Reflection #3

• Are there particular interests you have developed that you would like to focus on throughout the certificate program?
• What goals might you set for yourself regarding what you would like to know and be able to do by the time you have completed the certificate program?

         I have always been interested in psychology and how children learn. However, this first course in the certificate program has opened my eyes up to new ideas in education. It has been fascinating to learn about cognitive and neuroscience research and how it affects the way an individual learns. Acquiring knowledge about the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model has given me an opportunity to apply these new strategies into my classroom in order to improve instruction. It has been helpful to be able to implement these strategies in my classroom as I am learning about them, and to see firsthand how it is assisting my students. I also have been encouraged about this model and the strategies for each target since they are each based on brain research. 

          In this first course, the process of how children develop literacy skills was only mentioned briefly. However, I am hoping throughout the certificate program I will learn more specifics about ways that students acquire new information in reading and mathematics. In my current classroom, there is a wide range of reading levels. I am hoping with more knowledge about how students learn to read and process words and vocabulary, I will be able to help those students who are reading below level make more gains throughout this year. During this first course, we also touched on students with ADD/ADHD and the differences in their brain functions. I am hoping I will be able to learn more about ways to assist students with these special needs. Each year, it seems like more of my students suffer from these types of learning disorders and I am hoping as I start to understand how their brain is functioning, I can begin to incorporate strategies to help those students stay focused and be more successful in the classroom. With a more complete understanding of how these students are processing information, I will be able to identify the best ways to help them. I also am looking forward to learning about motivating my students and helping them deal with their emotions. Since I work at a Title I school, I need to be able to use the best strategies to keep my students engaged and excited about learning. I would like to help them separate their emotions and anxiety about events at home from their behavior in the classroom.

         By the end of the certificate program, I would like to be able to implement the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model in various academic areas. I have been able to utilize parts of the model in my classroom during this course as I have learned about the various strategies. However, I hope by the end of the certificate I will be able to make use of the model consistently. I am also hoping that it will become second nature to be able to implement the arts into my lessons. Right now, it is extremely time-consuming to figure out ways to include artistic activities in all of the academic areas. My goal by the end is to be able to find ways to include the arts more easily. Another goal I would like to set for myself is to have more of my students motivated and engaged for a greater duration of their time in the classroom, especially those students who suffer from ADD/ADHD and other emotional issues.

Reflection #2

• What would the ideal physical environment for the setting in which you currently work as an educator look like?
• How do you think the features of this environment would serve to enhance student learning?

In my ideal physical environment as an educator, my classroom and school would include several key features. The school building would have natural light throughout the hallways and classrooms. According to researchers, if a classroom is dark it may cause the pineal gland to produce melatonin which could decrease the alertness of the brain (Hardiman, 2003, p.42). Therefore, if a setting is well lit, students are going to feel more energized and awake. In my current classroom, there are numerous children who come to school tired from lack of sleep. I need a way to help wake them up and keep them energized.  Along the same lines, the walls in both the hallways and classrooms would encompass samples of student work that reflect the objectives that students are mastering in their classes. There would be bright, colorful bulletin boards and learning materials on the walls to keep the students engaged.  Each classroom would be neat and organized with materials and books on the shelves to enhance student learning.  Also, each subject area would have a distinct place in the room. For example, everything related to math would be in one area of the room so the students knew where to look to find vocabulary, student work samples, and center activities.  These features would allow students to feel safe, secure, intrigued, and calm. 

