2010

How to make class fun… enjoy. Matthew’s April 1st class: Matthew’s Halloween class: If you’d like to learn how Matthew Weathers did this, you can find out more here.

Transparent Teaching. You present a key point, using an overhead as a
 prompt for yourself. Now it’s the student’s turn to put it in his or her own words. 
You can number sentences, so that each student takes the odd ones. You can
 also color-code them so one takes those in blue and the other […]

Anticipatory traditions. Doing something once is okay, but creating a 
positive, predictable and practical tool repeated enough to be called a ritual is
 even better. Many are as simple as raising your hand and asking others to 
raise their hand once they see your hand is up. This simply means you want 
the group’s attention. […]

Demonstrate with the Body. Say, “We’re going to do something very
 interesting in just a moment. But first, please stand up.” This raises heart rate 
and arousal states. Ask your audience to take in a deep breath and let it out
 slowly. Now you, a group leader or assigned person can lead a team, group […]

“Musical arts” or “music-making” means much more than playing music or listening to it. Singing, rap and musicals are also part of the musical arts. In addition, the musical arts include composing music, reading music, analyzing, arranging, notating and creating music. Neurobiologist Mark Jude Tramo of Harvard Medical School says, “Music is biologically part of […]

So many who work in the arts have asked me if the arts are good for learning and the brain. It is common knowledge that arts can arouse passions. The brain-based approach is to check out how it interfaces with the brain. Some believe that arts should be in school simply because many students thoroughly […]

Host a staff development workshop on your own, using Jensen Learning’s workshop to go. It’s a program that you can deliver school-wide with positive, practical, research-based methods that can skyrocket student achievement scores. Click here to find out how your school can overcome the challenges of teaching kids in poverty.

Music for Call-backs. A musical deadline can create anticipation. Use a
 set-up song; otherwise known as a cue-signal or “call-back” song to get 
attention for a beginning or start time. This song should have the following
 criteria: 1) it’s short—under 3 minutes 2) it’s has either positive lyrics or no
lyrics, 3) it ends with a […]

Can Relevant Research Help Your Students Score Higher on Your Upcoming BIG Tests? Let’s focus on something I ordinarily NEVER focus on: testing. As much as I dislike the types, timing, policies, content and uses of existing state and national tests (is there anything I left out?), the reality is, we’d rather our students get […]

Better Attentional Sets. Create some anticipation for students or yourself before speaking. Use a train whistle, gong or party noisemaker. It just has to be fun, short and consistent. Rotate each week to avoid habituation by your students. Or, whenever someone is ready to speak to your group or class, he or she will use […]