Quantum+Teaching

I was so insired by the Quantum Learning inservice days, that I bought the book //Quantum Teaching// by DePorter, Reardon, and Singer-Nourie. Below are some of my favorite ideas/suggestions from this book that I plan on using in my own classroom.

=The Tenets=
 * **Everything speaks--**Everythingfrom your classroom environment to your body language, from the handouts you distribute to the design of your lessons; everything is sending a message about your learning.
 * **Everything is on purpose--**Everything you do in the classroom has an intended purpose--everything.
 * **Experience Before Label**--Our brains thrive on complex stimulation. It drives the need to know. Therefore, learning happens best when students experience the information before they acquire the labels for what they just learned.
 * **Acknowledge Every Effort--**Learning involves risking, stepping out of what is comfortable. As students take these steps, they are acknowledged for both their competence and their confidence.
 * **If It's Worth Learning, It's Worth Celebrating--**Celebration is the breakfast of champion learners. Celebration provides feedback regarding progress and increases positive emotional associations with the learning.

=The 7 Keys to Excellence= These should be dislayed and referred to as needed. Can replace class rules.

Integrity
Conduct yourself with authenticity, sincerity, and wholeness.

Failure Leads to Success
Understand that failures simply provide you with the information you need to succeed. There are no failures, only outcomes and feedback. Everything can be useful if you know how to take criticism constructively.

Speak with Good Purpose
Speak in a positive sense, and be responsible for honest and direct communication. Avoid gossip and harmful communication.

This is it
Focus your attention on the present moment, and make the most of it. Give each task your best effort.

Commitment
Follow through on your promises and obligations. Do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Ownership
Take responsibilty and be accountable for your actions.

Flexibility
Be open to change or a new approach when it helps you get the outcome you desire.

=Visual Aids=

Iconic Posters
Create an icon or symbol for each major concept you're teaching and draw it on a piece of paper 11" X 17" or larger. Display these posters in the front of the class above eye level. Leave posters in this location until the end of the unit, then move them to a different wall to make room for the next unit's posters.

As students become accustomed to seeing and using these posters, have them create posters for upcoming units. These can be displayed ahead of time as "coming attractions."

Affirmation Posters
Create (or have students create) affirming motivational posters with messages like "I can learn this!" or "I'm getting smarter." Place these at the sides of the room at eye level for someone who is seated.

=Music=

Specific Music Suggestions
__Studying, Reading, Learning__
 * Mozart Flute Concertos
 * Relax with the Classics: Andante and Pastorale
 * Six Duets for Two Flutes
 * The Instruments of Classical Music, Volume One

__Special Music for Fun__
 * TV's Greatest Hits Series
 * [|www.tvshowthemes.com]

__Break Music__
 * Movie Soundtracks
 * Hit Collections from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s
 * Contemporary Jazz

__Music for Reflection__
 * Windham Hill Records: A Winter Solstice
 * Yanni: Out of Silence
 * Ray Lynch: Deep Breakfast

=The Success Model=

Everything that you do in the classroom should be done **on purpose**. When a lesson is presented to students they are being set up for something--either success or failure. As the difficulty of the content increases, so does student risk. Likewise, as the content becomes easier, risk is decreased. Students are often afraid to "put themselves out there." That's why it's best to introduce information to a large group, then move to small groups for practice before calling on individuals to perform the skill on their own.

With student success as your goal, when you first introduce your content, make sure to ALWAYS present it in a way that is:
 * multi-sensory--use visual, auditory, and kinesthetic elements
 * chunked down--break the class period into 3 chunks of information
 * contains frequent review--we should be reviewing new information 2-3 times per class period. The next day, quickly review what you did the day before. Remember, they've slept since then!

