Grey Matters: Teaching the way the brain learns

Is it the subject you hate? Or just a single concept?

10/9/2018

Recently I overheard a student complain, "I hate Math!" followed by a large, dramatic sigh and an eye roll.

Remind you of anyone in your class?

Deciding to accept the discussion invitation, I responded, "Hmm, Math is a really large subject. Can you possibly narrow down what portion you find distasteful?"

"Fractions. I hate fractions...I just don't get it," she replied.

"Do you remember long division?" I pressed.

"I love long division. It's so easy," she responded.

"You love long division now...you didn't love it so much, when we first started doing it," I gently reminded the not-loving-fractions 5th grader.

"I didn't? Are you sure? I'm pretty sure I loved it as soon as I started doing it," she replied in a puzzled tone. "I'm really good at division," she continued.

"You're right, you are really good at division. And soon, you'll be great at fractions." I high-fived her as she headed to her seat.

Students often forget how they felt at the beginning of learning a new concept or subject area; focusing only on how they're doing in that moment. A portfolio illustrates early mistakes, the progress made, ultimately showing their overall grasp of the concepts, and in some cases, the time it took to fully grasp the concept.

For more on portfolios, check out: http://www.greymattersdocumentary.com/blog/grades-versus-growth

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How to influence Teacher Efficacy

3/5/2018

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Recent podcasts on Teacher Isolation from BAM Radio and another from NPR’s OnPoint about Teacher Retention has me wondering if we’re asking the wrong questions, potentially missing the point all together.

Maybe it’s not about how teachers are feeling or why they’re leaving the profession, maybe it has to do with teacher efficacy and feeling like “Does what I do really matter?

Teacher efficacy, simply put, is what a teacher thinks of his or her abilities to bring about positive outcomes of student engagement and learning. That point when you feel like they are never going to get it, is the entry point to the rabbit hole of “Why bother”.

According to a 2015 teacher efficacy study, teacher efficacy is a key factor behind successful teaching and we need to consciously and deliberately build teacher efficacy, because it is constantly changing.

One of the big things that can influence teacher efficacy is understanding how the brain learns, in particular the role emotions play and the concept of plasticity.

Emotions and Learning

Mariale Hardiman, former teacher and principal, now interim dean at the Johns Hopkins School of Education and author of The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model for 21st Century Schools, says, “Reducing stress and establishing a positive emotional classroom climate is an essential part of teaching.”

A key part of creating an emotionally safe learning environment is taking the time to connect with students.

Casey, a junior, featured in the documentary Grey Matters: Teaching The Way The Brain Learns says, “When I know a teacher knows me and cares about me, I care more about that class. If a student is stressed, they are not focused on learning.

Teachers often ask, especially in large classrooms, how to connect with each and every student. Maybe it’s inquiring about a sport, or acknowledging a loss by asking how they’re doing today/right now, or just a genuine hello. Do it in a way that feels authentic to you, even if students don’t always respond.

Jeremy Mettler, a teacher at Batavia High School (featured in www.greymattersdocumentary.com) tends to always have snacks, water, pens, pencils, paper, etc., “I want to remove any barriers the kids have to learning. If a kid’s worried about paper or pencils or whatever, they’re not paying attention to what I’m saying. So I just keep that stuff on hand, no questions asked.”

And when it’s you that stressed? If a teacher is stressed, they are not focused on connecting with students.

Understand the source of your stress. Is it student progress? Content time? Intervention challenges? Behavior issues? All of the above?

First off, you’re not alone. Every teacher feels some degree of stress on a daily basis. There are so many factors that impact on your students’ learning, that are beyond your control. And there are so many factors that impact on your teaching, also beyond your control.

Vicky Davis, over at Cool Cat Teacher, did a great 10 minute podcast on managing teacher stress.

For the teachers featured in the film, knowing how the brain learns, helped them to fine tune their teaching practice, which in turn lowered their stress.

Plasticity

Vicky Krug, an adjunct professor at Westmoreland County Community College, constantly reminds her students that they can change their brains, “I even give them foam brains at the beginning of every year to help them remember. The rainbow coloured brains are always a hit”

Krug would know. She survived an accident that left her with a traumatic brain injury and compromised brain function. When Krug says, “You can train your brain,” she’s speaking from experience.

