How to Structure a Classroom to Enhance Productivity

 There is a fine line between being busy and being productive, often the line gets blurred in the dust of daily tasks, the routines of a teacher are hectic, being productive is a good aim. ‘Busyness’ can be a real thief of time. Productivity can add hours back into the day and help us get more done with less stress in less time!

Perhaps you know a teacher who gets to school early, drinks coffee, chats, complains, and flutters around, they can never get on top of their workload.

The sad truth is, this to and fro motion of moving from one desk to another, one class to another, this cycle didn’t end even with the online setting of education. But don’t worry that’s covered as well.

First let us take a look in to some of the most effective ways of increasing the productivity in your class.

Let’s start shall we?

1:        Make learning relevant

The more relevant a topic or subject is to students' own success and happiness, the more engaged they'll become in the learning process.

On the whole, when teaching math, science, social studies, even history, find ways to adapt the lesson to the interests of students. It's also helpful to discover the interests, talents, and learning styles of each student if possible. As resources permit, adjust teaching methods and strategies to meet the needs of students on an individual basis and you'll see students become more attentive and engaged.

2:        Develop a Code of Conduct

If students don't have a clear and agreed upon understanding of positive and negative behaviors, it's difficult to create a positive learning environment in the classroom and at school.

The first step to establishing a code of conduct is to ask students how they like being treated. From this question students should be able to brainstorm a list of behaviors they believe are respectful, kind, fair, and appropriate.

At this point, together students and teachers should be able to agree that treating others the way we each want to be treated is the best code of conduct, and should set the stage for appropriate classroom behaviors.

3:        Employ a Positive Action Curriculum

While it would be nice if all students shared the same understanding of positive behaviors, they don't. Children come from diverse family, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

All these influences, and others, shape students' perspective of what's appropriate, and what is not. It's important that students are taught positive behaviors in a consistent and systematic way at school and in the classroom. Developing a Positive Action curriculum is one of the most effective ways to teach and instill in students positive behaviors.

Positive action curriculum should teach students that positive actions lead to a good feeling and positive self-image.

Positive actions such as nutrition, exercise, and sleep lead to a healthy body. Positive actions such as problem-solving, decision-making and thinking skills develop the brain and make us smarter. Positive actions such as kindness, living the Golden Rule, and being respectful allow us get along with others. Positive actions such as time management and managing our emotions help us better manage our own affairs. Positive actions such as admitting mistakes and taking responsibility for our actions allow us to be honest with others and ourselves. Positive actions such as goal setting lead to personal growth and improvement. Positive actions lead to positive behaviors, which help children feel good about themselves and others.

4:        Help Students Develop Intrinsic Motivation

Feeling good about themselves is an intrinsic motivator to students–especially elementary age students–and positive actions help children feel good about themselves. So, how do you help students consistently engage in positive actions? First, actions are always preceded by thoughts.

Second, actions and behaviors are typically consistent with thoughts. Third, feelings, children experience about themselves, are based in large part by their actions. Helping students learn that by changing a negative thought to a positive they can produce positive actions, and that positive actions will help them feel good about themselves is a powerful intrinsic motivator.

5:        Reinforce Positive Behaviors

Recognizing and reinforcing positive behaviors is one of the most effective ways to produce positive actions in students, strengthen intrinsic motivation, and create a productive and positive learning environment.

Certificates, stickers, toy prizes, tickets, tokens and other reward systems are great ways to recognize students and reinforce positive behavior and achievement in the classroom. However, it's also important to help students make the connection between positive behavior and the good feeling it produces not just the physical award.

As students make that connection between positive behavior and good feelings, and continue producing positive actions, they'll feel good about themselves, the intrinsic motivation is strengthened, and students will continue producing more positive actions and exhibiting positive behaviors.

6:        Always Respond With Positivity

Positivity is a key component of a positive learning environment. Interacting with students in a positive manner, exhibiting positive behaviors, and maintaining a positive attitude is one of the most important steps for creating a positive learning environment and producing successful students.

Regardless of the situation or circumstance, there is always a way to respond to and interact with students in a positive way. Teaching students how to communicate and interact with each other in a positive manner is also key to fostering a positive learning environment in the classroom. Positivity is one of the most powerful agents of change for establishing and maintaining a positive learning environment at school and in the classroom.

