Inspiring Middle School Minds

Inspiring Middle School Minds PDF Author: Judith A. Willis
Publisher: Gifted Unlimited
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Get Book

Book Description
Teaching adolescents can be quite challenging. Dr. Judy Willis, a neurologist and teacher, explains the inner workings of the adolescent brain. She uses the findings of brain research in her classroom to explain how parents and teachers can trigger untapped inspiration in students. Middle school education has often been a "black hole" for gifted students, seldom providing adequate challenge. By understanding how the brain works, however, we can make learning for all youngsters exciting and stimulating. The information and advice in this book will help parents and teachers design positive and rewarding learning experiences that will then be stored in long-term memory rather than "deleted" or "filtered out."

Teaching with Poverty in Mind

Teaching with Poverty in Mind PDF Author: Eric Jensen
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416612106
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Get Book

Book Description
In Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids' Brains and What Schools Can Do About It, veteran educator and brain expert Eric Jensen takes an unflinching look at how poverty hurts children, families, and communities across the United States and demonstrates how schools can improve the academic achievement and life readiness of economically disadvantaged students. Jensen argues that although chronic exposure to poverty can result in detrimental changes to the brain, the brain's very ability to adapt from experience means that poor children can also experience emotional, social, and academic success. A brain that is susceptible to adverse environmental effects is equally susceptible to the positive effects of rich, balanced learning environments and caring relationships that build students' resilience, self-esteem, and character. Drawing from research, experience, and real school success stories, Teaching with Poverty in Mind reveals * What poverty is and how it affects students in school; * What drives change both at the macro level (within schools and districts) and at the micro level (inside a student's brain); * Effective strategies from those who have succeeded and ways to replicate those best practices at your own school; and * How to engage the resources necessary to make change happen. Too often, we talk about change while maintaining a culture of excuses. We can do better. Although no magic bullet can offset the grave challenges faced daily by disadvantaged children, this timely resource shines a spotlight on what matters most, providing an inspiring and practical guide for enriching the minds and lives of all your students.

Transforming Schools Using Project-Based Learning, Performance Assessment, and Common Core Standards

Transforming Schools Using Project-Based Learning, Performance Assessment, and Common Core Standards PDF Author: Bob Lenz
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118739744
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Get Book

Book Description
It's not what students know, but what they do with what they know that is important Schools are changing in response to this reality, and in Transforming Schools Using Project-Based Learning, Performance Assessment, and Common Core Standards, Bob Lenz, Justin Wells, and Sally Kingston draw on the example of the Envision Education schools, as well as other leading schools around the country, to show how the concept of deeper learning can meet the need for students who are both college and career ready and engaged in their own education. In this book, the authors explain how project-based learning can blend with Common Core-aligned performance assessment for deeper learning. You'll discover how many schools have successfully made the transition from traditional, teacher-centered learning to project-based, deeper learning and find many practical ideas for implementation. Companion DVD and website include videos showing how to implement deeper learning strategies in the classroom Evidence-based descriptions show why deeper learning is right for students Performance assessment experts explain how to align assessments with Common Core by shifting the emphasis from knowing to doing Extensive game plan section provides step-by-step guidance for change Schools are complex organizations, and transformation involves all of the stakeholders, from students to superintendents. But as this book shows, there are amazing benefits to be realized when everyone commits to diving deeper into learning.

How Your Child Learns Best

How Your Child Learns Best PDF Author: Judy Willis
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1402220685
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Get Book

Book Description
Brain-Based Strategies You Can Use Today to Enhance Your Child's Love of Learning How Your Child Learns Best is a groundbreaking guide for parents that combines the latest brain research with the best classroom practices to reveal scientifically savvy ways to improve your child's success in school. Written by Judy Willis, MD, MEd, a board-certified neurologist who is also a full-time classroom teacher, How Your Child Learns Best shows you not only how to help your child learn schoolwork, but also how to capitalize on the way your child's brain learns best in order to enrich education wherever you are, from the grocery store to the car - a necessity in today's "teach to the test" world. By using everyday household items and enjoyable activities, parents of children ages three to twelve can apply targeted strategies (based on age and learning strength) in key academic areas, including: Reading comprehension Math word problems Test preparation Fractions and decimals Oral reading Reports and projects Science and history Reading motivation Vocabulary Discover how to help your child increase academic focus and success, lower test stress while increasing test scores, increase class participation, foster creativity, and improve attention span, memory, and higher-level thinking. How Your Child Learns Best shows how to maximize your child's brain potential and offers something for every parent who wants the best for his or her child. "At last we parents now have a reference that will help guide us in assisting our children's growth and flowering. This book is what parents have been searching for and need now more than ever." - from the foreword by Goldie Hawn

Mind, Brain, & Education

Mind, Brain, & Education PDF Author: David A. Sousa
Publisher: Solution Tree Press
ISBN: 1935542214
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book

Book Description
Understanding how the brain learns helps teachers do their jobs more effectively. Primary researchers share the latest findings on the learning process and address their implications for educational theory and practice. Explore applications, examples, and suggestions for further thought and research; numerous charts and diagrams; strategies for all subject areas; and new ways of thinking about intelligence, academic ability, and learning disability.