Neuroscientist turned teacher, Judy Willis, explains plasticity as the selective organizing of connections between neurons in our brains. Simply put, what fires together, wires together, or practice makes perfect.

What does this look like in the classroom? Repeated exposure, in different ways, helps with retention and recall of concepts. Connecting it to what students already know and highlighting the relevancy, aids with mastery and moves students along the path of critical and creative thinking. Referencing concepts across the subject silos aids with relevancy and big picture thinking.

Understanding how the brain learns helps teachers fine tune their teaching practice, engage your students, and positively influence academic outcomes, ultimately fostering both collective and self teacher efficacy. It’s a win for teachers and students.

Next up: How the physical characteristics and features of your learning space influences learning

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How to teach material, without killing instruction time.

1/6/2018

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One of the biggest fears of teachers is not enough time to teach material, which is why they’ll often just cover the material.

What is the difference between teaching and covering materials? A lot of times it boils down to leaving room for the inevitable questions and tangents that will arise, after the material is presented.

Covering presents concepts, facts, and information; the main objective is retention for purposes of recall and testing. Teaching allows for processing the material, asking questions, and connecting it to known concepts; the objective is creative thinking where the information is used in new and different ways.

Both are key to student engagement and learning.

Excerpting from “The Brain Targeted Teaching Model for 21st Century Schools” by Mariale Hardiman, and quoting Ulrich Kraft, a physician and science writer, “Fresh solutions result from disassembling and reassembling the building blocks in an infinite number of ways. That means the problem solver must have thoroughly understand the blocks.”

Simply put, you’ve to have some knowledge before you can think creatively about something!

Here are 5 tips to move beyond covering material in your classroom, without killing your instruction time:

1. Give students a heads up
Let them know what the next unit study is going to be, and ask them to come in to class with 1 or 2 things they know about the subject, and 1 or 2 things they want to know about the subject. Do the same thing for yourself.

2. Prep!
What are the big takeaways your students need? How does it fit in with previously units? Include review opportunities to illustrate the connected nature of knowledge and refresh concepts. Does it tie in to other classes? How does it relate to things, outside the classroom environment?

3. Have a running vocabulary sheet for the unit.
As you design your lesson plan, share words or concepts that were unfamiliar to you. It’s a great way to connect with your students and illustrate that everyone is learning, all the time, even teachers. Encourage students to go up and add to the sheet during class time; model this behavior as well.

4. Play detective.
Encourage students to write down their “I wonder” questions. It’s a great way for you to see how they are relating to the information, and explore potential extensions. Remember to model; not everyone feels comfortable sharing their inner musings.

5. Make it fun.
While you’re not there to entertain your students, fun engages learners and makes things memorable. The more pleasure or joy we feel doing something, the more we want to do it. Let’s find fun and interesting ways to present information. Find tie-ins where possible. Relate it to the known.

And remember, if they’re not getting it…it’s most likely the way in which the information is being communicated.

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How to teach the way the brain learns

12/7/2017

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Read this for a 3 minute overview on how to enhance your teaching practice to engage your students and help them connect the knowledge: https://www.teachthought.com/learning/6-targets-teach-way-brain-learns/

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Grades versus Growth

11/14/2017

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Grades versus Growth

When I was a parent for the first time I noted every single thing the tiny human did…and drove my pediatrician nuts because the moment something seemed out of the ordinary, she would receive a phone call. And then she gave me a piece of advice that continues to resonate almost a decade later and extend to most aspects of of daily life. That sage bit of wisdom was to, “Observe over a three-day period rather than every single moment”. For example, in the case of the tiny humans and eating, her advice was, “Over the course of three days, they should have some protein, some vegetables, some fruit, some starches…” and, well, you get the idea.

I’ve extended this advice of looking over a period of time, rather than a single point in time, to teaching and assessment.

Brain Target 6: Evaluating Learning
Assessment is tough and a letter grade doesn’t always provide the full picture of a student’s knowledge. Vicky Krug, Assistant Professor at Westmoreland County Community College, featured in the documentary Grey Matters: Teaching The Way The Brain Learns aptly describes letter grades from tests as measuring “a single point in time” of the learning journey. Krug continues, “The tests are good tests, but it’s one instance”.

