Whole Brain Teaching

I've been pondering this post for some time now, not quite sure how to start it and what exactly to share. When you find a teaching tool that you absolutely love, it's so challenging to decide what is important and why others should adopt it, too. 

But here we are. 4 weeks into school, I just sent home Progress Reports (as if that's not crazy enough). 

Day one of WBT was fabulous. I taught the 5 Rules and the kids were incredibly engaged. In the past, I've approached classroom rules as a community. We would brainstorm expectations for behavior, what the students thought was important, etc. Then we'd make a few rules based on what they all wanted from their classroom. Sure, it's research-based. Sure, they feel "a part" of it all. And trust me, I really don't mean to offend anyone who uses this strategy, because I had used it for the past 6 years, but I think the students ultimately know that we have a secret "rule agenda" with this practice. Either way, I feel that the students aren't as invested in the rules as we hope for them to be. But wait! There's hope! WBT rules engage the students from minute one with gestures. I think they secretly love that while they're talking about rules, they're allowed to be loud and active. 

I implemented the Score Board right away as well. I've seen a lot of success with it, although I definitely need to practice more often with the appropriate ways to do an "Oh Yeah" and "Mighty Groan." (if this sounds like a foreign language to you, don't hesitate to click on the links throughout this post to watch some videos).  

"Class, Yes" is one of the best parts about WBT, and it's really just the attention-getter. I see a lot of success with this aspect of the framework, but I have a group of social girls who take an extra 20 seconds to turn their heads. It drives me crazy. I'm wondering if it's appropriate for me to give a Teacher point as a result of that small group. Chris Biffle says not to do it for one student, but what about a group? Maybe I just need to take a look at my seating chart. 

But hands-down, my favorite part of WBT has been "Teach, Okay." When I give the signal, students turn and teach (either mirroring each other or taking turns) whatever concept I just introduced. The ideal timeframe is: 

1. Teach for 45 seconds
2. Teach, Okay
3. Reteach or add information
4. Teach, Okay

For some concepts, I give the gesture (especially if they're ones we're going to return to time and time again). For others, I've put that on the students. For example, in my Social Studies class, we studied the Maya this week. I don't have the energy or creativity to create a gesture for everything, so when students did "Teach, Okay," I had them make up gestures for the concepts they were teaching to their partner. The kids really took it seriously and I could tell that they were thinking about what was in their notes and how they could turn that into a gesture. Luckily, my principal was doing a walkthrough eval at that time, and she was really impressed with how much was going on in the classroom. 

She's always said that "the ones who are doing the talking are the ones who are doing the learning," and with WBT, the students are doing SO MUCH talking!!! Add in the kinesthetic benefits, and we are set for a great year :)