These are not the only strategies but the most effective ones that you might not have used or observed before, but practicing these tips will help you achieve your goals in a shorter span of time.

Now let’s pause for a word from our sponsor…

Okay, Let us address the challenges teachers and students might have during the online scene of studying. There are 6 tips I want to share.

1:        Make and follow the plan

 It’s a golden rule for getting things right. The more you want to get better at something, the more you think about it. Planning is the number one way to make sure that you have the time and resources to get things done. If you’re taking a live class, prepare with the video conferencing tool that you’re going to use.

Make sure that you’re comfortable with it. Prepare for events like technical glitches.  If you’re planning to take an online quiz, make sure you can take those results and use it in a way that helps you assess the student performance in the future.

2:        Outline your goals

Let’s face it. The world may get rid of COVID19, but online learning is here to stay. It’s become the new normal, and as a teacher, it’s important that you set your goals and expectations based on that. Think of what you want to achieve with a particular task.

Think of what you can do to make it as efficient as possible. Is there some tool that you can use to make it easier? Is it absolutely necessary that you do this today? Is there anything that you should complete today before you do this? Prioritizing your goals is a very easy and simple step to improve your efficiency, but it’s also very effective.

You’re the teacher. You teach.

It’s so easy in today’s world to lose focus. When working inside an institution, there’s bound to be some clerical tasks, non-teaching related activities, and out-of-the-class tasks that you need to do. But never forget to breathe life into your lessons. You are the teacher, first and foremost. Those students are your responsibility, and they depend on you for valuable lessons. So be the teacher you wish you had. Make the learning experience memorable. Affirming this will help you get through a lot during a busy workday. It will also help you keep the focus on the bigger picture.

3:        Don’t be afraid to explore new solutions

Everything may not be obvious at the beginning. You may have to work for it. But remember, for every problem that you face, there are a million teachers out there facing the same problem. Chances are, your solutions are only a google search away.

Expand your network and field of vision over the walls of your institution. You will better answer and make new connections this way.

4:        Work at home, but not all the time

All of us who can work from home are doing it. Not every teacher has the opportunity but that doesn’t make it any less relevant. Take time for yourself between classes and tasks. Spend time reflecting on your performance. Self-evaluation is always a great way to make sure that you don’t repeat the same mistakes again. 

No matter how good you are at anything, doing something without a break may result in exhaustion and reduced productivity. So leave room for small breaks in your daily schedules.

5:        Use a mix of learning tools for better engagement

 

These days, we’re fortunate to have the technology to create virtual learning environments that allow us to collaborate and engage just as well as if we were in the classroom.

As Dr Boettche says, “the variety of activities that are now possible online makes it possible to create many types of effective learning environments.”

The best online teachers use a combination of both synchronous and asynchronous activities, creating a blend of traditional online learning styles with newer, more collaborative audio and visual tools. Working with a mix of activities makes the content more interesting and exciting, increasing student engagement with both the teacher and other learners.

6:        Make e-learning Content Mobile

 It’s wise to acknowledge the importance of mobile learning for online teachers, with students and employees now accustomed to using their mobile devices for learning.

Mobile learning holds key advantages for learners, allowing them to access up-to-date course materials and relevant content anywhere, anytime. With bite-sized pieces of information available to be digested quickly and easily, learners can work through course materials at their own pace, assisting both performance and productivity.

Make sure your eLearning content can be easily accessed via smartphones, laptops, and iPads to maximize your teaching methods. You’ll also be demonstrating to your learners that you’re in touch with the needs of today’s modern workforce and its relevant technology.

How to Set Up and organize "Meet the Teacher Night"

If you are in your first year of teaching or 6^th, one thing that makes teachers a little leery (a little anxious) is meet the teacher night. It can be the most stressful evening, you do get excited meeting your students’ parents but you are also stressed to think what if something goes wrong.

And for some teachers it can be the most terrifying night of their career. They have to get their classroom organized on top of consecutive full days of service and information over load.

