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Enriching the Brain for Learning

On March 31, 2011 / Learning

Marian Diamond is an internationally known neuroscientist who has studied mammalian brains for decades. Dr. Diamond is the author of “Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture Your Child’s Intelligence, Creativity, and Healthy Emotions from Birth through Adolescence.”

Her recipe for enriching the brain to increase academic success heavily relies on nurturing the uniqueness of each brain in a caring environment. Her studies have shown that an enriched environment includes:

1. Setting the stage for enriching the cortex by first providing a steady source of positive emotional support, which includes encouragement and tender loving care. (The emotional brain develops before the analytical brain.)

2. Providing a nutritious diet with enough proteins, vitamins, minerals, and calories.

3. Stimulating all … >>>

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Communicating with Others about the Approach

On March 29, 2011 / Discipline

I received the following e-mail:

“It would be great if somehow a chat room could be set up for like-minded teachers. It could be a site for those who wish to be positive and non-punitive in their methods in dealing with youngsters, where they could share their trials, their successes and their concerns, and perhaps obtain some advice and feedback from colleagues and experts such as yourself.”

“Dr. Marshall, do you think anybody would be interested in something like this? If so, maybe you could perhaps incorporate something like this into your web page.”

I responded as follows:

A chat room is a real-time live environment that requires two or more participants to be typing back and forth. Due to … >>>

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Raise Responsibiltiy System: Phases II and III

On March 24, 2011 / Discipline

QUESTION:
Regarding the RAISE RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEM, when checking for understanding do you use a referral if the student does not give appropriate responses to the teacher questions?

RESPONSE:
No.

Just ask the class, “What level do we call it when someone makes his own standards of behavior?” The class will give you the answer and you continue teaching. The point of this phase is to have acknowledged that there was an unacceptable level of behavior.

If disruptions continue, then move into phase III, Guided Choices (using authority without being punitive) where a procedure or consequence is ELICITED. Another approach is to give the student an assignment with a choice, e.g., completing the essay or self-diagnostic referral by oneself, with … >>>

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Procedures to Improve Relationships

On March 17, 2011 / Relationships

Here are a few procedures which can improve relationships.

Focus on observable behavior—rather than on motivation. It is difficult if not impossible to correctly identify that which motivates a person.

Saying, “I would like to finish my thought; then it’s your turn” is more effective than saying , “You don’t want to hear me because you don’t agree.” This assumption of the motivation may not only be irrelevant, it may be totally wrong.

Break tension by movement. This can be by raising a hand, sitting down if standing, extending a hand with an open palm shaped to hold a drinking glass or some other kinesics (body movement) to momentarily alter the mood.

Have an effective, self-evaluative question ready. For example, … >>>

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Marriage Advice

On March 15, 2011 / Relationships

When there is a problem, I have found the easiest way to improve relationships is to have a procedure that can be implemented immediately.

The reason a procedure i so necessary is that emotions supersede cognition. Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence,” refers to this as emotional hijacking.

One of the first procedures my wife, Evelyn, and I initiated on our honeymoon was never to go to sleep when we were angry with each other. On occasion we have gone to bed with feelings that have not ranked among the most pleasurable, but we never went to sleep angry. Interestingly, we discovered that talking—regardless of how difficult it was to start—always resulted in good feelings.

We were reminded of … >>>

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Eliciting Consequences and Attachment

On March 10, 2011 / Effectiveness

A interesting conversation revolved around ideas and strategies about how to most effectively influence others to change their behaviors.

This discussion led to the concept about how eliciting a consequence is more effective than imposing one. As Dodie and I were conversing, she related the following incident about her son, Paul, when he was six years old:

He and two other kindergarten boys got into a tussle on the playground, and they were also disobedient. Paul knew that if I ever got a call from school about his behavior, it would be met with disapproval.

When I went to pick him up, he said right away, “What’s my punishment going to be?”

I said to him that he knew what … >>>

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Parenting and Learning

On March 8, 2011 / Parenting

Parents who have an interest in fostering effective learning have a responsibility to their children to nourish them with foods rich in nutrients. Feeding excessive sugar to young children at breakfast is a sure way to increase overactivity and reduce concentration for learning.

Another consideration pertains to food sensitivities and allergies. The Feingold diet should be investigated for children with tendencies towards AD/HD.

Parents can also promote exercise. Physical (and especially aerobic) exercise not only reduces stress it also contributes to a good night’s sleep—which, in turn, assists in increasing attention span.

Controversy will continue regarding whether AD/HD is attributed to modern lifestyles or has always been with selected humans but only has become apparent when literacy sit-down learning was … >>>

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Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

On March 3, 2011 / Learning

I attended the international conference of Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) .

Much controversy exists about labeling students as having attention deficit disorder(ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Professionals refer to the false use of the label, which was coined in 1972 when education psychologist Virginia Douglas correctly realized that the most important feature of this phenomenon was distractibility resulting in difficulty to sustain attention. So the new name “Attention Deficit Disorder” was born.