Teachers would be required to change their classroom displays on a routine basis for all subject areas.  For example, once a teacher began a new unit in math, he or she would be required to put up new vocabulary and educational materials that would reflect that unit.  Students are likely to be more attentive to their surroundings if they are intrigued by the displays in their learning environment. If the classroom looks the same as it has for several months, it can become monotonous for them and they could lose interest. In turn, they would have to find other stimuli to focus on. In 2000, Jensen reported that 90% of the total brain’s sensory input comes from visual sources. Therefore, the brain is constantly searching the environment for new and stimulating visual features (Hardiman, 2007, p.40). Teachers would also be more excited about their classroom if they are changing the displays frequently because they would constantly be assessing what material is on the walls.  Students can sense this enthusiasm and respond in kind. Frequently changing aspects of the learning environment would also assist those students who suffer from ADHD to focus on their education. The studies completed by Sydney Zentall in the early 1980s found that children are going to be more off task if there are not novel stimuli in the environment (Hardiman, 2007, p.41). If teachers are changing strategies or small parts of the classroom, students are going to be more interested in the learning environment. Therefore, they won’t need to search for new stimuli. 

Also, each educator would be required to put up student examples of work for that unit. Students certainly learn from their teachers, but sometimes students need to see work from their peers to fully understand a concept that they are learning.  Learning objectives and a daily schedule would need to be posted so that the students know exactly what they would be doing every day for each subject area. All educators would need to establish classroom rules within the first week of school. Rules should be designed by the students so that they could take ownership of them.  After establishing about five rules that were written in a positive way, the students would all sign the rules as a commitment on their part to follow them.  In my own experience, I have seen that students are more likely to follow rules that they have helped create.

Routines would also need to be established by teachers so that students knew what was expected of them during each subject area.  The students would know how to come into class in the morning, how to prepare for the learning day, what to do during each part of the day, and how to get ready to go home. For example, students would need to know what to do during the entire reading block. If a teacher has a time for whole group instruction, the students would know what was expected of them during this time.  If students are supposed to go to literacy centers and have an independent work time, they need to know how to rotate to each place during that block of time. In order for students to feel confident about what they are doing, they need to understand expectations. After all, how can a teacher get upset with a student for not following directions if they were not explained beforehand? Students are not going to be able to focus on the concepts they are being taught if they don’t feel self-assured in the classroom routines. I believe expectations for noise level should also be well-known by the students. This could be accomplished by having something as simple as a stop light poster in their room.  This would allow the students to have a visual representation of what the noise level should be during each part of the day. There would be clear expectations for them as well as these visual reminders. 

The physical environment would also need to provide a home like feeling for the students. This would be achieved by nature murals on walls around the school or simple things that could be done in the classroom. For instance, teachers could have a few plants, picture frames, or maybe even an aquarium or classroom pet to provide this type of atmosphere for the students. Students would feel safer and more at home if the classroom was setup in this way. This could help ease students’ nerves and help dissipate their stress. They may even be more open to learning and listening to what the teacher is saying because they are not upset or stressed. 

The seating arrangement in a classroom impacts the learning that takes place. In my ideal environment, every teacher would be required to arrange their desks in a way that allowed both the students and teacher to move around the room easily. Some children need to keep their distance from other students so they don’t bother others or become distracted. If students are sitting too close together or can’t walk around without bumping into others, they may constantly be tempted to touch their peers. This would result in a distraction to the remainder of the class. Desks also need to be placed in a room so that depending on the assignment, students can easily work together in groups, partners, or individually. If desks are easily moved around, the teacher will be able to alter the seating arrangement for each activity. There should be a place for teachers to sit with a small group of students and this place should be the same each day. Small group instruction allows a teacher the opportunity to differentiate instruction.

Inspiring quotations such as “I believe in you” and “I know you can do it” would be posted around the school and classrooms. Students need to feel encouraged as well as know that their teacher believes in them and their abilities. There could be a place for each child to be “show cased” each week for something such as a star student of the week. The students would be allowed to post pictures of themselves and information about their favorite things. Also, each classroom would contain motivational posters as well as “character counts” type posters promoting good character. These traits would include respect, honesty, trustworthiness, etc. Educators would also have places in their room in order to promote team building. For example, a teacher should have a place for the students to encourage their peers. This might include a compliment corner where students could write something positive someone else did for them. Students would write each other encouraging comments when they were the star student of the week and the teacher would create a booklet for each star student of the week. 