While these trainings are all very necessary for the new school year, the thought of getting the classroom reorganized after summer cleaning, and ready the students in a very short amount of time can be very daunting and to be honest, it is STRESSFUL!

Yet, despite all the odds against us…, my friend, we can make it fun, and we can definitely make it much more STRESS-FREE for us as well!

So let’s talk about how your next “meet the parent’s night” can be a total success; also since we are living in arguably a virtual age so it is only fair to have some tips on organizing the best “meet the teacher night” virtually. But more on that later. First, let’s make your next “meet the teacher night” a success. I will discussing 9 tips.

Make it simple:

Making things simple sounds counter-intuitive. Yet when we have a million and one things to do on top of the million and one things we already have to do for “Meet-the-Teacher Night,” it is easy to overlook these small but important details. For example, if you have forms for parents to fill out, leave pens and pencils that are readily available at their child’s desk for them. Placing a sign at the designated area where you want parents to turn in the forms would also help avoid any confusion, and free up your time to meet other students who are arriving. Any other information such as a daily schedule and other important details should also be on the students’ desks for parents to take home afterwards.

Keep it simple:

Because “Meet-the-Teacher Night” can also be exciting and very overwhelming for students and parents, we should always do our best to keep it simple for them. Warmly greet them at the door, ask parents to sign in, find their child’s table/desk and cubby, and encourage them to simply take a walk around the classroom.

Labeling different learning areas will help parents and students navigate through the classroom with ease while becoming more familiar with it. In addition, if you are teaching little ones, don’t forget to ask parents to indicate how their child will be dismissed on the first day of school and the rest of the year! Once you have this important information, you can begin making dismissal tags or lists before the first day of school!

Enlist help to Organize

Since students are likely to bring in their supplies that very night, organizing school supplies can be a very time consuming task. Enlist help from parents and students! Not only is it fun for the students, it also gives you a good idea of how much supplies you have coming into your class. Placing labels throughout the classroom with bins or baskets for parents and students to simply drop their supplies in has always been a BIG help for many teachers.

And help does not have to end with organizing school supplies! If you would like for parents to sign up to volunteer in the classroom or at your school, this is a wonderful opportunity to encourage them to do so! 

No matter if it is returning leveled-books back to the library, reorganizing your classroom library or cutting out lamination, this is the perfect time to enlist help!

Make it fun:

Have parents and students walk away from your classroom filled with excitement and joy for the new school year! Whether it be photo booth or a simple gift for students to walk away with, leave students with a happy memory of the evening! 

YOUR CLASSROOM DOESN’T HAVE TO BE COMPLETE

Many schools hold open house just before school starts so students and parents can meet their new teacher before the first day of school. While your classroom doesn’t have to be perfect, or even completely set up and decorated, you do want families to feel comfortable and confident that their child will be spending their school day in a happy environment.

In the primary grades, make sure you have a name tag and desk or table space for each child. Put away piles and unfinished projects until after your open house. Empty spaces are better than cluttered ones, and bare bones bulletin boards are okay, too.

 CONNECT AND COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR NEW FAMILIES

Do your best to not only greet and spend a moment with each family, but to make a connection and begin a relationship. Help students make connections too. Ask each child to look at the class name tags to see if they know anyone in their new class. 

MANAGE YOUR TIME

With many families arriving at once, your time with students and parents is limited. Make the most of it by making eye contact with each child as they arrive. If you are busy with another student, give them a big smile and an “I see you and I’ll be right there” signal.

“Meet the Teacher night” is not a time to hold individual conferences with parents. Most schools hold open house for 60-90 minutes with families continually coming and going during this time. If you find a parent needs to speak with me more in depth, you can set up a time when you can call them and ask them to be sure to include information for you on a “Help Me Get to Know Your Child” sheet.

SET UP SIMPLE PARENT STATIONS      

Ensure that all parents know what to do and where to put supplies with step-by-step procedure posters. Use signs to set up a system that runs itself so you are free to spend time with parents and students. This gets parents started while they wait to see you.

 

MAKE IT EASY TO COLLECT STUDENT INFORMATION

My first priority during “Meet the Teacher Night” is to welcome my students and to make them feel comfortable. My second priority is to collect key information I need from parents and to provide parents with information they will need from me. I highly recommend a parent sign in sheet as the first thing parents do when they arrive.