Jeremy Mettler, featured in the documentary Grey Matters: Teaching The Way The Brain Learns, makes the case for measuring growth as part of evaluating learning (Brain Target 6 of the Brain Targeted Teaching Model), “Growth can be many different things from speaking up in class to working through math problems and for Mettler, “It’s probably one of my favourite things to measure because it gives me a more holistic picture of a student’s progress.”

Portfolios can help.

Portfolios are a great way to capture progress over time, painting a more accurate picture of a student’s knowledge base. If you're interested in building a more complete picture of your students’ knowledge base consider these tips to get started using a portfolio:
1. Outline the goal of the portfolio.Are you using it to track short term student progress, such as a unit study, or more long-term progress?

2. Who’s the audience?
Is it for you, the teacher, to have a tangible representation of your students’ progress? Is this for parents to obtain a more detailed picture of their student’s work load? Will it go to a fellow teacher? Is this a student project? Outlining the audience will aid in how the student’s work is curated.

3. Will you grade it?
If you are grading it, who’s selecting the work to be included? Have you shown students the grading rubric? Is the rubric standardized?

Further reading

For more reading on Portfolios, check out:
https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ConsumerGuides/classuse.html
http://etale.org/main/2015/11/18/3-reasons-to-use-portfolios-in-education/

Purchase the film

If you would like to order Grey Matters: Teaching The Way The Brain Learns for professional development, please click here.
More about the model

For more information on the Brain Targeted Teaching Model, check out www.braintargetedteaching.org.

Get social with us

Facebook: www.facebook.com/greymattersdocumentary
Twitter: www.twitter.com/changethelens

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Assumptions

10/10/2017

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Yesterday morning I was chatting with the check out person at our local grocery store and asked after her daughter, who I knew was starting kindergarten. The mom said that she loved it so much, she would come home, eat dinner and ask if she could go back to school after dinner.

Cute, right?

Then the mom said with a laugh, “That won’t last long. She’ll hate it. I hated school.”

“Not necessarily,” I said, “Great teachers help.”

That 90 second social interaction stuck with me for the rest of the day and got me thinking, “How much of how children feel about school is dictated by their parents’ attitude? After all, children model (unconsciously or consciously) their parents/parental figures attitudes and beliefs.

Why would you, as a parent, have the expectation that school is something that all kids will eventually hate?

Research studies indicate parents and parental involvement in school are the biggest contributors to students’ academic success. More than what school, how we teach, and what we teach. Parental involvement matters. Annie Murphy Paul, author of Brilliant: The Science of Smart writes more about this here: http://ideas.time.com/2012/10/24/the-single-largest-advantage-parents-can-give-their-kids/

And this isn’t just about showing up to the Parent-Teacher conference or jumping on the PTO; rather it’s about getting involved in your child’s learning journey - knowing what they are excited to learn and why, understanding the things that they are struggling with and directing them to extra resources. Helping them connect what they know to what they already know. And above all, continuing to talk to them about the process of learning.

Learning isn’t something that stops. It’s a continuous process, filled with moments of frustration, “I don’t get it”, “Oh this is kinda like”, and that beautiful moment of “I totally get this”.

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Why Learning Styles are Irrelevant

9/8/2017

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If you believe the learning styles theory, you’re showing up to class with 3 different versions of your lesson plan - one for the kinesthetic learner, another for the visual, a third for the auditory, right?

No, you’re not doing that?

But…but what the different learning styles of your students??

Clearly, no one is showing up to class with three lesson plans. (Unless you are, in which case, please comment below…I’d love to talk about what you’ve found).

In 2008 four psychologists collaborated and cohesively studied the existing literature on learning styles; they concluded that there was no strong evidence to support the learning styles theory but they didn’t completely rule it out. You can read the paper by Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer, & Bjork, here: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/pspi/PSPI_9_3.pdf

Yet we continue to talk about learning styles in education.

Veteran Baltimore City Public Schools educator, Dr. Mariale Hardiman, now Professor of Education at Johns Hopkins University, recommends teachers think big picture learning goals and let those learning goals drive the activities and assessments, “When teachers focus solely on the individual points students often miss the larger concepts or the “big picture” essential for deep understanding and memory.”