EEL Dr. C
This is a method of designing lessons to help students become interested in the lesson. Here's an explanation of the acronym:
 * **Enroll**--Hook them, create intrigue, satisfy WIIFM (What's In It For Me?). Ask guiding questions. Show a clip from a video. Read an excerpt from the story they are about to read, or from something else related to what they are going to read.
 * **Experience--**Create a "need to know" by having them experience the purpose for learning. Ask yourself "What game or activity would tap into what they already know or would facilitate their need to know? Use games and simulations. Role play. Assign teams tasks and activities that activate prior knowledge.
 * **Label--**Label the experience; give them the data while they are intrigued. This is the moment to teach the concepts that they need to learn! This is also a great time to use graphic organizers.
 * **Demonstrate--**Provide an opportunity for them to connect the experience with prior knowledge so they can internalize it; this is where they prove that they understand the lesson. Authentic assessment is preferred here (team skits, create a rap song, or a graphic representation, etc.).
 * **Review**--Cement the big picture, but review in a different way than it was presented. Have students check off "I can" statements, turn to a neighbor and explain what they just learned, use call-backs on important terms and information, Yes! clap (put one hand out, you put the learning in that hand, and clap it in with a loud, "Yes!")
 * **The Principle of 10-24-7--**Review initial material within 10 minutes, within 24 hours, and again in 7 days.
 * **Celebrate--**If it's worth learning, it's worth celebrating! (High fives, class party, positive parent contact, etc.)

=Teach multiple intelligences with SLIM-n-BIL=

To easily remember the multiple intelligences, use the acronym SLIM-n-BIL


 * **Spatial-Visual--**drawing, sketching, doodling, visualizing, images, graphics, designs, charts, art, video, movies, illustrations
 * **Linguistic-Verbal--**speaking, writing, storytelling, listening, take a nursery rhyme and substitute words with important facts, discussion, letters, e-mail, speeches, essays
 * **Interpersonal--**organizing, interacting, manipulating, group games, cooperative groups, sharing, interacting, call-backs
 * **Musical-Rhythmic--**singing, humming, tapping, rhythm, melody, musical instruments, rhyme
 * **Naturalist--**nature-walking, animal interaction, categorizing, forecasting, predicting, simulations, discovery
 * **Bodily-Kinesthetic--**dancing, running, jumping, creating, trying, simulating, role-playing, games
 * **Intrapersonal--**thinking, reflecting, journaling, self-assessing, writing, introspection
 * **Logical-Mathematical--**experimenting, questioning, calculating, organizing, puzzles, scenarios, timelines

SLIM-n-BIL with a novel or short story:
 * S--**draw a visual representation of what the story was about
 * L--**write an essay
 * I--**within a group, act out a scene from the story and talk about how it felt
 * M--**create a song or rap that tells the story
 * N--**change the physical settings of the story and expain how the story would be different
 * B--**create a dance or hand movements that will help others remember the plot sequence of the story
 * I--**write a journal entry from the perspective of one of the characters
 * L--**create a timeline of the story

What's the best way to incorporate SLIM-n-BIL? Set up 7 stations in the classroom. Students can visit one station a day/week until they complete all of the activities. Sometimes it's not always possible to weave all 7 intelligences into the lesson, but shoot for at least 4-5 of them.

=V-A-K Assessment=

It's important to recognize learning styles. If you have a class of mostly visual learners, for example, then the teacher should tap into that modality more frequently. Everyone learns in all three modalities, and none of them should be excluded from lesson or unit plans, but if you know how people learn best, then doesn't make sense to teach to their strenghts?

Have students fill out this V-A-K Assessment and turn in only the third page. I would copy the first two pages front/back.

=SLANT=

Many times, a student's posture reflects their level of attention. Think about it. The students who make good grades, how do they normally sit in their desk? How about the ones who don't really care what's going on?

SLANT is an acronym that will help all students maintain good posture and therefore pay more attention in class. This is something that needs to be taught to them at the beginning of the year.


 * S**it up in their chairs, with feet on the ground
 * L**ean foreward, slightly
 * A**sk questions--appropriate ones, that is
 * N**od their heads--this lets the teacher know that the students are following what's going on
 * T**alk to their teacher--build rapport, participate in class, answer the teacher's questions

=Notes:TM=

Have you ever caught your students daydreaming in the middle of an important lesson? Part of the reason why could be that we speak 200-300 words per minute, but the brain can process 600-800 words per minute. So the students' minds are filling in the rest of their brain power with other activities.

Notes:TM allows students to use their daydreaming abilities to focus on the task at hand. Notes:TM stands for Notes: Taking and Making. The students record notes from the lesson and write associations to those notes. Writing down these associations helps keep them focused on the information you are presenting to them and it also helps them retain the information better.