Many schools in almost every part of the world are now closed and planning of distance learning are in action but learning is not the only thing that creates a learning environment and teachers should get prepared for activities like meet the teacher to be soon organized virtually. It is understandable that the hardest part of distance education is faced by educators who have to spend extra hours to make sure the lesson is suitable to be delivered on google classroom and that students will understand the concepts the way they are supposed to.

So let us take a look at some of the ways how you can rock your “virtual meet and greet.”

Introduce Your Virtual Classroom – 5 tips

As you put together your virtual Meet the Teacher plans, don’t forget to show your students their virtual classroom. Since students won’t be seeing their actual classroom for a while, consider using Loom or Screencastify to record your screen and make a quick video of your online classroom. If you use Google Classroom, you can even create fun headers to customize your classroom. 

In your classroom tour, show parents where to access assignments, grades, feedback, and any messages you may send them.

Familiarize Parents With The Learning Platform

If you will begin the school year via distance learning, it is important to provide parents with information on how to use Zoom, Seesaw, Teams, Canvas, or any other platforms and websites you will be using. Be sure to explain the rules and routines you will use for class meetings, and completing and turning in assignments.

Digitize Your Parent Forms

During a typical “Meet the Teacher open house,” I set up parent stations around the room with the different tasks and forms I need parents to complete. For a virtual open house, you can still easily collect the same information by digitizing your forms. Once you do so, you can easily email the forms to parents or share them in the online platform you are using.

Send A Meet The Teacher Letter

Over the years, many parents have told me how excited their student was to receive a letter from me prior to "Meet the Teacher Night.” Teacher letters or a simple postcard are wonderful ways to let students know you are excited to meet them and have them in your class. Whether you mail them out ahead of time or give them to families at your open house, letters from the teacher are a great way to introduce yourself. Students love to know a bit of personal information about their teacher.

SEND FORMS TO PARENTS

Whether you are using Google Classroom, or another online platform, you can share with parents all the forms and documents right on the platform you are using. Provide instructions for how to log in and find the documents you send, as well as how to access assignments for your students.

This will familiarize parents with the platform so they can help their student if needed before school starts.

Sending all your information forms to parents via your platform makes it easy for parents to fill then out, and even easier for you to track who has accessed and completed them. Collecting all the info digitally saves you a ton of time and paper, and prevents you from having to chase down missing forms.

Schedule A Meet Your Teacher Video Chat

The easiest way to meet your students virtually is to do a short video chat on Zoom with each family. Much like you would schedule parent conferences, prepare a schedule of available times and invite your parents to sign up for a chat. Keep your meetings short, to about 5 minutes, and load the times into a scheduling app.

Interview Tips for New Teachers

 Being a teacher is a job that’s more rewarding than any other profession and those who willingly choose this profession will agree, you not only get to gauge individuals from all the backgrounds but It is in your hands how their future will turn out.

Although you are passionate and excited about starting your new job as a teacher things are not as easy as submitting your portfolio and getting hired next week.

A misunderstanding new teachers may have is that they believe being a teacher in college or high school is hard since the curriculum is more demanding.

Being a teacher in primary school can be equally hard If not more, students are still developing their social skills, they have yet to understand the performance and this is the stage where you realize not all kids in a group are equally capable.

But the most important thing new teachers need to focus on and sadly quite a few learn the hard way is preparing for the interview.

Even if you think you have it all together, the interviewers are very  experienced and even if you say the right thing in the wrong way it impacts your chances of getting the job.

So here are some of the frequently asked questions most teachers will be asked in their first interview, and some appropriate answers you should practice.

This not the ultimate guide or a hack to pace through your next interview, but an in depth idea of how interviews are conducted and what is the kind of answer the interviewer expects from you to consider hiring you.

Before we start though, here is a set of small tips that you need to be aware of when preparing for an interview:

Research the school online and talk to teachers. Learn their challenges.

Brainstorm times you’ve solved problems like theirs.

Practice sample teacher interview questions. Write up your answers and drill with 3x5 cards. When possible, describe a problem you once faced, an action you took, and a positive result you achieved.