I look at it as giving the main idea rather than just the bulleted points, as in, “Here’s what you’re going to learning in this section/unit building on previous knowledge of x,y, and z.” I also like to outline the takeaways, as in, here’s what you’re really learning to do. If you’re more of a sports analogy person, think big play, instead of move by move.

But, what about my kinesthetic and auditory and visual learners, teachers will say at this point.

Vicky Krug, a college professor at Westmoreland County Community College, featured in Grey Matters, says, “I take a multi sensorial approach to what I teach and I design the learning experience using multiple senses. I know that getting students up and about in class helps their engagement and focus so I incorporate that. Some material naturally lends itself to movement and with other stuff, I find a way to work it in. I add visuals, I have students repeat things out loud”

Want to try a multi sensorial approach in your classroom? Try backwards planning. What are the key things your students need to master at the end of the unit? Then, think about the best ways to make that happen from both an activities and assessment perspective.

Invest in planning
When Jeremy Mettler planned a unit on the importance of the Suez Canal he started with an in class unit to give him an idea of the collective knowledge base of his students, incorporated flash cards with vocabulary cartoons to help students quickly grasp the basics, and then designed an experience that brought home the differences of travel pre-canal and post-canal. “The biggest thing fear for teachers is the lack of content time but when I invest in planning and using some kind of visual organizer to highlight the key concepts of the unit, it strengthens my teaching practice in class. I teach, instead of just covering content”.

Mix it up
Krug teaches college level developmental reading and writing; she often chooses different instruction materials to help her students grasp concepts simply because they’re more interesting. It’s not uncommon to hear Dr. Seuss or debates on the 14th Amendment in her classes. “I’m a big believer in fun and I give students multiple ways to experience the material so that they have multiple ways to retrieve the material”.

Incorporate Real Life
Justin Holbrook, a 4th grade STEM teacher at Roland Park Elementary, tries to show the real life applications of things, “When students see what I’m teaching them is applicable in the real world, they pay more attention. Place value translated nicely into pay cheques; calculating area was a great way to weigh in on some of the proposed changes to various spaces to our school”.

You can see Mettler, Krug, and Holbrook in the education documentary Grey Matters: Teaching The Way The Brain Learns.

Interested in purchasing for Professional Development? Click here and join teachers and school districts across the US who are using Grey Matters to engage their students and strengthen their teaching practice.

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Math in the morning?

8/29/2017

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.Does time of day matter when it comes to planning instruction time?

Is it better to have Math in the morning and Language Arts in the afternoon?
Some research says it does, like this study: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/REST_a_00525 and this one from David Sousa, a renowned educator, advocate for neuroeducation, and author: https://howthebrainlearns.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/impact-of-circadian-rhythms-on-schools-and-classrooms/.

But there are others that suggest otherwise and students will advocate strongly for no early morning classes.

So what’s the deal anyway?

Circadian rhythms, our body’s 24-hour clock, drives the cycles of alertness and drowsiness. Most adults will experience the biggest energy dip in the middle of the night between 2:00-4:00 a.m and after lunch. Theoretically early elementary and middle school aged kids will have a similar pattern. Teens however are quite different, for a number of reasons from technology to anxiety. These two resources are worth a read:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/from/sleep.html
https://www.thesleepjudge.com/teens-and-sleep/

Scheduling classes
If you have autonomy over planning your schedule, and you’re working with elementary to tween students, you may want to to organize your time blocks with subjects that require higher focus in the morning. That might look like math first thing in the morning, or math directly following recess.

If you don’t, and that’s the majority of teachers I know, or you're working with teens and college students, an alternative would be to schedule a two minute exercise activity to get your kids moving. John Medina, molecular biologist and author of Brain Rules, reminds us in brain rule #1: Exercise increases blood and oxygen flow in the body which makes our brain perform better. Check out more on this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck-tQt0S0Os (cue in at 0:51).

Pediatric psychologist Dr. Lynne Kenney recommends 5 minutes of cognitive motor activity every 45 minutes.