Teachers would be encouraged to use classical music during independent work time to help stimulate students’ thoughts. There would also be times that it would be silent for students so that they could concentrate on their work. The entire school would have scented air fresheners to provide a calming effect in the hallways. There would be a lavender scent throughout the hallways. In each classroom, the teacher would be able to choose the scents he or she would have in their classroom depending on the effect they desired on the learning environment. Smells impact student learning and concentration. In my own experience, when a child smells something that they dislike, that is all they can focus on. In 2001, John Ratey found that smells can affect an individual’s heartbeat and blood pressure. In 1999, Amie Gabriel conducted a study on the effect of scent on the behavior of students. She found that when a teacher utilized scented oil in the classroom, off task behaviors were reduced by 54% (Hardiman, 2007, p.43). 

I always knew the physical environment was important for a child’s learning to take place. However, since I have read more about the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model, specifically Brain Target 2, I have gained knowledge about the significance of the physical environment. Due to the brain research that has been conducted, we as educators can utilize this information to help promote student success. There are so many factors that impact a child’s learning in the educational environment. If a child feels nervous or stressed, their brain is not going to allow them to process anything the teacher is saying and in turn they will not be able to understand new concepts being taught. By providing novel visual stimuli and a safe learning environment for every child, we can help each child stay on task as well as become more engaged in learning.

Reflection #1

Reflect on how the use of a pedagogical framework like the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model might be useful to you in whatever educational setting you work. How can you use this framework to organize, interpret, and incorporate neuro- and cognitive science research into your practice?

As I have had the opportunity to read and learn more about the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model over the past few weeks, I have become intrigued about this framework in the educational setting. As I have developed knowledge about each target, I have found myself thinking about how I could apply it in my own classroom presently. For example, when I read about BT-1(Setting the Emotional Climate), I went to work the next day finding myself contemplating how I am currently addressing this target as well as other ways I could improve my instruction using these tenets. I also feel optimistic about this model because there are so many ways to implement the various targets in my teaching on a continual basis. I noticed that there were some things I was already doing in my classroom and that was encouraging to read about those strategies as well as the research supporting those particular strategies. For instance, I have a Star Student of the Week each week in my classroom. The student that week gets to bring in pictures and hang them up on the door for the rest of the class to see. I have always been able to tell how special the students feel about this. However, I also have the rest of the students write a nice comment or note with a picture to that student.

Sometimes I found myself wondering what the administration would say if they walked in and the students were doing this rather than a writing assignment. Now I feel more confident in the fact that activities like this add value to the learning experience and there is research to prove that out. After all, if the children do not feel safe and self-assured in their learning environment, are they really going to be able to concentrate on what I am trying to teach them or demonstrate understanding of new concepts?

Since the model is based on neuro- and cognitive research, I also feel more certain about the effects it could have on my students’ learning and success in the educational setting. Over the past few years, I have felt frustrated by new educational initiatives that come to the school district or become a time-consuming part of my daily routine. All of the teachers are trained on this new initiative and begin implementing it.  Then within a year, it fades from use and there is something new the following year. How can we be truly effective educators if we are constantly changing what we are doing? I know it is important to evaluate how you are educating your students each year and vary your lessons but continuously altering the underlying fundamentals is not necessarily going to help the teacher or the students. If a teacher does not feel secure in what he or she is doing, then it is going to come across in their teaching and in turn the students are not going to be as successful.

However, with the BTT Model, it provides a framework that teachers can implement in numerous ways within their classroom. I can feel assured that the strategies I am utilizing in my classroom are helping each child be successful. Even if my school is encouraging a specific initiative, I will be able to adapt the concepts of the model to fit into the new framework. For example, even if I am teaching a specific unit for math and I have certain standards to meet, I can still implement BT-3 by using a concept map at the beginning of the unit. I will still be able to meet the standards and provide vocabulary instruction for the unit but I will also be able to go that extra mile with my students by incorporating the arts.