Gather materials like a lesson plan, Praxis scores, and transcripts. Include images as proof of your accomplishments.

Prepare a packet for each person with your current resume.

The best way to answer questions on any job should be to use the STAR approach, it should have a situation, a task, an action and a result.

Make sure to write a small answer on a piece of paper along with the question and compare it with what is considered the optimal answer to gauge where you stand and to identify the areas that need practice.

 

I will be sharing 10 questions for you to consider:

 

Q1:    Why Do You Want to Be a Teacher?

This is the most frequently asked question and in many cases it is the first thing you will hear in an interview.

The interviewers want to see beyond your exceptional resume and degree, they want to see what motivates you, what is the reason behind you choosing this field, and if you can perform up to par with respect to  your qualifications.

If your answer is going to be “to help people” it is not going to be enough, however if you explain why, and how you want to help people by describing the Purpose-- it changes everything.

Here is an example of what your answer should be.

You can start with a story from your experience when you were a student and how a certain teacher helped you get through a course or perhaps a class which marked an impression deep enough so you have decided to help students today the same way.

 

Q2:    What is your teaching philosophy?

This question has several different phrases like are you a good fit for this school, and these questions are equivalent to tell us about yourself.

Before saying a word know what the school’s philosophy that you’re applying for is. Take the time to learn about that school’s philosophy and make it a part of your interview preparation.

Take this answer for an example. I believe in teaching to each student’s passion. For instance, in one kindergarten class, my students had trouble with punctuation. I observed that one student, Mary, suddenly got excited about apostrophes. I fueled her passion with a big book on punctuation. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and soon the entire class was asking bright and animated questions. Whenever possible, I try to deliver structured lessons in an unstructured way like this.

Q3:  How much do you want to know about your students in order to be most helpful to them?

This is another of those questions that depend on the schools philosophy of teaching, One administrator might think it’s crucial to know every detail. Another might say, “A doctor doesn’t need to know her patient’s favorite ice cream flavor.”

Be honest, but find common ground, as to the answer of this teaching interview question:

You can say, I need to know a student’s learning style, passions, and challenges. One difficult student, Tim, was disruptive in class. I joined him on the playground on and off. It turned out he was being bullied after school by his brother’s friends. I spoke with Tim’s parents, and they had no idea. Tim became my star student, and as a result, my whole class got quieter and easier to teach.

I will say this: Know what motivates your students. This is a tall order, but very necessary to ensure high student engagement and minimal disciplinary issues.

 

Q4:    Why do you want to work for our school district? 

The interview board wants to know if you really want to be a teacher at their school and this question can be answered from research on the school.

You should take your time curating the answer and think about how you can add value to the system and what makes you the right fit for the position.

Here is an exemplary answer:

I respect XYZ school’s belief in teaching to the whole child. Your focus on academics, character, community, and nature fit perfectly with my own philosophy. It’s easier to teach well-rounded students. The best lesson plan in the world can’t help a child who’s struggling in all other areas of life.

 

Q5:   How can you help our school?

This is one of those questions that can make you blink when you are not fully prepared, at this point both parties should have their interests peaked and you should have learned about the needs of the school,

Here is an example:

 I’ve talked to several of your teachers and heard about their challenges with classroom management. My own classroom management skills are highly developed. I’ve taken 18 continuing education credits in classroom management from the University of Phoenix’s online program. I was commended at my last school after fully engaging a class with over 25% disruptive students. I used a mix of nonverbal cues, transition cues, timeouts, and several other kernel-based strategies. I believe I can be just as effective here.

Q6:  What do you find most frustrating about teaching?

Questions like these are asked on purpose to see how easy you can be discouraged, again, the person conducting your interview knows well about the schools’ strong and week areas and they want someone who can find the solutions they are struggling to find or someone who can at least comfortably perform their duties without complaining about obvious issues.

This is an example:            

I get very frustrated with bright kids who become overconfident and don’t apply themselves. There’s nothing sadder or more common than wasted potential. At my last position, I worked with several children who weren’t trying. I implemented a research-based program to incorporate student ideas into the lesson plan. The addition of their thoughts created more complete engagement. Test scores went up 15% in just two months.

