Optimism = A Learning Brain The BrainSMART Model For A Happy Classroom Artifact :Using BrainSMART Tools By Emily Thorpe EDU 610 CRN Brain SMART Science, Structure, and Strategies Nova Southeastern University October 4, 2009

Optimism= A Learning Brain Teacher Optimism Student Optimism Optimal Learning

Walking the Walk… Think of the last time you were having a rough day due to pressures outside of school? Share that experience with a partner.

Now think about this… How did your lesson go on that day? Were your students…Or were they… On TaskOff Task EngagedFrustrated Displaying high levels of learning Displaying high levels of confusion Easy to directDifficult to focus Adaptable and resilientInflexible and contrary

Now let’s reverse the equation… A student might be worried about: Where they’ll sleep tonight A fight with a parent A detention in another class A sick friend A bully on the bus And a thousand other things…

How quickly did you pick-up on your student’s negative state? How much learning happens when the student is in this state? VERY LITTLE!!

“The truth is that eliciting and sustaining healthy positive learning states are the first steps to boosting student achievement. In today’s classrooms this may be difficult.” (Conyers, p. 31) BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE…

So how do we do that? Luckily… The BrainSMART philosophy has tools tested with success in my classroom!

Start your day or give your students a break with this exercise. Try it with me: Rub your hands together until you can feel the heat. Now throw your hands up in the air and yell, “I feel good!!! Yes!” Tool #1: “I Feel Good!”

Just try to frown when saying those words! As this student told me… “Mrs. Thorpe, I’m smiling… and I don’t like smiling.”

Tool #2: Squishy Toss Review, transition to a new activity, or have students reflect using this exercise. Try it with me: Say one thing that makes you happy. Then throw the squishy to another student of your choosing. That student then repeats the process until all have had a turn.

At the end of the “squishy” activity, congratulate everyone with high fives all around and add a “I feel good!” Novelty and Fun release the feel good chemical, Dopamine, in the brain. Feel the Dopamine Squish

Tool #3: BrainObics: Let’s fire up both lobes of the brain! To move my right arm, I fire neurons in my left lobe. To move my left arm, I fire neurons in my right lobe.

So let’s fire up our students’ whole brains

Ready for a V-8???? This is a great opener to your day, or pick me up when learning slows down. Try it with me: Put your right thumb up. Put your left thumb up. Cross your thumbs. Look through the “V” you’ve created with your thumbs. Make horizontal figure eights, while you follow the “V” with your eyes.

Another way to create student optimism… honor learning styles The three major learning styles are: Auditory Visual Kinesthetic

R.E.A.D. Your Students Watch Marcus Conyers, the “Brain Guy,” demonstrate R.E.A.D., a diagnostic tool for understanding your students’ learning preferences.

Let’s Review R.E.A.D.: RateEyesActions Dialogue Which learning style are you?

How do you engage students in a learning style different from your own? Remember these tips from the video: VisualAuditoryKinesthetic ColorStoriesBrainObics PostersMusicShort Breaks Graphic Organizers RhymeReal Experiences + Body Language + Voice ToneEmotions/ Passion Field TripsRapTime to think

Don’t Forget Homework too!. Give Students Choices: Draw a comic or picture of your favorite scene from the story. Use details from the story to describe your artwork. Write a rhyming poem or rap to go with the story. Create a movie poster for the story. Create a soundtrack for the story. Explain why you chose one of the title tracks to go with the story. Make a video of you and some friends acting out a scene from the story. Create a double bubble map comparing and contrasting two characters in the story. Take a picture of yourself or someone you know reading the story. Write a review of the story to go along with the picture. Write a one page letter to a character in the book. Brainstorm on a piece of paper ways you can differentiate homework to the three learning styles.

Yeah…but does it work? 20% increase in student engagement, as five students off task in my largest class decreased to one. 85% of students completed differentiated homework, compared to 46% of students who completed question and answer homework. Differentiated homework was harder and higher up on Bloom’s!

The keys to creating an optimistic classroom with learning brains are: Lowering Stress Using Fun and Novelty And Honoring Learning Styles But HOLD it…

Remember the equation? Teacher Optimism Student Optimism Optimal Learning

Teacher Tool: Taking Care of Yourself How you take care of yourself is personal, but an important opportunity that must be taken before we walk in the classroom. Try it with me: Write down on a piece of paper how you can take care of yourself, so you are better able to care for others? Pair up with someone and discuss what you wrote. Pass the squishy ball to each person and share ideas from our brainstorm.

These are only some of the many tools you can use to lower stress and increase optimism in your classroom. Come by my teacher library to check out the book by Marcus Conyers and Donna Wilson: BrainSMART: 60 strategies for Boosting Test Scores. Hungry for more?

Resources Carter, R. (2000). Mapping the Mind. Los Angeles: University of California Press. Conyers, M. A. & Wilson, D. L. (2005). BrainSMART: 60 Strategies for Boosting Test Scores. Winter Park: BrainSMART Inc. Conyers, M. A. & Wilson, D. L. (2008). EDU 610 BrainSmart Science, Structure, and Strategies: R.E.A.D. Your Students & Teach to Their Preferred Modalities, Disc 1 [DVD]. Orlando, FL: BrainSMART Inc.