I think for me the framework will also be helpful because I can still apply the model in my own classroom even if my fellow teammates are not supporters of these strategies. For example, I always plan for reading and math with the 3^rd grade team but I can take the ideas that we come up with and add strategies from the model to assist my teaching and my students’ learning. I have already found myself doing this. Last week was a perfect example as I was planning lessons in grammar and writing. My students were learning about adjectives. We read a book about adjectives and watched a short musical video about adjectives. Next, I had them draw a picture of an object that they wanted to describe. They had to write sentences using adjectives to describe the object but they had to keep it a secret. Then, they got to sit in the rocking chair in the front of the room and read their clues. The other students had to listen closely to the clues and then had the opportunity to guess what the object was that was being described. I think in the past I would have been tempted to do an activity that could have been less interesting or creative. However, after learning about the model, I have found myself trying to incorporate it in my classroom little by little as I can. This wasn’t a unit that I implemented it in but even for one lesson, I felt that the idea of adjectives is more concrete in their mind rather than being something difficult to discriminate between adjectives and nouns. This is just one example of how I think I will be able to utilize the model in my classroom.

The model will allow me to expand my classroom offerings and be more unique and creative in my instruction. I will be able to use the strategies for each target that will be most applicable to my students in a given year. I have always realized how diverse my students are, but this model will allow me to implement strategies that will help all of them achieve at a higher level. I want to spend more time focusing on the areas that will help my students the most. I think it is easy to get caught up in grading or paper work that must be done. However, wouldn’t some of this time be better spent enhancing my bulletin boards or planning a hands-on lesson that will allow them to understand the concept to a higher degree?

 I think the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model has opened my eyes to ideas that could help improve my instruction. I can still acquire grades and assess my students even if I don’t give them a paper and pencil assignment. I want to make learning enjoyable for my students so that they will be engaged and attentive. With this model, I will be able to support the strategies I am applying in my classroom with brain research.  

Reflect and Look Ahead

         I have always been interested in the brain and how it works. As an educator, I believe it is vital that I know more about how my students learn and develop. If I understand how my students' brains are functioning, I can plan lessons to meet their needs in order to help them be the most successful. I hope that by the end of this program, I will be able to apply what I have learned about the brain and teaching to my classroom and students. When I was in college, I didn't have my own classroom so it was difficult to apply concepts I learned in my classes. However, I am excited about starting this certificate program because I have a few years experience as well as my own classroom now. I am eager to see how the information I learn throughout this program will affect my abilities and knowledge as a teacher.

        The Online Orientation has been useful in preparing me for the future classes I will take in the program. It has been helpful for me to see the format of the ELC as well as navigate through the site. I am glad I was able to see what the cycle will be like each week. I have had the opportunity to complete activities in the time they will need to be completed during each class. I plan on managing my time throughout each week to complete all of the assignments. I will be online checking the new assignments every Tuesday and then I will be able to plan the time I need to spend on my assignments for that week so they are complete by the following Monday. I also plan on not waiting until the last minute, especially with it being an online program. I wouldn't want to experience any technical problems at the last minute and not be able to complete my assignments. This orientation course has also been helpful in introducing me to other students in the class. I look forward to working with the other students in the class and making sure that I am doing my part in all of our team discussions or projects. I plan on using all of the forms of communication with the other students that are available to us in this class. I also think that the gradebook will be useful in keeping track of my grades and being able to review feedback on my assignments.
        
        I don't have any areas that I necessarily need additional support. However, I am a little apprehensive about a few things in the class but I think both of those things will be better with time. The synchronous sessions that will be required make me nervous. However, I am thankful that I will be able to participate in one this week so that I know what to expect during the program. I think I will feel better after that. The other area that concerns me is the teamwork we will be required to complete. I noticed that on the teamwork rubric, the team is graded as a whole. I enjoy working on teams but I know in previous classes that I have taken, there are times I have been on a team with some people that do not do their part on time or at all and the other team members have to compensate. I hope that during this class, I will not experience those problems.