Here's how it works. The students will need two different colors of pens/pencils and a highlighter. Have them draw a vertical line 1/4 from the right edge of the paper, forming to columns, one large and one small. At the top of the larger left-hand column, they write "Important Information." At the top of the right-hand column they write "Thoughts, feelings, and questions." The left-hand column is the note taking area and the right-hand column is the note making area.

On the left side students write down important information while taking notes on lectures, reading texts, or films. Whenever the teacher switches points to a different topic, the students change the color of the pen/pencil.

On the right side, they write down any associated thoughts that pop into their heads. These can be opinions, reactions to what they heard, questions, whatever. They can even draw pictures in this column if they relate to the notes. This right side can also be used to write down their feelings at the moment. When they review their notes later, they can associate those feelings with the information that was presented.

The final step comes at the end of the lecture. Give students about 90 seconds to reviw their notes. They then distinguish important facts by highlighting them, circling vocabulary words, starring test material, and putting questions marks next to things they don't understand. These distinctions help the brain remember the information more effectively. When it comes time to study for a test, the students only need to study the highlighted, circled, and starred parts of their notes.

=Circuit Learning=

This is a great study skill that, if students will master doing this, can save students time studying and help improve their grades at the same time.

Circuit Learning starts with a confident, successful state of mind. Most students have a negative perception of tests. They get scared, which causes their minds to go blank when they get the test. So the first step is to break through that negative state and replace it with empowering thoughts and feelings. To do this, have students visualize a time when they //were// successful on a test. Then, tell them to write down a short statement or affirmation about their test-taking abilities. Have students get into SLANT positions, and when the teacher says the word "Test" students will simultaneously read what they wrote.

Once they have the attitude down, it's time to teach the concept of Circuit Learning. Think of the circuits in a house. The electricity follows the same path every single time. This is how students should study for tests. On Monday, they should spend about 5 minutes studying notes for each class. On Tuesday, they review Monday's notes, and add Tuesday's notes to it. On Wednesday, they review Monday's and Tuesday's notes and add Wednesday's to it. You get the idea. Students should spend no more than 10 minutes per day studying for each class, but the constant review with Circuit Learning method will help them retain the information better and for a longer period of time. If students are using mind maps or Notes:TM, then transferring this information will not take very long at all to do.

=Two more beginning of the year exercises=

Living Above the Line
Wouldn't you like it if your students came from a place of such responsibility in their every action that when certain classmates avoided responsibility the others would call on them for their actions? You can create that kind of environment! This highlights and puts into practice one of the 7 Keys of Excellence--Ownership.

Get a piece of posterboard and draw a line across the middle (in Letter format, NOT Landscape format). In big letters just above that line, write "Responsibility." Brainstorm with the students what kinds of qualities responsible people have (i.e. accountability, honesty, willingness to participate) and do the same thing with qualities of irresponsible people (i.e. laying blame, giving up, making excuses, justifying their bad action, denying). Hold students, and yourself, accountable for living above the line. Eventually, after you have talked (harped) on this for a few days, the students will enforce it with each other.

The Affinity Exercise
This is a getting to know you exercise that also builds positive classroom unity.


 * Divide the class into pairs. If there is an uneven number of students in the class, my suggestion is for the teacher to participate as well.
 * The first person asks each of the following questions once, and responds to each answer with a simple "thank you."
 * 1) Tell me something I don't know about you.
 * 2) Tell me something you like about me. (If students don't know each other yet, this can be changed to "something you like about yourself.)
 * 3) Tell me something we agree on.
 * Switch roles and repeat.
 * Have the pairs do this three times. People come up with something new each time and often it's the third round that has the most impact.
 * Then change partners and start all over again.

Extension activity: Have each student write down one interesting thing that they didn't know about each student in the class, and turn it in. The teacher can put these things on a grid, and use it for a scavenger hunt the following day, where students have to walk around and write down the name of the person that matches the interesting thing in the grid. This activity would also test students' memory skills from the day before, and the repetition is helpful as well. You'll be amazed how well students will remember this activity at the end of the year!