Educators looking for proven methods to introduce brain-compatible instruction into K?12 classrooms will find invaluable assistance in this easy-to-read, engaging resource. The author helps teachers understand how the brain, mind, and body function in the learning process, demonstrates methods to reinforce students' memory and concentration, and illustrates ways to enhance learners' outcomes across a broad range of skills.This flexible guide converts the latest findings on brain research into fun and effective techniques for reducing behavioral distractions in class, improving academic performance, and strengthening teachers' instructional skills. Within a holistic brain-based teaching model, this practical book offers:? 40 brain-friendly tools for improving learning and test results? A brain-based review feature that helps readers evaluate and modify the tools to meet students' needs? Stimulating quotes and motivational proverbs for inspiration? Stories, songs, poems, and anecdotes woven throughout the textThis guide is ideal for empowering students and helping them take ownership of their learning.
This cutting-edge collection features the works of recognized pioneers in educational neuroscience and shows how to apply current brain research to teaching and learning.
Of all the school readiness domains, approaches to learning is perhaps the least understood but the most important. Research shows that positive approaches to learning improve both social–emotional and academic outcomes. This new resource will help early childhood professionals implement strategies to support young children’s positive approaches to learning—their enthusiasm (interest, joy, and motivation to learn) and their engagement (attention, persistence, flexibility, self-regulation, and other essential learning behaviors). Along with extensive research, the text includes images of practice in early education programs in culturally, economically, and linguistically diverse settings. This book will help teachers, future teachers, and other early childhood stakeholders to: Understand how children acquire positive approaches to learning. Know what research says about why approaches to learning are so important. Recognize what supports and what undermines children’s enthusiasm and engagement in learning. Identify and plan specific strategies for the classroom. Use culturally sensitive assessments to plan interventions. Select and modify curriculum and teaching practices. Access resources to help every child enter school with positive approaches to learning. Influence educational policies and decision making.
Any teacher or administrator who has had a relatively long tenure in one school district has seen district-level initiatives come and then go. But there are no-budget, high-impact initiatives that can be undertaken every day at the classroom level, and the building of teacher-student and student-student relationships is a prime example. Ron Nash has met and worked with many teachers over the years, but the best ones pay attention to the little things that make positive impacts on the culture of the classroom, or as he calls them, "big little things." Attending to these things on a regular basis can lift spirits, trigger a smile, and create a climate where students want to engage in their own learning. But monkey wrenches come in all sizes, and when they are in the wrong place at the wrong time, even little things that disrupt the classroom routine become "big little things" because of their negative impact on the learning process. In this book, Nash doesn't deal with big-ticket or big-budget items, but rather with "big little things" that make a difference one way or another, by their use or by their absence. Every one of the concepts or ideas in these 40 chapters can be implemented and maintained at the classroom level. Each of them can be used and perfected by teachers to build better classrooms, regardless of grade level or subject area. Filled with testimonials from real teachers, animated life examples from Nash's own experience, and reflection questions for each strategy, this book will help every teacher identify and skillfully address those "big little things" for building a better classroom.
Unleash powerful teaching and the science of learning in your classroom Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning empowers educators to harness rigorous research on how students learn and unleash it in their classrooms. In this book, cognitive scientist Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D., and veteran K–12 teacher Patrice M. Bain, Ed.S., decipher cognitive science research and illustrate ways to successfully apply the science of learning in classrooms settings. This practical resource is filled with evidence-based strategies that are easily implemented in less than a minute—without additional prepping, grading, or funding! Research demonstrates that these powerful strategies raise student achievement by a letter grade or more; boost learning for diverse students, grade levels, and subject areas; and enhance students’ higher order learning and transfer of knowledge beyond the classroom. Drawing on a fifteen-year scientist-teacher collaboration, more than 100 years of research on learning, and rich experiences from educators in K–12 and higher education, the authors present highly accessible step-by-step guidance on how to transform teaching with four essential strategies: Retrieval practice, spacing, interleaving, and feedback-driven metacognition. With Powerful Teaching, you will: Develop a deep understanding of powerful teaching strategies based on the science of learning Gain insight from real-world examples of how evidence-based strategies are being implemented in a variety of academic settings Think critically about your current teaching practices from a research-based perspective Develop tools to share the science of learning with students and parents, ensuring success inside and outside the classroom Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning is an indispensable resource for educators who want to take their instruction to the next level. Equipped with scientific knowledge and evidence-based tools, turn your teaching into powerful teaching and unleash student learning in your classroom.
Most educators are skilled at planning instruction and determining what they will do during the course of a lesson. However, to truly engage students in worthwhile, rigorous cognition, a profound shift is necessary: a shift in emphasis from teaching to learning. Put another way, we know that whoever is doing the work is also doing the learning—and in most classrooms, teachers are working much too hard. Authors John V. Antonetti and James R. Garver are the designers of the Look 2 Learning model of classroom walkthroughs. They've visited more than 17,000 classrooms—examining a variety of teaching and learning conditions, talking to students, examining their work, and determining their levels of thinking and engagement. From this vast set of data, they've drawn salient lessons that provide valuable insight into how to smooth the transition from simply planning instruction to designing high-quality student work. The lessons John and Jim have learned from their 17,000 (and counting) classroom visits can't be wrong. They share those lessons in this book, along with stories of successful practice and practical tools ready for immediate classroom application. The authors also provide opportunities for reflection and closure designed to help you consider (or reconsider) your current beliefs and practices. Throughout, you will hear the voices of John and Jim—and the thousands of students they met—as they provide a map for shifting the classroom dynamic from teaching to learning.
Research suggests that metacognition is key to higher student achievement, but studies of classroom practice indicate that few students are taught to use metacognition and the supporting cognitive strategies that make learning easier. You can teach metacognition to your students, so why wouldn’t you? This book shows you how. Metacognition is a tool that helps students unlock their brain’s amazing power and take control of their learning. Educational researchers and professional developers Donna Wilson and Marcus Conyers have been exploring and using the explicit teaching of metacognition for years, and in this book they share a practical way to teach preK–12 students how to drive their brains by promoting the following practices: * Adopt an optimistic outlook toward learning, * Set goals, * Focus their attention, * Monitor their progress, and * Engage in practices that enhance cognitive flexibility. Wilson and Conyers explain metacognition and how it equips students to meet today’s rigorous education standards. They present a unique blend of useful metaphors, learning strategies, and instructional tips you can use to teach your students to be the boss of their brains. Sample lessons show these ideas in a variety of classroom settings, and sections on professional practice help you incorporate these tools (and share them with colleagues and parents) so that you are teaching for and with metacognition.