Sample classroom workout:

Here’s an easy 2 minute exercise routine for you to try in your classroom: https://darebee.com/workouts/2minute-workout.html
Each exercise is 20 seconds long, with no rest in-between:
Jumping Jacks
Jump Squats
High Knees
Side to Side lunges or regular lunges
Squats
Mountain Climbers, if space allows, or end with Jumping Jacks

You can laminate copies for your students to grab as they enter class.

I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below.

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Calming spaces in the classroom

8/17/2017

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Ideally, classrooms are busy, active, and stimulating places. There might be out loud reading, collaboration and brainstorming, a teacher guiding conversation and dialogue, and a number of other activities that keep the volume level high.

And on any given day, there might be a student who needs to take a moment to disconnect and regroup. The student who needs a moment is usually easy to spot - sometimes disruptive to their group or completely disengaged from the surrounding activity; body language is also a good indicator.

We’ve all had those moments and we’ve all had those students in our classrooms.

Consider having a space, in class, for students, (or teachers) to take a moment.

And no, this isn’t a new take on standing in the corner; it’s a space where a student can step back, by choice, without fear of judgement or punishment, and freely observe/acknowledge how they are feeling, use a calming down tool from the “I need a moment space” and decide after two minutes, if they need further discussion with a teacher or they can handle it on their own.

You can ask for students’ input on what they would like to have in the space or you can start it on your own.

Here are some suggestions for your “I need a moment” space:
- Make the space inviting and warm, a little piece of “home” in class. A small rug, pillows, maybe a meditation or a bean bag chair.
- Provide a journal for students to share how they are feeling or use this feeling chart (or something similar). Consider modifying to add a column where the student can check off if they’d like to talk with their teacher or another professional.
- Colouring books (and pencils) are a great, physical way to help a child temporarily disconnect and take control of their emotions.
- Stock your space with healthy snacks. Consider nut-free energy bars, trail mix, crackers, bottles of water. Jeremy Mettler, one of the teachers featured in the film, always has snacks on hand because, “If a kid is hungry, they’re not paying attention to my class.”
- Remind your students most emotions pass in 90 seconds.
- Most of all, model the behavior so students know that it’s really ok to utilize the space when needed.

Photo credit: http://at-riskyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/23148-90seconds.png

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The dreaded school supply list

7/25/2017

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This year, the National Retail Federation estimates a total spend of $4.9 billion dollars (USD) on school supplies such as notebooks, folders, pencils, backpacks and lunch boxes, with an average of $114 per K-12 child.

$114 may not seem that bad. After all, that’s only $11 per month of school.

But, inevitably, there’s the ask from teachers for school supplies to be donated - the extra pencils, crayons, and the inevitable truck load of glue sticks (no, they’re not eating it).

Numerous conversations with parents reveal a resentment, tinged with shades of guilt, for the resentment. The conversation always goes back to school taxes, as in, “I pay my school taxes. I don’t understand why I need to donate school supplies. I’ve expenses just like everyone else and I’m not asking for anyone to help me pay them.”

Then I read the shocking news story about Teresa Danks, a Columbus, OH teacher, who decided to panhandle for the money she needed to purchase school supplies for her classroom.

Here’s the thing - you’re sending your child to school with the requisite supplies. Maybe someone else couldn’t. Maybe their child is one of the 51% of US public school students who live in poverty.

Buying extra supplies is one way to alleviate stress in the classroom, for teachers, and for students in need. If a student is stressed, they’re not learning. They’re thinking about whatever it is, that’s stressing them out. As in, “Crap. I don’t have any more paper. Gotta ask Mom to get me some. How much does paper cost anyway? She’ll probably say I was wasting it and she doesn’t have any money to buy it anyway. I wonder who I can borrow some from. Who haven’t I asked yet?”

Let’s keep our learners focused on learning. And let’s keep our teachers teaching.
So the next time you see that list come home with the extra supplies request, or you take a few tags from the giving tree at preschool/early elementary, relish the chance to be a good neighbor…think of it as your personal Santa Claus moment. You'll feel good and lower your stress.

And if your state participates in the tax free weekend for school supply shopping, take advantage. Here’s a list of the participating states and times: http://hip2save.com/2017/06/26/2017-tax-free-shopping-dates-save-on-back-to-school-shopping-select-states-only/

For more on how schools are funded, check out this piece from NPR; it is a complex and multifaceted story, subject to frequent changes.

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