Parma Plan It: Reminders of Practices That Work

This week's blog is a little different as it is a list of reminders for us to use in the classroom. This list is based on brain based research and best practice strategies. I think you will find that there are no surprises, and these are all things we know, but they are all good reminders as lessons are prepared and activities are designed for optimal learning. I am constantly pushing myself to be a "learner". I believe we learn a great deal when we ourselves are in the learner seat. It is not only what we are learning but also how we are learning that is important. As educators we need to take note of how we learn. These 21 practices were shared at a recent workshop I attended with Dr. Nancy Colflesh. They are taken from a seminar led by Pam Robbins out of Oakland ISD. As I consider each of the practices, I realize that as I sat at this workshop, Dr. Colflesh used many or even most of them. Best practice, research based practices, strategies that work, are strategies for any age learner.

21 Practices that Work: Applying Cognitive Research to a Standards Driven Classroom

1. Immediately engage the attention of learners when they come in the classroom. The activities need to be of high interest and anchored in benchmarks or standards. THey can be used to build readiness for a lesson about to be taught or review a previously taught concept. (The brain remembers best what comes first and next best what comes last. Information lingers in the sensory memory only 3/4 of a second. Then information is either forgotten or sent to short term memory. If the teacher doesn't engage the attention of the learner, something else will!)

2. Routinely post lesson outcomes, benchmarks, or standards in a specific place on the board so students can refer to these. An agenda for the day and homework assignments should also have a regular place on the board.

3. Use standards to design curriculum and instruction, and assess student work. (Research indicates that high performing, high poverty schools implemented this practice with notable results. Making the brain aware of performance targets increases attention.)

4. Involve students in active learning experiences that engage a variety of learning channels: auditory, visual, kinesthetic. Seek ways to structure activities so that students may have an opportunity to use a variety of "intelligences" (visual-spatial, mathematical-logical, verbal-linguistic, musical, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist). (We remember only 10 - 20% of what we hear. Active involvement focuses attention and increases the probability that students will remember what they have "rehearsed.")

5. Engage student in learning tasks, such as experiments or experiential activities that require them to actively construct meaning. (The brain actually forms new neural connections when it is actively engaged in "meaning making" based on experiences.)

6. Chunk curriculum content appropriate to the developmental age of the learner. (The capacity to the short-term memory appears to develop with developmental age. This understanding has major implications for the design and delivery of curriculum.)

7. Change activities at least 4 - 5 times within the context of a lesson. For example, students may first be actively engaged in a warm-up activity, report out, experience direct instruction, create a graphic organizer to summarize learnings, stand pair and share their work (with other students), and respond to a prompt in their learning journals. (The primary-recency literature suggests the brain remembers best what comes first and next best what comes last. Hence, the more "firsts" and "lasts" within a lesson, the more memorable its contents.)

8. Provide opportunities for meaningful "rehearsal" or practice after initial content has been introduced. Periodically provide review activities to distribute rehearsal opportunities over time. (The more opportunities a student has to meaningfully "rehearse," the greater the chance that information will move from the short term to the long term memories. Providing rehearsal opportunities using a variety of learning channels will maximize the probability that long-term retention will occur.)

9. Structure opportunities for movement during learning experiences. These can include activities such as standing diagrams, clock partners, carousel brainstorming, move-mix-freeze, talk walks, or gallery walks. (Movement provides oxygen to the brain, increases attention, and in some cases, integrates communication between the right and left hemispheres.)

10. Seek opportunities to integrate the curriculum. Subjects are not found in isolation in the real world. The long term memory stores information in networks of association. The more "associations" or connections a student has with a particular fact or concept, the more easily that information will be to recall and retrieve.

11. Use Humor related to content. Humor increased retention up to 15%.

12. Engage students in a variety of tasks that require higher order thinking skills. (Analysis, synthesis, and evaluation tasks require students to access and use previously stored information to foster new neural connections in the brain.)

13. Provide for a variety of flexible grouping contexts that engage students in working with an array of their colleagues. Much learning occurs through social interaction. Students can receive instruction appropriate to their learning needs and pact in small group settings. As students master academic content, they simultaneously develop skills in working with, and appreciating others. For many students, a small group setting reduces anxiety. The brain functions optimally in a state of "relaxed alertness."

14. Assign and grade relevant homework that extends rehearsal opportunities and reflects how content will ultimately be assessed. (Research suggests that students learn more when they complete homework that is graded, commented upon and discussed by their teachers.)

15. Match instruction and assessment practices consistent with how standards ultimately will be assessed and the setting in which assessment will occur. (Research indicates that content will be most easily recalled when it is assessed under the same conditions as when it was originally learned.)

16. Use authentic assessment measures. Engage students in applying new and recent learnings in a real world context. (The brain remembers based on what is embedded in a particular context. For example, to recall what one had for dinner last Saturday night, most people will have to first remember where they were.)

17. Provide opportunities for students to summarize their learnings in written or verbal form and communicate them to others. (Summarizing strengthens neural connections. When students "rehearse" through reciprocal teaching, retention is enhanced 65 - 90 percent!)

18. Monitor and invite students to monitor their own progress. (Self monitoring and feedback can be a source for intrinsic motivation and may increase attention and focus.)

19. Select assignments that are challenging and interesting. Provide a support structure to help students achieve success in a physically safe environment. (The brain learns best in an atmosphere of "high challenge and low threat")

20. Create a learning environment where students perceive that they are: (1) safe from physical, verbal or psychological harm, (2) free to experiment and take risks when learning, (3) "connected" in their relationship with others - including the teacher and other students, (4) valued members of the class. (Emotion drives attention and attention drives learning. If students feel safe and cared for; if teachers and others are responsive to their needs, their ability to focus and learn will be enhanced.)

21. Encourage parents to stimulate their children's intellectual development and to provide a caring, responsive climate in the home. (Environment plays a key role in brain development and intelligence. Verbal interaction with children, for example, has a direct impact on language and vocabulary development. A caring responsive climate contributes to the development of a child's sense of self esteem.)

Articles Worth Reading and Links worth Checking out:

Why Teachers Should Read More Children's Books - shared by @RichardsonLiza

Brain Breaks Kids Will Love - shared by @kbkonnected

30 ipad apps for a smoother running classroom - shared by +TeachThought @teachthought

President's Day Resources - shared by @kbkonnected

Valentine's Day Live Binder / Resources - shared by @kbkonnected

10 Ways to Raise Writers - by @juliefalatko

10 Ways to Raise Readers - by @juliefalatko

10 Apps to Get Kids Excited About Science - shared by @coolcatteacher

Training the Brain To Listen - +Edutopia @edutopia

Fostering Grit in the Classroom - shared by @mrsvandusen223 - Make sure to watch the video about Austin's Butterfly. Great lesson with kids.

39 Sight Word Videos for Young Kids - by +Matt Gomez @mattbgomez

Differentiation Strategy - Post It Starters - shared by @jZagorski1

What Becomes of the Lonely Teacher - by +Pernille Ripp @pernilleripp - We need each other!

Videos Worth Watching:

Differentiated Instruction Ignites Learning in the Elementary Classroom: