational tool, social media enriches the learning experience by allowing students and teachers to connect and interact in new, exciting ways. Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn provide a platform where users can dialog, exchange ideas, and find answers to questions. These sites are designed to foster collaboration and discussion.

Despite these benefits, critics argue that there are serious risks to using social media in the classroom. What are these risks—and do they outweigh the potential for opportunity?

Below are the Pros and Cons of Social Media

PROS
Educational Tool- This generation of students arrive at school coherent in Web and social networking technologies. Teachers can extend this knowledge to enrich the learning experience of students. With social media, instructors can foster collaboration and discussion, create meaningful dialogue, exchange ideas, and boost student interaction.



Enhance Student Engagement- Social media is an effective way to increase student engagement and build better communication skills. Students who rarely raise a hand in class may feel more comfortable expressing themselves on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. Social networking platforms enable teachers to establish “back channels” that foster discussion and surface ideas to students who are too shy or intimidated to voice out loud.

Improve Communication/Relationships Among Students and Teachers- Facebook and Twitter can enhance communication among students and teachers. Educators can answer students’ questions via a Facebook page or Twitter feed, post homework assignments and lesson plans, send messages and updates, schedule or announce upcoming events, and share interesting Web sites and multimedia content. Students can use Twitter to get help from instructors or other students.

Preparing Students for Successful Employment- Students entering the workforce can use social networking sites to network and find employment. With LinkedIn, students can establish a professional web presence, post a resume, research a target company or school, and connect with other job seekers and employers. College career centers and alumni associations are using Twitter to broadcast job openings and internships. Students should follow businesses or professional organizations on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on new opportunities and important developments in their field.

CONS

Social Media can be a Distraction- A common complaint among educators is that social media is distracting in the classroom. These instructors maintain that tools like Facebook and Twitter divert students' attention away from what's happening in class and are ultimately disruptive to the learning process. With the possibility that the use of social media tools can be an invitation for students to goof off, instructors should make sure they won't be abused.

Cyberbullying- While social networking sites provide a way for students and teachers to connect, they can be a weapon of malicious behavior. Instructors who use social media as part of their course activities should be aware of potential dangers and plan to intervene on minor incidents before they become more serious.

Discouraging Face-to-Face Communication- Some educators are concerned that while real-time digital stream may create a safe harbor for students who are uncomfortable expressing themselves, students are missing valuable lessons in real-life social skills. Students may find themselves at a disadvantage during college admission or job interviews when they need to command attention and deliver a coherent message. At social gatherings and in personal relationships, they need to be able to effectively express themselves and connect with others.

Ultimately, while the debate continues over what role social media should play in the classroom, no one can argue the influence that social networking has on today's students. This tech-savvy generation conducts much of their lives through social media channels. Not surprisingly, they're already using YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter as tools for learning and collaboration. They expect that their campuses will follow suit. With this in mind, it seems prudent for today's institutions to get on the social media train and find ways to successfully integrate these tools into the classroom.

I would love to hear your comments on this subject. Do you agree that social media should be used in the classroom or disagree and why?

Read More