Q7:    How would you get your classroom ready for the first day of school?

This is a question that is usually asked in various forms to see how prepared are you for the position. And your first actions make first impressions, the foundation of your position at your new job.

Here is an example:

I want my classroom to be welcoming and nurturing. I also make the ground rules obvious. A welcome sign and labeled desks help students feel at home from day one. Engaging posters and other visual aids help create a sense of excitement. Beyond fun, a list of rules and consequences at the front of the room helps the class start on the right foot.

Q8:     Why does your subject matter to you?

 

If you say, “So my students will get good jobs,” That’s probably not the best answer to give. Think why you care about the subject at a gut level.

Here is an example of optimal answer:

I’ve always believed our future depends on regular people using science in day-to-day decisions. Science is at the core of a sense of wonder for our natural world. That wonder can drive students to improve their learning skills. It can take them places they never thought they’d go.

Doesn’t that sound better than say so my kids can get better jobs

  

Q9:    How do you evaluate your students?

Common questions like this one are asked to examine your methods of evaluation, again you should avoid such answers from the book of obvious answers.

Think of something you learned in college or form your past experience or it can be from the time when you were a teacher. We all have inspirations.

Here is an example:

I evaluate students with formal and informal methods, including quizzes and tests. I also grade in-class activities like reports, recitations, desk work, and group activities. One student, Terry, showed a strong grasp of concepts during in-class activities, but performed poorly during testing. Through working closely with him, I uncovered an undiagnosed vision problem. Terry got corrective lenses and his test scores rose to match his in-class comprehension.

Q10:    How Do You Motivate Students?

That’s the million dollar question:

Similar to the question above, interviewers want to see how you influence students to do what you need them to do. This is an especially important thing to vet for when hiring virtual teachers, because motivating others over video requires a lot more creativity than when you’re teaching in person.

 Take this sample answer:

Positive reinforcement is super important to keep a student motivated, so one thing I like to do is throw out rewards or bonuses when they perform especially well. This could be candy, or a star, or a sticker, or even just a compliment, whatever I know students enjoy receiving, and it’s different for everyone. I never want students to feel left out or overindulged, so I always try to be fair and consistent with everyone. But it’s those little moments of recognition I think that keep them happy and excited to learn.        

Now let’s continue on..

These are the questions that revolve around in different phrases, so here is a recap of today’s episode before we get to the end.

I would encourage you to key in on the following tips.

Here are 6 useful tips while preparing for the interview and when you are sitting in that chair:

1:        Know the lingo:      What are AYP goals? Who are Wiggins and Marzano? What are rubrics? What should you know about

proficiency-based models? Brush up on your terms and be ready to discuss them.

2:        Prepare for common interview questions for teachers:

Learn the school’s needs. Then brainstorm accomplishments that show how you can help.

 3:        Bring a portfolio:

It’s not for them to read. It’s evidence of your teaching interview answers. Bring materials that shows achievements, like lesson plans, worksheets, and images.  You’ll need a current resume!

4:        Dress professionally:

More professionally than you would for work. That sends the message that you take the interview seriously.

5:        Listen:

The more you ask and listen, the fewer interview questions for teachers you’ll have to answer. Plus, interested = interesting.

6:        Make eye contact with the principal and all other interviewers.

I wish you best of luck for your future endeavors, in today’s age of working from home and teaching via Zoom and google classroom, the interviewers will remain the same plus or minus a thing or two, prepare even after you feel you are ready, there is always something that surfaces when you revise.

I’d also recommend Googling “teacher interview questions” for further interview preparation.

Best techniques for brain-based learning

The Brain is the most important and complex part of human anatomy, so complex that scientists still don’t know how exactly it works, but in the 1990s many researches and discoveries were made, one of those that is considered important for educators and teachers is that every person learns similarly; yet in different ways, this phrase is as confusing as the functions of the human brain so let’s explore what it means, what are the benefits of brain learning and how effectively you can use the well-known techniques in your classroom setting.