Learning to Love Math

Learning to Love Math PDF Author: Judy Willis
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416612289
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 270

Get Book

Book Description
Is there a way to get students to love math? Dr. Judy Willis responds with an emphatic yes in this informative guide to getting better results in math class. Tapping into abundant research on how the brain works, Willis presents a practical approach for how we can improve academic results by demonstrating certain behaviors and teaching students in a way that minimizes negativity. With a straightforward and accessible style, Willis shares the knowledge and experience she has gained through her dual careers as a math teacher and a neurologist. In addition to learning basic brain anatomy and function, readers will learn how to * Improve deep-seated negative attitudes toward math. * Plan lessons with the goal of "achievable challenge" in mind. * Reduce mistake anxiety with techniques such as errorless math and estimation. * Teach to different individual learning strengths and skill levels. * Spark motivation. * Relate math to students' personal interests and goals. * Support students in setting short-term and long-term goals. * Convince students that they can change their intelligence. With dozens of strategies teachers can use right now, Learning to Love Math puts the power of research directly into the hands of educators. A Brain Owner's Manual, which dives deeper into the structure and function of the brain, is also included—providing a clear explanation of how memories are formed and how skills are learned. With informed teachers guiding them, students will discover that they can build a better brain . . . and learn to love math!

Mind in the Making

Mind in the Making PDF Author: Ellen Galinsky
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061987905
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 501

Get Book

Book Description
“Ellen Galinsky—already the go-to person on interaction between families and the workplace—draws on fresh research to explain what we ought to be teaching our children. This is must-reading for everyone who cares about America’s fate in the 21st century.” — Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent for The PBS NewsHour Families and Work Institute President Ellen Galinsky (Ask the Children, The Six Stages of Parenthood) presents a book of groundbreaking advice based on the latest research on child development.

Tools of the Mind

Tools of the Mind PDF Author: Elena Bodrova
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040005438
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 283

Get Book

Book Description
Now in its third edition, this classic text remains the seminal resource for in-depth information about major concepts and principles of the cultural-historical theory developed by Lev Vygotsky, his students, and colleagues, as well as three generations of neo-Vygotskian scholars in Russia and the West. Featuring two new chapters on brain development and scaffolding in the zone of proximal development, as well as additional content on technology, dual language learners, and students with disabilities, this new edition provides the latest research evidence supporting the basics of the cultural-historical approach alongside Vygotskian-based practical implications. With concrete explanations and strategies on how to scaffold young children’s learning and development, this book is essential reading for students of early childhood theory and development.

Little Big Minds

Little Big Minds PDF Author: Marietta McCarty
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 144064988X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 356

Get Book

Book Description
A guide for parents and educators to sharing the enduring ideas of the biggest minds throughout the centuries—from Plato to Jane Addams—with the "littlest" minds. Children are no strangers to cruelty and courage, to love and to loss, and in this unique book teacher and educational consultant Marietta McCarty reveals that they are, in fact, natural philosophers. Drawing on a program she has honed in schools around the country over the last fifteen years, Little Big Minds guides parents and educators in introducing philosophy to K-8 children in order to develop their critical thinking, deepen their appreciation for others, and brace them for the philosophical quandaries that lurk in all of our lives, young or old. Arranged according to themes-including prejudice, compassion, and death-and featuring the work of philosophers from Plato and Socrates to the Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King Jr., this step-by-step guide to teaching kids how to think philosophically is full of excellent discussion questions, teaching tips, and group exercises.

Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom

Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom PDF Author: Judy Willis
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416617434
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book

Book Description
Many teachers in regular classrooms feel unprepared to teach students with learning disabilities. Fortunately, brain research has confirmed that strategies benefiting learners with special challenges are suited for engaging and stimulating all learners. In this book, neurologist and classroom teacher Judy Willis explains that we can best help students by putting in place strategies, accommodations, and interventions that provide developmentally and academically appropriate challenges to suit the needs, gifts, and goals of each student. Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom will help teachers * Understand how the brain learns and the technologies that reveal this process. * Implement strategies that are compatible with students' individual learning styles and honor their multiple intelligences. * Improve the focus of students with attention disorders and help them gain the confidence and skills they need to develop goal-oriented behaviors. * Create an enriching learning environment by incorporating student-centered activities, discovery and hands-on learning experiences, cross-curricular learning, and multisensory lessons. * Implement strategic review, study, and test preparation strategies that will allow students to retain information and connect it with future learning. * Build safe, supportive classroom communities and raise class awareness and empathy for students with learning disabilities. It's time for teachers to lower the barriers, not the bar. Using strategies that align with research on how people's brains function, teachers can engage all students as individuals and help them reach their maximum potential with joy and confidence.