Courses
SBL course, Emily Rinkema and Stan WilliamsCreativity and the Neuroscience of Teaching, Sam Crowell
Differentiated Instruction, Beth Peterson
Take aways from Fair Isn't Always Equal:
The idea of retakes and revisions being able to be done without consequence. Some students just need more time to master a skill. If they are willing to put in the work it takes to get there, even if they get there later than others, they should not be penalized. Some kids are just a beat or two or three behind everyone else.
Practice, practice, practice...Not grading every task helps students see the value in doing tasks just for the experience of learning. The feedback is the important part, not the grade. What have you learned and what do you still need to work on is what should be communicated during practice.
Using targets to drive the learning process is far superior to using grades. The targets allow a student and other concerned parties to know where a student is and where they need to go.
Take aways from The Art of Changing the Brain:
My favorite part of this text is when Zull writes, after relating a story about a student who was having difficulty engaging in his class, "As I began to recognize that all these little bits of behavior come from a physical structure in the head, I thought differently about them. I found myself accepting student and teacher behaviors as natural results of the physical world, rather than tending to make judgments about them." I have always looked for reasons to explain student behavior and knowing more about the reactions occurring in the brain is not only helpful for my own use, but gives us common ground as teachers to have constructive discourse about student learning and behavior.
I also find the idea of having the wrong pathway set by practicing a skill in the wrong way useful knowledge for my own work, but also useful when talking with students. I'm not sure who said it, but I know Dan Sheppardson repeats it, "Practice, practice,practice, makes permanent. As teachers we need to make sure we are providing opportunities for practice with guidance, before independent practice.
Books
Emergent Teaching: A Path to Creativity, Significance, and Transformation, Sam Crowell and David Reid-Marr
From Brain to Mind, James E. Zull
The Art of Changing the Brain, James E. Zull
The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life, Robert Fritz
Fair Isn't Always Equal, Rick Wormelli
SBL course, Emily Rinkema and Stan WilliamsCreativity and the Neuroscience of Teaching, Sam Crowell
Differentiated Instruction, Beth Peterson
Take aways from Fair Isn't Always Equal:
The idea of retakes and revisions being able to be done without consequence. Some students just need more time to master a skill. If they are willing to put in the work it takes to get there, even if they get there later than others, they should not be penalized. Some kids are just a beat or two or three behind everyone else.
Practice, practice, practice...Not grading every task helps students see the value in doing tasks just for the experience of learning. The feedback is the important part, not the grade. What have you learned and what do you still need to work on is what should be communicated during practice.
Using targets to drive the learning process is far superior to using grades. The targets allow a student and other concerned parties to know where a student is and where they need to go.
Take aways from The Art of Changing the Brain:
My favorite part of this text is when Zull writes, after relating a story about a student who was having difficulty engaging in his class, "As I began to recognize that all these little bits of behavior come from a physical structure in the head, I thought differently about them. I found myself accepting student and teacher behaviors as natural results of the physical world, rather than tending to make judgments about them." I have always looked for reasons to explain student behavior and knowing more about the reactions occurring in the brain is not only helpful for my own use, but gives us common ground as teachers to have constructive discourse about student learning and behavior.
I also find the idea of having the wrong pathway set by practicing a skill in the wrong way useful knowledge for my own work, but also useful when talking with students. I'm not sure who said it, but I know Dan Sheppardson repeats it, "Practice, practice,practice, makes permanent. As teachers we need to make sure we are providing opportunities for practice with guidance, before independent practice.
Books
Emergent Teaching: A Path to Creativity, Significance, and Transformation, Sam Crowell and David Reid-Marr
From Brain to Mind, James E. Zull
The Art of Changing the Brain, James E. Zull
The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life, Robert Fritz
Fair Isn't Always Equal, Rick Wormelli