Like I said, Each person learns similarly, yet in different ways, based on their unique brain. Through studies and the use of technology, scientists were literally able to non-invasively peer into the brain as it received and analyzed stimuli. In doing so, they were able to view and photograph different areas of the brain as it addressed the information that was being received. The result was a virtual mapping of the brain to identify where many specialized functions occurred. Because of this information, we now better understand how and where learning occurs and can develop strategies to strengthen learning activities.

  

Like any other concept or theory, brain-based learning has limitations and sources of information about it should always be verified, and in some cases challenged. Still, there has now been enough research done to indicate the value of implementing many of the findings on how the brain learns best.

For thousands of years teachers have taught subjects from medical to astrology, philosophy to engineering to art; many teachers were convinced that the best students were those who paid the most attention to their lectures and spent the most time reading, and rereading all of their homework assignments. Other teachers noticed that many students responded better to more creative ways of teaching than lectures and reading assignments, and adjusted their curriculum accordingly.

Many teachers succeeded in regularly reaching students and inspiring them to learn, while others didn’t. The history of Education is also replete with teachers who treated each student as an individual and teachers who believed that treating every student the same was important. Of course, everyone who has ever been a student remembers teachers who were enthusiastic and energetic as well as teachers who treated the classroom as the location of their regular job rather than their passion.

Eric Jensen has made remarkable breakthrough in the field of brain learning, says that Brain-Based Learning is not a panacea or magic bullet to solve all of education’s problems. Anyone who represents that to others is misleading them. There is not yet a “one size fits all” brain-based program, model or package for schools to follow. So those who think mastering one way of teaching will start producing the most brilliant minds, that’s not the case.

For example, stress is a significant factor of brain based learning, research suggests that those teachers who purposefully manage the level of stress, experience a more positive class attitude.

There are many ways to decrease stress in the classroom, such as integrating stretching exercises, incorporating recess, teaching coping skills, and utilizing physical education.

Evidence suggests that moderate glucose levels enhance learner’s memory-making. Since glucose can be enhanced through food, stimulating emotions and physical activity, teachers can manage their instructional strategies so that students can better maintain moderate glucose levels. This strategy can help students form stronger memories.

 

So how can neuroscience help us in the classroom? First, here’s the brief background. In the late 1990’s, several neuroscientists were running experiments with rats. That’s no big news story; it happens every day. But these scientists were linking the feeding of the rats to a specific frequency with every day’s food. The big news story was that after four weeks of “conditioning” the rats, their auditory cortex literally changed and remapped itself. In fact, it changed SO much that the rats added MORE space in their brain that was sensitive to the specific frequency of the tone they heard when food arrived! Brains can and do change, if you know how to do it!

There are many different opinions on brain based learning, many people agree to the effectiveness other claim there are better ways of doing the same task. Educating people.

I cannot deny those claims but I am sure brain based learning works but you cannot just go to your next class and start doing it, it needs a foundation a starting point to take things from there.

Often, students must feel physically and emotionally safe in the classroom for real learning to take place. By creating a positive classroom environment where students feel supported and encouraged, you’ll open up the doors for your students to learn the best.

Welcoming your students in class each day can increase student engagement, and many educators have found that setting a positive tone at the beginning of the day with classroom greetings creates a sense of community. Learn about why welcoming your students to class every day is important in our blog post.

 

When students talk about concepts they’ve learned, they’re more likely to retain the information. Implementing “turn and talk,” or share with a partner time into your lessons can help students process what they’ve just read, discuss ideas before sharing them with the class, and clarify problems they may have had while completing homework. This strategy can be implemented as a warm-up activity, during class discussions, or as a closing activity to round out the day.

By letting your students discuss their ideas, you’re giving them a chance to describe what they’ve learned in their own words and helping them explain their thoughts to their classmates.

Many people are visual learners who absorb and recall information best by seeing.

In a virtual setting, providing additional context to lessons with visual elements, such as breaking up your slides with a GIF that calls students’ attention back during a lecture or finding a quick video of the science concepts you are discussing, are simple ways to hold student interest remotely. Changing out your Zoom background to align with the theme of your lesson or wearing a silly hat or decorative necktie are other fun ways to incorporate visual elements into your teaching.

