MOLDING THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MIND

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MOLDING THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MIND

• Presented by Teri Cox
• Educational Consultant
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• NMSA Conference
• Indianapolis, IN 2009

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Middle Schools Students Need

• Relationships -They do not care how much you know
  until they know how much you care
• Respect - Many will learn of this from you
• Rigor - Engaged and learning by strengths
• Chunks -Time to digest new learning
• Movement-If you dont build it in they will do it
  any way
• Significance - Connect it to their lives outside
  your walls
• High Expectations - When little is expected
  little is achieved. Expect much and strive for
  more.
• Hope Building Strategies-Tools for I can

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Brain Research Facts

• Says it must be at their instructional level to
  go into long term memory
• IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING
• This will improve recall from one lesson to
  another, one day to another, one year to another
• This will also improve transfer because of better
  foundations
• What happens to the brain during these years?

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Brain Research Facts

• Sense and Meaning decide if things are stored in
  long term memory
• 95 of learning comes through the senses-70
  comes through the eyes let kids see, touch,
  taste, and feel math if you want it to make a
  longer lasting connection
• Students must have wait time to process(Big Bird)
• 80 of middle of middle school curriculum is
  abstract, but 80 of middle school students are
  not abstract learners
• Eric Jensen (2005). Teaching with the brain in
  mind 2nd Ed.

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Brain Research Facts

• It takes 7 years to overcome one year of bad
  teaching.
• Choice makes a difference in middle level
  learning
• Students must have an environment that is
  conducive to learning
• The Subject vs. The Teacher
• Eric Jensen Pat Wolfe-see reference slide

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Take Time to Jot a 3-2-1

• What are 3 things you learned about the brain of
  middle school students?
• Name 2 things you would like to explore more
  about brain research and middle school students.
• What is 1 thing that will impact your teaching
  and how?

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Multiple Intelligences

• Howard Gardner
• All kids are 100 smart, we have to figure out
  how.
• (9) Naturalistic, musical, bodily-kinesthetic,
  logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial,
  interpersonal, and intrapersonal (spiritual,
  moral, existential?)
• In Multiple Intelligences The Theory in
  Practice he states It is paradoxical that most
  students take hundreds of tests within school but
  that, once they have left school, they are almost
  never tested again. Conversely, most of
  productive life consists of projects- (Gardner
  1993, p. 224).

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Think, Pair, Share

• Think of a way you have used multiple
  intelligences in your classroombegin jotting
  this down
• After 2 or 3 minutes pair-up with a neighbor and
  talk it out
• Be prepared to share what you discuss

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What Do You Hear?

• FIND YOUR COPY-What Do You Hear?
• Are you middle, polished, or special?
• Be who you are-no cheating!
• Write as many nouns as you can

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What Do You Hear?

• Implications for Teaching
• What are some?

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What Do You Hear?

• Implications for Teaching
• Processing Issues
• Written Expression Problems
• Prior Knowledge/Attachment
• What did they bring with them
• Equity in work

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What Do You Hear Now?
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What Do You Hear Now?

• Implications for Teaching
• What are they?

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What Do You Hear Now?

• Implications for Teaching
• What a difference ___ makes
• User Friendly Materials
• Revisit-Spiral
• Previous Experience
• 1 Minute Reflection-Take time to write one or two
  things down.60 seconds

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What Do You Hear Now?

• Video or other sensory input-will it help or hurt
  and why?

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How do we deal with Speedy Sue and Slow Sam in
the same class?

• Questioning
• Wait time
• Fist of 5
• Differentiation is Personalized Intervention
• That Encompasses
• Learning Modalities
• Multiple Intelligences
• Brain Research

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Differentiate Via

• Content What do students need to know?
• Is it problem centered and connected
• Process How do students learn best?
• Is it exploratory and student centered
• Product How do students demonstrate what they
  have learned?
• Does it allow students to be engaged and make
  deeper connections
• Affect Do students feel safe?
• Is there an emotional kinship (do they fit-in)
• Learning Environment What do students need in
  their space?
• Are the space, materials, and time student
  centered?
• Tomlinson Eidson 2003

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Differentiation Involves

• Student Readiness
• Flexible Grouping
• Multiple Levels of Material
• Complexity of Tasks
• Student Interests
• Multifaceted Continual Assessment
• Individual Growth Striving for Personal Best
• Integration of Standards
• Teacher Facilitators or Coaches
• Active Participation in Learning
  Self-Assessment
• Bertie Kingore (2004) Differentiation
  Simplified, Realistic, and Effective

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Categorize These Animals With a Partner Who is
Seated Next to You.

• Dog goldfish monkey bee
• Lion butterfly frog goat
• Shark bear pig dolphin
• Squid ant cat mouse
• Horse cow bird dinosaur
• Alligator tiger chicken whale
• Jellyfish spider sheep bass

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Categorize These Men

• Mozart Loggins Walsh Schubert
• Cash Lennon Charles McCartney
• Gershwin Bach Tubbs Fleetwood
• Joplin Brooks Schumann Cooke
• Pendergrass Strauss Gaye Adkins

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What Did We Learn?

• Let the students do the work it is more powerful
  for them
• Marzano-students make a 45 (percentile gain) if
  they are asked to identify similarities and
  differences. Consider reading this work,
  Classroom Instruction That Works

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What can I do this year?

• Pre-assess so I dont Waste time
• Inventory my students learning styles
• Be accessible
• Give students time to digest
• Teach in a more concrete way
• Give experiences and prior knowledge
• Document with portfolios
• 1 Minute Reflection-Take time to write one or two
  things down.60 seconds
• PICK ONE OR TWO AND WORK THEM THROUGH

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What If I WANT An Awakening???

• Ask a peer to come in and observe how much time
  you spend talking
• Buy a timer and chunk lessons
• NEVER SAY WHAT A KID CAN SAY!

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Practical Classroom Ideas

• Group Gossip
• Parent Letter
• Table/Supply Boxes
• Clothes Pins
• Extensions/Learning Cubes/Menus
• File Folder Portfolios
• Positive Posts
• 1 Minute Reflection-Take time to write one or two
  things down instead of 10 minute journals

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References

• Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligence The
  theory in practice (pp. 224-251). New York Basic
  Books.
• Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in
  mind 2nd Ed. Virginia Association for
  Supervision and Curriculum Development.
• Kingore, Bertie (2004) Differentiation
  Simplified, realistic, and effective How to
  challenge advanced potentials in mixed-ability
  classrooms. Austin, TX. Professional Associates
  Publishing.
• Tomlinson, C. A. Eidson, C. C. (2003).
  Differentiation in practice, Grades 5-9 A
  resource guide for differentiating curriculum.
  Virginia Association for Supervision and
  Curriculum Development.
•  
• Wolfe, P. (2001). Brain matters Translating
  research into classroom practice.

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Molding the Middle School Mind

• THANKS!
• Teri Cox
• Educational Consultant
• Instructional Coach
• teri_at_cei.net
• teri_at_tericox.biz
• www.tericox.biz
• CEU Code FA6