Thinking about your own teaching tendencies, which brain areas are you most likely, and least likely, to activate in your students?
Reading chapter five was very interesting. I was surprised to learn that the brain has so many different parts, and that each of them has a different function. Thinking about my own teaching tendencies before Whole Brain Teaching, I would use a lot of hands-on games and activities to engage my students in lessons. I tried to make activities fun and interesting based on the objectives I was trying to get my students to master. Never did I think to specifically plan lessons that would address those brain areas which are supposed to be engaged in the learning process. I engaged the pre-frontal cortex because I had to obtain my student’s attention before beginning the lesson. Their motor cortex and visual cortex were engaged, most of the time, during the lessons which incorporate my student’s movement (gestures sometimes) and visual senses (modeling and anchor charts) to help make the lesson enjoyable.
I would have to say that the limbic system was the area that was neglected the most during my students lessons. After many failed attempts of trying to create lessons which the students would be excited about, I can see how the scorecard can generate these emotions for students. Learning the techniques used in Whole Brain Teaching, I can now more effectively engage my students in learning. The use of “powerpix” and “mirrors” allows my students to not just move during lessons, but use gestures as reminders of their learning through muscle memory. The Teach-Okay also allows them to gain the repetition needed to ensure maximum learning of the concepts being taught. These new methods are so exciting, and WBT has made learning in my classroom more meaningful.
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