People categorized as ADD—when given something they enjoy doing—can have laser-like attention; they are just easily distracted. Also, AD/HD is not a disorder; it is a neurological condition. Professionals have identified the following as the core behavioral traits: distractibility, impulsivity, … >>>

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Changing Our Direction

On March 1, 2011 / Effectiveness

There is an old story about the U.S.S. Enterprise that was traveling along the Eastern seaboard. It saw a light in front and thought that the ship was going to collide with the other ship. So the Enterprise sent a signal for the other ship to travel in a different direction. “We are the U.S.S. Enterprise and you are on our course. Please go south.”

A message came back, “ We cannot move.”

A second message was sent. “We are the U.S.S. Enterprise. If you don not move, we will collide.”

Another message came back. “Sorry, we will and cannot move.”

A last message was sent. “We are the mighty U.S.S. Enterprise. If you do not change course, we will … >>>

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Guided Choices of the Raise Responsibility System

On February 25, 2011 / Discipline

I have questions about the essays in the Raise Responsibility System.

After a student fills out an essay or a self-diagnostic referral and gives it to the teacher, is it best to read it right away and respond in front of the class?

Response:

Read it to be sure the student has taken responsibility. Both forms are private between you and the student. The class should not be involved in either an essay or a self-diagnostic referral.

Question:
Should it just be put on the teacher’s desk and an appointment made to discuss it, or is there not a discussion with the teacher?

Response:
The main purpose of Guided Choices (phase 3 of the Raise Responsibility System ) is to … >>>

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The Raise Responsibilty System Explained

On February 22, 2011 / Discipline

Question:

We have been discussing how to use the Raise Responsibility System in our classrooms and have a question. When checking for understanding, if the student identifies the level correctly, do you still give a referral to fill out or do you only use a referral if the student does not give appropriate responses to the teacher questions?

Response:

Neither.
A prime reason why the levels are taught (phase 1) is to create a benchmark or reference frame. Checking for Understanding (phase 2) is the second step of simple cognitive learning theory. First we teach (levels); then we test (check that the student understands the levels).

In Checking for Understanding, the student acknowledges the level of chosen behavior. By … >>>

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The Wrong Way to Fix

On February 17, 2011 / Relationships

We are trained in a deficit model—to fix what is wrong. In a very real sense, our attention is geared at fixing others.

After a meeting with teachers, the student said to his mother, “Why didn’t they talk more about my social studies—what I am good at instead of what I am not good at. All they want to do is fix what is wrong with me.”

The mother responded by saying, “They are trying to help you.”

The student retorted, “No, they are trying to fix me.”

Such are the perceptions of the parent and child. What should it be for the teacher? The answer lies in the question, “What optimizes learning?”

Great teachers know that learning is based … >>>

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Listening and Improvement

On February 15, 2011 / Effectiveness

One of the most effective practices is to listen as if you were the other person who is talking.

For example, looking at a situation from my wife’s point of view benefits me. We settle what could be a disruptive situation a lot quicker and more effectively than if I looked at the situation only from my point of view.

This is a conscious choice that I make. When I do this, I get better results than when I do not. I practice an alertness to situations where I can employ this technique so that it becomes a “habit of mind,” as Dr. Art Costa refers to it.

I feel good when I take charge of my own behavior because … >>>

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Having Fun with Letters and Numbers

On February 9, 2011 / Effectiveness

Business, government, and—unfortunately—even educational leaders have fallen into the simplistic approach that accountability equals test scores. Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the American who brought true quality to the workplace and who was a statistician by training, commented that the most important characteristics cannot be measured.

Here are some characteristics which make for success that high-stake testing do not measure: character values, creativity, thinking, motivation, ambition, persistence, humor, reliability, politeness, enthusiasm, civic-mindedness, self-discipline, self-awareness, empathy, leadership, and compassion. The most important characteristic has not been mentioned, and here is how you can have some fun with it.

If
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W … >>>

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Relationships and Learning

On February 3, 2011 / Learning

The Gallop Poll has been monitoring people’s opinions after presidential elections since the 1960’s. Three characteristics of the candidates are polled: loyalty to party, issues, and likability. Of the three characteristics, the one that is most important in determining the outcome of the election is the candidate’s “likability factor.”

We all want to be liked—which leads to a major mistake of many new teachers —especially secondary teachers, viz., attempting to have their students like them by befriending them. This often takes the form of encouraging students to call them by their given name, rather than by their surname, in effect to placing themselves on the same level as their students.

Certainly, teachers should be friendly, but friendship is not the … >>>

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Unlocking Ourselves

On January 31, 2011 / Effectiveness

A story about the legendary escape artist, Harry Houdini, demonstrates the danger of mistaken assumptions. According to the tale, Houdini began his career by traveling throughout Europe visiting small towns and challenging the local jailer to bind him in a straitjacket and lock him in a cell. He had no trouble until he reached a small Irish village. In front of a crowd of townspeople and newspaper reporters, Houdini easily broke free of the straitjacket, but he failed to unlock the cell.

After everyone had left, Houdini admitted defeat and asked the the jailer to release him. Then the jailer confessed the trick. He had never locked the the cell door, and Houdini never pulled on the unlocked door before … >>>

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