 

Chunking, or breaking down difficult or large pieces of text into smaller pieces, has been proven to help students identify key words and phrases, paraphrase, and understand the text in their own words. By breaking down a large piece of text into more manageable pieces, students are able to better understand and comprehend the material. This concept is referred to as chunking.

 

Chunking can also be used to break down pieces of your instruction into smaller, manageable pieces. Work through lengthy instructions step by step with your students to help them understand each piece of what is being asked of them.

 

Brain breaks are a great way to get your students up and moving, and they have been shown to increase brain activity. You’re probably already familiar with how fidgety your students can get when sitting at their desks for long periods, so incorporating some movement into the day can help. Luckily, brain breaks are easy to implement in any classroom setting, and they require almost no setup.

Malleable memories

 

Memories are often not encoded at all, encoded poorly, changed or not retrieved. The result is that students rarely remember what we think they should. Memories are susceptible to inattention, they erode over time, subject bias, misattribution and a host of other confounding conditions. Memories are strengthened by frequency, intensity and practice under varying conditions and contexts.

 

Non-conscious experience runs automatic behaviors.

 

The complexity of the human body requires that we automate many behaviors. The more we automate, the less we are aware of them. Most of our behaviors have come from either “undisputed downloads” from our environment or repeated behaviors that have become automatic. This suggests potential problems and opportunities in learning.

 

Reward and addiction dependency

Humans have a natural craving for positive feelings, including novelty, fun, reward and personal relationships. There is a natural instinct to limit pain even if it means compromising our integrity. For complex learning to occur, students need to defer gratification and develop the capability to go without an immediate reward.

 Attentional Limitations

 

Most people cannot pay attention very long, except during flow states, because they cannot hold much information in their short-term memory. It is difficult for people to maintain focus for extended periods of time. We are born with the capacity to orient and fixate attention when it comes to contrast, movement, emotions or survival. But classroom learning requires a level of learned attention and many teachers don’t know how to teach this skill. Adapting the content to match the learner provides better attention and motivation to learn.

Brain seeks and creates understanding

 The human brain is a meaning-maker and meaning seeker. We assign value and meaning to many everyday occurrences whether it’s intentional or not. Meaning-making is an important human attribute that allows us to predict and cope with experiences. The more important the meaning, the greater the attention one must pay in order to influence the content of the meaning.

Rough Drafts/Gist Learning

 Brains rarely get complex learning right the first time. Instead they often sacrifice accuracy for simply developing a “rough draft” of the learning material. If, over time, the learning material maintains or increases in its importance and relevance, the brain will upgrade the rough draft to improve meaning and accuracy. To this end, prior knowledge changes how the brain organizes new information. Goal-driven learning proceeds more rapidly than random learning. Learning is enhanced by brain mechanisms with contrasting output and input goals.

    

Input Limitations

Several physical structures and processes limit one’s ability to take in continuous new learning. The “slow down” mechanisms include the working memory, the synaptic formation time for complex encoding and the hippocampus. While we can expose our brain to a great deal of information in a short time frame, the quality of that exposure is known as “priming” and is not considered in-depth learning. Schools typically try to cram as much content as possible in a day as possible. You can teach faster, but students will just forget faster.

Perception influences our experience

A person’s experience of life is highly subjective. Many studies show how people are easily influenced to change how we see and what we hear, feel, smell and taste. This subjectivity alters experience, which alters perception. When a person changes the way they perceive the world, they alter their experience. It is experience that drives change in the brain.

Malleability/Neural Plasticity

 

The brain changes every day and more importantly, we influence those changes. New areas of brain plasticity and overall malleability are regularly discovered. It is known that experience can drive physical changes in the sensory cortex, frontal lobes, temporal lobes, amygdala and hippocampus. In addition whole systems can adapt to experience such as the reward system or stress response system.

  

Emotional-Physical State Dependency

 

Nearly every type of learning includes a “go” or “no go” command to the brain in our neural net signaling process. These complex signals are comprised of excite or suppress signals. Emotions can provide the brain’s signals to either move ahead or not. Thus, learning occurs through a complex set of continuous signals which inform your brain about whether to form a memory or not. Both emotional and bodily states influence our attention, memory, learning, meaning and behavior through these signaling systems.