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joycetheriot's picture

Brain & Behavior in the Classroom

Teachers are always looking for strategies to connect with their students. I've attended many Brain related workshops looking for specific tactics or at least a better understanding of student behavior so I can formulate a plan of my own. I am looking for keys to unlock my students’ resistance to learning and find a path to true engagement. Many researchers have presented ideas but it is teachers who create the keys. Keith told a story today about a math teacher that was able to suggest a pathway for him to engage in learning. His teacher had a key that fit Keith’s specific requirement. Finding that key may have come from the teacher’s own trials or experience or as advice from another teacher. We need workshops that incorporate both the researcher/expert and the elementary/secondary teacher as facilitators. The discussion period in this Institute tends to make sense of the delivered information by all of us trying to apply it to the classroom. Yes, we can write our ideas on this forum however it is not as rich as the live connection between us. The delivered brain information is a fabulous stimulus for us to bounce ideas off of each other. More importantly we are able to get feedback about our ideas from a neurobiologist – a brain expert! The connection between all is extremely rich but not satisfying in that some things are missed or never brought to a restated summary. The missing piece is the facilitating teacher who could build the formulated keys (from all of our interactions), that we need to take back to our classroom. Teachers care deeply about helping students to feel good about themselves and their ability to learn more. We all search desperately for the keys to brain behavior. Supporting children to find ways that work for them is vital.

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